I let out a long sigh when Jamie came into shop class and sat down at our table. Christ. It'd been three weeks since we all saw her coming out of the basement after doing Vince, three weeks of nothing but awkward every time I saw either one of them. Vince wasn't talking about it, which was weird all by itself.
Usually he didn't have any problems bragging about the chicks he managed to talk downstairs. But with Jamie he wouldn't say anything except for asking why I cared so much about his sex life. And I tried talking to Jamie, I really did, but…. Well, shit, I probably could have tried harder. It was just that every time I tried to say something I just froze, the words wouldn't come out, like I'd gone mute or forgotten how to speak English.
I kept trying to tell myself that it didn't matter, the fuck did I care if Jamie was pissed at me, never talked to me again? But somehow, it did. And it'd gotten to the point where this shit was ruining my favorite class, the only one I actually looked forward to. Lemme tell you, it pissed me off, her having that kind of effect on me. I never worried about being popular, or even having friends outside of the team. I took care of myself, always had. It bugged the shit outta me, not being able to just let her go. What did I need with some rich white girl prissy friend, anyway? But somehow, I couldn't just drop her.
So I shook my head, trying not to laugh at her trying to figure out the engine schematic we were supposed to be working on, and moved closer. "I dunno if Vince mentioned it…" I said, shrugging slightly, not really looking at her, "but there's a race Friday, a pretty big one…."
Christ, and of course she didn't say anything, didn't take my awkward attempt at making up and just accept it. No, instead she just turned and stared at me like I'd grown an extra head or something, and even though I wasn't really looking at her I could tell she was doing it, looking at me like that.
"So, uh…" I stammered, feeling like a complete idiot and halfway hating myself for it, "you could come, if you want? I mean, if things are still cool with you two…."
"We're fine," she said, shaking her head slightly, like it was completely obvious what an idiot I was being. "And yeah, he told me about the race."
"Oh," I said, feeling like even more of an idiot. "Well, there's probably gonna be a party at the house, after…. I mean, if you wanna come to that, it'd be cool…."
"You're not any good at this, you know?" Jamie said, laughing as she shook her head again. "I mean, really…."
"I know," I groan, slouching down further, like I was trying to disappear or something. "I just, I'll try not to say shit about V…."
"Five bucks that won't last a week," she scoffed, grinning at me. "But yeah, I'll go to the race with you guys, and the after-party too."
"Alright, then," I said, and I couldn't help grinning back at her.