Covet (Clann)

any friends?” I asked, curious now.
    Shrugs and a head shake were the general consensus.
    I turned to Anne again. “Is there a reason that I shouldn’t at least be nice and help him pass English lit?”
    “You mean besides the fact that he’s your best friend’s ex?” Carrie said.
    “Anne dumped him , not the other way around,” Michelle argued.
    Silence from Anne.
    “Anne, you decide,” I said. “Say the word, and I’ll find a different lab partner and tell Ron to wing it on his own in English lit.”
    If it made her that uncomfortable, maybe I shouldn’t try to help patch up their issues after all.
    “You don’t have to tell me what happened between you two,” I added. “But at least tell me this…should I go kick his butt for you? Because if so, I’ll do it. I’ll go right now and give him a good ole smack-down in the library. Just say the word, and I’ll bury him in the heaviest hardbacks I can find.”
    Michelle snickered. Even Carrie’s lips twitched at that.
    Anne gave a reluctant smile. “No, don’t kick his butt. You’d only end up snapping those puny arms of yours like pretzels. You’re right. I did break up with him, not the other way around. And…I guess it’s not really his fault, either. I mean, it wasn’t something he actually did. It was just something I had to do.”
    A glimpse of black kitty cats running through Anne’s mind this time. What was with the black cats already?
    “So it’s okay if I meet with him for tutoring during lunch every other day?”
    She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. “Well, I’m certainly not around to help him anymore. And the boy is an idiot at English stuff. If you don’t help him, he’ll probably wind up flunking and missing out on playing football. And heaven help that from ever happening.”
    Carrie snorted.
    “So by all means, help the big lug with his English, I guess.” Anne grabbed her soda, trying to act like the whole conversation was no big deal now.
    But I saw through her act. The flares of emotion coming from her told the real story…she was still crazy about Ron and desperately wishing she were the one meeting with him at lunch instead of me.
    Which meant there was still hope for the two of them.
    Smiling, I leaned sideways to bump shoulders with her. “Deep down, you are such a softie.”
    She choked on her soda. “Don’t ever say that again!” She glanced around us, making a show out of being horrified. “I’ve got a rep to maintain here!”
    * * *
    The next day during chem lab, I said, “I told Anne about our tutoring exchange.”
    Ron’s hand froze in the act of reaching for a glass dropper. “What’d she say?”
    “She wasn’t thrilled about it, but she said it was okay.”
    “She wasn’t happy about it?”
    “I think her exact words were something along the lines of ‘well, I’m not going to help him, and he is an idiot in English class, so somebody better help him pass.’”
    He smiled at the beaker as its green contents began to bubble.
    I wrote down the chemical reaction as the teacher had instructed earlier. “Ron, be honest. You’re not having me help you with your homework just to make Anne jealous, are you?”
    He scowled. “What? No way! It was your idea in the first place. And besides, why would I need to try to make her jealous? She already knows how I feel about her.” He measured two drops of water then added them to the beaker, and the contents turned blue. “She knows if she changes her mind, all she has to do is tell me.”
    “And you’d take her back? Just like that? Even after she dumped you?”
    He shrugged. “Pride just gets in the way in life. The less pride you have, the easier it is to have what you want.”
    “Huh. Ever told Anne that?”
    He frowned at his lab directions. “I’m hoping she’ll figure it out someday.”
    “You do remember how hardheaded she is, right?”
    He grinned. “It’s one of the things I miss the most about her.” After adding two more drops of water to the beaker, he glanced at me and said, “You know, I could ask you the same question. Are you working with me to make a certain guy jealous?”
    It was my turn to scowl. “No. Why would I? I broke up with him.”
    “I heard he and a certain Charmer have turned into a real couple lately.”
    I swallowed hard and focused on taking notes in my notebook. “Good for him. He deserves to be happy.”
    He was safe. It was all that mattered.
    “With someone else?”
    “If she makes him