I gave a mental shrug and went back to my well-worn copy of Jane Eyre. As long as they left me alone, they could think whatever they wanted.

The chair across from me scraped over the floor as someone pulled it out and sat down. I didn’t bother to look up. “Go away, I’m busy.”

A hand snaked out to grab one of my fries. When I didn’t object it reached for another one. I pushed the plate toward them. “Help yourself.”

“Hmm, I don’t see any bruised knuckles. What did you do, take a baseball bat to him?”

I lifted my gaze to Roland Greene’s laughing blue eyes. He leaned toward me and his dark bangs fell over forehead. “So?” he asked, pushing his hair back. It was a useless gesture. I kept telling him he needed to cut it but he said the girls liked it that way. Based on the number of girls making cow eyes at him right now, he was probably right.

“So what?”

Roland snorted. “Don’t even go there. What happened?”

I picked up my Coke can and took a long swallow, debating whether or not to tell Roland the truth. He wouldn’t repeat it if I asked him not to, but there was no way he’d be able to hide his gloating and that would just confirm everyone’s suspicions. Scott wasn’t on his favorites list either.

“Hey, did you guys see Scott Foley’s face? I heard some gang beat him up.” Peter Kelly took the chair next to Roland, his cheeks flushed and his rusty hair sticking out at all angles as usual. His green eyes flashed as he leaned in and lowered his voice. “Of course that’s not half as interesting as the other story I heard.” He gave me a meaningful look.

I shook my head. “Sorry to disappoint –”

“Sara almost made him cry.”

My mouth fell open as I swung my head to stare at Jeffrey.

Roland smirked at me and slid his chair over next to Jeffrey. “Is that so? Why don’t you tell us about it?”

I shook my head. “You weren’t there, Jeffrey.”

“Ha! So you did do it.” Roland crowed.

Peter’s eyes widened. “You really beat up Scott Foley? How is that possible?”

“Hey!”

“No offense, Sara, but Scott is way bigger than you and… well you’re a girl.”

“Gee thanks for pointing that out.”

“She’s the best fighter I ever saw,” Jeffrey declared. “I was on the wharf and I saw it all. She was super fast too.”

Roland grinned wickedly and moved back across from me. “So now are you gonna tell us what happened?”

“I hit him. He hit me. We went our separate ways.”

“Nice try. We want details,” Peter said.

I took another sip of Coke, wondering how much I could tell them. “Scott was tormenting a cat.” I said in a low voice, not wanting to share with the whole cafeteria. “I overreacted a bit and hit him. There’s really not much to tell.”

“She kicked him in the privates too,” Jeffrey piped in loudly, making Roland and Peter wince. I heard snickers from the table closest to us.

Peter looked at my hands. “How is it you hit him hard enough to break his nose and your knuckles aren’t even red? And I don’t see any bruises on your face either.”

“You know I hardly ever bruise. Besides Scott barely touched me.” And I have the world’s best first aid kit at home.

Roland shook his head. “I don’t know what it is with you and Scott. He always gets weird around you.” He chewed another fry. “He’s never going to live down getting his butt kicked by a girl. Sorry, Sara, but it’s true. I’d feel bad for him if he wasn’t such an ass.”

I could only shrug because I was not proud of what I’d done. It was true that I didn’t like Scott but I’d attacked him, not the other way around. And I knew, even if Scott didn’t, that it wasn’t exactly a fair fight.

I glanced at my watch. I still had about twenty minutes left before English but I had no desire to sit here and relive the whole Scott thing again. “Well boys, it’s been fun but I gotta run.”

“Wait.” Roland laid a hand over my book before I could take it. “Friday night Pete and me are going to hear Dylan’s new band play at the Attic. You want to come?”

I made a face. “Is he still doing that rap thing?”

“Nah his new band is more rock… kind of like Pearl Jam. They’re pretty good.”

“I don’t know.”

Roland tilted his head to one side and gave me a dimpled smile. “Come on. We haven’t hung out in ages.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “You know that doesn’t work on me, right? Besides, don’t you guys have camping or something this weekend?” For the last few years, Roland and Peter had been going on weekend outdoor trips with their cousins once a month. Their families were close and they did a lot of things together. Roland complained about having family always up in his business but I envied him. My dad and I were close like that before he died.

“We just got back.” Peter shook his head at Roland. “I can’t believe we were gone a whole weekend and she didn’t even notice.”

Roland put on a wounded expression. “That hurts.”

I grinned at their lame antics. “After a weekend in the woods, I’m surprised you don’t have a date lined up for Friday night already, Roland.”

“Sara, you know you’re the only girl for me.” He laid a hand over his heart. “I’m just passing time until you realize that.”