This news wasn’t helping. He was still talking to Bay and I wasn’t.

She threw her hands up frustrated with whatever he’d said and stormed into the auditorium. He grabbed the door before it closed and slipped inside shaking his head.

Boyfriend-girlfriend bullshit? Or something else? Either way, the sight of her pissed at him made me happy.

A hefty backpack banged into my back. “Dare, you coming? I’m only doing practices for you and I’m too tired to run extra laps.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

The door opened again and this time Bay returned alone. I guess Knox had better dig deep and find some extra energy for those laps.

She popped the latch on the ticket booth door and walked back in.

I stood in the doorway, leaning to one side. “What are you doing?”

She yelped and banged her head on the counter. A dust avalanche covered her. Rubbing the back of her head, she extracted herself from the spot and stood. Her glare bit as harshly as it had when I teased her eating those phenomenal cookies.

She tapped a roll of Velcro against her palm and stood. Her lips were turned down in a perfectly symmetrical frown. Not a hint of a smile to be found.

“Hacking the Pentagon, what do you think I’m doing?” Half-opened boxes covered most of the floor in the booth, except for one narrow slot she’d slipped into. There were cables, tape and other things stacked in precariously perched boxes. She smelled like raspberry shampoo, or maybe body wash.. The kind Knox’s mom used for guests, but I wasn’t choosy.

“Do you need help?”

“What’s your deal, Dare?” Her arms flailed out at her sides in an abandoned shrug.

“I can’t help?”

“First the car, then my locker and now you want to help me lug crap into practice?” She tugged off her glasses, inspecting them. They were coated in dust, same as her hair and shoulders of her shirt. It looked like she had the world’s worst case of dandruff. “Excuse me if after three years of being here, I’m a bit thrown by you popping up left and right talking to me.” When she whisper-shouted at me, I got a hint of her singing voice. It made me want to keep her talking this way and let it roll over me.

“I’m not allowed to talk to you?”

“You’re allowed to do whatever the hell you want, just not near me.” She walked like she would barge straight past me, but stopped short inches before running into me. My body filled the doorway.

“You didn’t mind being near me with the lemonade or yesterday.” My breath ruffled the strands of hair framing her face.

“But I mind now.” Her lips pinched together and she swallowed. “Excuse me, Dare.”

I backed out of the doorway, giving her barely enough space to squeeze by.

“I’ll see you later, Bay.”

“Lucky me,” she grumbled and disappeared back into the auditorium.

Knox popped around the corner. “What the fuck, dude? Let’s go!”