Ethan smiled a huge smile at her. He looked almost proud. “Just waiting for you,” he said as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. As soon as he turned his attention to May, the harem vanished. As did her troubles. “Let’s go somewhere private. I want to work a few things out.”
May would have followed that boy anywhere, but in this case she only had to go as far as his jeep. It would have been her fondest wish to be holding his hand right then as they walked, but she still didn’t know exactly how things stood between them, so she just followed his lead. Ethan opened the door for May, and she climbed in.
When he got in on his side, she was the first to speak, saying only, “So…”
“Hey, you stole my line!” Ethan teased.
May didn’t wait for him to bring up the elephant in the car. “Look, Ethan. You are really confusing me today. I’ve told you how things are for me. I thought I understood how things are for you, but then you kissed me like that… and I just have to know. Have you changed your mind about how you want it to be between us?”
It looked like Ethan wasn’t expecting May to lay it all out so plainly, and he paused. But then he seemed relieved by her frankness, and relaxed as he spoke. “Yes and no.” May furrowed her brow at his vague reply. He put up a finger to indicate that he wasn’t done speaking, and seemed to be trying to choose his words. “You know I don’t want a girlfriend. I would be a horrible boyfriend.”
“I agree.” She thought of the three sophomore tarts at her locker.
Ethan looked chagrined that she agreed so easily, but didn’t acknowledge her reply. “I really do like you, and I don’t want to be giving you grief. I have to believe that there are other options besides completely avoiding each other, or being one-hundred percent devoted.” He paused to put his hand on her knee to reassure her. “You know it has nothing to do with you. I don’t think I, or anyone our age, should be getting heavily involved with just one person.” Then he continued with his original line of thought, “Anyway, I just feel like there has to be some middle ground here where we can both be happy.”
“I do not want to be your friend with benefits, Ethan.” May interjected.
Ethan laughed at her and smiled, “No, you’re too adorable for me to pretend you are just my friend.” He held her hand now. “We can date each other, it doesn’t need to be a secret or anything like that, but let’s agree here and now that we are both free to go out with other people if either one of us wants to.”
May already knew that this would be a problem for her. She couldn’t imagine how crushed she would feel to see him with another girl. This arrangement might have worked if she weren’t already so obsessed with him. Still, if she wanted any part of Ethan, she would need to play along. In her heart she knew that the she would never go out with anyone else. She would just have to deal with heartache when it came. With a pit in her stomach, she agreed to his proposal.
Ethan looked very happy that the negotiations had gone so easily. They sat in silence for a moment, May thinking that sitting alone here in his car would be the perfect place to kiss him. But she didn’t know if that would have a place in their arrangement. As if he had read her mind, he leaned into her and planted a slow peck on her lips. “Let’s go get lunch, then.” Ethan said as he opened his door.
They walked back towards the school, holding hands this time. May loved how the skin of his hand felt smooth, warm, and strong against hers. She welcomed this new physical part of their “relationship,” but it served to confuse her more. Holding hands was a fairly territorial gesture, she had always thought. Of course, this was Ethan; she realized more and more that he marched to the beat of a different drum. May decided that as long as she was able to kiss him, or hold his hand, that she wouldn’t question it. She wanted every part of Ethan that he was willing to give.
On their way back toward the cafeteria, they passed Ryan entering the library. In their last encounter in the mirror, Ethan had expressed his guilt about stealing May’s affections. She wondered why he hadn’t mentioned it now. May suddenly remembered that she wasn’t supposed to know that Ryan liked her. Her hopes soared at the thought that maybe Ethan had insisted on an open relationship because of his remorse over hurting Ryan. Perhaps Ethan wasn’t going to be dating anyone else at all, but he was leaving an opening for his best friend.
As if in immediate response to her generous assumption about Ethan, she heard a female voice call from across the courtyard.
“Hi, Ethan!” It was in that kind of singsong overfriendly voice girls often used when talking to him. May hoped that wasn’t how she used to sound around him. She looked to see who it was, and recognized a girl she didn’t know very well. “See you in biology!” She said with a wink. Ah, this must be his biology-girl. May thought.
“Yeah, we’re cutting open frogs today! Will you catch me if I faint, Alicia?” Ethan answered her just like he would if May weren’t standing there, holding his hand. She wanted to lose her grip on it; it felt instantly phony, and more like a sign of her inferiority. It was like how a child would hold onto an authority figure’s hand. Speaking when spoken to, and just along for the ride. She didn’t know she could feel this wretched so soon after being so happy.
Ethan must have sensed the shift in her mood. “Does that bother you?”
“We just agreed that I have no right to be bothered, Ethan.” She answered tersely.
“May, I don’t act the way I do to taunt you.” He pulled her into his chest and hugged her. “Look, we agreed that we are both free to date around. That doesn’t mean you can’t ask me to reign in the superfluous flirting when we’re together.”
May was still feeling a little sour, although she was sweetening with each moment that Ethan held her in his arms. “But isn’t flirting like, an essential part of your genetic makeup?”
“No,” Ethan confessed, “It’s just really fun. But I’ll trade it for other fun when I’m with you, okay?” She looked up at him and smiled wide now. She simply could not stay feeling anything but joy when she was this close to him. “Hey, aren’t you going to ask me ‘what kind of fun’?” She could feel him turning on the charm.
“Alright. What kind of fun?” May thought she probably already knew.
