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over. Because I want to annoy you. Take your pick.”
    She shook her head and threw her dish towel at me.
    “Fine,” she sighed dramatically. “I suppose I can save you some and you can tell me what you think later. But don’t be too late, okay?”
    I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, grabbed my beat-up rucksack, and headed for the door. Tossing the bag on my back, I jumped on my bike and heard the rattling sound again. I needed to get that figured out before I headed to Seattle. I probably won’t have the time to screw around with my bike once I start working.
    I was already in a bad mood when I pulled into the parking lot. The rattling seemed to have gotten worse at every stop. It sounded like it was the clutch side of the engine, but I wouldn’t be able to take a look until later, and I knew it would bother me all day. While I parked my bike, I noticed Josh Fletcher waving me over. He was standing with his girlfriend and looking miserable.
    “Hey, man,” I greeted him.
    I was lucky to have Josh for a lab partner considering some of the alternatives in our class. He knew what he was doing and never bailed on our assignments. He had a good head on his shoulders and never seemed to let shit bother him. If he did, he never let it show. But today he looked really stressed out.
    “Luke, please tell me you still have your copy of the lab that’s due today. I’m dying here.”
    “Yeah, I still have it. Why?”
    “I love her, but Danielle here had to visit every limousine company in the Greater Seattle area before settling on the perfect one for the prom,” he began, rolling his eyes. “I was trying to tweak a few things in our report while she talked for- ev-er with every sales rep at every place we visited.” It was Danielle’s turn to roll her eyes clearly not feeling very apologetic. “I must have left it in one of the thirteen places we went to.”
    “Jesus, Josh,” Danielle chided, “reel it in a little, will ya?” Dismissing him, she turned to me. “So, Luke, I have the perfect limo booked. Have you got yours reserved yet? We have room in ours!”
    “Prom’s not really my thing,” I replied. It was definitely not part of my Surviving-the-Next-Twenty-Two-Days Plan.
    “Not your thing?” she asked incredulously. “But Luke, it’s a rite of passage. How can a rite of passage not be your thing? Please tell me that you’re at least going to the bonfire?!” She seemed truly upset now. I knew she meant well, but I was starting to feel as annoyed as Josh.
    “Hate to disappoint, kid. Bonfires aren’t my thing either. Don’t worry about the lab, man,” I added, speaking directly to Josh before she could argue with me anymore. “It’s fine the way it is. We’ll just turn in this one. I’ll catch you later.” I started walking away and turned back to nod a goodbye to Danielle.
    “I’m not giving up on you, Luke!” she yelled as I walked off.
    Awesome .
    My day wasn’t getting any better. Between Grace’s culinary ambush, my messed up bike and now Danielle’s sudden desire to adopt me as a pet project, I would’ve been better off staying in bed. Detention definitely sounded less painful.
    The first two periods of the day were generally uneventful. Most of my teachers were reviewing for finals and the kids that decided to show up for class weren’t interested. It seemed like a lot of people decided that today was a good day to stay home. I silently cursed myself for ignoring my instinct to stay in bed. The only thing keeping me sane was the knowledge that I had time to head over to the gym and have a cigarette after western civ.
    As I sat in class, listening to that idiot Mrs. Dupont drone on about the Civil War, my mind wandered envisioning life in Seattle. I was picturing myself behind the bar, mixing one of those drinks with ridiculous names that girls order when they want to talk dirty without feeling guilty. My mood had greatly improved due to my fantasies of coeds and cocktails by the