After almost a week of begging Liz and Lisa finally convinced Mr. Koffi to let the seniors take a day off school to clean their community.  The girls took care of everything, from having cleaning batons and garbage bags shipped to the school and creating groups of students to send to different areas of Sunset. Of course, they assigned themselves and their friends up to the abandoned mine. While they obviously had to clean, a day off school would clearly mostly be spent goofing around. Especially since getting an extra day off school meant relinquishing senior ditch day. Not that they actually would.

VJ reached for Liz’ hand as they picked their way up the gravel path “Malady.” grinned, bowing in mock chivalry.  He lifted Liz' arm and twirled her around, dipping her into a quick, showy kiss.

Liz laughed, holding VJ back with a gentle hand as he tried to kiss her again, “We can’t goof around too much.” She skipped ahead, glancing over her shoulder,

“Oh come on. Look how many of us there are here.” He playfully jogged after her, Nikes crunching through the quiet outside the mine,

Parker lingered a few paces behind. His eyes flickered from Liz and VJ to Holly. He reached for her hand, squeezing it a little tighter whenever Liz and VJ touched. Honestly…he felt like he could punch a wall.

Liz looked at them peripherally. She pretended to be busy, tying a trash bag.

Lisa glanced back and forth between the couples, noticing the way hands kept finding hands but somehow hers was still empty. Instead of spending time with her, Jefferey leaned against the mine entrance vaping, His eyes were distant, fixed somewhere far away

“Everyone else seems to be having fun,” She said softly, “And you’re getting lit during school hours?” She reached for his hand. 

He didn't take it. Instead he turned and looked away.. “I’m fucking bored. You and Liz with your dumb ass ideas…”

She bit her lip, “Come on Jeff. It’s better than being in class all day. Why all the attitude?”

He sighed, reluctantly taking her hand, “Stress I guess.” He smiled slyly, “How about the two of us hang out inside instead?” He tilted his head to the mine.

She shook her head, pulling back, “We have to clean–”

He rolled his eyes, “Come on, Lisa. Aren’t you tired?”

“Tired?”

“Of being ‘perfect’ all the time. Don’t you just wanna chill? Have fun?” He asked, “For once in your fucking life...” He said under his breath.

Her heart started beating a little faster. For her, perfection was fun. She had a plan; Graduate as valedictorian, get into Lumiere, graduate with her BCOM. If at some point Jefferey proposed to her, then she’d feel happy to do what she thought he was implying. She and Liz agreed, they only wanted to ever be with one person in that way. Not just give it away…

 She shook her head, “You know Liz and I have everything all planned out–”

Jefferey’s eyes darkened, “She’s not as keen on that plan as you think.” 

Lisa’s brow furrowed, “What do you mean?”

He paused. He knew more than he let on. On nights when Jeff would sit outside smoking and staring into the valley, he definitely had seen Parker sneaking to and from Elizabeth’s bedroom at ungodly hours. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. 

“Nothing. I Just–” He studied her face, “Give me something. You know? I am a guy. If you don’t… I’m gonna have to start finding it elsewhere.”

Lisa felt her heart break a little. She looked at the ground, “Like… You’ll break up with me? I thought you loved me.” Her chest felt tight,

He rolled his eyes, “Babe, I do but-” He shrugged, looking her up and down, “Come on. Be realistic.” 

She looked back at the other couples. They laughed, they shared sweet touches, they were effortlessly connected. She knew Holly was too shy to be doing those things with Parker so quickly. She highly doubted Liz had to do anything to get a guy to worship her. Kaylynn was already considered the prettiest girl in school… Perhaps it was just her problem. She looked up at Jeff. If she wanted to keep him, maybe she just had to do more than other girls… 

Her hand trembled as she pulled him into the mine and gently pushed him against the cold cave wall. “I’m not… comfortable having sex, J.”

He shook his head slowly, narrowing his eyes, “So what are we doing here then?”

She got on her knees, her voice breaking a bit, “Will this be enough?” 

Lynn stabbed her grabber stick into a pile of crushed soda cans and  scraped then off into her garbage bag. Around her the couples had paired off. Liz and VJ were off in their own world twirling and Parker and Holly held hands while picking up trash together. She laughed at literally everything he said. Lisa and Jeff had disappeared together into the cave probably making out, or fighting, or both, and the only person still cleaning was Lynn, left alone with her thoughts in a field full of other people’s messes.

She bent to free a wet crumpled piece of notebook paper stuck under a rock. Her gloves crinkled as she unfolded it. It was someone’s half written love note, with heats dotting the i’s and tiny doodles. She smiled before sighing and dropping it into her bag. 

 It kind of sucked being the only one who was single. Most of the time it felt freeing. She didn’t have to worry about going through anyone else when she wanted to do something or feel pressure to get physical… Though she did love love. Just the idea of being with any of the guys from her school totally turned her off… Any guy period. And the fact that it turned her off made her feel like maybe something was wrong with her. According to everyone she could have anyone she wanted, yet she didn't want anyone. 

She straightened up, glancing over just as Parker bent down to let Holly climb on his back. Both of them laughed so hard together, her pony tail swooshing behind them. Her smile could light up a whole room. At least he was making her happy.

“Lynn-Lynn!” Liz voice cut through her thoughts as she ran up to her, wrapping her arms around her, nearly knocking the grabber stick out of Lynn’s hand.

Lynn forced a smile, “Careful. You could poke an eye out.”

Liz laughed, “Sorry we totally abandoned you. We’ve all been so obsessed with our boyfriends.” She said, her gaze slid back to Parker and Holly. Parker rolled his eyes,

Lynn shrugged, “No, it’s okay I–”

“Holly, come here!” Liz shouted, waving her over,

Holly said something to Parker as he stooped to let her down. She jogged over, leaving him behind and joining the two girls.

