Book 1 Silent Longing
Book 1: Silent Longing
By I. Diaz
Author’s Note: This is book 1 in a 4 book series that I never finished, and wrote between the ages of 14 and 16. It deals with a lot of soap opera-like issues (rape, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, etc) that sprung from watching way too much television (I’m guessing). Also, it is uploaded as I found it, and hasn’t been proofread or altered in any way since I was 14, so there’s potentially a lot of dumb stuff ahead. Plus, it was like year 4 of me speaking English … so …
Chapter One
“Looks like everyone from school showed up,” Jessica Heart said, looking around the crowded lot.
Roxanne Perez nodded. “I wasn’t expecting so many people, it’s only a practice game, anyway.
“Street hockey bites the big one,” Alix Morris stated, crossing her arms against her chest. “Why are we here anyway?”
“We are here for moral support,” Jessica answered, pushing away the strands of black hair that had fallen on her face.
“Besides, they might actually be good this year,” Roxanne said, catching her brown curls with a scrunchie. “They got a new player, who’s supposed to be great.”
“Woo-ee,” Alix said, twirling her index finger in a circle. “I can barely contain my excitement. Hold me back, guys, before I jump into the game.”
Jessica laughed.
“I think it’s about to start,” Roxanne said.
“Oh, joy,” Alix said. “Really, you guys, standing around an overcrowded parking lot, watching a bunch of barbarians with sticks beat the crap out of each other over a little black puck, is not my idea of fun. Especially on the last day of summer vacation.”
“Shhh! They’re lining up.”
Alix rolled her eyes, and turned to a person she didn’t know. “Excuse me,” she said, “would you mind whacking me really hard over the head? I promise not to sue if it leads to like a case of terminal amnesia or something.”
B.J. McNair took a deep breath, and looked around the crowd. He hadn’t expected so many people.
“Hey, McNair, look alive,” the coach told him.
B.J smiled weakly.
“Okay, then, let’s show them what we’re made of!,” cried their coach.
“Yeah!” echoed the team.
And the Baldwin Falcons hockey team took a place on the field.
* * *
Mathew Collins made his way to the front of the crowd, and sighed. “What’s the score?” he asked a girl with short brown hair.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I’m trying to block everything out using self-imposed-hypnosis. So far all I’m getting are clicking noises. Click. Click. Click.”
“Excuse her,” said another girl. She had long black hair, and gorgeous dark blue eyes. “She’s going through a difficult stage right now.”
“Yeah, it’s called insanity,” another girl added. She had permed brown hair, and large brown eyes.
Mathew smiled.
“And they call themselves my best friends,” the girl with short brown said, shaking her head.
“No we don’t,” the one with curly brown hair stated. She looked at Mathew and smiled. “We have never seen this girl before in our lives.”
The girl with short brown hair shook her head. “If you say so, Rox.” She looked at Mathew. “My name’s Alix, by the way. Voted most likely to wear a straightjacket before the age of seventeen by last year’s sophomore class.”
“Right,” said the girl with permed hair. “I’m Roxanne Perez, know by all as Rox.”
“I’m Madonna,” said the girl with black hair. “But my street name is Jessica, a.k.a. Jess.”
Mathew smiled. “Mathew Collins,” he said, looking at all three of them. “Nice to meet you.”
“What team are you cheering for?” asked Jessica.
Mathew shrugged. “No one really.”
Roxanne frowned. “What school do you go to?”
“I’m not sure,” he answered. “I think it’s Bluedin High, or something.” He paused. “I’m new here.”
“You mean Baldwin High?” Alix asked.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Mathew answered.
The crowd around them went wild.
“That B.J. guy’s amazing,” Jessica said. “He’s scored five in a row.”
“Is that the new guy?” Roxanne asked.
“Yeah,” Jessica answered, running her fingers through her long black hair. “He’s kind of cute, too.”
“Oh, please, Jess,” Alix said. “You’ve only seen him zoom by you. Besides, he’s wearing a helmet, and sunglasses. What do you mean he’s kind of cute?”
“It’s a figure of speech,” Jessica answered.
“I’m sure,” Alix said, rolling her large green eyes heavenly. “So Mathew, are you a hockey fan?”
Mathew nodded. “I used to be captain of my school’s hockey team back in Seattle.”
Alix shook her head. “It’s so hard to find good men these days.”
Mathew looked at her. “You don’t like hockey?”
“That would be an understatement,” Alix answered. “Hate is more like it. Despise it.”
“How come?”
“It’s a mystery to even us, her best friends,” Jessica answered. “All we can say is that she’s mentally detached, and hockey triggers some sort of wierd phsycological mechanism.”
“Do you see what I put up with?” Alix asked, pointing back and forth between Jessica and Roxanne.
Mathew laughed.
The crowd went wild again.
“It was Alex this time,” Jessica told them. “Boy, we’re crushing them.”
“Go Alex!” Roxanne yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Who’s Alex?” Mathew asked.
“He’s Rox’s wanna be boyfriend,” Alix answered
“But he’s too stubborn to admit that he likes her,” Jessica told him.
“And she’s too stubborn to admit that she likes him,” Alix added.
“I am not!” Roxanne argued.
“See?” said Jessica. “It’s kind of sad, when you come to think about it.”
“Very sad,” Alix agreed. “In fact, I’m leaving this depressing scene, and I’m going to The Hut. Anyone care to join me?”
Jessica and Roxanne looked at each other, and shrugged.
“It’s kind of obvious who’s gonna win this game,” Roxanne said.
Jessica nodded, and looked at Mathew. “What about you, Mathew, want to join us for good music, and bad food?”
Mathew looked at the game, and then back at Jessica’s gleaming blue eyes. “Sure.”
“Attention all passengers boarding flight 918 with service to Miami, Florida in the United States,” called the P.A. system. “This is the last call for all first class passengers…”
Nika Schmid picked up her backpack and swung it over her shoulder. She took a deep breath, walked over to the large window overlooking the runway, and stared up at the sky. “Goodbye, Australia,” she whispered, her brown eyes sparkling with tears.
“Nik,” called her little brother. “Let’s go. We gotta board now.”
Nika sighed. “Coming,” she said, and looked out the window for the last time.
Alexander Woods skated around the lot. He had control of the puck, and there were ten seconds left of the game. He passed the puck to B.J. McNair, and skated closer to the goalie’s box. B.J. passed the puck back to him, and he slammed the puck with all his might.
Alex felt his heart stop, as he stared expectantly at the puck. The crowd was silent.
The goalie tried blocking the puck, but missed. And it flew smoothly into the net.
The crowd went wild.
* * *
“This is The Beach Hut,” announced Alix, sliding into an available booth right next to the window. “It’s not much now, but at night it’s an animal house.”
“She exaggerates greatly,” Roxanne said, sliding in beside her.
“Yes, I do, actually,” Alix admitted. “It used to be really cool until the band quit. Then it was downhill from there.”
“May I help you?” asked a waiter.
They all looked at each other.
“You know, now that I think about it, I’m not all that hungry,” Roxanne said.
“Me neither,” Alix admitted.
“I’m not hungry,” Mathew said.
“How about some water?” Roxanne told the waiter.
“Water,” Alix agreed.
Mathew shrugged. “Water’s fine.”
“Oh, and would you bring another glass?” Roxanne asked. “Our forth party isn’t here yet.”
The waiter rolled his eyes, and shook his head. “Coming right up.”
“This isn’t our usual hangout,” Roxanne said, when the waiter had gone. “We just come here when we go to the beach.”
“I see,” said Mathew, he looked over his shoulder in the direction the waiter had gone. “Here comes Jessica.”
“She took long enough,” Roxanne commented.
“Maybe she fell in,” Alix suggested.
“Sorry,” Jessica said, sliding in beside Mathew. “Guess who I ran into on the way back from the bathroom?”
“Those freaks from the Publisher’s Clearing House, and they offered you a check for twenty million dollars?” Alix guessed.
“Oh, right, like she needs the money,” Roxanne stated, dryly.
The waiter came back with a pitcher of water, and placed four glasses on the table. “Would you like anything else?”
When they all shook their heads, the waiter rolled his eyes again, and walked away.
“Good afternoon,” said an icy voice.
“Well, well,” Roxanne said. “I see the dog pound got filled up.”
Lynn Hauffman looked at her sharply. “Roxanne, I woudn’t be talking if I were you. Oh, by the way, I saw your little boyfriend at the hockey game. He seemed dissappointed when he saw you weren’t in the stands. Of course, all those girls crowding around him after the game might have made him feel a little better.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Roxanne muttered.
“Whatever,” Lynn said. She turned to Jessica. “You know, Jessica. Ever since your parents died, you’ve been hanging around these middle class losers. If they could see you now, they’d turn over in their graves.”
“Don’t you dare talk about my parents,” Jessica said sternly. “You know very well they weren’t the type to judge other people. Otherwise, my father would’ve never done business with your family.”
Lynn laughed. “You are so naive, Jessica.” She looked at Alix and smiled. “I won’t even waste my breath on you.” She noticed Mathew, and smiled even wider. “Well, hello there.” She stretched out her well manicured hand. “Lynn Hauffman.”
Mathew looked at her hand, and then at Jessica’s crestfallen face. “I don’t know you, but I don’t think you have any right to talk to Jessica that way,” he told Lynn seriously.
Lynn looked shocked for a second, but soon regained her posture. “My, my, Jessica. I see you’ve found yourself a little bodyguard. How much are you paying him? And what else are you paying him for ?”
Jessica stood up, and towered over Lynn. “I would love nothing more than to slap you silly upside the head, but I refuse to sink down to your level.” She pushed Lynn out of her way, and walked out of the restaurant.
“Snippy aren’t we,” Lynn called after Jessica. She turned back to the group. “After her parent’s death, she’s become such a loser, hasn’t she? And to think that her parents left her such a grand fortune. It’s almost sad, isn’t it?” She looked at her reflection in the window, and straightened out her stream of blonde curls. “Well, I’ll see you all tomorrow. First days of school are so exciting.” She blew a kiss at Mathew, and walked away.
“Oh, how I hate her,” said Roxanne, clenching her fists.
“Poor Jessica,” Alix added, shaking her head.
“Shouldn’t one of you go after her?” Mathew asked, looking out the window.
Roxanne shook her head. “She’s better off by herself right now.” She looked down at her hands. “She was very affected by her parents death.”
Mathew looked at her.
Roxanne leaned forward. “She can’t know that I told you, alright?”
Mathew nodded.
Roxanne took a deep breath, and looked at Alix. “Okay,” she began, turning back to Mathew. “Jessica’s parents were the owners of the Heart Corporation. Heard of it?”
Mathew looked surprised. “The Heart Corporation is one of the biggest in the world. It’s kind of hard not to have heard of it.” He paused. “You’re kidding, right? That corporation has billions of dollars.”
“Yeah, and Jessica inherited everything,” Alix told him. “Two years ago Jessica’s parents got a business call from France. The person on the line claimed to be the president of one of the buildings in Paris, and told them the building had caught on fire. Of course they jumped on the first flight to Paris. But when they got there it turned out to be a prank call. They never found out who did call. Then, on the flight back, the plane blew up crossing the Atlantic. They spent weeks looking for the bodies. But with an explosion like that there wasn’t much to be found. An arm here, a leg there.”
“Jessica was home alone at the time, of course,” Roxanne said, sadly. “When they told her the news she went nuts. Had a nervous breakdown right there in the living room.”
Mathew’s eyes widened. “I think I read about that in the papers.”
Alix nodded. “It made front pages everywhere. It was a major story. She’s an only child, so the whole fortune, including the corporation itself, was left to her. It wasn’t hard to figure out appropriate headlines: ‘FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD INHERITS FOUR BILLION DOLLARS’. The newspapers loved that story.”
“After her parents’ death, her grandparents came to live with her, and finally left last March,” Alix went on. “She’s eighteen now, and argued that she wanted to be alone. So they left. Her lawyer manages most of the legal stuff. And her family is taking care of the business until Jessica is old enough to do it herself.”
“But quite frankly, I doubt she’ll ever get into it,” Roxanne said. “She always hated it, because it took time away from her and her parents. They rarely spent anytime with her, and it made her kind of bitter after a while.”
“After her parent’s death, though, she changed completely,” Roxanne continued. “She was nice. Sensitive. I didn’t really know her all that well before the accident. She hung around Lynn Hauffman a lot, and she very rarely spoke to people of ordinary wealth. So, I didn’t really get to know her until last year. She really changed. I’m talking drastically. She went from a total, complete snob, to the nicest, most giving person I have ever met in my life. I mean, she doesn’t care about money. You would never know she has billions of dollars unless someone told you.”
Mathew looked out the window again, where he could now see Jessica sitting on top of a sandy dune on the beach. “So, in other words, it was a positive change in her life?”
Roxanne sighed, and looked at Jessica’s silhoutted figure in the distance. “See, Jessica’s kind of a loner now.” She paused. “You can’t really understand what I mean by that unless you really get to know her. Then it’ll be clear. To most people she’s a happy, funny, extremely wonderful, and outgoing person. Not to mention the fact that she’s beautiful, because no one can deny that one. But inside, she’s lost a great part of herself that she’ll never find again. She was extremely messed up after her parents died. She tried comitting suicide a few times, and she missed most of her sophomore year. That’s why she’s eighteen, and just entering her senior year. To answer your question, though, yes, in a way her parents’ death was a positive change for her because it made her a better person, but on the other hand, she carries a very deep wound that may never, ever heal.”
Mathew lowered his gaze. “That’s a sad story.”
“Yeah, but don’t let it get you down,” Alix told him. “Jessica’s the coolest person you’ll ever meet. She’s even cooler than Rox over here.”
Mathew smiled.
“Thanks a bunch,” Roxanne said sarcastically.
At that moment the door burst open and a group entered yelling and laughing at the top of their lungs.
“We creamed them!”
“We are gonna win states this year, I can feel it!”
Alix shook her head. “The barbarians are here. And look, here comes their great leader.”
“Rox!” cried Alexander Woods, taking a seat next to Mathew. “Did you see us? We were great!”
Roxanne smiled. “Sorry,” she lied. “We missed the game. We were busy doing non-barbaric things.”
Alex looked dissappointed. “Oh.”
Alix rolled her eyes, and looked at Mathew. “You would think that after all this time the girl would get a clue.”
“So, where’s Jessica?” Alex asked.
“The she-devil made one of her evil appearances,” Alix answered. “Jessica ran off.”
Alex shook his head. “If that girl were a guy…” He left the rest hang in the air.
“Oh, Alex, I forgot to introduce you to Mathew,” Roxanne said, changing the subject. “We met him at the–ah, the beach.”
“Nice to meet you, Mathew,” Alex said, shaking his hand. He looked at Roxanne, and stood up. “Well, I gotta get back to the team. I’m sorry you missed the game, Rox.”
“Yeah, well, maybe next time.” Roxanne looked at him coolly.
“I hope so,” Alex told her. “See ya later, Alix. Nice meeting you, Mathew.”
“You are the dumbest human being on the face of the planet,” Alix told Roxanne, after Alex had walked away.
Roxanne looked at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, puh-leese,” Alix said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “You know exactly what I mean.” She turned to Mathew. “Don’t you think she’s stupid?”
Mathew shrugged.
“I am not stupid,” Roxanne argued. “I simply refuse to give him the satisfaction of letting him think I care. You know, cause I don’t.”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” Alix asked.
Mathew smiled and looked at his watch. “I better get going,” he said, getting up.
“Well, see you tomorrow then,” Roxanne said.
“We’ll find you,” Alix told him.
“I hope so,” Mathew said. “It was great meeting you. Say bye to Jessica for me.” He gave them a small wave and left.
“He’s got possibilities,” Alix noted.
Roxanne smiled, and stood up. “I’m gonna see if I can find Jess.”
Alix also got up. “I’ll go with you.”
Jessica stared at the rolling waves in front of her. The warm breeze had long ago dried up her tears, and now only sour memories remained.
“Don’t think too hard, now,” a Alix’s voice said behind her. “You might just burn a fuse.”
“I think it’s a little late for that,” came Roxanne’s voice.
Jessica smiled.
A second later, Roxanne and Alix appeared next to her, and sat down on the sand.
“You okay?” Roxanne asked her.
Jessica nodded. “I’m fine,” she answered. She paused. “It’s just that she gets me so mad, you know? And it’s bad enough without her dragging my parents into it.”
“Lynn Hauffman is scum,” Alix told her. “No. Wait. She’s the scum they wipe off scum. She’s an ameoba. She’s the nucleus of an ameoba. She’s–”
“Alix, shut up before you hurt yourself,” Roxanne told her.
“Hacuna Matata,” Alix said with a smile.
“Great,” Roxanne said. “She’s now reciting lines from Disney movies.”
Jessica laughed.
“See, it worked,” Alix said, pointing at Jessica. “Hacuna Matata never fails. It’s foolproof.”
“You’re right,” agreed Roxanne. “You’re a fool, and you’ve just proved it.”
Jessica smiled, and stood up, shaking the sand from her cutoff jean shorts. “Well, I better head on home,” she said.
“But it’s early,” Alix argued. “Look, the sun isn’t even down yet.”
Jessica shook her head. “Sorry, Al, but I have to get ready for tomorrow.”
“I don’t suppose you’d like some company?” Roxanne asked.
“Are you guys that desperately at a lack of things to do?” Jessica asked them.
“Yes!” they answered in chorus.
“Fine.” Jessica sighed in mock annoyance. “You’re really pathetic, though. That’s the only reason I’m letting you hang out with me.”
They stood up. “We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Alix said.
Then the three of them made their way up the beach towards Jessica’s mansion.
Claire Jourdam ran her fingers through her long strawberry blonde hair as she walked down the crowded Baldwin Falls Mall.
“Claire!” someone yelled in the stream of flowing bodies.
Claire turned her head, trying to find the person who had screamed her name. Finally, she saw Rachel Morris walking towards her.
“Hey, Rach,” Claire greeted her as Rachel fell into step beside her. “How’s the last minute shopping going?”
Rachel sighed. “Oh, wonderful,” she said sarcastically. She held up a bag. “Pens, pencils, paper, and folders. Plus other idiotic scholastic objects that I grabbed for no apparent reason.” She put the bag down. “How about you?”
“Clothes,” Claire answered simply. “I gave up on pens and pencils about three years ago.”
Rachel laughed. “I wish I had that spontanious personality of yours.”
“I think Alix has enough of that for the two of you.”
“You got that right,” Rachel agreed. “Is there some law that says twin sisters have to be complete opposites?”
“It’s problably written somewhere,” Claire said, with a smile.
“In bold print letters,” Rachel added.
“Yeah,” Claire agreed.
Rachel laughed, and looked at her watch. “Well, I guess I’ll be going. I have to go pick up my lunatic sister at Jessica’s. Need a ride?”
Claire shook her head. “No, thanks. I brought my car.”
“Well, see ya tomorrow at Hellwin,” Rachel joked.
Claire laughed. “Bye,” she said, and watched Rachel walk away.
Claire walked around for a few minutes, before deciding to call it a night. She stepped out onto the parking lot, and began walking through the warm, dark night, her footsteps echoing on the black pavement. At last she found her red Lexus, and got in, closing the door.
She was about to put the key in the ignition, when a hand grabbed her arm.
She turned her head, and caught a glimpse of a dark, mysterious face in the backseat. She opened her mouth to scream, but her voice caught in her throat.
“Oh, yeah!” Alix yelled, laughing.
“Oh, shut up,” Roxanne said, grabing the puck, and placing it back on the air hockey table. “You caught me completely off guard. I wasn’t even ready.”
“Oh, right, Rox,” Jessica said, glancing up from the magazine she was reading. She shook her head, and turned back to Seventeen.
“Six to one,” Alix said. “Game point for moi.” She placed the puck-like thingie on the table, and smacked it to Roxanne’s side. Roxanne blocked it, sending it flying back to her. This continued for about five minutes, until finally…
“In your face!” Alix yelped, as the puck flew into Roxanne’s slot. “You lose. Loser! Loo-ser!” She started jumping around in her personal interpretation of a victory dance.
“You are seriously disturbed,” Roxanne told her, rolling her eyes.
Jessica looked up, saw Alix, and cracked up. “I’ve never seen anyone so happy to win at air hockey.”
Alix stopped, and looked at Jessica. “It has nothing to do with the fact that I won,” she explained. “It’s the fact that I totally creamed Roxanne in the process that makes me so overjoyed.”
“I hate you,” Roxanne said.
“Aw,” Alix said. “That’s so sweet. I love you, too.”
Just then the doorbell rang, echoing on the walls of the large gameroom in Jessica’s mansion.
Jessica slipped off her stool, and walked towards the door, which opened just then, revealing a mirror image of Alix.
Alix rolled her eyes. “Oh, no,” she whined. “The she-devil has escaped. Quick, call 911!”
Rachel stepped into the room. “How do you guys stand her?” she asked Roxanne and Jessica.
“We don’t,” Roxanne answered. “We had her locked in the closet until about two minutes ago.”
Alix crossed to room to where Roxanne stood, and put her arm around her shoulders. “It’s a cover story,” she explained to Rachel. “She’s still in denial over the fact that I totally creamed her in air hockey.”
Roxanne crossed her arms. “She’s delutional.”
Rachel laughed. “Well, sis, are you ready to go home?” she asked Alix.
“Oh, come on it’s still early,” Alix complained.
Rachel shrugged. “Well, you can walk home then,” she suggested.
Alix thought about it, then nodded. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Roxanne shrugged. “I guess I’ll leave, too. It’s getting kinda late.”
The four of them left the room.
“I can’t believe summer’s over already,” Roxanne muttered, as the butler opened the front door for them, and they stepped outside.
They all nodded.
“Goodbye fun in the sun, hello wake-up calls at 6:00 am,” Alix said, shuddering at the thought.
“Hey, Jess,” Rachel said, “you get another year to try to annoy Mr. Fidgestein into retirement.”
Jessica smiled. “C’mon, you guys, I happen to think our principal is a very respectable individual.”
“Of, course, that won’t keep you from trying,” Roxanne told her.
Jessica frowned. “Of course not,” she assured her. “This year, I have a dream.” She raised her head mockingly, and stared up at the sky. “I dream of a school where teachers despise the word ‘knowlege’. Where students run wild. Where the dress code is thrown out with the garbage–”
“She’s lost it,” Alix said. “She wants to go to school at the Metro Zoo.”
They laughed.
“No, seriously, people,” Jessica said. “This is my last year at Baldwin. It has got to be good.”
“I agree,” said Roxanne.
“Well, we’re just juniors,” Alix said. “But this will definately be the coolest year Baldwin High has ever seen. And I, the Queen of Pranks, guarantee fireworks.”
“She scares me when she talks like that,” Jessica joked.
“She scares all of us,” Roxanne said.
“You guys think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Alix asked them.
“Yes,” Roxanne answered.
“We’re a riot,” Jessica added.
Alix shook her head, and grabbed her sister’s hand. “Take me away from these barbarians.”
“Okay.” Rachel laughed. “See you tomorrow at–”
“Don’t say it!” Alix warned.
“–school.”
“I truly despise you,” Alix told her.
“At last we agree on something,” Rachel told her. “Later, guys.”
Alix gave them a little wave. “See ya.”
“Bye, everyone,” Roxanne said, walking toward her car.
Jessica waved them all away, and waited until their cars were out of view. Then she went back inside, going straight to the kitchen, where the two cooks sat around talking and laughing. They looked up when she entered.
“Miss Jessica, are you hungry?” asked Adora, a twenty-four-year-old culinary student at the University of Miami. “Can I fix you something?”
Jessica shook her head, and smiled. “No, thanks,” she said, walking toward the refrigerator. “I can get my own.”
The other cook burst out laughing.
