Moonglass

Don’t be. I told you so you can walk in there well prepared.” I started to ask her what she meant, but she’d already turned to go. “See you tomorrow! Hold your head high!” Hold my head high? What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t have anything to be ashamed of. I didn’t think.
    Great .

CHAPTER 13
    Jillian was right about the whole fashion show thing. Immaculately dressed people funneled into the courtyard, all tanned and beautiful and looking like they’d stepped out of a magazine. I looked down at my schedule and then back up, hoping to see Jillian or Ashley among them. All around me were groups I didn’t belong to. The guys stood around in clothes far more expensive than mine and nodded while making small talk and eyeing the girls. The girls, on the other hand, paraded in, all in carefully chosen outfits that had probably been weeks in the making. When they saw each other, they squealed and rushed to meet, chat, compliment, and then size up everyone else. Which made me thankful for Jillian’s warning. I didn’t want to be the topic of anyone’s conversation, so I tried to blend in. Clearly, though, I didn’t.
    I hadn’t given what I would be wearing much thought until that morning. It was still warm even early in the morning, so I had pulled out one of my new sundresses, clipped the tag off, slid into my flip-flops, and finger-combed out my hair, letting it hang loose and wavy down my back. I was fine with what I was wearing; it was just the standing alone, awkwardly checking and rechecking my schedule that made me feel out of place. I needed something else to look at.
    As if my thoughts were broadcast over the intercom, Tyler walked into the far end of the courtyard, up to another lifeguard I recognized from the party, and high-fived him. They exchanged a few words, then both turned to take in the mass of people milling around. I was about to look away and pretend I hadn’t seen him, when his eyes met mine for a brief instant. He didn’t outwardly acknowlledge me, but the hint of a smile crossed his face as he scanned the remainder of the courtyard, looking like he owned the place. I checked my schedule again. Algebra I, room 101, Mr. Strickland.
    “Heeyy!” A pink fruity-smelling blur of blond hair and tan skin ran up and hugged me. “You look SO cute! I love the beach-casual. Have you been here long? Sorry I’m late—I had a minor clothes crisis this morning.” I just nodded, sure that she’d launch into the full story of it. Instead she jumped right to a new topic.
    “Oh! So how much trouble were you in for the other night? You should have seen your dad when he got there. It was so scary. I thought I was gonna get arrested for bringing the champagne. And then later when Tyler swam in, he was all freaked out about it, and—” As she said it, I saw Tyler heading in our direction, and I immediately whipped up my schedule.
    “Hey, Ash. Do you have lip gloss?”
    She glanced at Tyler, immediately getting it, and handed me the tube. Then she tilted her head in, whispering, “So, what happened between you guys out at that rock? He seemed superworried when he came in.
    Like, maybe he-kinda-likes-you worried.” She smiled and nudged me with her shoulder.
    I took another quick glance as he came our way, looking beyond us like he wasn’t gonna stop. “No,” I said definitively. “He doesn’t like me. He’s just scared to death of my dad, that’s all.”
    Tyler approached us, not bothering to hide the smirk that now played across his face. “Little Ryan…. Whitmore. Glad to see you’re both alive and well .” He nodded to each of us.
    That greeting reiterated what I had just told Ashley, though I hadn’t really believed it when I’d said it. I was immediately annoyed.
    “Morning!” Ashley practically sang.
    I shifted my weight and smiled thinly. “Hey.” Nothing else came to mind. Nothing that I could say out loud, at least. I had only ever seen Tyler in his trunks on the beach, and he had looked like every other lifeguard around. And like that, there had been a possibility between us. Here at school it was obvious that he probably came from the same kind of money as everyone else. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a T-shirt and flip-flops of his own, but the giveaway was in the way he carried himself. totally relaxed and sure. Like he belonged here.
    The bell rang, and Ashley squeezed my arm. “Hey! I gotta go. I have dance yoga first period.” Tyler was