“We totally left Lynn to do all the work by herself.” Liz announced, sliding her arm around Lynn’s shoulders.

Lynn rolled her eyes, but she let herself be pulled in. Liz was a little infectious that way. She could never stay annoyed too long. 

Being in a relationship had its perks, but right now she was okay just having friends by her side. But she did wonder what it could be like to be the one getting a love letter from someone who actually made her heart flutter.

The following day Mrs. Andrews walked up and down the isles of desks, handing out papers from the first calculus test of the semester. Lisa obviously glided through every problem like it was simple 1 + 1 equations but it didn’t come as naturally to Liz. Having Lisa as a best friend was thankfully like having a 24/7 tutor but she couldn’t rely on her for occasions like this.

Liz heart beat a little faster as she received her paper, flipping it over. Her eyes darted for the score in the corner, circled in red pen.

Lisa leaned over, “What did you get?” Mrs. Andrews placed her paper on her desk as she asked,

Liz exhaled, playing with the heart charm on her Tiffany's pendant, “A 91. It's not my best but at least it’s above 90.” She watched the number like it might change if she blinked hard enough,

Lisa nodded, “Tell me about it. I got a 97.” 

Liz rolled her eyes. She knew a 91 wasn't a bad score, unlike Lisa. But she promised her mother nothing less than a 95 this year. She was already accepted into Lumiere and it was still an A so she didn’t need to worry about that. It was just that she could already hear her mother’s voice in her head. Perfection was a moving target that she was always just a hair behind.

As the dismissal chimes rang, the students stood up from their desks and funneled into the halls. Liz and Lisa walked to the back of the class instead. Parker lounged with his feet on the back of the chair in front of him, Holly tucked her test into her notebook and Jeff sat texting on his phone.

“So, what's the verdict?” Lisa asked, hiking her bag higher on her shoulder,

Holly stood, putting her notebook in her bag, “85.” She looked satisfied with that.

“77. Good enough for me.” Jeff pressed the button on the side of his phone, shoving it into his pocket.

Liz rolled her eyes, “Mom’s gonna lose it, you know.”

He scoffed, “Maybe for you.”

“And Lumiere will not be impressed.” She tucked her curls over her shoulder, crossing her arms.

He shrugged, “You're out of your mind if you think our grades matter. Nepotism and dad’s deep pockets are worth way more than our transcripts.”

Lisa fixed the hem of her skirt and crossing her arms, “He’s not wrong, At least about the acceptance part of it. You’re the only ones who’ve heard back.” 

She tried to sound breezy but it did bug her a little that their grades were lower, yet they had acceptance and she didn’t. She wished she didn't have to work hard to ensure a spot. Though she knew Liz was obviously at least trying to maintain her academic standing. 

Liz squeezed her arm, “You’ll know by November. I promise. You're gonna get in and you're gonna be the cutest valedictorian Sunset’s ever had.”  

Parker finally stood up, a lazy grin on his face, “I got a 71. C’s get degrees, right?”

Holly laughed bumping his arm with hers, “You’d better make sure you land that sports scholarship this season.”

The group drifted through the door and into the halls. As they dispersed to their second period classes, Jeff and Lisa walked hand in hand together. For the first time in what felt like forever, Jeff actually seemed happy to be standing beside her, though she couldn't say she was proud of the reason why. She squeezed his hand tighter anyway. 

Jeff tugged her out a side door and onto the fire escape. She laughed as the stone steps scratched their shoes, “What are you doing? We’re going to be late.”

“What if we skip?” His voice was low enough to get lost in the wind,

“What?” She blinked,

He squeezed her fingers, “You’re a straight A student. I’m already accepted into Lumiere. There’s nothing we can't catch up with.” He lifted her hand, giving it a gentle kiss, “Come have fun with me.”

She hesitated, Sucking on his…you know what…in the mine was one thing. Giving up her perfect attendance was something else. But he looked at her so sweetly, and down the hall she could see VJ showing off Liz to the football guys like she was this prize. She sighed and nodded, taking his hand again and following him up to the steps. 

They sat, still holding hands, listening to the muffled student voices from inside, 

“So, what do you do when you skip class?” She finally asked, trying to sound casual,

He looked at her and smirked, “Oh yeah. I forgot you’ve never skipped a class before.” He paused, voice turning sly, “We don’t have to be in a bed to go all the way, you know.”

She huffed, feeling her cheeks turn red, "Seriously, Jefferey?" She moved to stand, but he caught her wrist,

“I’m playing.” He laughed, tugging her back down, “But I won't lie. Parker and I used to do a lot of shit you wouldn’t like when we skipped.”

“Oh.” Lisa looked down, fixing the sleeve on her blazer, “That stuff?”

Jeff shrugged, pulling a cigarette from his pocket, “You hang with me, you do what I do.”

She glanced inside, checking for teachers before taking it from him and tossing it into a rose bush below, "Gross." She shifted back on the step, "You used to be so happy just hanging out, doing well in school, watching movies..."

“It just doesn’t feel real anymore I guess.”

Lisa stayed silent as Jeff stared at her,

“I can’t shake this constant…boredom? Apathy…” He shook his head, “I don’t know how you don’t feel it,”

She played with her hair, still staring at the stone steps below them,

He sighed, “We have the entire world at our fingertips and yet somehow actual choices aren’t an option.” He leaned back “I’m impressed, honestly, how naive you really are.”

“I’m not that naive.” She crossed her arms,

He watched her for a second, then softened, “You are. But it's okay. It’s cute.” He leaned in and kissed her, before she could protest.