Page 7 of Better Than Revenge
REVENGE: THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYto get over someone.
I had written those words at the top of a page in my notebook and held it up. We were sitting in a diner in Old Town called the Purple Starfish. It did not sell fish, and nothing was purple, not the walls or the booths or the tiles, not even any of the food. But Deja’s parents owned the place, so she was the only one allowed to make fun of the name and she did, often.
The ocean, out the windows to my right, was rough today, the choppy water churning in the bay. I appreciated its support.
“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes,” Lee said. His boyfriend, Maxwell, sat next to him, leaning forward, elbows on the table. The four of us had become friends freshman year when we were grouped together for a project in biology. The project consisted of explaining a science concept in a creative way. Most of the class did picture essays or science experiments. Maxwell hadsuggested we write a song explaining evolution to the tune of “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift. I swear, Lee fell in love with him in that moment. We all did, really.
“Direct your negativity at ideas for payback,” I said now, cradling my notebook. “Not at my very correct page header.”
“What did Jensen say?” Deja asked, mopping a fry through a pile of ketchup from the basket of fries she’d collected from the kitchen herself. She was supposed to be working, but it was slow today. “Did he try to talk to you? Call you? Text you? I want to know how he attempted to defend himself.”
I swallowed. I didn’t want to share what he said; it’s why I hadn’t up until this point. I was embarrassed.
“Whatever he said,” Deja added, seeming to sense why I wasn’t sharing. “It’s BS. It’s his way to makehimselffeel better.”
She was right. I pulled out my phone and cleared my throat, trying to muster up even more anger to outweigh the hurt. “He said, and I quote:It was both of our ideas. Remember? We brainstormed. And I told the seniors that, by the way. It was the only reason you got picked for research and not left out completely. Because they thought you came up with two pretty solid ideas.”
“No, he didn’t,” Maxwell said. “That’s messed up.”
“It’s not true,” Deja said, putting her hand on my forearm. “You know that, right? That wasyouridea. You told me about it weeks before you brainstormed with Jensen. And today you told me they almost picked two girls for the hosting spot. The other girl was you, Finley. He shouldn’t have tried out, period, let alone stolen your idea to do it.”
“Maybe the other girl wasn’t going to be me,” I said, my eyes on the window again. Pelicans were diving just off the boardwalk, taking advantage of the fish a group of sea lions must’ve corralled.
“It was,” Lee said, pulling my attention back inside.
I wasn’t so sure. Regardless, the thought fueled my anger.
“Did you talk to Nolen or Susie?” Deja asked. “Tell them he stole your idea?”
“And come off like the sore loser who wasn’t chosen?” I asked. “You really think they’d believe me?” The idea of getting rejected again made me want to bury my head in the sand.
“Yeah, probably not,” Deja said.
“What I can’t believe is that he’s trying to take credit for your research spot while at the same time stealing your dream spot,” Max said.
Icouldn’t believe any of this. That my boyfriend, of all people, had done this to me. “My boyfriend,” I said out loud. “He’s still my boyfriend.”
“You don’t think he knows it’s over?” Lee asked. “I mean, I would.”
“You should definitely make it official,” Maxwell said. “But no in-person meeting for him. He didn’t follow any sort of social protocol in what he did. You shouldn’t either. First on the revenge agenda, break up with him over text.”
“I have the best friends,” Deja said.
“To friends who love pettiness,” I said, holding up my Coke, trying to bring some levity to this situation because otherwise I was going to burn from the inside out.
Lee and Maxwell bumped my cup with theirs, and Deja bumped with a fry.
The front door of the diner opened, and a group of four guys walked in. The seagull-teasing football players from school earlier. They had changed out of their jerseys. I was glad to see Jensen wasn’t with them. Not that he would be, because his nemesis, Theo Torres, headed the group. He had the slightest limp, reminding me of his injury from four months ago. Something to do with his knee, if I remembered right. Whatever it was, it had allowed Jensen to score a much-needed field goal in the last game of the season. That clutch play, along with the fact that Theo was graduating, pretty much secured Jensen’s place as the starting kicker next year.
Jensen really was going to have a perfect senior year. His dream, my dream, he got it all.
“Theo is so hot,” Maxwell mumbled.
“Hello, I’m sitting right here,” Lee said.
“You know he is,” Max said.
Lee nodded. “Everyone knows he is.”