In a swift movement, he stepped forward with one foot and dipped her back, still holding her tightly, and leaned over her with a wicked expression. She gasped in surprise, but then started laughing so hard that she thought he might drop her. Her laughter was infectious, and soon she was at risk of being dropped because he was laughing uncontrollably now, too. He lowered her to the ground, and sank down beside her, both clutching their sides as they howled with laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” They both demanded of each other at the same moment. This sent them into a fresh round of hysterics.
“Your face!” May finally spit out.
Ethan was still doubled up, but managed to say, “You laugh like a snake!”
May’s laughter stopped short as she worked her face into a look of deep offense, and she punched Ethan in the shoulder. This only made him laugh harder, and soon she was joining him again. The two of them were unaware of the spectacle they were making of themselves, until Ryan walked up to them.
“Hey, are you guys having some kind of tandem seizure over here?” May looked up when she heard his voice, and saw dozens of eyes watching them with a range of different expressions as they walked past. May knew that Ethan loved attention, but she still wasn’t used to it. She sobered immediately and stood.
Ethan was still struggling to regain his composure, so May answered Ryan. “No seizures here. I’m not sure what just happened, but I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time…” she looked down at her pants, “…and now I’m suddenly covered in dirt.”
“Ryan! Ryan!” Ethan called from the ground, holding his hand up. “Help me up, man.” Ethan was still giggling a little bit. Ryan pulled Ethan up effortlessly, and just looked at his cousin with an amused expression. “Ryan, May laughs just like a snake!” May shot Ethan a dirty look.
“I actually heard…” Ryan said, apologizing with a wink when he saw May’s betrayed expression. “Sorry, but you kind of do.”
“We were just headed in to eat, do you want to join us?” Ethan invited. Moments ago, May would’ve wanted to be alone with Ethan, but the sudden bout of mirth cleared her mind inexplicably. She actually hoped that Ryan would join them.
“Yeah, Ryan. Eat with us.” May encouraged him. Ryan agreed, he seemed pleased by the invite. Ethan seemed pleased that May wanted him there. May was just pleased all around.
The three of them sat together, sharing pleasant chatter. “So what did you find out about those disappearing honey bees, May?” Ryan queried from behind a piece of pizza.
“Honey bees?” Ethan repeated, looking at her with interest.
May blushed a little, “Um, nothing yet. It warrants further research.”
Ryan laughed, “Alright, well you let me know when you find anything. I haven’t seen a single bee since you mentioned it, and it’s going to have me up at night.”
May was about to respond, when suddenly Emily appeared by her side. “Emily!” She exclaimed, happy to see her friend there. But when she looked at her face, she realized Emily had tears in her eyes. “Emily!” May exclaimed again, this time in surprise. She stood up and hugged her friend, “what’s the matter?”
Emily’s tears were silent, and she softly said to May, “I think somebody stole my iPod!”
May’s heart sank. Emily had wanted an iPod for months, but her parents wouldn’t buy her one, saying that it was far too much to spend on a little electronic toy. So Emily had gotten a paper route and worked for three months in order to have enough money to buy one for herself. For Emily, this was a huge sacrifice—there was nothing she loved more than sleeping in. She had finally purchased the mp3 player just two weeks ago.
“Oh, no! Oh, Emily! Are you sure you didn’t just misplace it?”
“I’m pretty sure…” Emily’s voice was shaky. “I very clearly remember locking it in my P.E. locker last hour, and when I came back to change, it was missing.” May felt certain now that her friend was right about it being stolen. She felt crushed on Emily’s behalf… small electronics got stolen all the time at school, and they were rarely found.
Ryan’s voice interrupted her thoughts, “Emily, did you report it to the security guard yet?” Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch period.
“Um, n-n-not yet…” Poor Emily was so undone by the theft, she had a hard time answering his question.
“Come with me, I’ll take you to make a report.” Ryan and Ethan were both standing by the two girls, now.
Then, a sudden thought struck May, and she quickly grabbed Emily’s arm. “Thanks, Ryan. But I’ll take her. You guys should get to class, you’ll be late.” She started hauling Emily away with her, then she looked over her shoulder at Ethan, “See you.” She wanted to tell Emily all about their arrangement, but knew this wasn’t the time.
As they passed through the maze of buildings that made up the high school, Emily finally spoke. “Wait, where are we going? The office is that way,” she pointed in the opposite way from where they were headed.
“We’re not going to the office, you’re taking us to my house.” May still held onto Emily as she charged with purpose towards the parking lot.
“But what about my iPod? And we’ll be truant!” Emily exclaimed.
May paused as she considered possible truancy. She had forgotten about needing to be in class. Then she picked up her speed as she realized time was slipping away, and if Emily wanted her iPod back, they would need to act quickly. If they got in trouble for being truant, she would just deal with it then; for now she hoped that the fact that the two of them were good students would protect them from being in any actual trouble.
“Trust me, Emily. I know how we can find out who took your iPod, and if we hurry we will be able to get it back.” They climbed into Emily’s car, and headed towards May’s house. May was hit with the realization that she couldn’t do this without telling Emily all about the mirror. Half of her welcomed sharing this secret with her best friend; it would be a relief to have someone to discuss it with. The other half still wasn’t sure that her experiences in the mirror weren’t just hallucinations. Well, in a few minutes she would know for certain.
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