A Girl Like Gracie (5 page)

I shrug. “It’s okay.”

“
Look, Gracie, I don’t want to be
rude, but maybe you should go back and sit by him,” he
says.

“
Why?”

“
Because it’ll just cause trouble for
me if you sit here,” he says.

“
Don’t worry about him. I’ll take care
of…”

Austin cuts me off. “I don’t want you to sit
here. Please leave.”

Seriously?

I stand up and grab my bag. I go back and
sit by Noah, who looks like he knew I would eventually come
back.

Ugh.

Maybe this isn’t going to be my favorite
class after all.

Obviously.

I have dreaded lunchtime all day long.
Mostly because I have made zero friends here, and I don’t have
anybody to sit by. I’m going to be that weird girl who sits by
herself in the cafeteria. Nobody will want to sit by me. No doubt
by now, Alfie has told everybody in the entire school to stay away
from me.

I stand in the short line in the cafeteria
and get my food. Much to my dismay, they don’t have any rice. What
kind of a school lunchroom doesn’t serve rice with every meal? But
then I remember, I’m in America. Americans think rice is unhealthy
or something.

With my tray of food, I look out at the
cafeteria, trying to figure out there I’m going to sit.

Bayside Academy is a really small
private school. Today I have learned that most of the kids here are
either
really
smart, or they
are
really
rich. I suppose
that I fall into the rich category because of my dad, but I don’t
feel rich. To me, I’m still the girl who has a mom who works two
jobs just so she can pay for my extra tutoring. Looking back, I
don’t understand why Mom didn’t just ask Dad for the money. Maybe
because of pride. I guess I can’t blame her for wanting to make it
on her own. It’s a good thing I love
ramyeon
so much. It’s pretty much the cheapest
food you can get.

I look at Alfie, who is sitting by Jace.
They’re both watching me, but I know I can’t sit by them. If I do,
Alfie will get up and just move away.

“
Want to sit by me?” Noah asks, as he
walks up beside me.

“
I don’t know,” I say hesitantly. I’m
not sure that I like Noah after the way he talked to Austin
earlier. It was uncalled for.

“
You don’t call me and now you’re
refusing to sit at my table even though you don’t have anywhere
else to sit. I’m beginning to think you don’t like me,” Noah says,
trying to look hurt.

“
You treated Austin really bad
earlier,” I say.

“
Austin?” he asks.

“
Austin Yang,” I say.

“
Oh. Yang.” Noah laughs. “You’re mad
because I made Yang move? I did you a favor.”

“
I don’t need any favors,” I
say.

“
Gracie.”

I turn to see Elliot standing on the other
side of me.

Elliot and his family comes over at least
once a week for dinner. He doesn’t talk that much, but he seems
really nice.

“
Hey, Elliot,” I say.

“
Want to sit by me?” he
asks.

I nod. “Yes, please.” I turn to Noah. “Talk
to you later.”

I follow Elliot towards the table where he
was sitting and take the spot directly across from him. Everybody
at the table turns to look at me when I sit.

“
Everybody, this is Gracie James,”
Elliot says, then looks at me. “Was Noah bothering you?”

“
My brother doesn’t like him,” I say.
“I don’t want to give Alfie another reason to punch
him.”

“
That was you!” A girl at the table
says. “Oh, man! That was awesome! Everybody has wanted to punch
Noah at some point, but Alfie just walked up all protective like
and punched him. We all thought you were his girlfriend or
something. I didn’t know you were his sister. You two look nothing
alike. Are you half siblings or something?”

“
They’re twins,” Elliot answers for
me.

“
No way,” a boy says, dropping his
fork. It makes a loud sound as it hits the table. “But you look
Chinese.”

“
Korean,” Elliot corrects.

I pull the chopsticks in my purse out to eat
with. I don’t want to embarrass myself at school by trying to use a
fork.

“
That means Alfie is part Korean too?”
the girl asks.

“
Obviously,” Elliot says.

“
Can you speak Korean?” the boy
asks.

“
Yes. Both Alfie and I can,” I
answer.

“
Say something in Korean,” he
says.

I look at him, then at Elliot. Before either
of us can respond, Alfie walks up to the table. He grabs my tray
without saying a word and walks it over to his own table. He sits
it down beside where he’s sitting and then motions me with his
index finger.

“
Joesonghamnida
,” I say, apologizing in Korean,
then get up. “I guess that is my cue.”

I walk over and take a seat beside Alfie. I
wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t. He just eats.

Everybody at the table looks at me.

“
Are you two dating or something?” a
guy asks.

“
Gross,” Alfie and I say at the same
time, and we both laugh.

Alfie turns away from me. “She’s my
sister.”

“
Ah, that explains why Noah was so
interested in her,” the guy says, looking at me. “I’m Hunter West,
but you can call me West like everybody else.”

West is tall, like Jace. He has blond hair
and dark brown eyes. He’s also tanned, so I guess he spent a lot of
time outside this summer, maybe at the beach. I always forget that
Americans like to be tan. People probably think I’m really white.
Anytime I went to the beach, I always covered myself from head to
toe because I didn’t want to get dark.

“
I’m Gracie James,” I say, catching
myself before I bow. I don’t want to make Alfie more mad than he
already is. I just pick up my chopsticks and start eating again,
careful not to slurp anything.

“
Do you have a boyfriend?” West
asks.

I look up in time to see Alfie smack him on
the back of the head.

“
Never mind,” he says, rubbing his
head.

Alfie smiles, obviously satisfied.

“
No boyfriend. Just one very
protective brother,” I say quietly to myself.

