Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
I risk one look up and see Mike Basher, the quarterback on the football team. Everyone likes him even though he’s really a terrible football player, and the fans groaned two weeks ago when the starter broke his collarbone and Basher took over for the rest of the season. He also used to date Chloe. They were a thing for about three months at the beginning of junior year, even going to the previous homecoming together. And apparently Basher and Chloe’s dad, Scott, both share an interest in old cars. About a month after Chloe and I started dating, I went over to her house and found Scott and Basher in the detached garage, bent over the open hood of the ’75 Mustang Scott was restoring. When I asked Chloe, she just rolled her eyes and told me to forget about it. The next time I went over, Mike was in the hallway when I went to the bathroom. Basher apparently walked around their house like he lived there.
Then in the second week of this semester, in creative writing class, Basher wrote a poem about a girl he was in love with, calling her a queen. And the description of the girl in the poem sounded exactly like Chloe. At first, Chloe didn’t think it was about her, but when I went through it line by line with her, she started to come around. Finally, she went to our teacher, Mr. Hartman, about it, and while he listened sympathetically, he said he didn’t think Basher meant any harm.
“It’s his artistic expression,” Mr. Hartman said. “An intense feeling given voice. I’d say there’s no real malice there.”
Chloe felt like I had pushed her to say something when her gut told her not to.
“Now Mr. Hartman thinks I’m a freak,” she said.
A couple of weeks before the accident, Chloe told me she wasn’t going to ask Mr. Hartman to write her a letter of recommendation for college. I asked her if she didn’t want to ask because she still felt weird about the whole Basher poem thing, but she didn’t answer me.
So it’s no surprise when Basher blankly meets my eye that morning. My stupid jealousy flares, even though Chloe claims he’s a bit shallow.
Then Basher does something. He nods his head subtly and gives me a quick thumbs-up.
I don’t know why Mike did that, but he lifted my spirits. Maybe things won’t be so bad. Maybe I can make it through this.