Adora smiled. “Miss Jessica, sit down and act like the owner of a multi-million estate, for once in your life,” she said, pulling Jessica away from the open fridge. “Now, what can I get you?”
Jessica laughed, and looked at the other hysterical woman in the room. “Why are you laughing at me?” she asked. “Can’t a person get her own food? This is the U.S., am I wrong?”
That made her laugh even harder.
Jessica looked at Adora, who in turn shook her head and smiled. “Miss Jessica, do you realize you overpay us to do absolutely nothing all day? You spoil us, really.”
Jessica looked at her, and cocked her head to the side. “What are you gonna do? Go on strike for overpayment?”
Margaret, a heavy set oriental woman, got up from the small table and walked over to Jessica. She put her arm around her shoulders and smiled. “Of course not,” Margaret assured her, jokingly. “That would be slightly ridiculous.” She walked over to Adora. “Now, what can we get for you?”
“Something French, maybe?” Adora suggested.
Jessica nodded. “Sure,” she agreed. “How about cheese sandwish a lé grill?”
“Oui.” Margaret laughed.
Claire stared at the dark figure in the backseat, and tried to make out the intruder’s face, but with the street lamp glowing in the background, all she saw was a silohuette of a strange figure.
“Was anyone following you?” whispered the intruder.
Claire flinched. She wasn’t expecting to hear a female’s voice. “What?” she asked.
The girl moved in the backseat, and jumped into the passanger seat. She kept her head low, and stared out the windows cautiously. “Did you see anyone around when you were walking to your car?”
Claire hadn’t noticed the girl’s English accent the first time she had spoken. But now it was clear. She relaxed a little bit. The girl seemed harmless to an extent. Aside from the blue hair, and nosering, she seemed almost normal. At any rate, if she turned out to be carrying a concealed weapon, she could always scream bloody murder. “Who are you, and why are you in my car?” Claire asked her.
The girl sat up straighter, after she was convinced that no one was around. “I’m FBI,” she answered, flashing a badge. She snapped closed the wallet, and put it away in her back pocket.
Claire looked at her. “FBI,” she repeated slowly.
“I’m Detective Johnson,” said the girl. “I’m on assignment. I’m supposed to be undercover tracking down a certain carjacker in the area.”
Claire nodded. “Right,” she said. She leaned across the girl and opened the passanger door. “Get out.”
The girl closed the door, and held up her hands. “Okay, okay. I’m not really FBI,” she confessed. She paused. “Wave to the camera, you’re on Candid Camera!”
Claire was skeptical for a second, before surrendering to the power of curiousity. She smiled and waved to a van that was parked across the parking lot. “Now, what?” she asked, still smiling.
The girl shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I’ve never seen that show,” she answered. She opened the door, and stepped outside, leaning down to look at Claire. “Well, it’s been fresh. Have a nice life.” She was about to shut the door, but paused. “Um, hopefully you don’t mind the small scratch on the side of your car. I took it for a spin, and sort of drove too close to a wall at very high speeds. See ya!” She slammed the door and dashed off into the parking lot.
Claire got out of her car, and went around to the other side, where she found no aparent dent. Now she was confused.
“Yo!” yelled the girl.
Claire turned around, and saw something zooming towards her. She held out her hands, and caught it. She looked down at the object in her hands. It was a roll of Mentos. Claire frowned and looked up at where the girl had been standing, but the girl had left. She looked back down at the Mentos in her hand, and started laughing.
Chapter Two
5:45 am . . .
“. . . this is Wacky Jake!” cried the alarm clock. “It is 5:45 in the morning, and you were just listening to Real McCoy’s ‘Run Away’. Coming up next . . .”
Alix opened her eyes, and looked at the window. Darkness filled the outside world. She reached over to the nightstand, slammed her hand down on the ‘snooze’ button, and went back to sleep.
5:50 am . . .
Jessica looked around her room, as though debating whether or not she was in the right place. She looked at the clock on the nightstand next to her bed, and sighed, pulling the covers over her head. “No. It can’t be morning already.”
6:00 am . . .
Roxanne shut off the alarm clock, and sighed. School. She shook her head, and sat at the edge of her bed. She was truly considering the whole dropping-out-of-school idea, but then reconsidered. Her parents would kill her. She was too young to die.
She let herself fall back on the bed, and closed her eyes. A few more minutes of sleep won’t hurt, she thought.
6:07 am . . .
Mathew looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, taking in the messed-up hair, and blood-shot eyes. Half his toothbrush was hanging out of his foam-filled mouth. “Vewy attwactive, Co-eens,” he told his reflection. He rinsed out his mouth, and stared back at the beautiful image. “You’ll get tons of girls looking like that.” He smiled and walked back into his room. “I’m sure all the girls here go for the typical Frankenstein look-a-like,” he told the closet.
The door to his room opened, and his seven-year-old sister, Sarah, walked in. “Who were you just talking to?” she asked.
Mathew looked down at his baby sister. “Um, it was the radio,” he lied.
Sarah smiled, and shook her head. “I’m seven. Not four.” She walked towards his bed and sat down. “So, what’s up?”
“Why are you in my room?” Mathew asked her, turning back to the closet.
“The bus doesn’t get here for another half-hour,” Sarah answered. “I’m bored.”
“So why did you get up so early?” Mathew asked, picking out a T-shirt.
Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know.” She looked up at the shirt he was about to put on, and made a face. “Bad idea.”
Mathew frowned at his black, blue and white T-shirt. “What do you mean? I love this shirt.”
“But you look so much better in pink,” Sarah argued.
Mathew laughed and pulled the shirt over his head. “Now for jeans.” He turned back to the closet.
“Why not go to school in your boxer shorts?” Sarah suggested. “I’m sure the girls won’t mind.”
“You’re demented, little sis,” Mathew told her. “Now, would you mind leaving?”
Sarah sighed and got up. “Have fun at school. Don’t let the cool kids beat you up like they did last year. Remember, as the new kid, you have some rights.” She walked towards the door. “The first is to have a one minute lead, before they chase you and turn you into geeksauce.”
“You are so supportive,” Mathew said sarcastically.
“Oh, Nina wants to talk to you before you leave,” Sarah said, closing the door behind her.
Mathew shook his head, and put on a pair of black jeans. He picked up his new pair of NIKE’s and took out some socks from the drawer.
The door opened once again, but this time his twenty-two year-old sister, Nina, walked in. “Don’t you look cute, all dressed up?” she said, smiling.
Mathew sat at the edge of his bed, and gazed up at his sister. “Yes. Adorable.”
Nina laughed.
Mathew started putting on his shoes. “How may I help you, sister dear?”
“Mom sent me up here to give you a pep talk or something,” she answered. “Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the agony.” She leaned against his desk, and crossed her arms. “So, bro, looking forward to the first day?”
Mathew finished with his shoes and shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me as much as it did, say, two days ago.”
Nina nodded. “This change of heart wouldn’t have anything to do with the girls I saw you with at the beach yesterday, would it?”
“Well, yeah,” he admitted, walking into the bathroom.
“Any in particular?” Nina asked, following him.
Mathew turned to her. “You know, for a girl in college, you’re very interested in high school life.”
Nina shook her head. “Not really. I’m just curious. So, are you gonna tell me about your new friends, or not?”
Mathew started brushing his hair, and smiled. “Do the words ‘get a life’ mean anything to you?”
Nina laughed. “Come on, Matt. Don’t sell out on me like that.”
“I’ll tell you later,” Mathew answered. He looked at his sister’s pleading face. “I promise.” He put down the hairbrush, and stepped back from the mirror. “Honestly, sis, how do I look?”
Nina smiled. “Like a Frankestein look-alike.”
6:35 am . . .
Alix opened her eyes, looked at the time on her alarm clock, and let out a blood curling scream. “I over slept!” she yelled, stumbling on the covers and falling to the floor. She stood up, ran out of her room, and threw open the door to her sister’s room. The room was empty. “Rachel!”
She ran downstairs, where she found her mother sitting over a hot cup of coffee. “Mom! Where’s Rachel?”
Her mother looked at her, and frowned. “Why aren’t you in school?” she asked, sipping her coffee. “Your sister left about fifteen minutes ago.”
Alix threw up her hands in frustration. “Now what am I supposed to do? I have no ride, and school starts in twenty minutes.”
Her mother nodded. “You have a big problem.”
“Great,” Alix said, walking up the stairs. “I’m gonna be late on the first day of school, and all my mom can do is state the obvious.”
6:45 am . . .
“Have you seen Alix?” Roxanne asked, sitting next to Jessica on one of the tables out in the patio.
Jessica shook her head. “Nope,” she answered. She looked around the overcrowded Baldwin High campus. “I swear, these freshmen have got to go.”
Roxanne laughed. “Well, we are seniors this year. I think we can accomplish as much.”
Jessica smiled, and turned back to the passing people. “Hey, isn’t that Mathew?”
Roxanne squinted, and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m blind as a bat.”
“You should get glasses,” Jessica suggested.
“There’s a scary thought,” Roxanne answered. “Do you realize how retarded I would look with glasses?”
“Of course, that’s why I suggested it.”
Roxanne shook her head. “Remind me to nominate you for best friend of the year.”
Jessica laughed.
“Hey, people,” Mathew said, walking up to them. “I was afraid I’d never find you in this mess.” He sat down on the picnic table next to Jessica, and looked around. “So this is the famous Baldwin High?”
Jessica nodded seriously. “Founded by the great and wonderful Jeremy K. Baldwin in 1934.”
Roxanne laughed. “I thought it was Alec Baldwin who founded the school.”
Jessica frowned. “It could’ve been,” she joked. “I didn’t really pay attention in history class last year.”
Mathew laughed. “So where’s Alix?” he asked, looking at the people passing by.
Roxanne shrugged. “We’ve been looking for her all morning, and we can’t find her anywhere.”
Jessica laughed. “She probably overslept,” she joked.
“Hey guys,” Claire said. She sighed. “I can’t believe summer is gone so soon. It feel as though I was here about a minute ago.”
“Amen to that,” Roxanne agreed.
Claire looked at Mathew, and turned to Jessica. “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, sorry,” Jessica appologized. “Claire Jourdam, this is Mathew Collins. Mathew, Claire. There, you’re introduced.”
Claire smiled. “Oh, guys, guess what happened last night at the mall?”
“You were abducted by aliens?” Roxanne asked.
“You went over your limit on your dad’s credit card?” Jessica said.
Claire rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “Not quite,” she answered. She then went on to tell them about her encounter with the blue-haired, English-accented, weird girl that had hidden in her car the night before.
“Now that’s what a call a cool prank,” Roxanne said, when Claire had finished. “Alix will love that one.”
“Alix will try that one,” Jessica corrected.
Mathew smiled, turned back to the passing people, and then frowned. “Um, how many people with blue hair do you figure live in Baldwin?”
They all looked at him, and then followed his gaze. Walking towards them was a girl with blue hair, five earrings on each ear, and a nosering.
Claire gasped. “It’s her.”
Just then, the first bell rang, and the girl vanished into the crowd.
7:08 am . . .
Alix threw open the door, and stepped inside the school’s main office. She walked over to the lady sitting behind the small wooden desk, and slammed her hands on the table
The lady jumped, looked up, and smiled. “Oh, Alix,” Mrs. Williams said, grinning. “You scared me half to death.” The African American woman shook her head. “Don’t tell me you got in trouble this early into the day?”
Alix frowned. “No way, Mrs. W. I wait at least a half hour before driving teachers up the walls.” She shook her head. “I’m here cause my sister didn’t have the decency to wake me up this morning, and I kind of overslept.”
Mrs. Williams laughed. “Well, that’s better than hearing that you painted a blackboard orange.”
Alix smiled. “I’m kind of proud of that one, actually.”
“Well, Al, take a seat over there, and Mr. Fidgestein will see you as soon as possible.”
Alix frowned. “What for? Can’t you just give me a late slip and let me get out of here?”
“Sorry, Alix, Mr. Fidgestein wants to meet personally with everyone that steps into this office until 8:00 am.”
Alix brightened. “She did it! Jessica actually managed to drive the principal insane.”
“Although I’m sure Jessie is capable of such a thing,” Mrs. Williams said, “that’s not quite the reason. See, the board gave out instructions that on the first day of school, anyone late to school has to be questioned.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Alix exclaimed. She thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “Well, at least I get to stay out of class for the time being. Alright, Mrs. W., I’ll sit over there and make up some stupid story about how my dog Sparky was accidentally run over by an Adopt-a-Dog Foundation truck on the way to the vet.” She looked down at her multi-colored outfit, and smiled. “Hey, this is the outfit I wore to my pet hamster’s funeral.”
She shrugged, and walked over to the row of chairs placed against the far wall of the office. She took a seat between a blue-haired metalhead wannabe, and another girl with long light brown hair that looked as though her heart had been ripped out of her chest by unseen forces.
Alix rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. The blue-haired girl turned to her, and frowned.
“Did you really paint a blackboard orange?” the girl asked.
Alix raised an eyebrow at her her and nodded slowly. “Yes, I did,” she answered, immitating the girl’s accent. “Sorry,” she appologized quickly. “I’ve always wanted to have a reason to speak with an English accent. And aside from that scene in Robin Hood: Men in Tights where he goes, ‘Cause unlike other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent’, I had never been offered the opportuninty. So, thank you.”
The girl half-smiled. “My name’s Jade Cooper,” she said. “My friends back in London called me Jay.”
Alix smiled. “Well, my name’s Alix, and my friends don’t call me anything cause they deny being my friends.” She turned suddenly to the girl sitting to her left. “Um, are you alright? You look kind of, I don’t know, dead.”
The girl looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” the girl answered, in an Australian accent.
Alix frowned, and looked over at Mrs. Williams. “Hey, Mrs. W., is there a foreign exchange student convention in town?”
Jessica looked at the ticking clock on the wall. Her first hour class was worse than she could ever imagine.
“Now, children,” the teacher cooed, drawing a line on the blackboard. “This is what we call a timeline.”
Jessica shook her head, and rolled her eyes in frustration. She couldn’t believe she had to spend an hour every morning listening to the history teacher from hell, from now until the end of her senior year. She was going to have to have talk with Mr. Fidgestein about a schedule change.
She looked around the room, trying to see if she could recognize anyone from the year before. But aside from Lynn Hauffman, sitting attentively in the first seat of her row, she didn’t recognize anyone.
The teacher looked in her roll book, and glared at Jessica. “Jessica Heart,” she called. “Would you please come up here and explain the events leading up to the Revolutionary war?”
Jessica sighed dramatically, got up from her desk, and walked to the front of the room. She scrunched up her face, as though trying to remember the information, and smiled. “Okay, the Revolutionary War was like this war, that like, happened back in the sixties, cause, um these people didn’t really like each other and stuff. Yeah, and this guy, um, Colonel Mustard came in and told the hippies to stop using drugs cause he wanted them all to himself. Not the hippies, the drugs. Duh. Okay, and like the hippies got mad at him cause they were like, ‘Hey, those are our drugs and we can get high if we want to.’ Right. And then, Colonel Mustard called his buddy Colonel Sanders, and asked him to bring him some chicken, cause he was hungry and stuff. And Colonel Sanders was like, ‘No way, man.’ And they got mad at each other. So, then the hippies made an A-bomb out of chewed tobacco, cause they were really stoned by then, and they threw it at Colonel Mustard. And he died of cancer. So the hippies were like, ‘Groovy. We killed the guy.’ So they threw a party. And halfway through the party Colonel Sanders showed up, and then the lights went out, and when it came back up, Colonel Sanders was dead on the floor. So the hippies started running for the door, but all the doors were locked. And they were like, ‘Oh, no, we’re locked in with the murderer.’ So, they decided to go find the murderer and ask him why he had to go and kill the Colonel. You know, cause they like KFC, too.” Jessica swallowed, and looked at the class who was rolling on the floor with laughter. “Okay, to make the long story short, they found the murderer, and it turned out to be George Washington’s mother’s brother’s sister’s next neighbor’s cousin’s father’s roommate’s neighbor. So, they beat him up cause they were against cutting down trees. Specially cherry trees that bloom in the spring. So, those were the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Thank you.”
Roxanne stared at Alex. Then glanced at the clock. Then looked at the teacher. Then let her head fall over her arms on the desk, and closed her eyes. This really really bites, she thought. She rested her chin on her hands, and went back to staring at Alex. Roxanne Woods, she dreamed. She shook her head. Get a grip, Perez. You don’t like him. You don’t like him. You don’t like him. Nope, she sighed, you love him.
Alex shifted in his chair. The class was dragging on forever and his patience was wearing thin.
He planned on asking Roxanne to the movies, right after class, but at the rate the clock was going the bell was never going to ring.
He turned his head, as subtly as he could manage, and looked at Roxanne. She was so beautiful. He was going to need a lot of help if he wasn’t to sound like a chipmunk when he approached her. He laughed nervously, and turned back to the teacher who was going on about nothing.
“Okay, class,” Mrs. Stevens said, sitting on her desk and putting the open roll book on her lap. “Who here can tell me the founder of Baldwin High?”
Roxanne raised her hand.
The teacher smiled. “Oh, good,” she said happily. “A volunteer.” She looked down at her roll book, and back up at Roxanne. “Roxanne, is it?”
Roxanne frowned. “Qué?”
The teacher raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“No hablo inglés,” Roxanne said.
Alex stiffled a laugh.
“Young lady, this isn’t Comedy Central,” the teacher said sternly. “So quit the comedy.”
“Qué?” Roxanne asked, looking confused.
Alex raised his hand. “She’s from Mexico or something. I don’t think she speaks any English.”
The teacher looked at Roxanne. “You don’t speak English?”
“Qué?” Roxanne asked. “No hablo inglés!”
The teacher slid off her desk, put the roll book on the table, and walked over to Roxanne. She leaned on her desk, and spoke slowly. “Si es tu yo.”
Roxane nodded slowly. “Si usted lo dice,” she said.
The teacher shook her head, and looked at Alex. “I’m not getting anywhere with her,” she told him, as though it wasn’t already obvious. “Take her to the office and explain to them the situtation.”
No kidding, Alex thought. He grabbed his bookbag, and walked over to Roxanne’s desk.
The teacher turned to Roxanne. “Go with him,” she told her, trying to explain what she meant by moving her hands around in frantic circles.
“Qué?” Roxanne asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.
The teacher sighed. “Um, okay. Ir con él.”
Roxanne’s face showed comprehension. “Me voy?” she asked.
“Sí!” Mrs. Stevens exclaimed.
Roxanne nodded, stood up, and picked up her bookbag. She looked at the teacher and put her hand on her shoulder. “Usted, señora, es una mujer muy estúpida,” she told her.
The teacher smiled. “Gracias,” she said thankfully.
Roxanne followed Alex out the door, and once outside they cracked up.
“That was great,” Alex told her.
Roxanne smiled. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without you. If you hadn’t jumped in, I’d still be going, qué?”
Alex laughed. “What did you tell her?”
“I told her she was a very stupid woman,” Roxanne answered. “To say the least.”
Alix smiled. “So what do we do now?”
“We might as well go to the office,” Roxanne answered. “When Mrs. Freako back there figures out that I’m not–what was it? Mexican?” She frowned. “Alex, do I look Mexican to you?”
Alex looked her up and down, ignoring the rapid beating of his heart. “No you don’t.”
Roxanne sighed with relief. “Oh, good. I was getting worried.”
They started walking towards the office.
Alex took a deep breath. It’s now or never, Woods, he told himself. “Um, Rox,” he started. “Ah, can I ask you a question?”
Roxanne smiled. “You just did.”
“Very funny,” he said, relaxing a bit. “What I wanted to ask you was–” He paused unsure of what to say. “Um, Rox, would you like to–”
“People!” exclaimed Alix, walking up to them. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” Roxanne answered. “Alex was just asking me something. Go on, Alex.”
Alex sighed to himself, but managed to smile. “Um, it was nothing. I’ll ask you later.”
Roxanne nodded. “Okay.” She looked at Alix. “So, what are you doing out of class so early?”
“I’m not in trouble, if that’s what you were thinking,” Alix answered. “I sort of overslept, and missed my ride. Remind me to kill Rachel, by the way. I was kind of late, if that isn’t already obvious, and then Mr. Fingerbean kept me in the office for an eternity to ‘question me.’ I’m amazed they didn’t throw me in a dark room and stuck a lightbulb in my face like they do in those cop movies.”
Alex and Roxanne both smiled.
“Oh, and to top it all off, I got Child Care as my first hour. I’m still in shock that I got it in my schedule at all. Can you picture me around twenty rugrats?” She paused. “Can you picture me around one rugrat?” She shuddered. “What a nightmare.”
Roxanne laughed.
“Okay, well, bye guys,” Alix said.
“See ya,” Roxanne said.
“Later,” Alex called.
Alix walked away, and they continued walking toward the office.
“So what were you going to ask me?” Roxanne asked, as they reached the office.
Alex opened the door for her, and they stepped inside. “Ah, well, I wanted to know if you needed a ride after school?” Oh, good one, Alex, he told himself sarcastically.
Roxanne looked at him, an amused expression on her face. “Ah, Alex,” she said slowly. “Remember that thing you saw me get out of this morning? Well, that was my car. And, unless it breaks down for no apparent reason, it might just get me home.”
Alex felt like kicking himself. “Sorry, I forgot I saw you this morning,” he lied, lamely.
Roxanne shook her head, smiling. “Hey, Mrs. Williams!” she called, as they walked up to her desk.
Mrs. Williams looked up from the paperwork on her desk. “Oh no, not you, too, Roxy.” She shook her head. “What did you do now?”
“Qué?” Roxanne joked.
Alex chuckled.
Mrs. Williams smiled. “Ah, the old ‘I don’t speak English’ trick. Very effective,” she agreed. “Well, take a seat next to Jessie over there, and Mr. Fidgestein will see you soon.”
Roxanne frowned, and whirled around. “Jessica’s here?”
Jessica waved from a seat across the room. “Hey, Rox, Alex.”
Mathew walked through the halls with no particular destination in mind. The classes had come and gone until finally the lunch bell had rung.
He looked around. All around him groups of people stood around joking and laughing. He looked at every face, trying to find someone even remotely familiar. But everyone was a stranger to him.
“Mathew, hey,” Jessica said, walking up to him.
Mathew looked at her and smiled. “Oh, man,” he said, relieved. “I thought I’d be walking endlessly all lunch period.
Jessica laughed. “Well, don’t worry,” she assured him. “Consider me your tour guide for the next fifty-five minutes.” She led him down to the first floor. “Okay, that’s the office,” she said, pointing to a door in front of them. “That’s where Rox is right now.”
Mathew frowned. “Why?”
Jessica smiled. “There’s something you should know about us,” she said, looking at the floor. “We are the official pranksters of Baldwin High. And today, Rox pulled a small prank that got her in a slight bit of trouble.”
Mathew was surprised. “What did she do?”
Jessica smiled again. “You’ll find out eventually.” She paused. “It’s nothing bad, though. Just funny.” She shook her head. “But anyways, don’t worry, she’ll be out of there before lunch is over.”
Mathew smiled. “Okay, tourguide, what next?”
Jessica laughed. “Well, are you hungry?”
Mathew nodded. “Starving.”
“Great!” Jessica smiled. “Feel like eating Pizza?”
Mathew looked at her, and cocked his head to the side. “I won’t answer that question.”
Jessica nodded. “Sorry, I forget sometimes how stupid that question is.” She smiled. “Well, shall we?”
“After you,” Mathew answered.
Roxanne shook her head, and looked at the detention form in her hand. “Ah, another for my great collection,” she joked.
Alex shook his head. “You know, Rox, if you keep this up you’re gonna get suspended pretty soon.”
Roxanne nodded. “I know, I know.” She folded the piece of paper in her hand, and put it away in her back pocket. “So, Alex, what do you suggest we do now?”
“Eat!” Alex answered quickly.
