Read Diamonds: Life According to Maps | Book Two for Free Online

face. “King Chicken, remember?”
    A look of shock, followed by one of ease crossed Perry’s face. “Oh! It was you in that mascot costume? Maps, you said? I never saw your face.”
    “Oh, well, this is my face.” Maps looked at his watch again. “I didn’t know you went to the same school as me.”
    “I just transferred here from another school. Are you okay? I was kind of worried about you the other day at Chicken Castle. What were those jerks saying?”
    “Well, for starters, I was about to deliver onto one of them the beat-down of his life. Secondly, I kind of just got in a fight with my, er, boyfriend. Or I guess ex-boyfriend. Or maybe not even boyfriend. We didn’t discuss it.”
    “Oh,” Perry replied. He had a funny look on his face.
    Maps looked at his watch again. “I gotta go. See you around school.” And then he was off.
    When he got to his locker, his incredibly rude friend Benji, who was leaning against his locker trying to look like James Dean, didn’t even say hi.
    “Who was that?” Benji asked, arms crossed.
    “Who?” Maps looked back over his shoulder. “Oh, that’s Perry. We work together at Chicken Castle.”
    “Hmmm,” Benji replied, stroking his chin as though he had a long beard and wears of wisdom in it. “He likes you.”
    Maps burst out laughing.
    “What?” Benji said, standing up straighter. “He does! I can tell. I have an eye for these things. Romance and wooing and such.”
    “Not everyone who talks to me is gay. Or likes me.”
    “No, but he is gay, and he does like you.”
    “Just because he wears little polka dot bow ties and rainbow bracelets and has a really sparkly nose piercing does not mean he’s gay, Benji.”
    “Uh, I know that,” Benji said, pointing over Maps’ shoulder and toward Perry. “But he’s wearing a gigantic Gay and Proud button, and won’t stop looking over here at you.”
    Maps looked over his shoulder. Perry smiled and waved frantically. He waved back, then turned to Benji.
    “You’re nuts,” Maps said.
    “Oh, Maps,” Benji replied, tossing his arm over his friend’s shoulders. “How are you ever going to make it through life?”

----
    M aps had no idea how he was ever going to make it through life.
    The first class of the day, and already he was miserable. And it wasn’t even because of Lane.
    Okay, it was somewhat because of Lane, somewhat because he couldn’t seem to focus on anything the teacher was saying which was definitely not a side effect of the lack o’ Lane.
    Maps fiddled with his pencil. Benji sat right in front of him. He wondered if he could get away with drawing on the back of Benji’s neck without him noticing. Probably not. He was considering it, though.
    There was way too much sunlight in this classroom—a blinding amount. Maybe he could focus if a supernova wasn’t directly outside their classroom window reflecting its annoying rays onto his glass lenses.
    First world problems , he thought.
    Then he remembered the way that sunlight reflected against Lane’s hair and his stomach gave a twist.
    Benji swiftly turned around and glared at Maps.
    “Would you stop fidgeting and making dying puppy noises?” Benji snapped in a whisper.
    “I’m not fidgeting,” Maps snapped back, because, why the heck not? He was bored and totally not thinking about Lane, so he might as well annoy Benji.
    Benji turned back around. Now Maps was back to fidgeting with his pencil.
    Just when he thought he might take the risk and begin drawing on the back of Benji’s neck, the bell rang. Other students began filing out of the classroom in a hurry, while he stood slowly and tossed his bag over his shoulder.
    “Come on, Romeo,” Benji said as he began walking out of the doorway.
    Maps trudged along after him. “I need to stop at my locker.”
    “Okay, but be fast. I want to get to our next class a little early.”
    “Be fast, he says,” said Maps. “What would I possibly do at my locker that would keep me there?”
    They