Chapter III
May 3, 1999
After lunch, Casey had told him they needed to talk after school. William's mind
raced through the next four classes. He considered every possibility. She was
breaking up with him. She found a prom dress. She was breaking up with him. She
hated his pancakes.
He walked with David between seventh and eighth period. One more hour to go.
“She loves you,” David said. “I don't think she’s breaking up with you. Maybe her
dad won’t let her go to prom.”
“But she could’ve told me that at lunch,” William replied. “It’s not like I even
wanted to go to prom.”
“Does she know that?”
“I thought she did,” William said, adjusting the straps of his backpack. “Maybe
not.”
“So that’s probably it. Maybe she got in trouble for missing some homework or
something like that.”
“I guess.”
The next class felt endless. Even after David’s pep talk, William couldn’t focus.
He needed more than three minutes to calm his nerves.
Mr. Brown noticed he was zoned out. “So, William,” he said, stopping at his desk.