Roxanne smiled. “You read my mind. Pizza Max here we come.”
Alix walked around Baldwin in endless circles. She’d checked everywhere, and still she’d found neither Roxanne nor Jessica.
“They have vanished from the face of the earth,” Alix told herself, walking outside towards the patio.
She looked around, trying to see if anyone around her resembled her missing friends. They didn’t.
She did, however, spot the blue-haired, English-accented, metalhead wannabe that had kept her company at the office.
Alix smiled and walked over to where she sat. “Would you like some tea?” she asked, putting her English accent to work. “Sorry, I forgot it’s not four o’clock yet. Hmm, how about the ever popular Fig Newton’s? Which, of course, aren’t mere cookies, but fruit and cake. Or would you prefer some Grey Poupon. It now comes in a squeeze bottle.”
The girl laughed.
She offered her hand. “Alix Morris,” she said. “We sort of skipped the introduction part back at the office.”
The girl shook her hand. “Jade Cooper.” She smiled at her. “Are you usually so strange?”
Alix cocked her head to the side, and looked at her strangely. “You have blue hair, five earrings, and a nosering, and you think I’m strange?”
“Okay, okay, I see your point,” Jade said. “It’s just that this town seems so . . . normal.”
“You mean boring,” Alix clarified.
“Yeah,” Jade admitted.
“Well, it is,” Alix answered. “I was summoned to liven it up.”
“Oh, phsyco girl,” came the world’s scariest voice. “Have you seen Mitsi anywhere?”
Alix looked up, and screamed. “Oh, Lynn,” she said, relaxing. “You have got to do something about that face of yours. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Lynn looked at her dismissively. “I don’t have time to deal with you, Alix. I have more important things to worry about.”
“Yeah, like how to keep dodging the people from the dog pound,” Alix said sweetly.
Lynn rolled her eyes. “You should be talking.” She looked at Jade and gasped. “What happened to your hair?”
Jade smiled. “I dropped blue Kool-Aid on my head.” She paused. “Freak accident.”
“Well, you got the freak part right,” Lynn told her. “Well, if anything, at least you found the right person to hang out with. Losers should hang out with losers.” She shuddered. “Speaking of which, why am I talking to you people?” She rolled her eyes, and walked away.
“Who was that?” Jade asked.
“Satan in the flesh,” Alix answered. “If it were legal, I’d kill her.”
Jade smiled wickedly. “Well you know what they say. Don’t get mad . . . get even.”
“Whoa, this place is cool,” Mathew said, looking around Pizza Max. He looked at the big screen TVs which hung from the walls. They were playing Aerosmith’s “Amazin`”. The walls were covered with posters of TV stars, famous bands, and singers.
Jessica smiled. “Yeah, it is pretty cool,” she agreed.
A tall guy with shaved black hair, and brown eyes, walked over to their table. “Hey, people,” he said, taking out a small pad, and a pencil. “May I take your order?”
Jessica laughed. “Sounding more professional by the minute, Leslie,” she told him.
Leslie Kenan smiled proudly. “Why thank you, Jess,” he said. “You are too kind.”
Jessica laughed.
“Is this your new boyfriend?” Leslie asked, looking at Mathew.
“One of them,” Jessica joked. “Nah, this is Mathew Collins. New to our wonderful city.”
“Nice to meet you, Mathew,” Leslie said. “Welcome to Blahwin.”
Mathew smiled.
“Well, are you ready to order?” Leslie asked.
“What’s good here?” Jessica asked jokingly.
Leslie looked thoughtful, and tapped the end of his pencil on his chin. “Well, the pizza isn’t that bad.”
Jessica looked at Mathew. “Sound good?”
Mathew nodded, playing along. “It’ll do.”
“Plain cheese?” Jessica asked him.
“Plain cheese,” Mathew answered.
Leslie smiled. “Plain cheese,” he repeated, writing down the order. “Any particular size?”
“What are the options?” Mathew asked.
“Well,” Leslie began, “we have large, medium, small, personal, itsi bitsi teeny weeny, or atom size. What will it be?”
“It depends,” said Jessica. “How big is Adam?”
Leslie paused for a moment, and smiled. “Everyone’s a comedian.” He shook his head. “Large?”
They nodded.
“Anything to drink? Or should I just go ahead and call 911 for when you choke on the cheese?”
“Coke,” they said at the same time.
“I really don’t think this is the right place to ask for drugs,” Leslie joked.
“Very funny,” Jessica said.
“I know,” Leslie said modestly. He wrote something down on his little pad. “I’ll be right back, after these messages.” He smiled and walked away.
“He’s an aspiring comedian,” Jessica explained.
Mathew smiled.
“So, Mathew, what do you like to do aside from playing hockey?” Jessica asked him.
Mathew looked at his hands. “Promise not to laugh?”
“Cross my heart,” she said.
Mathew took a deep breath. “I like wearing my mother’s clothes, and singing the National Anthem on my roof.”
Jessica burst out laughing.
“Hey, you promised not to laugh!” Mathew complained. He smiled. “Okay, okay, seriously. I like dancing.”
“Why is that so funny?” Jessica asked.
Mathew shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t think it was very macho, or something.”
Jessica smiled.
“What about you?” Mathew asked her.
“Basketball,” Jessica answered.
“You play basketball?” Mathew asked, surprised.
“Why is that so hard to believe?” Jessica asked curiously.
“It’s not,” Mathew said quickly. “It’s just that it’s cool meeting girls who like sports, too, you know. Where I come from girls are only interested in shopping and that kind of stuff.” He smiled at her. “Are you any good?”
“Is she any good?” asked Leslie, placing their pizza on the table. “Captain since her freshman year. First freshman ever to be given the captain position.” He placed their drinks in front of them, an gave them each a plate. “She can beat Charles Barkley with her eyes closed.”
“Oh, right,” Jessica said sarcastically. “Now you’re really exagerating.”
Leslie smiled. “Gotta love her modesty.” He looked at them. “Are you sure you guys aren’t dating? You’d make a great couple.”
Jessica smiled, and Mathew blushed slightly.
“Well, he sure beats that jerk Julian Sanchez you were with last year,” Leslie continued. “What happened to him anyway?”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “He’s with Lynn Haufman now,” she answered.
“Figures,” Leslie said. “They deserve each other.” He sighed. “Well, if there is anything else I can get for you, don’t hesitate to call.” He turned and walked away.
“Oh, yes!” yelled Roxanne sliding in beside Jessica. “You went ahead and ordered. Bless you, girl.”
Alex shook his head, and sat beside Mathew.
Jessica smiled. “Sure, go ahead and eat our food. We don’t mind.”
Roxanne grabbed a slice of pizza. “Don’t mind if I do,” she said, and took a huge bite.
Jessica laughed. “Gosh, Rox,” she said. “Hungry?”
Roxanne smiled.
“Hey people,” Rachel said, walking up to their table. A light brown haired girl stood beside her. “Oh, guys, this is Nika Schmid. She’s from Australia.” She pointed to each person and introduced them to Nika.
“Hi,” Nika said, shyly.
“Pull up a table,” Jessica said. “Join us.”
Alex looked around for Leslie and called him over.
“Whoa,” said Leslie, looking around the group. “You guys tripled on me. What can I get you?”
“Large pizza?” Alex suggested. “Anyone want anything on it, aside from the ever popular cheese?”
“Peperoni,” Roxanne said, finishing her slice, and taking another.
“Someone seal this girl’s mouth together,” Jessica said.
Alex laughed. “Alright, Rox.” He looked at Nika and Rachel. “Do you have any objections?”
They shook their heads.
Alex shrugged. “Alright. Peperoni pizza it is.”
Leslie smiled. “And to drink?”
“Sprite,” Rachel answered.
“Coke,” Nika said.
“Coke,” Alex said.
“Coke,” Roxanne agreed, between bites.
Leslie laughed, and left.
Jessica helped herself to a slice of pizza. “So, Nika, what part of Australia are you from?”
“Sydney,” Nika answered.
“You must miss it there, huh?” Roxanne asked.
Nika shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I miss it,” she answered. “But Florida isn’t as bad as I thought. I can still surf.”
“Oh, cool, you surf?” Alex asked. “Maybe we could surf together sometime.”
Nika smiled at him. “Sure.”
Roxanne groaned to herself. Oh, great, she thought. Now I have competition from an Australian surfer. She shook her head slightly. What are you doing, Rox? So what if they go surfing together. That doesn’t mean they’ll fall in love. It just means that they’ll probably drown together. Oh, that’s a much better thought. I have got to stop thinking like this, or I’ll drive myself insane. It happened already to Alix, it can happen to me, too.
Chapter Three
“This is gonna be great,” Alix said, walking between the parked cars in the school’s parking lot.
Jade smiled.
“There it is,” Alix said, pointing to Lynn’s gray Mercedes.
The two of them made their way up the lot, to where the car was parked.
“Okay, what now?” Alix asked.
“Well, we could poke the air out of her tires,” Jade answered. “It’s not a major prank, but at least it’s effective.”
“I tried that once,” Alix answered. “Unfortunately, it was dark, and I accidentally got the principal’s car instead.”
“You came to school at night?” Jade asked.
“It’s a long story,” Alix answered. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
Jade laughed. “Okay, are ou sure this is Lynn’s car?”
Alix nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Okay,” Jade said. “Do you have something sharp enough to poke a tire?”
Alix thought about it. “Not really.”
Jade sighed, and took a switch blade out of her bookbag. She looked at Alix`s surprised face. “Don’t worry, I’m not a gang member or something. I just carry it cause if I leave it at home my baby brother might find it.”
“Why do you have it in the first place?” Alix asked.
Jade smiled. “If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone. It’ll kill my reputation.”
Alix laughed. “You’re new here, you don’t have a reputation.”
“You’d be surprised,” Jade said. “You promise you won’t tell?”
“I swear.”
Jade sighed. “I like fishing,” she said.
Alix laughed. “So, what?”
“Well, I use the knife to clean the fish,” Jade explained. “Okay, let’s drop this now.” She brought the knife up as high as she could, and brought it down on the tire. The tire started deflating immediately.
Alix cracked up. “Coolness,” she said.
Jade handed her the switch blade. “Wanna try it?”
Alix took it, and walked over to the next tire. She followed Jade’s example, and the car fell unbalanced on its right side. “This is way cool.” She walked to the other side, and did the same on the remaining tires. When she was done, she stepped away from the car to appreciate her masterpiece. “Lynn’s gonna go ballistic.”
Jade laughed. “Let’s hope so,” she said.
Jessica got back to Baldwin High, and took out her schedule. Calculus II. She sighed, and headed upstairs to the classroom.
She stepped inside, frowned, and looked down at the schedule in her hand.
“Jessica?” Mathew asked, walking up beside her. “Where’s everyone else?” he asked, looking at the deserted classroom.
“Maybe it’s a typo?” Jessica suggested.
“No, it’s not a typo, Jessica,” Mr. Fidgestein, said, stepping into the room. The principal walked to the front of the room, and sat on the desk. “Well, aren’t you going to sit down?”
Mathew and Jessica looked at each other, and sat down beside each other.
“What’s all this about?” Jessica asked.
Mr. Fidgestein smiled. “There aren’t that many students who are able to handle Calculus II Advanced Placement, here at Baldwin, Jess,” he answered, goodnaturedly.
“Oh, so we’re the only two dorks who can?” Jessica joked.
Mr. Fidgestein smiled. “Pretty much,” he answered. He looked at the two of them. “And I’m your teacher.”
Jessica pretended to gag. “No way,” she said. “That’s not fair, man.”
“Tough luck, dude,” Mr. Fidgestein responded.
“That’s dudette,” Jessica corrected him.
“Whatever,” Mr. Fidgestein said, sliding off the desk. “Shall we begin?”
“No,” Jessica answered.
Mr. Fidgestein turned to look at her. “You know, you’re a real pain in the neck,” he said.
Jessica laughed.
Mathew smiled.
“See,” Mr. Fidgestein said, pointing at Mathew. “Even Mathew agrees.”
“Alright, I’ll shut up,” Jessica said, smiling. “No. Wait. What am I saying? Mr. F., come on, it’s the first day of school, can’t you give us a break?”
“You aren’t Kit Kats,” he answered. The he frowned. “Oh, God, I’ve been hanging around you too long.”
Jessica and Mathew laughed.
“Alright,” he continued. “Enough comedy.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “I have to go check in at the office, but I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes. Mathew, watch her. Make sure she doesn’t do anything illegal while I’m gone.”
“Oh, right,” Jessica said sarcastically. “I can’t believe that after four years of friendship, you still don’t trust me.”
Mr. Fidgestein cracked up. “That’s a good one,” he said, laughing, as he walked out of the room.
Jessica looked at Mathew. “Now what?”
Mathew shrugged.
Jessica put her head down on the desk, and closed her eyes. “Wake me up when class is over.”
Lynn Hauffman walked toward the parking lot of Baldwin High. Such ugly looking cars, she thought. And so cheap! She kept walking, shuddering at the thought of driving a car worth less than thirty thousand dollars.
She reached her beautiful Mercedes Benz, and almost had a heart attack.
“What the . . .?” She stepped closer to get a better look of her tattered car. All four tires were popped, and the car looked as though it had been thrown up by a junk yard.
“If I find out the moron who did this,” Lynn swore. “I’ll make them pay. I swear I’ll make them pay.”
Jessica stepped into her room, later that day. She walked over to her computer and switched it on.
She walked over to her closet, and changed into a pair of jean cut-offs, and a white T-shirt. She walked back to her computer and sat down. She stared at the Windows programn before her, and double clicked on America On-line.
She entered her screen name–”Dreamer”–and her password.
“Welcome Dreamer” appeared at the top of the screen.
“You have mail,” the computer said.
Jessica ran the cursor to the row of small boxes at the top of the screen, and clicked on the one with the picture of the mailbox.
A small box flashed on the middle of the screen.
ToofunkE Hey babe
LuvStud8 Wanna Wrestle?
Surfergirl Hey cuz
Jessica brightened when she saw that last name on the list. She ran the cursor over to the letter titled “hey cuz”, and clicked on it. A letter appeared on the screen.
Dear Jess,
Well, hey there, to my fave
cousin. How’s Florida life treating
you?
I’m still in Midnight Island,
which of course hasn’t changed in the
least since you left. It’s still the
same hot, sunny, boring place it always
was. Hopefully you’re not to disappointed
to learn it hasn’t been taken over by
aliens or something. I know you have a
a dark, mysterious mind.
Well, I hope you’re enjoying what’s
left of your summer vacation. And
remember, if you see a hot, sweaty stud
around, don’t hesitate to send him my
way. 
Love always,
Amber
(your cuz)
Jessica smiled, and went back to the other two letters. Out of pure curiousity, she clicked the one tiltled “hey babe”.
Hey babe,
You sound like a pretty interesting
chick. I was thinking maybe you and me
could get together and then take it from
there.
I’m a hot stud, babe, who can make
your “dreams” come true.
ToofunkE
Jessica rolled her eyes. “I’m sure,” she muttered to herself. She hesitated, but clicked on the remaining letter.
Hey Dreamer,
I have dreams about you and me
and a house full of children.
Jessica didn’t bother to finish reading the letter. The first sentence gave her a pretty good idea on where it was headed. She went back to the main menu, and clicked on the small box with the chat area emblem on it.
A few seconds later, a list of possible rooms appeared on the screen. She chose “Teen Chat 7″, and soon she was transported into the corresponding room.
* * Teen Chat 7 * *
Way2sexy age/sex check
GirlEman Oh, would you stop it
with the age/sex checks?!
APQR63 Hey people
Mike0079 Does anyone here like
Metallica?
Ninja501 Did you guys see the
Power Rangers yesterday?
GirlE-man I like Metallica
Mike0079 Power Rangers suck
APQR63 Metallica kicks @$$
Jessica smiled as she read the on going conversations in the room. Suddenly, a small box flashed in the middle of her screen.
Instant Message from Shyguy
Shyguy: I like your screen name…
Dreamer…Why Dreamer?
Jessica smiled, and after a minute of hesitation, she answered back.
Dreamer: Sometimes dreams are all
you have.
Shyguy: :-0 Whoa, another person
with a poetic mind…I’m
truly amazed.
Dreamer: I wouldn’t say I have a
poetic mind…just a poetic
heart.
Shyguy: there you go again…tell
me dreamer, just out of pure
curiosity, are you a guy or
a girl
Dreamer: I’m a Pat …LOL. Last
time I checked, a girl, but
it’s the nineties, you never
know.
Shyguy: LOL…Yes, that is very
true. Well, I’m a guy, just
in case you couldn’t tell
by my lovely screen name.
Dreamer: Speaking of which, why
“Shyguy”? You don’t seem so
shy to me.
Shyguy: I guess I’m more open when
I don’t see who I’m talking
to I’m a lot shyer in
person.
Just then, the door to Jessica’s room burst open, and in walked Roxanne. She threw her bookbag aside, and fell on the waterbed. “What’s up?” she asked, absentmindedly.
“Nothing much,” Jessica answered, turning back to the computer.
Shyguy: Are you there, Dreamer?
Dreamer: Sorry. I’m here. My
friend just burst into my
room looking kind of bummed.
Shyguy: Oh…well, I’ll leave you
to talk to her/him. It was
nice meeting you, Dreamer.
Dreamer: you too, Shyguy.
But “Shyguy” had already signed off.
Mathew stared at the computer screen before him. He exited America On-line, then closed Windows, and switched off the computer.
He got up from his desk, walked over to his bed, and lied down. He stared out of his window at the ocean outside. The sun was setting over the sparkling pastel-colored water.
Mathew sighed, and sat up. “Dreamer,” he said, still looking out the window. He got off the bed, and walked out of his room. He walked by his sister Nina, as he passed the living room.
“Where are you going?” Nina asked.
Mathew shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I guess I’ll go shoot some hoops or something.”
Nina brightened. “Need a partner?”
“Sure,” Mathew answered.
“Let me go change first, though,” she said, looking down at her baggy jeans, and T-shirt.
Mathew shook his head. “Alright, but don’t start looking at every outfit you own,” he warned. “Grab a T-shirt, and shorts, and lets go.”
Nina smiled, and walked down the hall to her room. Five minutes later, she came back out wearing a pair of basketball shorts, and a Phoenix Suns T-shirt. “How do I look?”
“Like a Boys & Girls Club reject,” Mathew joked.
“Ah, just the look I wanted to accomplish,” Nina said, laughing. She finished the outfit by putting on a Blue Jays baseball cap, and tying her hair in a pony tail.
Mathew smiled. “Let’s go.”
Jessica and Roxanne had left Jessica’s house, and decided to go for a walk along the beach. Night’s dark blanket would soon cover Baldwin, and they wanted to do something interesting before retiring to sleep.
“So, what now?” Roxanne asked, kicking at a seashell that stood in her way.
Jessica shrugged. “Whatever,” she said. “I’m bored to death.”
“How about going to the park?” Roxanne suggested.
“And do what?” Jessica asked.
Roxanne shrugged. “There’s always people playing b-ball, or something.”
“Okay,” Jessica answered, following Roxanne up the sandy path leading to the small park.
Roxanne looked at her curiously. “What’s on your mind, Jess?”
Jessica smiled. “A skull,” she joked.
Roxanne shook her head. “Very funny. No, seriously, you seem preoccupied.”
“You’re gonna think I’m a dork.”
Roxanne smiled. “It’s way too late for that.”
Jessica smiled at her. “Okay. See, I met this guy on AOL, and he’s so nice, Rox. He’s–”
Roxanne rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, please. Jess, those people are all rejects from society. I mean, you’re in there, so obviously most people there are losers.”
“Very funny.” Jessica smiled dreamily. “I just met him, but he seems so nice.”
“Whatever you say, Jess. Seriously, you need help. What ever happened to that shrink your grandparents sent you to?”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “I stopped going.”
“How come?”
Jessica shrugged. “She just wanted me to talk about my feelings, as though that was helping any.” She smiled sadly. “I was just trying to forget everything, and just get on with my life and she wanted me to remember every last detail of my parents right until the day they died.” She shrugged again. “I don’t know. I guess it was making me even more messed up.”
They reached the park, which was surprisingly empty.
Roxanne looked around. “Whoa. I guess with classes starting no one’s into basketball anymore.”
Jessica smiled. “Don’t be so sure,” she said, pointing at the two dark figures walking onto the court. “Isn’t that Mathew?”
Roxanne looked at her. “Haven’t we been through this already? I. . . am . . . blind! Hello! Can’t see nada. Nothing. Zero. Zip.”
Jessica laughed, and stepped closer to the court. “Hey, Mathew!” she called.
One of the figures, looked away from the basket, and waved. “Hey, Jess!” Mathew called back.
Jessica and Roxanne walked over to them, noticing the girl Mathew was with. She was tall, and looked about twenty. She had long, flowing auburn hair, and pretty light green eyes, exactly like Mathew’s.
“Hey, who’s your friend?” Roxanne asked.
Mathew smiled. “Ah, this is my older sister Nina,” he answered, pointing to the girl. “Nina, this is Jessica Heart and Roxanne Perez.”
Nina smiled at Mathew, then looked at Jessica and Roxanne. “Oh, so these are the girls you were talking about?” She nodded at them. “He’s told me so much about you guys.”
Even in the semi-darkness, Jessica saw Mathew blush.
“So, want to play a game?” Mathew asked, obviously looking for a way to change the subject.
Roxanne smiled. “Sure. If you want to be crushed completely.”
Nina laughed. “What are the teams?”
“You and Mathew, against me and Jessica,” Roxanne answered. She looked at Jessica. “Or would that be too much cremation?”
Nina picked up the ball and smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll manage.”
Alix and Jade stared at the TV, laughing at the jokes made by the comedians on the screen.
When the show was over, Alix turned off the TV. “So what do you want to do now?”
Jade shrugged, looking around the room. “I love your room, Al,” she said, looking at the many posters. They were mostly Aerosmith, but there were a few Red Hot Chilli Peppers, an Alice Cooper, and a couple of White Zombie. On a another wall there were more Aerosmith, sourrounded by a few of Pantera, Green Day, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails. “This room’s awesome.”
Alix shrugged. “I wanted to paint it black, but my parents wouldn’t let me. So, I went ahead and covered the walls completely with posters. It’s not Jessica’s room, but it’s home.”
Jade looked away from the walls, and looked at her. “Who’s Jessica?”
“Oh, right, you haven’t met her yet,” Alix said. “She’s one of my best friends. Her room is the size of this whole house, and she did this funky thing with the walls. She took a wall and painted it like it was a basketball court, and even put a mini b-ball hoop against it. And then she took another wall, and painted it to look like it was underwater, and stuff.” She paused. “I can’t explain it correctly. You’ll have to see it for yourself.”
Jade smiled. “She sounds cool.”
Alix nodded, falling onto her bed. “So, what do you want to do now?”
Jade shrugged, and looked at the time on Alix’s alarm clock. “I should be going,” she said, getting up. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school or something.”
Alix looked at her. “Yeah, see ya.”
Jade waved goodbye, and walked out of the room.
Claire walked into Pizza Max, looking around for a familiar face. She saw Rachel sitting with a girl she didn’t recognize. She walked over to them, and sat down in the booth next to Rachel. “Hey, Rache,” she said. “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, hey, Claire,” Rachel said, sliding over towards the window. “This is Nika Schmid. She just moved here from Australia.”
Claire was surprised. “Australia? Cool. I’ve always wanted to go there. I hear it’s really pretty.”
Nika nodded. “Yeah, it’s very beautiful,” she agreed. “But so’s Florida. I’d never been to the U.S. before.”
“I just got here this summer myself,” Claire told her. “I’m from Luxemburg.”
Nika frowned. “Luxemburg? Is that in Europe?”
“Yeah, it’s very small, though,” Claire answered. “It’s to the north of France.”
Nika nodded.
