Page 58 of The Bad Boyfriend Curse
Ha! I love loopholes. “That’s amazing. Perfect. Yes, come sit. I’m working on a spreadsheet of photos, but I would love to catch up instead.” I put my computer aside. It’s been a week since I saw her, since the picnic at LeClair Industries. And it was a little weird then, when Sadie implied that Jasonmarried Mom as some sort of strategy for his mayoral campaign.
She sits on my desk chair and turns it so she’s facing me on my bed. “I want to apologize.” There’s a shakiness in her voice, and I can tell she’s nervous. “I feel bad about what I said at the picnic. I didn’t mean…” She takes a breath. “I mean, I think it’s great that Jason married your mom. I don’t think he married down or anything. I think she’s the coolest. I think you’re even cooler. I’m sorry.”
I smile. I know she means it. And I get it. Sadie has lived her whole life in this upper-class bubble. The fact that she’s not more like Kaitlyn is actually impressive. It’s one of the things I love about her.
“I know, Sadie. And you’re forgiven.”
She smiles, her shoulders relaxing. “Good. I’m glad. I should have called you or texted before now. I… I felt awkward. And I knew you were in trouble. What happened, anyway? What did your mom say?”
I tell her about the argument Mom and I had on Sunday, and that we’ve barely spoken since then. “It’s ridiculous. She’s even checking up on me every day to make sure Noah and I are really working and not sneaking off to make out or something. If she finds out we’re dating, then she’ll pull me out of CROP and we won’t be able to see each other at all.”
Sadie’s eyes widen. “Wait. Back up, Meera. Are you twoactuallydating now? Like, not pretending anymore?”
I laugh. I forgot that she doesn’t know that part yet. “Yep. For a week now. Don’t tell my parents.”
Sadie lets out a surprised laugh. “You went from fakedating him to annoy your parents to secretly dating him so you won’t annoy your parents.”
It’s funny to think of it that way. “So, you approve?”
Sadie shakes her head, still smiling. “Yeah, this is amazing. I hardly know the guy, but I was clearly so wrong about him. He seems great. I’m happy you’re happy.”
I smile. Iamhappy. Even though I’m not talking to my mother, and my Toronto friends seem to have forgotten I exist, and I’m grounded… I’m still happy. Thanks to Noah.
“Enough about me, though,” I say. “What’s new with you and Liv?”
She tells me about her week. They went to The Brewberry a few times, played a new video game Liv got, and drove into Waterloo to see the new Studio Ghibli movie.
“Oh! I didn’t know you guys were into Japanese animation.” I’m reminded of Kennedy and her shirts. Maybe there’ll come a day when I can introduce Kennedy to Sadie and Liv. That is, if she doesn’t steal them first.
When I get to CROP on Monday, Lainey is already talking about outdoor paint for the bandstand. I sit wordlessly next to Noah. I want to touch him so much. Or to kiss him. But I don’t. He grabs my hand right away. I squeeze his fingers.
“Okay, go forth and paint!” Lainey finally says after telling us all how to paint, like I didn’t paint my room back in Toronto three times on my own.
When we start painting, I tell Noah I’m planning to paint my room in my grandparents’ house mauve when I get back there in September.
“I hope I can come see you in Toronto,” he says.
“Yeah, you’d better.” My grandparents would never let him stay with us, though. And he says he can never stay overnight with his mother because she’s a live-in caregiver and her employer doesn’t let her have overnight guests. But that’s a problem we’ll deal with later. I smile and roll primer onto the post where Noah kissed me for the first time. We both gravitated to work on this part of the bandstand again without discussing it.
“I haven’t hung out in Toronto with someone my own age, ever,” Noah says. “Where would you take me?”
I smile, tilting my head, thinking. “Definitely Kensington Market. It’s this really cool neighborhood with lots of quirky stores and vintage shops. It has the best tacos in Toronto.” I brighten, remembering a place he’d love. “Then I’d probably take you to Steve’s Music. That’s my friend Keeley’s favorite music store in the city. She spends hours in the keyboard room. You’d probably love the guitar room.”
His eyes widen in recognition. “I know Steve’s. I’ve drooled over their stuff online. Where would you take me that you like, not places you thinkI’dlike?”
That’s such a Noah question. I take a beat to think about it before the answers come to me. “Easy. Union Station. The architecture isso cool. They’ve perfectly blended the old with the new. It’s utterly chaotic, and I always get lost there, but it’s the place that feels the mostTorontoto me. And there’s some surprisingly good food in the food court. Then maybe Riverdale Park because there are some awesome views of the city skyline from there.”
He smiles. “All the tall buildings that you’re obsessed with, right?”
I nod enthusiastically, which makes him laugh.
“Do you think…” He looks away, focusing on what he’s painting. “I mean, you said that you aren’t sure you’ll get into the architecture program because it’s competitive. What will you do if you don’t get into the University of Toronto?”
I shrug, but my stomach clenches at the thought of not getting into my dream program. “Toronto is on top because it’s a great school and my cost of living would be the lowest since I could live with my grandparents, but I’m going to apply to Waterloo and Carleton, too.”
“Isn’t Jason going to pay for your education?”
I stop painting. This is the first time I’ve ever thought about it. “I don’t know. Mom just married the guy, and I’ve been working on this plan since before they even met. I made a big chart in Excel comparing all the architecture programs in Canada, and how much it would cost me to live in each city.” I chuckle awkwardly. “Hate to think all that time was wasted.”
