“I can’t believe we still have a sub in history,” Bee said, snapping my attention back to her.

“Oh, is, uh, Dr. DuPont out?” I asked, trying not to imagine him standing in front of me, my shoe sticking out of his neck.

“Apparently,” Bee said, nodding across the courtyard. Mrs. Hillyard, the substitute teacher from yesterday, was hurrying up the steps into Wallace.

“But Dr. DuPont was a jackass anyway,” she added. “Didn’t he give you a hard time?”

You could say that. “Oh, not really,” I replied, just in case there were undercover police officers hiding in the bushes or something. “I actually kind of liked him.”

“Liked who?” Brandon asked, coming up to join us. “Me? Because I can tell you one thing, Miss Harper here is not a fan of the Bran Man.”

“And I’m not a fan of you calling yourself that,” Bee muttered, even as she let him take her hand and swing it.

“No, I’m serious!” Brandon insisted, flicking his blond hair out of his eyes. “Yesterday, she full-on smacked me in the middle of the hall. For no reason!”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Bee said sarcastically.

“It’s true,” Brandon insisted before shooting me a sideways look. “Is that why Ryan’s out today? Did you smack him around, too?”

That was way too close to the truth for comfort. Frowning, I asked, “He isn’t here today?”

“Not yet,” Brandon said, nodding toward the parking lot. Sure enough, Ryan’s car wasn’t in its usual spot. Heart sinking, I did my best to look concerned, but not panicked.

“Maybe he’s running late,” I offered.

David chose that moment to walk over to us, and next to me, I felt Bee stiffen a little.

“Harper, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“The bell’s about to ring,” I said to David, hoping he heard that as Friend Time, not right now.

He frowned. “We really need to talk about yesterday.” He had gotten my message, and now he was sending one of his own: I don’t care.

“What happened—” Bee asked, but I was already tugging her away.

“Your apology was more than sufficient,” I called breezily over my shoulder. “We’re fine.”

I could feel David glaring at my back, but I kept pulling Bee toward the school. Yes, yes, David might be my noble cause, but Bee was my best friend. There was a chance I’d already screwed up the boyfriend thing. I didn’t want to screw up what I had with Bee, too.

“You sure you don’t want to talk to him?” she asked once we’d walked through the front doors.

“Positive,” I replied. “I told you, it’s nothing more than the usual me and David Stark Mutual Disdain Society thing acting up again.”