“So, Claire, what brings you to Pizza Max?” Rachel asked.
“My car,” Claire joked. “That and hunger.”
“Ah, that happens to be what I’m here for,” Leslie said, walking up to their table. “What can I get you pretty lady?”
“You’re still here, Les?” Rachel asked. “That other guy said you got off.”
Leslie nodded. “I did,” he answered. “But one of the other busboys called in sick at the last minute, and they asked me to cover his shift.” He shrugged. “Work, work, work. That is all I ever do.” He laughed. “So, what will it be? Pizza?”
Claire nodded. “I’d say so,” she answered. “Two slices of your finest peperoni pizza, please.”
Leslie smiled. “Coming right up.” He was about to walk away, but stopped. “What’s your name again?”
“Claire.”
“Claire,” he repeated, as though to not forget it. He nodded, then walked away.
Claire turned back to Rachel and Nika. “Who was that?” she asked.
“I’d say our waiter,” Nika joked.
“Very funny,” Claire said. “No, really, what’s his name?”
“Leslie Kenan,” Rachel answered. She smiled. “He’s cute, huh?”
“Cute doesn’t do him any justice,” Claire said, looking back at where he’d been.
Rachel laughed.
“Does he have girlfriend?” Claire asked casually.
“Not that I know of,” Rachel answered. “Of course, I don’t talk to him all that much. I doubt it, though.”
Claire smiled. “Well, that’s always a plus.”
“That was a great game,” Nina said, as they left the basketball court and headed towards the beach.
“Yeah, it was,” Jessica agreed. “I didn’t know you two could play so well. I wasn’t expecting to have to work so hard to get the ball into the net.”
“You still won, though,” Mathew said.
“Yeah, by one point,” Roxanne argued. “And that was a lucky shot on my part.”
Nina laughed. “So, Jessica, are you planning to play when you go off to college?”
Jessica smiled. “Probably. I mean, I love basketball, but it’s not really my life or anything. So, I’ll see what happens.” She laughed. “Oh, and you should’ve warned us that you were captain of Baldwin U’s basketball team. How did you manage that, by the way? Didn’t you guys just move here?”
Nina shook her and smiled. “I was already here when Mathew and the rest of our family moved here. I was in a dorm at B.U.”
“Oh, so you went away to college here?” Roxanne asked. “How old are you, anyway?”
“Twenty-two,” Nina answered. “This is my senior year.”
“No wonder you play like a pro,” Roxanne argued.
Nina laughed. “Hey, you guys chose the teams,” she defended herself. “I’m innocent.”
“Well, guys it was fun,” Jessica said, as they stepped onto the beach.
“We’ll have to do that again sometime,” Mathew agreed.
“Definitely,” Roxanne said.
“Yeah,” Nina agreed.
“Well, see you tomorrow, Mathew,” Jessica said. “Nice meeting you Nina.”
“Later,” Roxanne said.
“Bye, guys,” Nina said.
“Until tomorrow,” Mathew said.
Jessica and Roxanne walked away, and Nina and Mathew headed in the opposite direction.
Later that night, Mathew sat again at his computer. He’d just signed on to AOL, and he hesitated before checking to see if “Dreamer” was on also.
Dreamer is online and in
chat room “Whatever”
Mathew smiled, and sent her an Instant Message.
Instant Message from Shyguy
Shyguy: Hey, Dreamer.
Dreamer: I came on-line hoping you’d
be here. You just saved me from
some moron who was telling me
he wanted to have beautiful
children with me . . .how do
you figure?!
Shyguy: LOL…so you’re glad I’m
back?
Dreamer: Absolutely.
Shyguy: Oh, so I’m that important
to you?
Dreamer: You’re. . .special
Shyguy: how so?
Dreamer: You’re the only guy that
talks to me as though I’m a
person and not just some
sex object.
Shyguy: You’re embarrassing me…
but thank you. So, Dreamer,
do you have a boyfriend?
Dreamer: Not really. How about you?
Shyguy: Nah, I’m not into dating guys
all that much. I like girls a lot
better.
Dreamer: Very funny…you know what I
meant.
Shyguy: LOL, yeah, I know what you
meant. No. I don’t have a
gilfriend.
When Dreamer didn’t answer back, Mathew frowned. “That’s strange.” He waited a few more minutes to see if what she was saying was so long that it was taking her a while to type it. But no answer appeared under what he had last said.
Shyguy: Dreamer are you there?
Instead of getting a response from Dreamer, a small box flashed over the one already there.
Dreamer is no longer signed on.
Mathew flinched as he read the message. What happened? Did I say something wrong? He reread the whole conversation, but couldn’t decide what had made Dreamer sign off. “Get off it, Collins.” He left AOL, got out of Windows, and shut off the computer.
He walked over to his bed, lied down, and soon fell asleep.
Jessica stared at the blank screen in front of her, and slapped the computer monitor. “I can’t believe you did that to me,” she told the computer, getting up from her desk. She picked up the stuffed basketball she kept by her bed, and shot it at the mini hoop she had against the far wall. The ball went in without hesitation. “You find the nicest guy on AOL, and the stupid thing kicks you off for no reason what so ever.” She picked up the basketball again, but just fell back on her bed with it.
“Ugh,” she muttered, and turned on her side. “I have got to get a life.”
Chapter four
B.J. McNair walked down the halls of Baldwin High the next morning. The first hour bell hadn’t yet rang, and he was trying to waste time. He saw Alex Woods walking towards him, a tall, brown haired-girl by his side.
“Hey, B.J.,” Alex said, walking up to him. “I’d like you to meet my friend Roxanne Perez.”
B.J. looked at Roxanne’s gorgeous face, and found himself at a loss of words. “Uh. . . hi,” he said lamely. Oh, that’s a good one. Why not slip on a bowtie, a pair of really thick glasses, and call yourself Urkel?
“I saw you playing at the hockey game, last Sunday,” Roxanne said. “You were amazing.”
B.J. smiled. “Thanks.”
Alex frowned. “I thought you said you didn’t make it to the game?”
Roxanne smiled. “I lied.”
Alex looked confused but recovered. “Well, I have to go talk to Mr. Fidgestein about that little “No habla inglés” incident in Journalism. I’ll catch you later, Rox. See ya, B.J.”
Alex walked away, and Roxanne stared at his retreating back.
“Ah, are you guys going out, or something?” B.J. asked, fearing the answer.
Roxanne sighed, turning back to B.J. “Or something,” she answered. “We’re not going out. Unfortunately.”
B.J. felt his heart sink. “Oh,” was all he could say.
“Well, it was nice meeting you B.J.,” Roxanne said, smiling. “See ya later.”
“Yeah, see ya,” he said, watching her walk away. Just then the first hour bell rang, echoing in the halls, and Roxanne disappeared into the crowd.
Alix stepped into her third hour class, later that day. She shook her head, and sat down on the last chair of the row in front of her. “This really blows,” she muttered, crossing her arms.
“Tell me about it,” said a friendly male voice.
Alix looked up to see a gorgeous guy looking down at her. He sat down next to her, and offered his hand. “B.J. McNair,” he said.
Alix shook his hand. “Alix Morris. With an ‘i’ .” She covered one of her eyes for effect.
B.J. laughed.
Riiiiiiinnngg!
Alix rolled her eyes at the sound of the bell. “Oh joy.” She glanced quickly at the guy sitting next to her. B.J. McNair, she thought. That name sounds familiar. She shrugged. “Oh, whatever.” She put her head down on the desk, and went to sleep.
The lunch hour bell echoed through the deserted halls. Soon, doors were thrown open, and anxcious teenagers rushed into the halls.
“Hey, watch it!” Alix yelled, as she was pushed into a wall. “Damn freshmen,” she muttered, as she pulled her bookbag back on her shoulder, and started walking towards the stairs.
“Hey,” said a familiar voice. “Um, you’re Alix, right?”
Alix looked up to see the guy from her first hour class standing beside her. “If you say so, then I guess I am. B.J., right? What does that stand for, anyway? Big Jock?”
B.J. laughed. “Not quite,” he answered. “Benjamin Joseph.”
“Oh. So how come you don’t go by your real name?”
B.J. shrugged. “When I was little my parents couldn’t decide which name they liked the best, so they just called me B.J. It caught on after that.”
“Hey, that’s pretty cool.” Alix smiled. “My initials are A.T., but I despise my middle name. I still haven’t forgiven my parents for comitting such a sin.”
“What’s your middle name?”
Alix shook her head. “Uh, no. I don’t think so. Over my dead body will anyone discover my middle name. It’s top secret. Not even my twin sister knows it.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
Alix laughed. “Trust me, it can.”
B.J. smiled.
“So, B.J., what do you like to do for fun? Do you surf? Waterski? Skydive? Ever try diving into a glass of water? I saw it on a cartoon once, but my parents wouldn’t let me try it.” She shrugged. “I think they’re afraid I’ll break the precious glass, or something. I told them I could do it into a plastic cup, but they yelled at me just the same. It’s probably written somewhere in the Parents’ Guide to Making Your Kid’s Life Miserable: ‘DON’T LET YOUR CHILD DIVE INTO A GLASS OF WATER. THEY COULD BREAK IT!!!’”
B.J. laughed. “Are you usually so . . .?”
Alix frowned. “Strange? Wierd? Phsychotic? Yes to all of the above. I was dropped on my head as a baby. That’s my excuse. Am I talking too much? Cause I tend ramble sometimes.”
“Hey, Alix,” Jessica said, walking up to them.
“Oh, hi Jess,” Alix said, half-heartedly. Great. There go my chances with Mr. Right. When he meets Jessica, he’ll fall head over heels in love with her, and I’ll have to hear about it for the rest of my life. You know, I should’ve tried making friends with the dorks, that way I wouldn’t have to worry about it. “What cha doing?”
Jessica shrugged. “I’m on my way to Pizza Max. Want a ride?” She looked at B.J. and then back at Alix. “Who’s your friend?”
Well, I couldn’t expect her not to notice him eventually. “Um, this is B.J. B.J. this is Jessica. Now you know each other. Let’s eat.”
Jessica smiled at her. “Calm down, Al,” she said. “We still have about fifty minutes left.” She turned to B.J. “Aren’t you the hockey guy?”
Hockey guy? Alix thought. Oh, no! Not the dork from the practice game!
“Yeah, I guess so,” B.J. answered
“Alex kept talking about you, like you were his role model,” Jessica told him. “He was really impressed by the way you play.”
B.J. smiled.
Gee, this conversation is really interesting. Alix closed her eyes and yawned. Yup, I feel like grabbing a pillow, and going to sleep.
“I hate school,” Roxanne muttered, climbing the stairs to the second floor, as she headed toward her last hour. “I hate school. I hate Nika Sch–whatever. But I hate Alexander Woods the most.” She threw open the door to the girls’ locker room, and stormed inside. “He’s a jerk. Infact, all guys are jerks.”
“I hear ya,” Alix muttered, falling into step beside her, as they headed towards their lockers.
Roxanne looked down at her. “I’m serious, Alix. Unlike you, I have real guy problems.”
“Thanks a bundle for that positive note, Rox,” Alix said sarcastically, stopping infront of her locker. “It just happens, I met a terrific guy today.”
Roxanne shook her head. “Imaginary ones don’t count.”
Alix looked at her, rolled her eyes, and started on her combination. “Very funny,” she muttered, dryly, openning the locker. “Unfortunately, he’s real.”
Roxanne raised an eyebrow, and cocked her head to the side. “Seriously?”
“No, I’m lying to you,” Alix answered, sarcastically.
“That’s what I thought.”
Alix opened her locker, and started taking out her P.E. uniform, ignoring Roxanne’s lame attempt at a joke. “So, what’s the problem with guys this time,” she asked. “Is it one in particular, or just the whole male species combined?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” Roxanne said, taking off her shoes, and throwing them into her now open locker.
Alix shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but with you it’s kind of hard to tell. So, the Alex-meister still hasn’t popped the big question?”
Roxanne shook her head. “Nope. I doubt he ever will thanks to her .”
“Thanks to who?”
“Her. That new Australian person. Nika something or other. Didn’t you see the way he was looking at her at lunch?”
“No, Rox. How was he looking at her?”
Roxanne stood up from the bench she was sitting on, and walked two steps to her locker, taking out a pair of black basketball shorts. She turned to look at Alix. “He was looking at her like, well, the way you look at fine guys when they walk pass you.”
“I look at fine guys,” she repeated. “And? Is that all? Hel-lo! I also whistle at them, and call really lame pick-up lines at their backs–such as, ‘Hey, baby, you’re so hot that where ever you go they have to sit you under the A/C vents to cool you down.”
“Riiiight,” Roxanne said, rolling her eyes. “Thanks for sharing, Al, really. I needed to know all that.” She grew serious again, and turned back to her locker, watching Alix out of the corner of her eyes. “So, what do you think I should do? I mean, about Alex and all.”
Alix opened her mouth to answer, but she was cut off by Lynn, who appeared suddenly. “Oh, if it isn’t Tweedledork, and Tweedledorkier,” she cooed, placing her bookbag on the bench next to her.
“Ooh, Lynn,” Roxanne said, putting her hand to her heart, mockingly. “That really hurt. You know how much I value your opinion of me.”
Lynn glared at her cockily. “I don’t have an opinion of you, Roxanne,” she told her. “You’re not worth enough to deserve an opinion. Of your stupid little friends, the only one I have an actual opinion of, is Jessica, and it keeps lowering, and lowering every time I see her hanging around you poor lowlifes.” She turned back to her locker. “And it wasn’t much to begin with.”
Alix felt her anger rising. Roxanne must have noticed how tensed she’d become, because she put her hand on Alix’s shoulder, and told her to chill out.
Alix hesitantly obeyed, turning her back on Lynn, and focusing on putting on her P.E. uniform.
“Oh, Alix, I saw your friend a little while ago,” Lynn said, trying out her locker comination as she spoke. She yanked it open. “You know, the one with blue hair and prostitute clothes.”
Jade turned the corner at that moment. “Who your mom?” she asked Lynn, pushing her out of her way.
“Hey!” Lynn yelled, grabbing on to her open locker to keep herself from falling. “You pushed me!”
Jade turned around. “I believe the appropriate word here would be. . . duh?”
Lynn walked over to Jade, and glared into her eyes. “Don’t ever touch me. I’m warning you. If you ever touch me again, you will regret it. Probably more than the person who slashed my tires will. I can always buy new tires.”
Jade remained unaffected. “I won’t regret anything,” she told her. “You have no power over me. Just because your mommy and daddy have money, doesn’t mean you rule the world. In fact, I bet if I punched you out right now, you still wouldn’t be able to make me regret it. Any punishment is worth wiping that cocky smile off your face.”
“So, why don’t you?” Lynn countered.
Jade shrugged. “You aren’t worth it. Your face as my fist meets you nose, might be worth it. But then what? I get to sit at some office explaining the reason why your plastic nose is gushing blood, while you sit there and accuse me of more crimes than I’ve actually committed? Then you’d call your precious father to come back up your story, and because of his money and social standing, you’ll win. No matter what I say to defend my name, you’ll win, and I’ll be screwed over. So, what reason do I have for beating you up, when I know in the end I’ll be the one down on the floor asking for the mercy you won’t give me?”
For the first time ever, Lynn didn’t have an answer.
Chapter Five
B.J walked down the beach after school, his mind a thousand miles away. His thoughts focused on one person. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
“Hey, B.J.,” Alix said, walking up beside him. “How has life been treating you?”
“Fine,” he answered absentmindedly.
“Right. Very original answer.”
“Do you know a girl named Roxanne Perez?” he asked suddenly, wishing he hadn’t after the words left his mouth.
“Yup. She’s one of my best friends,” Alix answered. She paused, unsure she wanted to here the answer to next question. “Why?”
B.J. brightened. “Oh, really?” he asked, ignoring her question. “So you would know whether or not she has a boyfriend, right?”
Alix sighed. “Yes, I would.”
“So, does she?”
Alix sighed again, this time more deeply. This is just great. Rox and Alex sure picked a good time to go their seperate ways. Well, let’s see. I could lie, and say that she does have a boyfriend, and then get him mad at me when he finds out I lied. Or, I could tell him the truth, and lose all chances of gaining a meaningful relationship with the guy of my dreams. . .Well, close enough. She shrugged. Well, I could always flip a quarter.
Roxanne groaned as she walked towards the beach blanket Jessica was sitting on. She stared back at the ocean, where in the distance she could see Alex and Nika surfing.
“It’s really not like you to be jealous, Rox,” Jessica commented, looking up at her behind a dark pair of sunglasses.
Roxanne sat down beside her, and forced a smile. “I’m not jealous.”
Jessica nodded. “Right. So, what are you?”
“Concerned,” she answered.
“Concerned,” Jessica repeated slowly.
“Yeah, concerned.” Roxanne nodded. “I mean, what do we really know about this Nika person?”
Jessica shook her head. “Since when have you started questioning the new people at our school?”
Since one of them keeps trying to lure away my boyfriend, she wanted to answer. “As I said before, this girl is out there surfing with my–with Alex. How can we be so sure that she’s not some amateur surfer, whose trying to impress my–our friend? She could make a mistake and get them both killed. Do you want that hanging over your head?”
Jessica shrugged sadly. “What difference would it make? I already have two deaths hanging over my head, why not add a couple more?”
“You know, I really wish you’d stop saying things like that,” Roxanne said, looking at her.
Jessica nodded. “Sorry. Force of habit.”
“So, what’s your advice?” Roxanne asked, changing the subject back to her dilema. “Should we go stop them before they hurt themselves?” She looked at Jessica quickly. “Um, ’cause, you know, I’m concerned about his wellbeing, and all.”
Jessica laughed. “I hope you realize your attempts at hiding your feelings toward Alex are really transparent,” Jessica told her. “And I really wish you’d realize that his are equally so.”
Roxanne shook her head sadly. “Jess, if Alex really cared about me, he would’ve asked me out by now.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll just have to get used to the fact that we aren’t meant to be.” She looked around. “Maybe I should find another guy. There are plenty of fish in the sea, right?”
Jessica rolled her eyes, and lied down. “Whatever, Rox. Whatever.”
Alex smiled down at Nika, as they walked onto the shore, surfboards under their arms. “You are really good,” he told her. “I’ve never seen surfing like that before.”
Nika smiled shyly, sticking her surfboard in the sand. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
Alex laughed. He looked at the rolling waves in front of him, and shook his head. “I bet these waves are nothing compared to the ones in Australia, huh?”
“Well, no,” Nika admitted. “The ones back home are pretty amazing.”
Alex looked around. In the distance, he saw Roxanne sitting next to Jessica.
“So, what do you want to do now?” Nika asked.
Alex looked away from Roxanne. “Huh?”
Nika looked at her watch. “Oh, man. I better get going.” She took her surfboard, and waved at Alex. “This was fun. Let’s do it again sometime.”
Alex nodded distractedly. “Sure.”
“Well, bye.”
Alex watched Nika walk away, and turned back to Roxanne’s figure in the distance. She was talking to some guy he couldn’t quite recognize from so far away. He walked a little closer, and realized it was B.J.
Roxanne looked up, and shielded her eyes from the sun. “Oh, hi. “She frowned thoughtfully. “B.J., right?”
B.J. nodded. “Um, I was wondering if you wanted to get a burger or something?”
Roxanne smiled, and looked at Jessica, sending her a look that was supposed to mean, “What do you think?”
Jessica sat up, and shook her head subtlely, but Roxanne ignored her.
She looked up at B.J. and smiled. “Sure.”
Alix rolled her eyes. She stood next to B.J., and so far no one had noticed her presence. I hate it when that happens.
Roxanne got up from the blanket, and smiled sexily at B.J. “Let’s go.”
B.J. nodded gleefully, and the two of them walked off towards the Beach Spot.
Alix sat down where Roxanne had been, and looked miserably at Jessica.
“Alix, you’ve been quiet for more than a minute. If you don’t start babbling soon, I’m gonna call for a doctor.”
“I have nothing to say,” Alix muttered.
Jessica got up. “Okay, that’s it, I’m calling for help. How high is your fever? What did you have for lunch? Can you breath?”
Alix rolled her eyes. “No, Jess, I can’t breathe. I’m living off the last gulp of fresh air I took about forty-five minutes ago. Sit down, I’m okay.”
Jessica obeyed. “Oh, I get it. You’re depressed. Any particular reason?”
“Guys suck. Why is it that the guy you like just never likes you back?”
Jessica frowned. “At the risk of sounding stupid, you are talking about yourself, right?”
Alix nodded.
“Meaning, you have a guy problem?”
Alix threw her a look. “Yes!I have a guy problem. Why is that hard to believe?”
Jessica shrugged. “You’ve never liked guys before. I mean, you’ve never officially announced you liking someone, since like sixth grade. I’m proud of you, though. It’s a big step for you, I know, focusing on one guy, instead of every single one that walks by you.”
Alix nodded. “It’s strange, though. It was like, love at first sight, or something. Do you believe in love at first sight?”
Jessica looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I do,” she answered. “I mean, I don’t know from personal experience, but I’m sure it’s possible.”
Alix nodded. “The bad thing is, that he doesn’t like me back.”
Jessica looked at her. “How do you know?”
Alix smiled bitterly. “I know. I just . . . know.”
“What’s his name?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
Alix shrugged. “I kind of want to keep this down,” she answered. Which was true to some extent. “I’m trying to deny my feelings towards him, and by telling you his name, then I’m admitting to liking him, and I’ll be totally confused. It would be a total phsycho-drama up there in the old cabeza..” Okay, so that was a lie, but atleast it made sense.
Better still, Jessica bought it.
“Yeah, I guess I can understand that,” Jessica said.
Alix nodded. “Yeah. So, anyways, enough about little ol’ me. How’s your life? Any new boyfriend material?”
Jessica shook her head.
“No? How come? Jess, you’re the most popular girl. You have to have a boyfriend. It’s inconcievable that you don’t.”
Jessica shrugged. “There’s not much to chose from.”
Alix laughed. “Now, you and me both know that that’s bull. Jess, I’ve known you way too long to believe what you’re telling me. Remember? I was the little dork that attached herself to you in middle school? And you, being who you were in the days I now title the ‘before’ days, pushed me aside, and told me to get lost. ” Alix smiled at her. “You do remember, right? And me, being the dork I was way back when, told the ‘before’ you that you were my role model, causing you to crack up and laugh, and then turn away to tell all your ‘high society’ friends what I’d told you.”
Jessica smiled sadly. “The ‘before’ days.”
Alix realized she’d gone a little too far. “Back to my point,” she said, trying to shift directions on the conversation. When Jessica was reminded of her parents, it was painful to see the look in her eyes. They clouded up, became blank and distant. It was like looking at a whole different person, and it hurt Alix to see the pain in her best friend’s eyes. “Yeah, so my point being, that I’ve known you too long to actually believe that there isn’t one guy–not one–that has made you turn your head, and say, ‘Whoa, baby, I’m in love’.”
Jessica looked at Alix, still wearing that distant look. “I was really mean to you back then, wasn’t I?”
Okay, so it didn’t quite work. “No,” Alix lied, assuringly. “You were strict, but fair.”
Jessica shook her head. “No, I was a terrible person. Like Lynn.”
“Oh, no! Not like Lynn. Never like Lynn. Not even Satan is worse than Lynn.” Alix shuddered at the horrifying thought. “No, Lynn is a whole different species all together. She should be placed in the Galapagos Islands, though those poor animals would probably commit suicide.” She looked at Jessica, hoping that she was atleast smiling. She wasn’t. “Okay, Jess, that’s it.” She slapped her friend’s face.
Jessica jumped with a start, and drew her hand to her face. “Ow.”
“Sorry,” Alix said.
“Was there a point to that?” Jessica asked, rubbing her cheek.
“You were out of it, Jess. Way gone. Yup, a goner.”
