Page 5 of Escape
“You don’t have to do that, Huck.”
I pulled out my sandwiches—my mom always packed me two—and held them out to her. “There’s ham and cheese with mayo or turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.”
“Huck, I can’t take your food,” she argued.
“Of course, you can. Which do you want?”
Her eyes dropped to the sandwiches, lingering on the turkey in a way that felt a lot like longing.
To save her from having to admit it, I said, “I’d prefer the ham and cheese, if that makes your decision easier.”
She returned her attention to my face. “You really don’t mind sharing?”
I shook my head. “My mom would be so mad if I didn’t.”
A small smile was back on her face as she took the sandwich from me. “Thank you, Huck.”
“You’re welcome.”
For the first few seconds, I didn’t say anything. I simply took my time eating as I watched Josie. She ate the sandwich like it was the best thing she’d tasted in her whole life, like I would have eaten if it had been hours since I last ate. I wondered if there was something she wasn’t telling me.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
She nodded, chewed, and swallowed. “It’s delicious. Please give your mom my compliments.”
“Oh, if you think that’s good, you have to try one of her breakfast sandwiches,” I told her. “Eggs, bacon, and cheese on a toasted and buttered bagel. There’s nothing like them.”
“That sounds wonderful. I bet they’re good.”
Doing my best to remain nonchalant, I said, “I can bring one for you tomorrow.”
Josie had been lifting the sandwich to her mouth, but at that statement, she stopped the movement of her hands and replied, “That’s okay. Don’t trouble her with that.”
“She’s already making one for me,” I reasoned. “I mean, unless you don’t like bacon.”
Josie’s eyes widened and practically fell out of her head. “I love bacon. Are you joking?”
I laughed. “Then don’t worry about it. I’ll bring it to class tomorrow morning. You know Mr. Lewis doesn’t care if we eat in class when we’re taking notes during a lecture.”
“That’s very kind of you to offer,” she said softly.
I pulled out the bag of grapes my mom had put in my lunch, set them in the middle of the table, and said, “Help yourself to some grapes. And hey, it’s the least I can do to show you how grateful I am that I got a good partner for this science project. I keep thinking about how awful this would be if I got stuck with someone who wouldn’t put in the effort that you do.”
Josie reached for a couple of grapes and smiled at me. “Yeah, I’m glad I got the partner I did, too.”
For the remainder of lunch, Josie and I kept our conversation casual, mostly talking about school and upcoming tests or assignments we each had. All throughout, I shared my food with her, noting the way her entire demeanor had changed from earlier that morning. Had she merely been hungry? Was her family struggling?
I didn’t want to ask and embarrass her, but I kept that thought in the back of my head and resolved myself to the fact that I was going to make sure I always had enough with me to share with her.
“I’ll call you as soon as we’re done.”
My mom was smiling brightly at me. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was on the verge of tears.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my hand on the door handle.
She lifted her hand to the side of my face and stroked her thumb over my cheek. “I’m so proud of you, kiddo. You’ve turned things around tremendously this year, and it makes me so happy to see you so eager for school again. I’m happy you’ve met this girl.”
“She’s just my partner for science class,” I maintained, even though I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t starting to feel something else for her.