The Spark of Jealousy

The popcorn bowl sat between us, a fluffy white mountain dotted with golden kernels. Katie was mid-story, her hands animated as she described how James had helped her with her math homework yesterday. Her eyes sparkled with a light that had nothing to do with the flickering television screen. "And then," she giggled, "he actually *got* it! Mrs. Davison said he was a natural. He made it seem so easy, Sophia. He even drew me a little picture of the equation. It was so funny!"

A tiny, sharp prickle started somewhere behind my ribs. It wasn't a big pain, not at first, just a little sting. James had drawn Katie a picture? Of a math equation? My mind conjured an image of James, his brow furrowed in concentration, a smile playing on his lips as he sketched out numbers for Katie. It felt…unfair. Why was he helping *her*? I hadn't even asked him about the math, but suddenly, I wished I had. Maybe he would have helped me too. Maybe he would have drawn *me* a picture.

"Oh, cool," I managed, trying to keep my voice light. I reached for a handful of popcorn, but my fingers fumbled, and a few kernels tumbled back into the bowl. Katie didn't seem to notice, too caught up in her James-induced glow.