Jessica put her hand down, and looked at her. “And you felt it necessary to slap me?”
“Well, yeah,” Alix answered.
Jessica nodded, and then shook her head. “Okaaay. So, what were we talking about before I lost it?”
“Guys. You were about to tell me the name of the guy you like.”
Jessica nodded. “Oh, right. He’s–Hey!”
Alix smiled. “Aha! So there is someone! Do tell.”
Roxanne looked at B.J., and smiled. “Yeah, the Braves are the best, definately. And basketball–”
“Suns,” B.J. answered.
“Charles Barkeley?”
“Number thirty-four.”
Roxanne laughed. “This is great
B.J. nodded. “Yeah.” He frowned. “I never figured you for the sporty kind of girl, though.”
“What did you figure me as, then?” Roxanne asked curiously, leaning forward on the booth.
B.J. looked at her and smiled. “A woman.”
Roxanne frowned. “So, you’re saying I’m not a woman?”
B.J. laughed. “Of course you’re a woman.” He looked at her and smiled. “Like a flower in the spring; so full of life, and yet so gentle. So, you must see now how it amazed me to realize you were the type of flower that has stroger roots than I thought. Sorry for the corny analogy there.”
Roxanne smiled at him. “That’s really sweet.” Corny, yes, but sweet in an idealistic sort of way, I guess.
“Thanks.”
Roxanne didn’t care what Jessica said. This guy was great. They liked the same sports, same teams. He was incredibly good looking, and very sweet, and romantic. What else could she want?
“Oh, hey guys,” Alex said, walking up to their table. “May I join you, or is this some sort of romantic get-together?”
Alex had meant that as a joke, Roxanne knew. Too bad he didn’t know just how right he was. Although it would serve him right, if he did, Roxanne added silently.
Chapter Six
“Let me get this straight,” Alix said, looking at Jessica with a look of complete confusion. “You’re telling me that you’re in love with a guy from a computer service?”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “No. What I’m saying is that I may like someone in AOL. In fact, maybe not even like, more like I sort of find him interesting.”
“And you’ve only talked to him once?”
“Twice,” Jessica quickly corrected.
“No offence, Jess, but that is really pathetic. I mean, look around you.”
Jessica looked around the crowded beach, and then back at Alix. “Yeah, so?”
“Real people,” Alix answered. “See? Guys, with like, really fine bodies are checking you out as we speak. You walk around in that bikini of yours, and guys fall at your feet.”
Jessica looked amused. “Right.”
“You just can’t see it,” Alix went on, ignoring Jessica’s sarcasm. She stood up. “Wait here.”
“Where are you going?” Jessica asked, afraid to know the answer.
“You’ll see.” Alix walked away from the beach blanket, and started up the beach. She looked around, until she found what she was looking for; a lifeguard.
She smiled and approached the gorgeous guy sitting up in his lifeguard stand. She ignored the many girls standing around him, giving no subtle indication that she didn’t know what she wanted.
“Excuse me,” Alix said to lifeguard, pushing a skinny, trampy-looking girl out of her way. “Just out of curiousity, where you checking my friend out?”
The lifeguard looked confused, and a little embarassed. “What?”
Alix pointed at Jessica, who still sat on the blanket. “That’s my best friend Jessica, over there. She was wondering if you were doing anything tonight.”
The lifeguard looked at Jessica, who was now hiding her face in her hands. “Jessica, huh?” He smiled, turning back to Alix. “She wants to go out with me?”
“Well, not exactly. But I doubt she’d turn you down.”
The lifeguard recited his phone number. “Can you remember that?”
“Sure, no problem,” she answered breezily. “I’ll have her call you.”
“Great,” the lifeguard answered. “The name’s Chris. Tell her I’l get home tonight around seven.”
Alix nodded dismissively. “Yeah, whatever,” she said, walking back through the crowd of girls wearing bikinis much too small for their bodies. She rolled her eyes as she heard a few of them saying Chris’s number over and over so that they wouldn’t forget it.
She walked back to where Jessica was still sitting, and smiled. “There you go.”
“Huh?”
“That gorgeous lifeguard over there just asked you out,” Alix beamed proudly. “Well, he will as soon as you call him, anyway.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, he gave me his number for you to call him, because he wants to go out with you. But that’s not the point I’m trying to make.”
“There’s a point?”
“Of course. My point is that you can get any guy on this beach.”
“I’m still confused as to why you’re doing this?”
Alix sat down. “Here’s the thing. Remember Julian Sanchez last year? After Julian you’ve had what? Two? Three? Zero boyfriends. So, I’m trying to get you one.”
“I don’t want another boyfriend. At least not that lifeguard up there.”
Alix waved away Jessica’s statement with her hand. “Oh, the lifeguard thing was just to prove my point. He’s a player. I can see it in his eyes. No. You deserve someone better.”
Jessica waved her hand in front of Alix’s face. “Al, I appreciate your concern, but I think I can get my own boyfriend.”
Alix frowned at her, and crossed her arms. “Fine, Jessica, you do that. In twenty years when you’re forty, and still single, you will think back to this very moment and say, ‘Gosh, I wish I’d let Alix get me a nice boy to go out with. Maybe then I wouldn’t have this mansion all to mayself, and the hundred cats that keep me company.”
Jessica was amused in spite of the fact that she was also annoyed. “A hundred cats, huh?”
Nina walked across the Baldwin University parking lot, in search of her car. She was trying to walk, see, and balance twenty books all at the same time. So far it was working pretty well.
“Hey, Nina!” someone yelled. “Wait up.”
Nina turned around quickly, forgetting she was carrying extra baggage. Her books collapsed to the ground, as she ran into Leslie Kenan.
“Sorry,” Leslie quickly appologized. He helped her pick up her books, and offered to help her carry them.
“Thanks,” Nina said, as they started walking towards her car.
“Hey, I was wondering, if you aren’t busy tonight, would you like to go to the movies with me? I’m off work today, so I have the rest of the day free.”
Nina smiled politely. “Sorry. I’d love to, but I have a ton of work to do.” She pointed to the books. “As you can see.”
Leslie looked a little disappointed, but smiled anyway. “You’re a senior this year, right?”
Nina nodded. “Yeah. It’s my last year. Then I plan on going to Yale and study medicine.”
“Ah, an intellectual,” Leslie said. “I like that. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the movies? I’m dying to see The Net, but I really hate going to the movies alone.”
Nina smiled. “You like Sandra Bullock, too?”
Leslie laughed. “She’s the greatest. My absolute favorite.”
“Mine too,” Nina said. She thought about it, and nodded. “Okay, I’ll see The Net with you. Just so you don’t have to go alone.”
Leslie brightened. “Really? Oh, that would be great.”
They reached Nina’s black Toyota Celica, and she opened the door, dumping all the books inside. She smiled up at Leslie before getting in. “What time?”
Leslie looked embarassed. “I’m not sure. I didn’t think you’d say yes.”
Nina laughed.
“Let’s meet at Pizza Maz around 7:00,” Leslie suggested. “We’ll catch the next show after that.”
Nina nodded. “Okay, see you then.” She closed the car door, and pulled out of the parking lot, watching Leslie in the rearview mirror. She laughed as she drove out of the Baldwin University campus. “Well, Nina,” she told herself. “You’re going out with a freshman tonight. And how does that make you feel?” She thought about it for a second. “Great, actually,” she answered. “He is fine. And aside from being the only guy to cause me to have to talk to myself, he’s actually pretty cool.”
Alix stepped into her room, later that night, and walked over to the full-length mirror that cover part of the wall. She squinted at her reflection, and sighed.
“What are you doing?” Rachel asked, standing in the doorway. Her arms crossed against her chest, with a look of obvious amusement.
Alix twirled around to face her sister. “What are you doing here?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “It’s my house? I live here?”
Alix shook her head. “I meant in my room.”
Rachel looked at her strangely, and cocked her head to the side. “There’s something strange about you today. I mean, stranger than usual.” She crossed the room to where Alix stood, and looked at her closely. “Yeah. There’s something wierd–or rather normal, in your case. You don’t look cheerful. That’s it. You’re not talking endlessly for the first time in sixteen years.” She stepped back and frowned. “What happened? Who died? Who did you kill?”
Alix shook her head, walked over to her bed, and lied down. “Nothing happened. No one died. And I didn’t kill anyone.”
Rachel walked over to her, and placed her hand on Alix’s forhead. “Well, you don’t have a fever.” She sat down beside her sister, and looked down at her. “What happened? Seriously, this time.”
Alix stared up at her sister, debating whether or not to tell her about B.J., and in the end, she decided to keep quiet. She sat up, and faced Rachel. “No-thing hap-pend,” she said slowly, emphasazing every syllable.
Rachel shrugged and stood up. “Whatever, Alix. I’m not going to argue with you. Keep hiding your feelings the way you always do. You know what though, someday you will want to talk to someone, and there’ll be no one there to listen.”
“Is this what you do in your spare time? Alix asked, trying to make a joke. “Analize me?”
Rachel looked at her, and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Alix fell back on the bed, and stared up at the poster of Aerosmith conveniently posted on the ceiling.
She didn’t hide her feelings, did she? She sat up once again. She just didn’t want to tell her sister anything, ’cause well, she was her sister after all, and they weren’t supposed to like each other. But still, what Rachel had said had struck a nerve.
She lied back down, confusion whirling inside her. She didn’t know what to do about B.J. She’d never felt like this before. Well, okay, there had been that time in, like, sixth grade when she’d totally obsessed over this guy, John. And also her freshman year had been spent following every single good-looking guy that walked by her. And, yeah, she’d had plenty of guys who’d asked her out during the course of her sixteen–going on seventeen–years. But she’d never had an actual boyfriend. Never believed in them.
She’d watched as Roxanne and Jessica had gone out with one guy after the next. Always telling her how great it was, and she’d always listened attentively, like a little girl would listen to her older and wiser sister, wishing that the day would come when, she too, would go out with a handsome guy who would praise the land she walked on. I’m still waiting, she thought sourly.
She got up from the bed, and walked over to the mirror, once again straining at her reflection. Short, brown hair. Green eyes. Petite height. Not too skinny, not too fat. Not even close to modeling material, but atleast not repulsive. No make-up, what so ever, and clothes off the You Too, Can Look Seven Years Old catalogue.
Now wonder B.J. didn’t know she was alive.
Nina stepped out of her room, wearing a pair of black jeans, a white shirt, and a black vest over it. Also her trademark black and white Nikes–never leave home without them.
Mathew walked by her, holding a huge sandwish in one hand, and a Coke can in the other. He stopped when he saw her. “Where are you going?”
Nina smiled. “I have a date.”
“No, way. You?” Mathew stepped back and looked her up and down. “Love the outfit. Very 90′s.”
Nina laughed. “Shut up. What do you know about fashion, anyway?”
Mathew frowned, and looked down at his black basketball shorts, and his yellow and purple hockey jersey. “What? You don’t like my taste in clothes? I’ll have you know this outfit is in great demand, nowadays.”
Nina laughed again, and pushed him playfully out of her way. “Don’t wait up.”
“Hey, who’s the guy? It is a guy, right?”
Nina smiled, but didn’t turn around. “See ya later, bro.”
“Have fun.” He paused, as she opened the front door. “But not too much fun!”
Nina closed the door behind her as she stepped outside. The warm summer’s breeze caught her hair, and she smiled at the feeling. She walked to her car, got in, and drove to Pizza Max, where she parked the car next to the entrance. She got out, and stepped inside the restaurant.
She found Leslie sitting at a booth in the far corner, and walked towards him. He smiled when he saw her.
“You look great,” Leslie told her, as she sat down across from him.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Leslie held up his hand. “Stop it, you’re embarassing me.”
Nina laughed. “So, at what time is the movie?”
Leslie looked at his watch. “At 8:15. We’ve got about an hour til show time. I went ahead and ordered for us. I hope you’re hungry.”
Nina smiled at him. “I’m always hungry. Specially when it comes to pizza.”
“Ah, a woman with an appetite.” Leslie laughed. “Where have you been all my life?”
Claire parked her car in the Pizza Max parking lot, and got out. She was coming here a lot. She’d should find a better way to talk to that Leslie guy, or she was going to gain two-hundred pounds in the next few days.
She threw open the door, and went inside. As usual, music was blasting through the speakers on the walls, and the TV’s were all on, showing the videos to each song. At that moment, Salt-n-Pepa’s “Whatta man” was blasting at top volume.
She surveyed the area, on the look-out for her prey–um, guy. She spotted him sitting by himself at the far end of the restaurant. She figured he probably had the day off. She shrugged to herself, and started walking towards him.
Suddenly, a tall girl, with long auburn hair sat down in front of him. Claire stopped in her tracks, almost running into a waitress carrying a large tray. She quickly appologized, and took the nearest available booth, frowning at the scene a few tables away. Why was he with that other girl? When she’d planned out the course of actions she would take in approaching him, she hadn’t pictured another girl anywhere in that panorama.
“May I take your order?” a pretty blonde waitress asked her, holding her pad and pencil ready to write.
Claire shook her head, and got up from the booth. “No, I was just leaving.” She walked across the restaurant, opened the door, and left, not looking back to see if Leslie had seen her.
Jessica walked out onto her balcony. The sun had long ago set over the distant horizon, and only darkness remained. She could barely see the ocean in front of her, but she could still hear the waves rolling in and out of the sandy shore. She walked down the wooden steps that gave way to the beach, and stepped down onto the cool, dry sand.
She walked down the shore, dodging the large waves that threatened to take her with them. She sat down after a while, and stared out at the full moon glowing radiantly over the sparkling black water.
It was often that she would come out at night, and stare at the ocean. There was a time, when she would’ve allowed the waves to take her, and would’ve let the ocean swallow her, like the small, incignificant creature that she was. There was a time, when her life was nothing more than a large black hole, endless in its misery, shallow in its hope.
Sometimes, when she was alone, and the sun was no longer in her company, she would feel the hole beconing for her to come back. Resisting depression was probably the hardest thing she had ever done, because she knew that once she went back in, she would never get out.
She had spent too long living in darkness, and too many years drowning in sorrow to go back to the point of no return.
Her parents were dead. She had learned to accept that. She had learned to wake up in the morning, and not expect to see her father drinking coffee at the end of the long dining room table. She had learned to live with the fact that her mother would never walk into her room, wearing a smile on her face, asking about her day. She had grown to realize that she would never see her parents again, and that the emptiness she felt would always be there, no matter what she did to fill it up.
Jessica shook her head, trying to shake away the memories that haunted her night and day, hour after hour, minute after minute. She shut her eyes, and saw her parents. Now nothing more than a fading image, a picture, growing duller with time. It was her biggest fear that some day, when she closed her eyes, they would no longer be there, and that her memory of them would forever be erased.
She opened her eyes, and almost screamed, but caught herself in time. “Mathew, you scared me half to death.”
Mathew walked over to her, and sat down. “Sorry. I tend to do that.”
“What are you doing at this side of the beach?” Jessica asked him.
“Walking,” Mathew answered simply.
“Walking,” Jessica repeated. “That’s a long walk.”
Mathew shrugged. “I don’t mind. I enjoy the exercise.” He turned his attention to the ocean. “What about you?”
“Walking, I guess.” She looked at the sky. “It’s a nice night. I’m glad it hasn’t rained in a while. Summers here are really aweful.”
Mathew looked surprised. “Really? I though this was the Sunshine State?”
“Yeah, in the winter. It’s great in the winter, though it’s been known to get a little chilly.”
“I have a lot to learn about Florida,” Mathew said. “Then again, I don’t know much about Washington, and I lived there all my life.”
“You lived in the same place all your life?” Jessica asked.
“Yup. Seattle, Wahington. Pathetic, isn’t it? Where were you born? Somewhere exotic, right?”
“Guess.”
Mathew looked at her closely. “Hm. Let’s see. You have a pretty good tan, so I guess Antartica is out of the question. Of course, you’ve lived here for a while, so you could’ve gotten it then. Well, anyways, you have an accent. Very faint, but I can hear still hear it. Am I right?”
Jessica frowned at him. “Now how did you know that?”
Mathew smiled. “Lucky guess.”
“Well, do you know where it’s from?”
Mathew frowned. “It’s not European, right?”
Jessica smiled.
“Spanish! Yeah, it’s a Spanish accent.” He laughed. “This is fun. Say something else.”
Jessica shook her head. “I can’t believe you picked up my accent. I didn’t even think I had one.”
“Am I right so far?”
Jessica nodded. “Yeah, but there’s no way you’ll guess where I’m from.”
Mathew held up his hand. “Give me a chance. I can do this. Okay, it’s . . .Cuban?”
Jessica cracked up, and then couldn’t stop laughing.
“Okay, I guess not. Um, Costa Rica?”
That made her laugh even harder.
“You could at least give me a hint.” He thought about it. “It’s not Mexican.” He shrugged. “I give up.”
Jessica stopped laughing, and looked at him. She hadn’t noticed how handsome he actually was. “Here’s a hint. It’s in the Caribbean.”
Mathew looked thoughtful once again. “Well, it’s not Cuba. I think we established that point quite well. Puerto Rico, then?”
Jessica nodded. “Close enough. It’s actually Midnight Island.”
Mathew frowned. “You were right, I would’ve never guessed that one. I’ve never even heard of it.”
Jessica smiled. “Few people have. It’s a really, really small island about three and a half miles off the coast of Puerto Rico.”
“Sounds exotic enough.” Mathew smiled.
“You could say that,” Jessica agreed.
“Would you?”
Jessica shrugged. “I don’t think anyone who has lived too long in a certain place could ever consider it exotic.”
“What do you mean? I find Seattle very exotic,” Mathew joked. “Everyone knows there’s nothing more exotic than tall buildings and lots of traffic.”
Alix walked out of her house, and started walking up the dark, deserted street. She had no particular destination in mind, and therefor felt slightly ridiculous walking by herself so late into the night. But she knew she had to get out of her house.
She reached the beach a little while later, and by then felt ready to collapse. “Remind me never to go walking again,” she said out loud to herself, sitting on the sand. “Next time, let’s go for the car. It’s less tiring.”
“Do you usually talk to yourself?” a deep male voice asked from somewhere in the darkness behind her.
Alix stood up quickly, and turned around. “Who’s there?”
“Oh, she’s fiesty, too.”
Alix held up her fists. “I’m warning you, I know karate, and I could break you in two if I have to.”
A loud laugh echoed through the night, silencing the loud waves, and causing Alix to step back. “Who are you?” she asked, amazed that her fear hadn’t enabled her to speak.
A dark figure emerged from the shadows. Alix clenched her fists tighter. In the soft glow of the moonlight, she saw the guy appear, and then move slowly to where she stood. “Stop right there, buster,” she told him.
The guy stopped obediently, and held up his hands in the air. “Please, don’t hurt me,” he said, with mock sarcasm. “I’ll do anything you want, just don’t shoot.”
Alix lowered her hands. “Who are you?” she asked again.
The guy let his arms fall down at his side, and sat down, looking up at her with an amused expression. “Who are you?”
“Madonna,” she answered.
“Really? I pictured you more along the lines of, I don’t know, Cindy Crawford.”
Alix laughed in spite of herself.
“Okay, your turn to flatter me,” he said, smiling up at her.
Alix raised an eye brow at him, and cocked her head to the side the way Roxanne usually did when she tried to act cool. “Excuse me?”"
The guy smiled. “Just kidding.”
Alix shook her head, and started walking past him.
“I like your shirt,” he called after her.
Alix rolled her eyes, and kept on walking. She didn’t stop until she was sure she was at least a mile away from that moronic idiot. When she got back to her room, she fell back on the bed, and once again stared up at the poster of Aerosmith.
She turned on her side, and found her mind going back to that guy at the beach.
She groaned, and grabbed her pillow. “I am not going into another boy-crazy phase,” she muttered, putting the pillow over her face.
Leslie parked his car back in the Pizza Max parking lot, and looked over at Nina. “So, did you enjoy yourself?”
Nina smiled. “Yeah. I had a great time.”
“So, does that mean you’ll go out with me again? Or are you still on sure as to wherther or not I’m a homicidal maniac?”
Nina considered it. “I guess a little bit of both,” she answered. She shrugged. “Of course, I’m a risk-taking sort of person.”
Leslie looked at her and smiled. “Should I take that as a yes?”
“If you want to.”
Leslie arched an eye brow mockingly. “Are you trying to play hard to get?” he asked.
Nina’s jaw fell open, as if shocked that anyone would suggest such a thing. “Why, I never,” she answered, mockingly.
Leslie laughed, his carefree laughter echoing in the small vicinity of the car. “I would definately want to go out with you again, Nina Collins,” he told her.
Nina smiled at him, and open the door. “Well, then, you can consider it a yes.” With that she got out the car, shut the door, and walked toward her own car.
Chapter Seven
Mathew looked over at Jessica, as she drove them both to school the next morning. His mind was a whirpool of emotions. Ever since their talk at the beach the night before, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.
He couldn’t help wonder how it would feel to kiss her, to run his hands through her silky black hair, and look deeply into her ocean blue eyes.
He tore his eyes from Jessica, and turned to the road in front of him. His heart was beating a thousand beats per minute, and he felt himself go numb. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was actually falling in love.
But it was impossible.
“So you knew about it already?” Alix asked Roxanne, as the two of them walked around before school.
“Yeah, she told me about it the other day,” Roxanne answered. “What’s his name? Shyguy?”
Alix nodded distractedly. “Something like that. So, she told you before me?”
Roxann rolled her eyes. She was starting to get annoyed. “Yes! Jessica told me about it before you.”
“But, why?”
“How the heck should I know?” Roxanne snapped.
Alix looked stunned for a second, before deciding to change the subject. “So, how was your little date with B.J. yesterday?”
It was clearly the wrong topic to pick.
“Will you please just leave me alone?” Roxanne nearly yelled.
Alix stopped. “Ah, I heard my name. I better go see who called me.” She started to walk away when Roxanne stopped her.
“Alix, stop,” Roxanne said. “Come back.”
Alix hesitantly walked back to her. “Um, you’re really scaring me, Rox.”
Roxanne sighed. “You want to know what my problem is?”
“That would be helpful, yes.”
“Remember when I said I hated Alex, yesterday? Well, I don’t.”
“Duh.”
Roxanne ignored the sarcastic comment, and continued. “But, I also like B.J.”
Alix narrowed her eyes. “I’m not quite sure I understand what you’re saying.”
Roxanne sighed again. “I like them both. Only, I like Alex better. I think. Only, B.J. like me back. So, I don’t know whether to keep hoping Alex will notice me, or just go with B.J. What would you do?”
Alix sighed to herself. “If I were you I’d stick with Alex.”
Roxanne seemed surprised. “You would? How come?”
“You know I’m not an expert on the subject of love, but since you asked my advice, I’ll tell you what I think. Okay, you know in the movies, how you get so frustrated when two people love each other, and just can’t see it? Well, you’re there, my friend. You’re Lois, and he’s Clark, and the both of you are complete idiots, for lack of a better word. So, here’s what you do. You march right up to him when you see him, and you tell him how you feel.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Rox, hello, have you lost all your braincells? It’s just like approaching a regular guy. I’ve seen you do that a million times–I’ve counted.”
Roxanne shook her head. “It’s not at all like approaching some guy you barely know. This would mean the difference between I having him, or losing him both as a friend, and as anything else. Don’t you see? If I tell him how I feel I run the risk of rejection. I can’t face such as risk. Not with Alex. It would mean too much.”
“If she says no, I’ll never be able to face her again,” Alex said, shaking his head. “I can’t tell her I love her. She would freak. She would run. How am I supposed to wake up in the morning knowing that the woman I love, hates me?”
“She won’t hate you,” Mathew told him.
Pizza Max wasn’t as crowded as usual at lunch time. Most of Baldwin High was still in school, preparing everything for the Student Government elections, which were to be held later that day.