Jace, who is sitting across from me, smiles.
Apparently he heard what I said.

Alfie turns to look at me. “From now on, you
eat here. Got it?”

“
Yes,” I say.

“
Good,” he says, then continues
eating.

Well, at least I don’t have to worry about
eating alone.

So you can punch him?

At the end of the day, I go to my locker and
grab all my books. We don’t have any homework, which is odd, but I
figure I can get a head start on studying and maybe work ahead on
some assignments. I fill my messenger bag full and sling it over my
shoulder. It’s heavy, but not nearly as heavy as my books in Korea
were.

I walk down the hallway towards the exit. On
my way out, I pass Noah, who runs up beside me.

“
Let me help you with your bag,” he
says. “Those books look heavy.”

“
No thanks,” I say, holding up a
hand.

“
I’m sorry. About the whole Yang
thing,” Noah says. “I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with
you.”

“
It’s not that. Not really. It’s just…
my brother doesn’t like you,” I say. “And to be honest, he doesn’t
really like me either. I don’t want to make him mad by talking to
you.”

“
Let’s be friends,” he says. “We can
be friends in secret.”

“
I don’t know,” I say.

“
You still have my number?”

I nod.

“
Text me,” he says, then adds,
“please.”

“
Maybe,” I say, then turn and walk
towards Alfie’s car. When I get out there, both him and Jace are
waiting for me.

“
Why is your bag full?” Alfie asks,
when he sees me. “Do you already have homework?”

“
No. I just want to get a head start
on studying,” I answer. “Most of my classes are advanced
ones.”

I take my bag off my shoulder and start to
climb in the back. Jace takes the bag from me and then hands it to
me once I’m sitting down in the back.

“
How was your first day?” Jace asks
me, as we take off.

“
Okay, I suppose. A little boring,” I
say.

“
Did you make any friends?” he
asks.

“
Well, I met this guy named Austin
Yang in my math class this morning, but Noah ran him off,” I
answer, frowning as I think about it. “Austin was sitting by me and
Noah made him move so he could sit there.”

“
Is Noah bothering you?” Alfie
asks.

“
I can handle him,” I say.

“
Anybody else talk to you?”

“
Nope. Just you guys. And Elliot,” I
say. “I am surprised that you guys don’t hang out with
Elliot.”

“
We do,” Alfie says. “Sometimes.
Everybody in the school is in the same circle, so we all hang out.
Except maybe the scholarship kids.”

“
That’s what Austin was,” I say. “He
thought I was a scholarship kid for some reason.”

“
Most new students are scholarship
kids. People with rich parents usually start there during their
freshman year,” Jace says. “He probably just assumed that since
you’re a senior that you are there on a scholarship, especially
since you were in an advanced class.”

“
Maybe,” I say.

“
Hey, you want to help me with my
math?” Jace asks. “I barely passed with a C last year. I need to
make good grades this year.”

“
Sure,” I say. “Alfie, you need help
too?”

“
No,” he says.

“
Alfie is good at math. He could use
help in his English Lit class,” Jace says.

“
I’m a good English tutor,” I say. “I
helped my English teacher in Korea. I went to a small school and
our English teacher could hardly speak English herself.”

“
I don’t need help,” Alfie says. “I’ll
figure it out on my own.”

What a grouch.

“
I have a question,” I say. Nobody
says anything, so I continue. “Why don’t you guys like
Noah?”

“
He’s just not a good guy,” Alfie
says.

“
I know you say that, but why isn’t
he?” I ask. “I mean, he made me mad earlier when he made Austin
move, but he apologized for that. I just… I don’t know, I thought
it would be nice to have a friend besides the two of
you.”

Alfie stays quiet.

“
Noah has had a lot of girlfriends,”
Jace tells me. “Last year, he even stole a girl that Alfie was
dating. He never dates a girl long. Never longer than a couple
months. The girls always end up heartbroken. You deserve better
than that.”

“
You never told me you dated
somebody,” I say to Alfie.

“
You never asked,” he replies. “I
didn’t know if you dated anybody in Korea either.”

“
I didn’t,” I say.

“
Good,” he says. “When you find a guy
you’re interested in, I want to meet him.”

“
So you can punch him?” I ask, in a
joking tone.

Jace and I both laugh. Alfie, after a few
seconds, finally laughs with us.

It feels good to laugh with my brother. It’s
been way too long.

Maybe, just maybe, Alfie is coming
along.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Later that afternoon, I sit in my room and
do some homework. When I pull my English book out of my bag, I
notice a folded up piece of paper. It has my name on the front of
it, but it’s not my handwriting.

“
Huh. Wonder what this is,” I
say.

I pull the note out and unfold it.

Gracie,

If you know what’s good
for you, you’ll go back to where you came from. Don’t say I didn’t
warn you.

—
X

X? Who would sign a note with just an X?

For a moment, I think maybe Alfie did, but
it’s not his handwriting. But maybe he got somebody else to write
the note for him. I sigh and crinkle up the note, tossing it in the
trash. I really thought Alfie and I were getting along better, but
it seems like he hates me now just as much as always.

My phone vibrates on the nightstand,
distracting me from my negative thoughts.

Unknown number:
Since you won’t text me, I’m going to text you.

Me:
Who is
this?

Unknown number:
I’m hurt. You didn’t save my number to your phone? It’s Noah.
Feel free to save my number as Hottie.

Me:
Hi, Noah.
I’m ignoring the hottie comment…

Noah:
Aw, I’m
hurt. :’( Going to cry now.

Me:
Did you
date my brother’s girlfriend?