“You’re right,” Alex said. “Not hate. The only person Rox hates is Lynn, and well, you know why. But, still, our friendship would be ruined. I mean, you can’t be friends with someone, knowing that the other person’s in love with you, can you? I mean, it would be kind of awkward.”
Mathew thought about it. If he didn’t know for a fact that Roxanne liked–maybe even loved–Alex back, he would’ve actually seen his point.
And in a way, he did.
Jessica looked around the auditorium. She, along with the rest of the SGA, had been working all lunch period in the decoration of what was to be the annual political debate of Baldwin High. She was proud to know they had succeeded in making the room look somewhat professional.
Alix walked up behind her, and put her arm around Jessica’s shoulders. “Are you gonna win the president title this year?” she asked.
Jessica sighed. “You know, I’ve been so busy thinking of other things, I didn’t even realize the debate was today. I haven’t even written a speech.”
Alix nodded. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re going to find out eventually, so I’ll just go ahead and say it. Guess who’s your opponent?”
Jessica shrugged. “Mitsi Honey?” she guessed.
Alix shook her head. “Lynn, Jess. You’re going against Lynn.”
Claire walked around at lunch time. She wasn’t a part of the SGA, but she’d still helped out a bit decorating. She got bored of it after a while, though, and had left the auditorium.
She sat down on one of the benches, conviniently posted throughout the school, and watched the people go by.
Suddenly, Claire saw her. The blue hair. The many earrings. The black lipstick. The black clothes.
It was her.
A small, mischivious smile crept to Claire’s lips, as she watched her old friend walk by. Obviously, the girl hadn’t see her, and for this she was thankful.
It wasn’t as though Claire was mad. She wasn’t really. It was mostly strange admiration for the prank the girl had pulled. It took character to do something so daring.
And maybe a little bit of insanity mixed in with a twisted mind. But in a way, it was these characteristics that helped Claire make up her mind.
She was going to get Leslie.
And she was going to stop at nothing to get him.
If a strange, blue-haired girl could be daring, then so could she.
“Alix! Wait up!”
Alix sighed dramatically at the sound of his voice. She was in too good a mood to have her feelings tampered on by the unfeeling words of the unknowing. She turned around, and waited for B.J. to catch up to her.
“Alix, hey,” he said, smiling so, that it made Alix want to forget the fact that she’d promised herself not to go after B.J.
The little devil in her head popped into her thoughts. You don’t have to ignore your feelings, it said. Roxanne’s a big girl, she can take care of herself. Besides, she’s in love with Alex. She would only end up hurting him in the end. “Uh, hi, B.J.”
“Are you on your way to the SGA thing?” he asked casually.
The angel, and somewhat saintly portion of her mind came to life. Alix, you can’t do that to your best friend, it said. You have to respect the fact that B.J. like Roxanne and not you. If it doesn’t work out between them, you can always take over after that–if Roxanne doesn’t mind, of course. Alix sighed again. “Oh, boy.”
B.J. looked confused. “Uh, Alix?”
Alix snapped back to reality. “Huh? What? Oh, right. Yeah, I’m on my way to the thing.”
“Good. We can walk together then. So, did Roxanne say anything about me?”
Alix made a soft grunting sound that came out more like a small burp than anything else. “Um, yeah, as a matter of fact, she did mention you,” she answered hesitantly, taking her time so that she could think of which portion of her conversation with Roxanne she could reveal. That’s when she realized the wasn’t any portion of that conversation that would adapt very well to what B.J. knew, and how much he should know. “Well, uh . . .um . . .” Oh, this is wonderful. Just tell him Roxanne’s in love with Alex, a part of her shouted. You can’t do that! screamed the other part. Yes, you can! No, you can’t! “Shut up!” Alix yelled, covering her ears.
“Oh, sorry,” B.J. appologized, looking a bit uncomfortable.
Alix gave in to the selfish part of her. “B.J. look, Rox likes you–”
“She does?!” B.J. yelled excitedly.
“But , ” Alix continued, “she’s in love with Alex.”
“Oh,” was all he said.
“B.J. I’m sorry. I guess I should have let Roxanne tell you herself. It’s just that she’s a little confused about everything. One minute she’s sure she loves Alex, the next you show up, and she isn’t so sure anymore–”
“Really? She wasn’t sure anymore because of me?”
“Well, um . . . oh, geez,” Alix stammered.
“Alix, don’t you see?” B.J. asked, his eyes lighting up.
Alix felt like running away from him before she said anything else. “See?”
“She likes me.”
“She does?”
“Of course! Why else would she not be sure whether or not to still love Alex.”
“Ah, well–”
“Alix, you have to help me,” B.J. said, grabbing her shoulders, and stepping in front of her so that all she was looking straight into his brown eyes.
Alix wished he didn’t touch her. It was bad enough already, without him making it worse. “Huh?”
He quickly kissed her lips. “You have to help me get her, Alix. I think I’m falling in love with her. You probably think it’s crazy, falling in love after one day, but Al, it’s the strangest feeling. It’s great, it’s wonderful, but yet it’s so scary.”
Alix sighed, biting her lip. She knew exactly how he felt.
Jessica was glad she didn’t have a deadly weapon on her, because she would’ve used it by now.
“I’ve sure you have nothing to worry about, Jessica,” Lynn continued, with sarcastic sweetness. “I bet you can stand up there, and deliver a perfect speech. Besides, even if you mess up I’m sure people won’t laugh–too hard.”
Jessica took a deep breath, and tried thinking of other things aside from homicide. It wasn’t working very well, though.
“Anyways, Jessica,” Lynn went on, “don’t worry too much about doing a good job. I’m going to win anyways, so why don’t you just quit while you’re ahead.”
This stroke Jessica as funny, and she began to laugh. “You’re going to win? You ?”
Lynn smiled, the most evil smile in the world. “Oh, Jessica, if you only knew. Your friends already lost the election for you.”
Jessica stopped laughing. “What are you talking about?”
Lynn’s smile grew wider. “You’ll find out eventually, Jessica. Oh, yes you will.”
“This is actually kind of cool, huh?” Roxanne asked, taking a seat among the crowd.
“Yeah, whoop-ee,” Alix said, moving her finger in a circular motion.
Roxanne looked around the auditorium, waving at the people she knew. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked her, waving at someone sitting a few rows in front of them. “There’s that cute guy in my History class.”
Alix rolled her eyes, and sank down in her chair, putting her feet on the chair in front of her. “I hate politics.”
“It has nothing to do with politics,” Roxanne told her. “It’s getting out of class. That’s the point of all of this.”
Alix frowned. “I thought you liked P.E.?”
“Oh, I do,” Roxanne assured her. “But look.” She pointed at her hair. “Great hair day. It’s like I always say, if God gives you a good hair day, He doesn’t want you to run laps around the football field.”
“Yeah, that’s what I always say, too,” Alix said, rolling her eyes away from her, and mouthing “Okaaay.”
“Oh, be quiet,” Roxanne said.
Alix arched an eyebrow at her. “What happened to ‘Oh, no you don’t, Miss Thing, you better not be going there’?”
“Nah, too old,” Roxanne said dismissively.
“Ah-huh.”
Up on stage, Jessica walked toward the michrophone. The crowd cheered ferociusly.
“I love you, Jesssica!” someone yelled.
“Oh, joy,” Alix said. “It’s our fearless vice-president.”
“Yeah, I love you, too, now shut up,” Jessica said. “Welcome to the not-very exciting SGA elections. As you know, it’s up to you guys to decide who this year’s officers will be. I’m sure you’re all overly excited to get on with the speeches, but first, Mr. Fidgestein would like to say at few words to you, which you all know is slang for ‘He’s about to tell us the story of how the Earth began’. So, pull out your pillows, and put your hands together for Mr. Fidgestein.”
No one applauded, as the principal walked on stage, and took the michrophone from Jessica. “Thank you, Miss Heart, for that warm welcome. Stop by my office before you leave this afternoon.”
There were a few ‘Ooooooohhh’s’ from the crowd.
“No thank you, sir,” Jessica said. “I really don’t go for older men. I think it’s sick. ” She ran offstage before the principal had a chance to respond.
The principal looked embarassed for a second, then regained his posture as he turned to the auditorium. “Well, okay, as you know, this school was founded back in . . .”
“I don’t believe this guy,” Alix said. “He gives the same speech every single year.”
“I guess that’s why he puts the ‘As you know’ in there,” Roxanne said. “So, anyways, do you think Jess is gonna win? She is going against Lynn. I mean, Lynn’s pretty popular, though I don’t know why. But, yeah. What do you think?”
“I think I want to throw up,” Alix muttered.
“Oh, come on, having Lynn as the president wouldn’t be that bad . . . okay, scratch that. You’re right.”
“Jess is gonna win,” Alix answered. “I mean, Lynn has her crowd, but Jessica’s way more popular.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. So, changing the subject, I was thinking about what you said about, you know, giving it a try with Alex. I guess, maybe you could be right. I mean, what’s the worst thing that could happen, right?”
Alix nodded. “I guess.”
“Yeah, so next time I see him I’m gonna go right up to him and tell him I love him.” She paused uncertainly. “Would that be too bold?”
Alix shrugged. “We’re talking about the captain of the football team, he’s used to boldness from girls.”
“But what if he doesn’t think of me as a girl?”
“Then the two of you have a big problem.”
“No, I mean, like, what if he sees me as a girl buddy type of thing? You know, like just a friend.”
“Right.”
“I’m serious, Alix.”
“So am I! I thought you had this whole thing figured out already? Do you realize whom you’re asking advice to? Me! Me, a person who hasn’t had one boyfriend in sixteen years. I’ve had offers only by the dorks of the underworld. I don’t match half the time, and my hair looks like something off an old zombie movie. And you want me to tell you what to do?”
Roxanne frowned. “You’ve never had a boyfriend?”
Jessica sat in the center of the stage, along with the rest of the nominees. Lynn was up on the podium, delivering her speech. It was nothing out of the ordinary, and Jessica began to relax. Half the auditorium was asleep, the other half wasn’t paying attention, so she wasn’t at all worried of losing this election. She’d been up on stage enough times to know how to work a crowd, and Lynn was doing a terrible job.
When Lynn finished her speech, Jessica got up to deliver her own. She was cool, calm, and confident–the three C’s her mother had taught her when she was a kid. She stood behind the mic, staring out at the audience. She saw Alix and Roxanne clapping like mad. She saw Mathew and Alex on the other side, doing the same. She waited for the applause to die down, before continuing.
“Hey, people,” she began. “So, are we having fun yet?”
“No! This sucks!” someone yelled.
Jessica smiled. “I agree. Alrighty. I’m not gonna stand here and bore you with promises of a better school. Quite frankly, we all know that all of that is bull. I’m also not gonna tell you that I’m the best for the job, because, anyone with half a brain can be president. I’m not gonna cut down my opponent, naming all her faults, because that would take too long. But, I will say a couple of things. First of all, I think it is totally unfair that they won’t allow Mtv in study hall. I can’t officially change that, but I just thought I’d let you know that I think it sucks. Secondly, I think Beavis and Butt-head should be the official mascots of Baldwin High. If they were real, I’d invite them on career day. Also, I’d like to say that I hope Barney dies a horrible, horrible death. And last, but definately not least, I’m planning this awesome party at my house in a couple of weeks, and you’re all invited. Well, anyways, be cool, stay awake in at least one of your classes, and if you have time, vote for me. Lata!”
* * *
“That was great, Jess,” Mathew congratulated her, as the whole group walked out of the auditorium.
“A hundred times better than Lynn,” Alix added. “She put the whole auditorium to sleep. I swear, even Mr. Fidgestein was yawning like crazy.”
“Speaking of which,” Jessica said, “I have to stop by his office now to get yelled at.”
“What did he do to you last time?” Roxanne asked.
Jessica shrugged. “He just yells at me. He sees no point in giving me detention. The worst he could do is suspend me, and he knows I’d enjoy that too much.”
Alex laughed. “Well, I better get going, I have football practice in five minutes, and I still haven’t changed. See ya later.”
They all chorused their good-byes.
“Oh, Mathew,” Jessica said suddenly, “do you mind waiting for me?”
“What happened to your car?” Roxanne asked him.
Mathew shrugged. “I didn’t have time to check it out very well this morning, so I’m not really sure.”
“Oh, well, I can give you a ride,” Roxanne suggested. “I’m already giving Little Miss Sunshine a ride–” She pointed at Alix “–I could use someone to talk to.”
“Oh, thanks a lot,” Alix said sarcastically.
Roxanne looked at Mathew. “So?”
“Okay.”
Jessica stopped in front of the office and waved at them. “See ya later guys. We’re meeting at the beach later, right?”
They all nodded.
“Later, then.”
Mathew watched Jessica walk into the office, trying to find an excuse to ride with Jessica instead, but none came to him. He began walking with Roxanne and Alix toward the parking lot. He was unsuccessfully trying to sort out the new feelings taking shape in his heart.
He couldn’t be falling in love, of this he was sure. Love was not for him, and he refused to admit such feelings. He was going to have to find a good reason for why it was that his heart beat faster when ever Jessica was around. He had to find a way to explain to himself why watching Jessica with other guys made him so upset. And he definately had to find out why he couldn’t get Jessica out of his mind.
In fact, the only time he wasn’t thinking about her, was when he was talking to Dreamer, and that had only been twice. So, he had to start shaping up, otherwise he might actually consider surrendering to love.
Jessica smiled sweetly at the principal, who sat behind his desk looking solemn.
“Why do you put me in these situations, Jessica?” Mr. Fidgestein asked, standing up and walking to the file cabinet. He took out Jessica’s file, and slammed in on the desk. “Four years, Jessica. Four years of putting up with your little jokes, and your little pranks.” He shook his head, and sat back down. “I know after your parents died you were greatly affected. I understand that, but I can’t keep letting you off the hook just because I feel sorry for you. I have no choice, Jess, I have to call your grandparents and tell them to come back.”
Jessica’s eyes widened. “Oh, please, sir, no,” she begged. “Please. If my grandparents come back I’ll be in hell.”
“Maybe that’s what you need,” Mr. Fidgestein said. “I agreed to the conditions in your lifestyle because I thought that you could handle it. But I see now that too much freedom isn’t always good.”
“Mr. Fidgestein, look, my grandparents make my life miserable. You saw how I acted while they were living with me. I nearly lost my mind. They put too much presure on me, and I really can’t handle that. I get perfect grades. I do all my assignments. I may fall asleep here and there, but you know I can’t sit through such classes and stay awake. If you have my grandparents come back, they’ll be even worse than they were last time. I beg you, sir, please.”
The principal sat back in his chair, and looked at her thoughtfully. After a while, he nodded. “Tell you what,” he said. “If you win the election, and do the most outstanding job imaginable, I’ll let you off the hook. If you lose, or get in trouble from now until the end of the semester, you’re getting the grandparents.”
Jessica nodded. “Sounds fair enough,” she said, getting up. “Alright, Mr. F., you’ve got a deal.”
“Alix!”
Alix, Roxanne, and Mathew stopped walking and turned around.
“Oh, no,” Roxanne muttered, as they watched Lynn walking towards them.
“Quick run!” Alix told them. “I’ll try to keep her away with a holy cross.”
“Very amusing, Alixandra,” Lynn said dryly. “Could I speak to you privately?”
Alix frowned. “Why?”
Lynn looked annoyed. “I have to talk to you.”
Alix looked at her friends, rolled her eyes, and turned back to Lynn. “Fine.”
“You guys go ahead, I’ll drive Alix home,” Lynn told them. “She and I have a little business to discuss.” She smiled thinly. “It’s about my car.”
Alix muttered a few curse words under her breath.
Lynn seemed pleased by her reaction. “Coming?”
Alix nodded. “You guys go ahead, I’ll meet you at the beach later.”
Roxanne sent her a confused look, which Alix ignored. “Are you sure?” Roxanne asked. “We can wait.”
Alix shook her head. “Nah, that’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
Mathew sent her an inquiring look, before he followed Roxanne to her car.
Alix sighed, and turned to Lynn. “So?”
Lynn smiled, and sat down on one of the benches. “Sit,” she said, motioning to the empty air beside her.
“No, thanks. I’d rather stand.”
“Suit yourself.” She looked up at the sky. “Such a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“What do you want, Lynn?” Alix asked. “I know it’s not money, ’cause what would you need that for? So, what is it? My soul?”
Lynn laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re soul isn’t even worth one-fourth of a penny. No, Alixandra, what I want from you is the president title.”
Alix smiled in spite of herself. “And how am I supposed to give you that? I’m not even running.”
“I’m aware of that, Alix. But Jessica is.”
Alix frowned. “I don’t get what you’re saying.”
Lynn stood up. “It’s actually very simple. You make Jessica drop out of the elections, I don’t send you to jail for vandalism.”
Alix paled. “You can’t ask me to do that. Besides, you have no proof that I was the one who slashed your tires.”
Lynn smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong, Alix, dear. I was smart enough to install a security camera in my car. I have a tape of you, and that blue-haired friend of yours, slashing my tires with a switchblade. It even shows the school’s name in the background, and you know you’re not allowed to have weapons in school. How do you feel about getting expelled?”
“I hate you so much,” Alix said.
“I don’t really care what you think of me,” Lynn said dismissively. “At any rate, though, you should be thanking me. I could just go ahead and get you arrested. You can imagine how upset my father was when I told him about the tires. Lucky you, he doesn’t know about the tape, otherwise your butt would be in Juvenile Hall already. That reject girl, too. So, I’m actually doing you a favor.”
“Yeah, some favor,” Alix muttered.
“I’m sure Jessica will understand,” Lynn told her, with fake assurance.
“Leave me alone, Lynn,” Alix said, sitting down.
“Well, my work here is done,” Lynn said. “Have fun breaking the news to Jessica.”
Alix watched Lynn walk away, and thought of all the different ways Lynn could “accidentally” die. She closed her eyes, and leaned back against the wall. How did she get in these situations?
Chapter Eight
A half hour later, Alix found herself walking through the deserted part of the beach. She still had no idea how she was going to tell Jessica she couldn’t run for president.
She was pretty sure Jessica wouldn’t be too upset with her, after she explained the situation, but still, she felt guilty. It wasn’t fair that Jessica had to pay for something she had nothing to do with.
Alix sighed, and sat down on the sand. She loved this part of the beach more than the rest. The sand was whiter, and softer, and the tall palm trees provided great shade.
It was easy to forget your problems when you were surrounded by such beauty.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” a voice asked behind her.
Alix turned her head, and rolled her eyes as she saw who it was. “What are you doing here?” she asked, as the idiot from the other night appeared beside her.
The guy shrugged. “Probably the same thing you are,” he answered, sitting beside her.
Her eyes wandered from his body, to his lips, and rested finally on his eyes. She looked away from him quickly, and turned her attention to the waves. “Yeah, well.”
“What’s wrong? Do you have some kind of speech impediment?” he asked jokingly.
Alix looked at him sharply. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Right here,” he answered. “It’s the only place worthy of time.” He leaned back on his arms, and stared out at the water. “It’s like a different world. When you’re here, away from everyone, you forget who you are, and where you come from.”
Alix looked at him strangely, but remained quiet.
“So, what’s your name?” he asked her.
“Why should I tell you?” Alix asked him.
“Because I asked,” he answered.
Alix felt uncomfortable. She’d never been with a guy who was so direct. It was like seeing the mirror image of her masculine side. If that made any sense. “Alix,” she answered, emphasizing the “i”. “You?”
He ignored the question. “Alix? Hm. Strange name. Is it short for something?”
“No,” she lied, slightly annoyed. “It’s plain Alix. Now, could you please go away, I’m trying to think.”
“What about?” he asked.
Alix rolled her eyes. “None of your business.”
The guy frowned slightly. “My name’s Jeremy,” he said, getting up. “It was nice talking to you, Alix. I hope you don’t think too hard. Soon you’ll have smoke coming out of your ears, and well, it’s a real mess.”
“That must happen to you often, huh?” Alix asked, looking up at him.
Jeremy smiled, and sat back down. “See, I knew you had a personality.”
“Excuse me?”
“Personality. It’s a distinctive characteristic that helps distinguish some people from others.”
“I really needed to know that. My life was incomplete until I learned that piece of valuable information. Thank you so much for giving meaning to my life.”
“Any time,” Jeremy replied.
Alix rolled her eyes, and stood up.
“You’re leaving?”
“No, I’m just trying to see if there’s a difference in air pressure from this altitude,” Alix answered sarcastically.
Jeremy nodded. “Don’t think too hard, Alix. When you start thinking too much, that’s when life gets screwed up.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a little late for that.”
Jessica sat in front of her computer, waiting for America On-line to sign her on.
A few seconds later, she was in. She checked her mail, and clicked on another letter from her cousin.
Hey Jess,
I’m back. Now, I know you’re
thrilled to hear from me, but
stop hollering. I can here you
all the way over here.
I know I’m funny.
Well, I just wanted to say, hello
and that you suck for not writing
me back.
It’s okay, I forgive you. Just
don’t do it too often.
Anyways, am I boring you, yet?
Yeah? Well, shut up.
Don’t love ya,
your former
cousin,
Amber
Jessica smiled at her cousin’s letter. She’d have to remind herself to write her back, or she would end up being Amber’s former cousin.
The door to her room burst open, and in walked Alix wearing her usual ripped jeans, and black Aerosmith tee shirt. “Hola, Jess,” she said, plopping down on the waterbed. “So, did principal Fingerbean let you off the hook again?”
Jessica looked at her, and shook her head. “Nah. I guess I spoke too soon about him not caring whether or not I get in trouble. He threatened to call up my grandparents, and tell them to come live with me again.”
“That would suck,” Alix said, distractedly.
“Tell me about it,” Jessica agreed. She looked at Alix closer, and frowned slightly. “Alix, are you alright? You look a little . . . what’s the word? Stoned?”
Alix shook her head dismissively. “I’m fine. Tell me about your little dilema.”
Jessica shrugged. “It’s not really much of a dilema anymore. All I have to do is win the election. If I win, Mr. Fidgestein said he’d let me off the hook. Otherwise, I’m dead.”
Alix felt sick all of a sudden. She lied back on the waterbed and groaned. “Oh, God,” she muttered.
Jessica got up from the desk, and rushed over to her. “Al, what’s wrong?” she asked, looking down at her from the edge of the bed.
Alix closed her eyes. This wasn’t happening. It was lose-lose situation. If Jessica didn’t drop out of the election, Alix would be spending the rest of her teenage life in Juvinile Hall. If Jessica did drop out of the race, her grandparents would come back and make her life a living hell–quite literally.
“Alix!” Jessica called, slapping her face lightly.
Alix opened her eyes, and stared up at Jessica’s concerned face. She’d just have to stall until she figured out what to do. “Hi, Jess,” she said casually.
Jessica frowned. “What?”
Alix sat up. She noticed the computer. “Hey! America On-line!” She looked expectantly at Jessica. “May I?”
Jessica opened her mouth to say something, but the phone cut her off. “You are so confusing me right now,” she said, reaching for the reciever. “Hello?” she said into the phone. She paused for a minute as she listened for an answer. When it came, she smiled.
It was Mathew.
Alix rolled her eyes, as she watched Jessica walk out onto the balcony with the phone to her ear. It had to be a guy, of this she was sure.
“Well, whoever it is, I’m thankful,” Alix said outloud to herself, sitting in front of the computer. “Okay, let’s see,” Alix said, turning looking at the screen. For a second she frowned.
“What is it?” asked Jessica, walking back into the room, phone in hand.
Alix pointed to the computer, and then at the phone in Jessica’s hand.
Jessica looked at the phone, and back at her. “What?”
“How can you be on the phone, while on AOL?” she asked curiously.
Jessica smiled, and replaced the phone in it’s cradle. “I have a seperate line for the modem.” She paused. “You seem surprised.”
Alix frowned and then nodded. “Sorry, I keep forgetting who I’m talking to.”
The phone started ringing again.
Jessica picked it up. “Hello?” she said again. “Oh, hi, grandma. . . No, I’m fine. . .Yeah, great summer. . . For Christmas? I guess so, I mean. . . No, I don’t have any plans . . . No boyfriend, yet . . . No, I’m not interested in anyone . . . Yes, I know, but I would really like to go to college before getting married . . .Well, because, it’s kind of the way it’s done now a days . . .Yes, I’ll hold.” Jessica rolled her eyes, and put her hand over the reciever. “This is going to be a while.”
Alix shrugged. “I’ll just busy myself wasting your money on this lovely, yet pointless, activity. You know, talking to poor, unfortunate souls like myself.”
Jessica smiled at her and removed her hand from the phone. “Yes, I’m here . . .” She started walking, and disappeared out onto the balcony.
Alix sighed, and turned back to the computer, where a small box had appeared in the center of the screen. “What the . . .?”
Instant Message from Shyguy
Shyguy: I’m glad I found you.
Alix rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, puh-lease,” she muttered. “That’s the lamest pick-up line I’ve ever heard.” She paused. “Not that I’ve heard many,” she amended. She shrugged, and wrote back.
Instant Message from Dreamer
Dreamer: It’s nice to be found.
Shyguy: How have you been?
Alix rolled her eyes. These people were so lame..
Dreamer: Fine, thank you and you?
Shyguy: You sound different.
Dreamer: How so?
Shyguy: You sound…sarcastic.
Dreamer: No way!
Shyguy: Did I catch you at a bad time?
Alix slowly began to understand. It was him. The guy Jessica was crooning over. She sat straighter in the chair, and tried thinking of something Jessica would say.
Dreamer: No, I’m sorry.
Shyguy: It’s okay.
Dreamer: So, shyguy, where are you at?
Shyguy: South Florida. It’s this little
town called Baldwin. I just moved here
from Seattle, though.
Alix’s mouth fell open. Mathew ? It couldn’t be. It was too much of a coincidence. Then again, it just had to be Mathew. How many other guys could have moved here from Seattle?
Dreamer: Baldwin, huh? Do you like it there?
Shyguy: It’s alright. I’ve made a few friends
so it isn’t that bad. Where are you?
Dreamer: Um, I’m in Maine.The lobster state.
Shyguy: LOL…do you like lobster?
LOL? What the heck was that? Alix turned her chair toward the balcony. “Hey, Jess!” she called.
Jessica appeared a few seconds later. “What?”
“What does LOL stand for?”
“Laughing out loud,” Jessica answered, returning to her phone call.
“Loughing out loud?” Alix nodded. “Cool. I made Mathew laugh.”
Dreamer: lobster’s great.
Shyguy: So, Dreamer, what’s your real
name?…or is it top secret?
Dreamer: Um, my name?…Kat. What’s yours?
Shuyguy: Matt
So it was Mathew! This was too wierd. This meant that Jessica actually liked Mathew, and Mathew probably like Jessica. Then again, she could always find out for sure.
Alix smiled mischieviously, looking quickly towards the balcony to make sure Jessica wasn’t coming. Then, she returned to Mathew, but she was no longer Alix–she was Kat.
Mathew stared at the screen. Kat, huh? It was strange, but he couldn’t picture Dreamer as being “Kat”. He had thought of more exotic names.
For some reason Jessica’s face popped to his head. He could picture Dreamer as being a Jessica. But, not really Kat.
Mathew shrugged. It didn’t make any difference whether or not he liked her name. It wasn’t going to change anything.
Shyguy: How old are you, Kat?
Dreamer: seventeen
Shyguy: Oh, really? Me too.You’re a
senior?
Dreamer: I’m supposed to be. But I failed
first grade.
Shyguy: LOL…how do you fail first grade?
Dreamer: I think it was a pshychological
trauma I suffered as a kid. I freak
out at the sight of glitter and clay.
Shyguy: LOL
Dreamer: So, Matt, do you have a girlfriend
yet?
Shyguy: No.
Dreamer: Aren’t you atleast interested in
someone?
Before Mathew had a chance to answer, Dreamer signed off. Mathew stared at the screen before him for a few seconds, and then shut off the computer.
He walked across the room to his bed, and lied down. He closed his eyes, and thought about Jessica.
Lynn turned over in the launge chair. She was out by the pool of her overly expensive mansion, tanning her beautiful body.
She was happy, and excited. She finally had Jessica Heart in the palm of her hand. Lynn knew Jessica would never turn down a friend in need. That was part of the reason why Lynn hated her so. Too much pefection crammed into one body.
It made her sick.
That’s why Jessica had to suffer. The election scheme was just the beginning. Lynn wanted power over the school to get rid of Jessica once and for all.
It was the way it had to be.
Alix walked toward The Spot after leaving Jessica’s house. She had to analyze the situation.
All of them.
First of all, the whole Jessica-Mathew thing. What did she know? Well, she knew that Jessica liked Shyguy, therefore she probably liked Mathew.
That was pretty much all she knew about that.
She didn’t know whether Mathew liked Jessica, or even if he liked Dreamer. The question was, though, if Jessica knew that Mathew was Shyguy would she like Mathew? Because, maybe Jessica wasn’t really attracted to Mathew. If she was, then she wouldn’t told Alix by now.
On the other hand, maybe Jessica didn’t know she liked Mathew because she liked Shyguy, even though Mathew was Shyguy.
This was starting to get confusing.
Hm. Going on to her dilema on the whole Lynn-Jessica-Grandparent thing. She was stuck on that one, too.
What could she do but turn herself in to the mercy of the judge, and pleade insanity? That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? She’d probably get sent to one of those mental institutions. She’d always wanted to be in one of those padded room type of things.
Then again, Jade would also get in trouble.
Alix rolled her eyes, and sat down on the sand. This was just great. There was nowhere to go.
Skipping on to her third problem, what was she going to do about B.J.? Analyzing that situation wasn’t very hard.
She knew B.J. wanted Roxanne. She also knew that Roxanne was in love with Alex. But, she had promised B.J. that she’d help him get Rox, which was kind of wierd since she wanted to help Rox get Alex.
Hm. Maybe analyzing that situation wasn’t as easy as she’d thought.
Alix sighed. She’d been doing a lot of sighing lately. It was starting to get on her nerves. She didn’t want to end up being one of those pathetic type of girls.
Okay, she had to find a way to fix all her problems. There had to be some way to resolve everything. Something simple, yet ingineous.
What could it be?
Roxanne spotted Alex sitting by himself on the other side of Pizza Max. With musterred confidence and assurance she walked over to him.
Alex looked up at her as she approached. “Hey, Rox,” he said.
Roxanne felt all the hours of practicing what she was going to say, and telling herself he was going to like her back, evaporating as she looked into his eyes. “Hi,” she said, sitting in front of him. “What are you doing here all by yourself?”
Alex looked uncomfortable. “I’m kind of waiting for someone,” he answered.
“Oh, who?”
“Nika,” he answered, softly.
Roxanne felt her entire heart crumbling. She stood up quickly. “Oh, well, I guess I should go then,” she said, trying not to babble. “Yeah, okay, have fun. Bye.” She half ran out the door, running into Nika in the process.
She didn’t stop to appologize, instead she started running toward the beach, trying to leave everything behind.
She kept on running as her Nike’s touched the sand. She ran clear across to the other side of the beach, not caring that her lungs were burning for air.
“Run, Forrest! Run!”
Roxanne finally stopped, and turned around. She saw B.J. sitting under a palm tree. “Very . . . funny,” she panted, beding over to breathe easier.
B.J. stood up and walked toward her. “You know, jogging in jeans and a tee shirt isn’t really the way to go,” he said looking at her.
Roxanne sat down on the sand. She was exhausted. “Shut up.”
B.J. sat down next to her. “Sorry. Are you okay? Is there any particular reason why you were running like mad down the beach?”
“I like running,” Roxanne answered. She looked at the waves. “B.J., can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
B.J. smiled. “I think so.”
“Yeah, well, I know so. I know I’m in love. I just–I don’t know. I want to tell him. I really do. It’s just that when I’m with him, I can’t find the right words.” She looked at him. “Have you ever felt that way?”
B.J. didn’t answer.
Roxanne looked away. “I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep trying to hide my feelings, because I’ll keep pushing him away. And he’s going straight into the arms of another woman. That’s what hurts the most, actually.”
“If he thinks some other girl is better than you, then he’s an idiot who doesn’t deserve you.”
Roxanne turned to him. “You really think so?”
“Yeah, I really do.”
Roxanne half-smiled at him. “Thanks.”
B.J. looked away.
“It’s nice to know I’m worth that much to somebody.”
“No,” B.J. said, shaking his head. “You’re worth more.”
Before Roxanne knew what was happening, B.J.’s lips were on hers, and she surrendered to the power of his kiss.
Chapter Nine
Alix felt her heart catch in her throat as she watched B.J. kissing Roxanne.
“I’m gonna be sick,” she muttered, turning away. She shut her eyes, but the image of B.J. with Roxanne popped into her head. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to kill Roxanne. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
She lied back on the sand, and covered her face with her hands, hoping to wake up at any moment and realize the whole day had been nothing but a nightmare.
It wasn’t working.
Ugh! She hated her best friend. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Roxanne was supposed to be with Alex, not B.J. Alex was the one she loved. Roxanne didn’t love B.J. Alix was sure of this. And, yet, it was Roxanne who was kissing him.
Alix looked at them once again, anger and jealousy getting the better of her.
She scanned the area to see how many people were looking at them. That’s when she caught a sight of Alex standing next to Nika, watching Roxanne with a great deal of pain in his eyes.
It was weird the way a kiss could end up hurting so many people.
Alex turned away. He couldn’t stand it a minute longer. If he looked at Roxanne one more time he was honestly going to be sick.
“Alex, what’s wrong?” Nika asked, concern in her voice.
Alex looked down at her. “Nika, I’m not feeling so good. Do you mind if I go home to rest for a while?”
“Not at all,” Nika answered.
Alex nodded. “I’ll see you later.” He started walking towards the parking lot, and looked quickly at Roxanne, but turned away. It hurt too much to look at her, to see her kissing another guy.
Alex shut his eyes, but the image of Roxanne with B.J. filled his thoughts.
Resting was definately not going to be an issue that night.
Roxanne pulled away from B.J. This felt too good to be right.
“What’s wrong?” B.J. asked.
“Nothing,” Roxanne said, looking away. “I just–I shoudn’t be doing this.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” Roxanne said, turning to him. “I love Alex. I shoudn’t, but I do.”
B.J. looked away from her. “If you really loved Alex that much, you wouldn’t have kissed me that way.”
Roxanne stared at him.
“I’m sorry,” B.J. appologized. “I shoudn’t have said that. But Rox, can’t you give me a chance? One date. If you regret going out with me, I’ll never bother you again. I promise.”
Roxanne didn’t know what to do. She wanted to do the right thing. But what was the right thing?
Claire walked into Pizza Max later that day. Leslie was supposedly working that shift, so she went in knowing exactly what to do.
She spotted Rachel sitting in a table, and walked over to her. “Hey, Rachel,” she said, sitting across from her.
Rachel looked up from the book she was reading, and arched an eyebrow at her. “Why did you want me to meet you here?” she asked, putting the book away.
Claire looked around to make sure Leslie wasn’t near enough to over hear. “I need your help.”
“Alright,” Rachel said, leaning forward. “Would you care to elaborate?”
“I need a boyfriend.”
“Don’t we all?” Rachel asked, leaning back.
“Well, yeah, but I’ve got a particular guy in mind,” Claire answered. She pointed with her head at Leslie, who was carrying a large tray into the kitchen.
“Him?” Rachel asked, looking surprised. “I hate to break this to you, Claire, but I hear from several sources that he’s going out with someone already.”
Claire half-smiled. “I know that, Rachel. That’s why I need your help.”
Rachel shook her head. “I’m not following you on this.”
Claire sighed. “I need you to find out everything you can about his so-called girlfriend.”
“Why?”
“Because, the more I know about her, the easier it is for me to break them up.”
“Hold up. Did you say you want to break them up?”
Claire nodded. “That’s what I said.”
“Are you disturbed?”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Listen, Rach, I want him. And nothing is going to keep me from getting him.”
Jessica bounced the basketball, and shot it into the hoop. The ball went through the net, and bounced off the court.
Jessica sighed, and sat down at the foul line. She hated talking to her grandparents. They were so frustrating.
She stood up and retrieved the basketball. ” ‘When are you going to find a nice boy, Jessica?’ ” she said outloud, dribbling the ball back into the court. ” ‘You are eighteen-years-old, dear. Don’t you like boys?’ ”
She shot the ball, and smiled as the ball went through the net once again. “I need a life,” she muttered.
“Nice shot,” a voice said behind her.
Jessica whirled around with a start. “You know, one of these days you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”
Mathew walked over to her. “Sorry. I’ll wear a cowbell around my neck next time, how about that?”
Jessica smiled. “I’m starting to get the feeling you’re stalking me.”
Mathew shook his head. “Nah. I quit stalking people a few years ago. It got kind of boring after a while. You know, sitting in the shadows for hours, listening to the weird little creatures around you. A few of which have already taken residence in your pants. It isn’t as glamorous as it sounds, trust me on that one.”
Jessica laughed. “Yeah, I bet.”
“So, what are you up to?” Mathew asked her. “Playing basketball all by yourself?”
Jessica shrugged. “I wasn’t really playing. I was kind of meditating.”
“Meditating, huh? What of?”
Jessica shrugged again. “Life, I guess,” she answered, walking over to pick up the ball. “My grandparents, mostly.”
Mathew looked at her. “What about your grandparents?”
Jessica sighed, and shot the ball, missing the basket completely. “They are so frustrating. They want me to get some rich, spoiled rotten boyfriend so that I can show him off at these social events they want me to attend. I mean, like I really want some high society jerk for a boyfriend.” She got the ball again. “And now Mr. Fidgestein threatened to call them up and have them move back in with me if I don’t win the election.” She shot the ball again. The ball missed the rim altogether, boucing off the top of the backboard, and rolling aimlessly off the court.
“Are they so bad?” Mathew asked.
“They’re a nightmare! It’s a prison what they run. I swear, a week of having them with me, and I’m running away to join a convent. They treat me like this . . . thing, you know? It’s like, I’m some sort of accessory to enhance their public power, or something. I mean, it isn’t exactly like that, but it’s how it feels.”
“You must have been in hell after your parents died, huh?” Mathew asked before he could stop himself.
Jessica looked at him sharply. “How do you know about my parents?”
* * *
Roxanne looked at B.J., who was staring at her expectantly. She would be an idiot to pass up an opportunity with a guy like him. She finally smiled at him, looking into his eyes. “B.J., I would love to go out with you,” she answered.
B.J. brightened. “Oh, Rox, I promise you, you will not regret it.” He smiled at her, and then took her in his arms once again.
Alix kicked a beer can out of her way as she walked up the beach. So far this had been one of the worst days of her life–coming second only to that time in sixth grade when she had fallen into a puddle of mud right before school, and had spent the entire day wearing mud-covered clothes. Then it turned out to be picture day.
Yeah, that had been pretty bad.
But, now that she looked back, she actually found it funny. Well, sort of funny. Actually, no. It wasn’t very funny. At least not ha ha funny. Maybe a smiling kind of funny. Well, no. It was still pretty embarassing. Okay, maybe not embarassing.
Well, that wasn’t the point.
The point was, that this had turned out to be the school day from hell. In fact, as she considered everything, not even the mud day in sixth grade could compete with this day.
Yep, this day could not get any worse. It was impossible.
“Hey, Alix,” Jade called.
Alix turned to look at her friend. As usual, Jade wore black clothes, and the black lipstick that had recently become her tademark. She was sitting on the trunk of a fallen palm tree, smoking a cigarette. She flicked it away as Alix approached her, and smiled.
“Have you talked to Lynn at all today?” Alix asked, sitting next to her.
Jade looked at her inquiringly. “Why would I want to?”
Alix sighed. “She’s blackmailing me. She wants me to make Jessica drop out of the election, otherwise she’s sending both our butts–yours and mine–to jail for vandalism.”
Jade frowned. “She’s got no proof.”
“We should’ve known better. Or at least, I should’ve known better. She had a security camara in her car. She’s threatening to show the tape of both of us using a switchblade to punch out her tires to the school, then to her father. If that tape gets out, we’re screwed.”
Jade looked around, taking it all in. “That’s not good, is it?” She sighed. “Hm. Well, is your friend gonna help us out?”
Alix shook her head. “I haven’t asked her. She got in trouble today with the principal, and he threatened to make her grandparents come back and live with her.”
“So what?”
“She has to win the election in order to prevent that,” Alix answered. “Her grandparents pretty much hate her. For some strange, bizarre reason they blamed her for her parents’ death, which was totally ridiculous. That kind of blew over, but they still treat her like hell.”
“So, what are we gonna do?” Jade asked.
Alix shook her head. “I have no idea. I’ve been trying to think of a reasonable answer to all my problems, but it’s really not working.”
Jade shrugged. “I think we should tell that Jessica girl. Maybe the three of us can find a way to solve everything. I mean, remember, it’s Lynn we’re talking about. There is no way she’s unbeatable. There’s gotta be some way to twist this whole thing around so that Lynn’s the victim.”
For the first time that day, Alix actually flashed a genuine grin. “I knew there was a reason for my meeting you.”
Jessica walked back to her house. She was very upset with both Alix and Roxanne. They had no business telling Mathew about her parents.
She hated it when people learned about her parents. She had enough pity from herself to need more from people she barely knew. Plus, it wasn’t helping her get any less emotional. If anything, thinking about everything made it worse.
Jessica didn’t actually mind that Mathew knew, but it made her a bit self-conscious. For, the first months after the accident, people had stared at her, as though expecting her to have a nervous breakdown. It might seem a little strange, but she preferred doing that in the privacy of her own room, not the middle of Algebra.
Although, thinking back, it would’ve made a great reason not to take the tests.
Jessica smiled. Now, why hadn’t she thought of that back then?
But, back to the fact that she was mad at Alix and Rox, which wasn’t really much a fact anymore, since she wasn’t really upset. She shrugged. She didn’t really care anymore. It wasn’t gonna make much of a difference if she lost the election. Her grandparents would sweep into her house, take away all her friends, and most probably, ship her off to boarding school in Switzerland, which ironically, would be the upside to them moving in with her.
Yep, if Lynn won, Jessica was screwed over.
“Straight through the heart, huh?” Jade asked, as the two of them walked toward Jessica’s house.
Alix nodded. “It was like being slapped in the face with a metal glove, you know? I mean, if he would’ve been kissing someone who I don’t particularly care about, then it probably wouldn’t hurt as much. But, Jay, Rox is my best friend. It was like double the impact.”
Jade nodded, looking around the beach. Her eyes locked at a particular spot, and Alix followed her gaze until she saw them.
“Oh, God, I want to die,” Alix muttered, watching Roxanne and B.J. a few yards away from them.
Jade made a face. “They look kind of horny, don’t they?”
Alix looked at her. “Shut up.”
Jade half-smiled. “Sorry.”
Alix rolled her eyes, and started power walking past them.
Jade looked at Roxanne and B.J., and then looked at Alix, who was half jogging. “Poor kid,” she sighed, then she ran to catch up with her. “Hey, Al, are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m worderful,” Alix answered sarcastically. “By the way, do you happen to have a gun handy, I would like to shoot myself right now.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I don’t?”
“No, you don’t.”
“Well, gee, in that case,” Alix said sarcastically.
Jade smiled. “C ‘mon, Al, it probably looks worse than it is.”
Alix looked at her, and nodded sarcastically. “You’re right. Yes. Rox’ll explain everything. Right. She’ll start by explaing that she had been swimming, and she’d gotten a cramp. B.J.–God bless him–dove into the two feet of water, and saved her from drowning. Of course, by then Rox had swallowed a whole ocean’s worth of sea water, and B.J.–bless him again–courageously decided to take it upon himself to give her mouth to mouth. But then, uh-oh, their braces–hence the fact that neither of them wear braces–got stuck together. And so, they decided, ‘what the hell, our lips are already in place, why not start making out?’ So, there you go, Jade, that’s the most reasonable explanation, isn’t it?”
Jessica was typing her English essay on the computer, when suddenly, Alix and her blue-haired friend burst into her room.
“Jess, we need to talk,” Alix said.
Jessica looked at her, and crossed her arms. “Yes, we do, actually. Who gave you permission to tell Mathew about my parents?”
Alix shook her head dismissively. “Forget about that for now,” she said. “We have a real crisis in our hands.”
Jessica sat back in her chair, and stared at her expectantly. “Yes?”
Alix opened her mouth to speak, but instead grabbed Jade’s arm and pushed her in front of her. “Jade can explain it better. Oh, um, yeah. Jess, this is Jade. Jade, this is Jessica. Okay, go ahead, Jade.”
“Thanks,” Jade said sarcastically. “Okay, well–”
“Jessica!” Roxanne yelled, bursting through the door. “Oh, my God, we need to talk.”
Jessica sank down in the chair, and buried her face in her hands. “I’m not home,” she said.
“Well, if it isn’t happy lips,” Alix said sourly.
Roxanne looked at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jade nodded. “Yup. This is my cue to leave. Bye, all.” She slipped out of the room, unnoticed.
Jessica looked up.
“I mean just that,” Alix shouted angrily.
“Why are you yelling at me?” Roxanne asked, stepping back.
Jessica raised her hand. “I have a question.”
Alix ignored her. “I’m yelling at you, because you are the most selfish, inconsiderate person I know.”
Roxanne glared at her. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“That’s what I would like to know,” Jessica muttered.
“I’m talking about you and B.J.,” Alix snapped. “Duh. Unless you’ve done more than one guy in the last ten minutes, which wouldn’t really surprise me very much.”
“What?” Roxanne asked.
Alix threw her hands up in frustration. “While you and B.J. were playing tonsil hockey, Alex ran off. And he was not smiling.”
“He saw us?” Roxanne asked, falling down on the bed.
“Yes, and so did half the school,” Alix answered.
“Would someone please explain to me what you two are talking about,” Jessica pleaded.
Alix turned to her. “Well, our wonderful friend over here–” She pointed at Roxanne. “–for reasons unknown to me, started making out with B.J. in the middle of the beach. Alex, saw her, and ran off practically in tears.”
“I agreed to go out with him,” Roxanne muttered from the bed. “B.J., I mean.”
“You what?” Jessica and Alix asked at the same time.
Roxanne fell back on the bed. “He asked me out, so I said yes. I mean, I tried to explain to him the situation with Alex, but c’mon, there is not situation with Alex. Well, now there is, I guess, but there wasn’t one before.”
“Great,” Jessica said. She turned to Alix. “Well, Al, you want to share with us your news?”
Alix looked at her distractedly. “What news?”
“The reason why you came here in the first place,” Jessica answered slowly.
“Ah, well,” Alix started. “I’ll tell you later, when Miss I-gotta-go-out-with-every-single-guy-in-school isn’t around.” She looked over at Roxanne. “Hope you enjoy your date with B.J. If you decide to get married in the near future, don’t invite me to the wedding.” She walked out onto the balcony, and left.
“I think she’s mad at me,” Roxanne said, frowning.
Jessica smiled. “I’d say so. So, is that what you wanted to tell me? That you kissed B.J. and that he asked you out?”
Roxanne nodded. “Yep. That pretty much covers it. You know what’s wierd? When I was kissing him, I was actually thinking about Alex, you know? Plus, I was really hurt. I mean, I walked into Pizza Max, determined to tell Alex what I felt, and he tells me he’s waiting for Nika. How is that supposed to make me feel?”
“Lousy?”
“Exactly. So, I started running out the door, and I kept on running as I reached the beach. Finally, B.J. shouted ‘Run, Forrest, run!’ and I stopped. And we started talking. One thing led to another and then, bam! We started making out. So, that was basically the highlight of my day. How about you?”
“Well,” Jessica began, “Mr. Fidgestein finally got fed up with my crap, and then threatened to call up my grandparents and tell them to move back. The only way I can prevent that now, is to win the election. That was my day.”
“Whoa, Jess, that’s not good. I mean, you’re grandparents won’t be thrilled over the fact that we’re still friends. They kind of still hate me, don’t they?”
Jessica smiled at her. “My grandparents hate everyone, you know that. Fame and fortuned kind of erased all possible reasoning abilities from their minds. They’re like robots, programmed to make my life a living hell.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, well, that’s okay. You shall win the election. I’m still your campain manager, right?”
Jessica shrugged. “You know the weird thing is, I don’t even feel like running anymore. I mean, now I have no choice, but I really don’t feel like being president this year.”
“You should talk to Mr. Fingerweenie,” Roxanne told her. “Tell him you don’t want to run, he’ll probably give you some other thing to do instead.”
Jessica shook her head. “The only reason he gave me this last chance is because he doesn’t want Lynn to become president. He figures it’s the only way to insure that I do my best to win the election. If I drop out, I’m in really big trouble. I mean, you know my grandparents hate Baldwin High. They’re gonna send me off to a boarding school somewhere in Paris, or Switzerland or Iceland.”
“You’re eighteen, though,” Roxanne argued. “Can’t you just tell them you refuse to go?”
“Yes, Rox, but if I get into a fight with them, they’ll probably take away all my money, which of course I don’t have accesss to until I’m twenty-one. It’s more complicated that just saying, ‘Hey, my parents left me over four billion dollars, could I please have that in twenty-dollar bills?’ It’s a nightmare. I’d rather lay low for now, win the election. I mean, I’m going against Lynn. There is no way I could lose to her.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Chapter Ten
Morning washed over the ocean, reflecting beautiful shades of red and blue on the sparkling crystal waters.
Alix turned on her side, shutting off the alarm clock. She had no particular interest in going to school that day. None at all.
She shut her eyes, but after long minutes of struggling to go back to sleep, she realized it was useless. She gave up and got out of bed, walking over to her closet, and sleepily picking an outfit that most reflected how she felt.
After standing on the doorway to her small walk-in closet for what seemed an hour, she decided on a black tee shirt, black jeans, and black hiking boots.
She was in total mourning over her lost happiness.
She brushed her hair quickly, not really caring that it looked like a tornado had gone through it, picked up her bookbag, which was blue for a change, and left her room.
Rachel stepped out onto the hallway just then, and scrutinized her outfit. “What the heck are you wearing?”
“Clothes,” Alix answered flatly.
“Yes, I realize this,” Rachel said. “You don’t match, though. You’re wearing five different shades of black. What were you thinking?”
“Please shut up, Rachel. I’m not in the mood to deal with you.”
“You are getting such an attitude lately.”
“Well, excuse me for having feelings,” Alix nearly yelled.
Rachel looked at her. “What’s your problem?”
“The world! The whole world is my problem. You’re my problem! My friends are my problem! Life is my problem! I just want everyone to leave me alone!” Alix shook her head, and rolled her eyes. “Nobody cares about me. Everyone keeps trying to change me, and make me into this model-type person who talks like a twenty-year old, and acts like it too. Then, there’s those who are trying to use me to get what they want. And no one takes me seriously. No one listens to what I have to say, and when they do, I just don’t feel like saying it anymore. Guys don’t look at me. My friends are hurting me more than they realize, and the fact that they don’t even know they hurt me hurts me even more.” She paused, and looked at Rachel through her tears. “There! Now are you happy. Have I said enough about the way I feel? Would you like an essay on each of my problems, because that was just an outline.”
“Oh, joy,” Roxanne muttered sarcatically. “There’s Nika. Praise her, for she’s too cool for words.” She rolled her eyes in disgust. “I want to kill her.”
Jessica looked at her. “Hey, you were the one kissing another guy.”
“I still have the right to hate her,” Roxanne said defensively. “I still like Alex, ya know?”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
Roxanne looked at her sharply, narrowing her eyes. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
Jessica shrugged. “I’m just saying that if you like someone so much, you really shouldn’t be making out with someone else in the middle of the beach, where the person whom you really like might see you. Which was the case yesterday.”
“Listen, Jess, I know you won’t understant what I’m saying, but at least try to, okay? I mean, when Alex told me he was meeting Nika, my heart just sank. I know that sounds kind of dumb. You know, so what if he was meeting her there? But it doesn’t feel like that when you’re looking at the guy you love, and he’s telling you he’s meeting another girl. And then, with B.J. I was really just trying to feel better. He made me feel like . . .”
“A natural woman,” Jessica completed for her.
Roxanne half smiled. “Yeah. He makes me feel real, and not just some silly girl chasing after the guy she loves. I mean, for a while I was feeling like part of some sick and twisted fairy tale–with drugs, sex, and all the 90′s stuff.”
“So, do you, or don’t you like B.J.?”
Roxanne thought about it. “I guess I do. I don’t know for sure, though. I’ve just known him for two days, so how much can I really like a person in that amount of time?”
Jessica shrugged.
“So, how are you doing?” Roxanne asked, changing the subject. “Do you like anyone aside from that loser on that computer thing.”
Jessica shook her head. “Not really. There’s really not much to like. All the guys around here are total jerks.”
“That’s sad,” Roxanne said. “So, there’s really no one you’re interested in? No one at all?”
Jessica thought about it, and then shook her head. “Nope.”
“How about Julian?”
Jessica’s eyes went blank for a second. “I really hate him.”
“You never did tell us why you two broke up,” Roxanne said. “That was a sad day in the history of Baldwin High. You were like the most perfect couple.”
Jessica looked away. “Let’s drop this, please.”
Roxanne shrugged. “I still don’t understand why you don’t like talking about it, but fine. If you insist.”
Jessica nodded distractedly. “Don’t look now, but your friend is walking towards us.”
Roxanne turned around to see Nika walking their way. She turned back to Jessica and groaned. “Great.”
“Hey, guys,” Nika said, standing in front of the picnic table they were sitting on.
“Hey, Nika,” Jessica said. “What’s up in your life?”
“Yeah,” Roxanne agreed, with forced enthusiasm. “What’s up?”
Nika shrugged. “Not much,” she said. “I was looking for Alex. Have you seen him, Rox?”
Roxanne smiled sweetly. “No, I haven’t,” she answered. “If I do see him, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him, though.”
Nika shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Yesterday he didn’t look so good.”
Roxanne looked at her with interest. “What happened?”
Nika shrugged. “I don’t know. One minute we were going surfing, the next he’s looking like he swallowed a whole bottle of laxatives.”
Jessica chuckled.
Roxanne smiled in spite of herself. “I hope he’s alright.”
Nika half smiled. “He should be.” She made a muscle with each arm, and made her voice really deep. “He’s a man .”
Jessica cracked up.
Roxanne stiffled a laugh.
Nika smiled. “I mean, you all know how guys are. They’re all macho and stuff about everything. Then when they’re in the privacy of their own rooms they cry like babies. My brother’s like that. He’s fifteen, tries to look like he’s twenty, and acts like his two. It’s a pitiful sight.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, my brothers are like that, too. So, Nika, are you interested in Alex?”
Jessica elbowed her.
Nika laughed. “You mean as in a boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
Nika thought about it. “Do you like him as a boyfriend?”
Roxanne was caught off guard. “Who me? Of course not.”
Nika smiled. “Yeah,” she said sarcastically. “Sure.”
Roxanne frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
Nika shrugged. “Look, I know you don’t like me. You think I’m off to make Alex fall in love with me, or something. But the truth of the matter is that he’s actually in love with you.”
Roxanne frowned uncertainly. “He is?”
Jessica rolled her eyes.
Nika smiled at her. “Well, big duh,” she said jokingly. “Why do you think he got so sick yesterday?”
“He swallowed too much salt water?” Roxanne guessed.
“Well, that too,” Nika agreed. “But it was seeing you with that other guy that killed him. It took me a while to figure out what he’d seen that had gotten him so upset, but when I saw you, I was sure that had to be it.”
Roxanne smiled sadly. “Well, now he’s probably mad at me,” she said.
Jessica rolled her eyes again. “Gee, let’s think about that one for a while.”
Roxanne sagged her shoulders. “So, now what am I supposed to do?”
“Let me think,” Jessica said sarcastically. “Do you know what she should do, Nika?”
Nika shrugged, playing along. “Not a clue.”
“Hm,” Jessica said, thoughtfully. “Could talking to him be the answer?”
Roxanne shook her head, and slid off the table. “I have to think about this for a while. I mean, I still promised B.J. we’d go out, remember?”
“You really were dropped on your head as a baby, huh?” Jessica joked. She rolled her eyes again, and held up her hands. “Okay, Rox, hear me out. Think about this for a minute. You want Alex, and he wants you. So, if you go out with B.J., don’t you think Alex would get even more upset?” She paused for a second. “Rox, if you love him, you have to go up to him, tell him exactly what’s going on, and tell B.J. the truth. Otherwise, we’re right back where we started.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Mathew rolled his eyes, and sighed. “I really don’t think that’s such a great idea,” he said, leaning against a row of lockers.
Alex looked at him. “Mathew, I really don’t know anymore,” he said. “I guess, maybe seeing her with B.J. opened my eyes, you know? It was like, ‘Hello Woods. This is your wake-up call.’ Look around, man. There’s a whole world of women out there. I can get over Rox.”
“Oh, boy,” Mathew said under his breath. “Listen, Alex, I think you’re cool and all, but you need to get back to earth. You can’t get over Rox. If you could get over her, you wouldn’t be talking about her twenty-four hours a day.”
Alex closed his eyes, and banged the back of his head on the locker behind him. “I’m so pathetic.”
“Pretty much,” Mathew joked. “Okay, so what if she was kissing that other guy? See, you can’t give up so easily. That’s total defeat.”
“It is?”
“Of course! You have to woo her.”
“Woo her?”
“Yes, woo. Girls love that stuff. Write her a poem. Send her flowers.”
Alex smiled. “Rox hates flowers. She’d throw them back in my face and call me a hopeless romantic.”
Mathew frowned. “I thought girls loved hopeless romantics?”
“Most of them do, but Rox, she’s special That’s why I care about her so much.”
“Well, see the whole idea of wooing, is to give her something so special, that she’ll have no choice but to love you back. For instance, what’s her favorite thing in the whole wide world?”
Alex smiled again. “That’s easy, baseball.”
“Well, okay, work with that. Get awesome seats for a Marlins game, and give her the tickets. Let her choose who to take.”
“Wouldn’t I want her to take me?”
“Alex, how many girlfriends have you had?”
Alex looked at him. “I know I sound inexperienced, but this is a whole different thing for me. Girls throw themselves at me, and I don’t say that to sound conceited. It’s just that with Rox it’s different.”
Mathew nodded. “Yeah, well the only reason I know so much about girls is that I live with three of them at home. My older sister, who tells me everything I want and don’t want to know about girls. My younger sister, who amazingly knows more about love at the age of seven than I do at age seventeen. And my mom, who’s extremely anxious for me to get a girlfriend, for fear I might turn out to be gay. Those reasons, and the fact that I have cable, are the only reasons why I know how to ‘woo’ ”
Alex laughed. “That was funny.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Hm. You should get a girlfriend,” Alex said, looking at him. “Not that I’m afraid that you’re gay, or anything, I’m just saying.”
Mathew shrugged. “I don’t really think there’s any girl in this school who would go out with me.”
Alex laughed. “Sure there is.” He smiled at him. “See, now it’s my turn to set you up.”
“Wait a second, this is about you and Rox,” Mathew argued.
“Forget that for a second,” Alex said. “I’m trying not to get depressed. So, okay, is there a particular girl you’re interested in?”
Mathew frowned. “You’re not listening to me are you?”
Alex shook his head. “Not really.”
Rrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggggg!
“Oh, darn,” Mathew said, sarcastically. “It’s the bell. Guess I must go now. See ya.” Mathew smiled and walked towards his first hour. Saved by the bell, he thought. He really didn’t want to tell anyone that he was kind of interested in Jessica. It would be too embarassing. If Alex knew that Mathew liked Jessica, he would surely tell her, and then Jessica would never talk to him again.
He nodded to himself as he walked into the class. He should definately keep his feelings to himself.
“Oh, joy,” Jessica muttered, listening to the overly loud first hour bell. “First hour. Can’t wait.”
Roxanne groaned. “I don’t want to go to class,” she whined. “Alex is in there.”
Nika smiled supportively. “Good luck. And remember whatever he says remeber he’s a–” She made her voice deep again “–man. So, take it easy. Breath deeply a few times. Try not to pass out.” She smiled again, and walked away.
Roxanne watched her. “I don’t get her, ” she said. “One minute she’s ga ga over Alex, the next she’s practically handing him over in a platter.” She looked at Jessica. “You don’t think she’s trying to set me up, do you?”
Jessica nodded. “Yes, Rox,” she said. “I was afraid to tell you sooner, but it turns out the whole entire female population is in love with Alex, and wants to get you out of the picture.”
Roxanne punched Jessica’s arm. “That’s not funny.”
“Sorry. But seriously, Rox, Nika was never out to get Alex. They were just friends. You’re just trying to find an excuse to hate Alex and not tell him how you feel.”
Roxanne shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.” She thought about it for a minute, and then stood up straight. “You know what, Jess? You’re right. I’m gonna march right into that class, and I’m gonna tell Alexander Woods the truth. And if he turns me down, then. . . I shoot myself.”
“Yeah, well, you had it down until the end,” Jessica said. “Okay, so you know what you’re gonna say, right?”
Roxanne looked at her. “Not a clue.”
Jessica looked up at the sky. “God help me.” She looked down at Roxanne. “You’re on your own from now on, Rox. You’re really killing me here.”
Roxanne half smiled, and nodded slowly. “Yeah, sorry.” She breathed deeply. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Roxanne said. She smiled assuringly, and then walked away.
Jessica turned in the other direction, and began walking towards her own first hour, silently hoping that everything worked out for Roxanne.
“Jessica,” Jade said, stepping up beside her.
Jessica looked at her, and frowned thoughtfully. “Jade, right?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah. Listen, we need to talk. It’s really, really, really important.”
“Okay.”
“It’s a long story, so could we meet at lunch?”
Jessica frowned. “You’re starting to worry me. What’s this about?”
Jade looked at her. “It about everything.”
Roxanne walked as slowly as possible to class, trying to waste time by saying hi to people she knew, and even to those she didn’t know.
She stalled outside the door, not wanting to go inside. She had no idea what to say to Alex. The truth, yeah, but there were so many truths.
After daydreaming for two years she had no idea which truths were true or not. And now, here she was. Any second the bell would ring, and in she would go, and there would be Alex, all droopy-eyed, just because of her. Actually, that pleased her somewhat.
Roxanne closed her eyes, and leaned her head on the closed door. She couldn’t go in. She’d have to ignore him for the rest of the year, if that was possible, which naturally, it wasn’t.
“Rox?”
Roxanne opened her eyes suddenly. Alex was standing in front of her, looking strangely at her. “Alex.”
“Um, you’re blocking my way,” Alex said.
Roxanne quickly jumped away from the door. “Sorry.”
Alex looked at her. “Aren’t you going in?”
Roxanne opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “Uh, yeah, I guess so,” she said at last.
Alex opened the door for her, and she stepped inside the classroom. She turned to say something to him, but Alex was already walking towards his seat.
Roxanne took a deep breath, and followed him. She took the seat next to him, feeling really retarded. She looked over at Alex as subtly as she could manage, and frowned. He didn’t look upset. In fact, he didn’t look mad at all. He actually looked . . . relaxed.
Roxanne looked away. Okay. Now she was confused.
The bell interrupted her thoughts, and she snapped back to reality.
She looked over at Alex once again, and caught him looking at her. He turned his head quickly, and pretended to pay attention the teacher.
Roxanne frowned again. This was getting strange. She looked at the teacher, though that didn’t help much, and tried to pay attention.
It didn’t work. She could see the teacher’s lips moving, but nothing was coming out. Maybe she was going deaf. She needed a doctor. Or a shrink at the very least.
“Miss Perez,” the teacher’s voice interrupted.
Okay, so she wasn’t going deaf.
“Hm?” Roxanne asked, looking up at her.
“Come up to the board, and try these problems,” the teacher instructed, holding out a piece of chalk.
Roxanne looked at her, arching an eyebrow. “Why don’t you do them? You’re the teacher.”
Mrs. Mong stared at her, not believing what she’d just heard. “Excuse me?”
Roxanne pointed to the board. “I don’t know how to do those problems. If I did, do you think I’d be here?”
“I don’t like your attitude, miss,” Mrs. Mong said strictly.
Roxanne rolled her eyes. She could think of a few things she would want to say her, but she didn’t feel like spending another hour in the office, explaing to Mr. Fidgestein why it was so necessary to be bitchy. “Sorry,” she muttered, instead.
Mrs. Mong nodded. “That’s better. I’d straighten up around here, Roxanne. Just because you graduate in June, doesn’t mean you’re already free.” She held out her hand to Roxanne once again. “Do the problems.”
Roxanne rolled her eyes, and hesitantly got up from the desk. “Sure, why not? I might as well.” She walked over to the board, and stared at the Geometry problems in front of her. She really had no idea what she was doing, so she wrote the first number that popped into her head–five–and circled it. “There,” she said, handing the chalk back to the teacher. She walked back to her desk, sat down, and crossed her arms, waiting for Mrs. Wong-tong soup to yell at her.
Mrs. Mong turned around, and looked closely at the problem. She nodded, and turned back to the class. “Very good, Roxanne. That’s right.”
Roxanne’s mouth fell open, but she then closed it, and nodded. “Of course it’s right,” she said. “Only an idiot would get that wrong.”
“Okay, class,” Mrs. Sandford intstructed. “Today we’re going to make paper dolls for the children.”
Alix stared at her Child Care teacher with disbelief. What grade was she in? She could’ve sworn she’d passed kindergarten years ago.
The noise in the room grew to a loud rumbling sound, as people hurried to get construction paper, scissors, glue, and other supplies.
Alix stared at them in awe. Maybe she was wrong, Maybe this was a strange out-of-body experience, in which she was trasported back to kindergarten. Maybe the past eleven years had been a long dream. Maybe she was still in kindergarten after all.
Coolness.
“Miss Morris, are you just going to sit there?” the teacher asked her, breaking into ther thoughts.
Okay, maybe not. “Uh, no,” Alix answered, getting up from the desk. She walked over to the table where the supplies were on, and pushed herself to the front of the large group. There she found Claire, who was looking annoyed and tired, and more than just a little bit bored. “Hey, Claire,” Alix said, looking down at the many colors of construction paper in front of her.
Claire picked up a black piece of paper, and held it up. “Hey, Al,” she said, a bit distractedly, looking closely at the paper in her hand. After a few seconds, she put it back down on the table, and sighed. “This sucks.”
Alix nodded. “Yep. That pretty much covers it.” She shook her head, picked up a brown sheet of constrution paper, and walked back to her desk.
“Alix, we need to talk,” Rachel said, sitting next to her.
“No we don’t,” Alix said quickly. “I have nothing more to say. Leave me alone.”
“Now, come on, Al,” Rachel insisted. “Something’s really bothering you.”
“No, no,” Alix corrected. “At the moment, there are so many things bothering me, that it could be a category on Jeopardy. I’ll take ‘Things bothering Alix’ for $500, Alex.” She sighed. “Rach, really, I’ll be fine. There’s nothing you can do to help, so leave me alone. I want to finish this pathetic paper doll.”
Rachel shrugged. “Alright, Alix,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
“I hate this class,” Claire muttered, turning the desk in front of Alix’s over, so that it was facing hers. She placed a blank sheet of paper on the desk, and sat down. “Okay, how the hell do you make a paper doll?”
“I could care less,” Alix said, putting her head down on the desk, and closing her eyes.
Claire looked at her, and then at Rachel. “What’s with her?” she asked.
Rachel shrugged. “She won’t tell me.”
“Al, what’s wrong?” Claire asked. “Oh, and why are you dressed in twenty different shades of black?”
Alix didn’t answer.
“She’s in one of her depression stages,” Rachel said. “Either that, or PMS.”
Claire nodded, looking down at the side of Alix’s head.
Alix opened her eyes, but kept her head down. “Very funny.”
Riiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnggg!
Jade stepped out onto the hallway, trying to stay ahead of the two thousand bodies heading in the same direction.
She turned the corner, and headed down the stairs. Once, on the first floor, she headed toward the patio, where she’d arranged to meet Jessica by the picnic tables.
She found Jessica talking to a large football player, who stared at her as she approached. “Hey, Jess,” she said, ignoring the strange glances from the guy.
“I’ll catch you later, Jessica,” the guy said, giving Jade one long look, before walking away.
“Gee, he looks like a bundle of fun,” Jade said sarcastically.
Jessica smiled. “Okay, so what’s the very important thing you had to tell me?”
Jade sighed, and took a seat next to Jessica. “I’m not sure where to start,” she said uncertainly. “I really think Alix should be the one to tell you all this, since she’s the one it pertains to the most.”
Jessica looked at her. “You’re really starting to worry me. tell me it’s nothing bad.”
Jade shook her head. “Oh, no,” she said assuringly. “It’s horrible. It’s worse than you can ever imagine. I think.”
“Okay, I’m officially starting to panic,” Jessica announced.
Jade bit her lip, and stood up, looking around.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for Alix,” Jade answered. She looked at ever single passers by, until she caught a sight of a short, sad-looking, brown-haired, girl, wearing nothing but black. “There she is.” Jade started running towards her. “Alix!”
Alix slowly turned around, and waited for Jade to catch up to her. “What is it?” she asked.
“Come on,” Jade told her. “We’re telling Jessica everything. She’s waiting.”
Alix shook her head sadly. “Nah. It’s no use. I’m just gonna walk to the parking lot, and stand in the middle of the street, waiting for a car to run me over. And considering the way these people drive, I doubt that’ll take too long. Say bye to Jess for me.”
Jade nodded sarcastically. “Right. Like I’m gonna let you do that.” She grabbed Alix’s arm. “Come. You’re too out of it to think properly.”
Alix didn’t argue. She really was too out of it to think properly. She followed Jade back to the picnic tables, where Jessica still sat, looking exasperated and worried.
“Would you people please tell me what’s going on?” Jessica asked, looking at them with confusion in her eyes.
Alix shrugged. “Alright.” She looked aorund, as if trying to find the right words somewhere in the panorama, and turned back to Jessica. “Okay, well, you’re actually gonna find this kind of funny. Well, not funny ha ha. More like an amusingly ironic sort of thing. Okay, maybe not. Seriously, though, your first response is probably going to be reaching out and strangling me, so for my own personal safety, I’m standing a few feet away from you.” She stepped away a few steps, and smiled worriedly. “I should get a bulletproof vest.”
Jessica threw up her hands in frustration. “If you don’t hurry up and tell me what this is about, I’m really gonna consider killing you.”
“C’mon, Alix,” Jade urged her.
“Okay, okay,” Alix said quickly. She sighed again, and sat down on the ground. “Well, okay. See, a few days ago, Lynn came up to us and well, she was her regular, sweet self. So, Jade and I decided to take it upon ourselves to teach Lynn a lesson.”
“I’m liking this so far,” Jessica said, relaxing a bit.
“Okay, well,” Alix continued uneasily. “What we did was pop Lynn’s tires. Well, not hers. Her car’s, of course. Lynn herself has no tires, but I hear she’s been known to go really fast. At what, I can only imagine. But anyways, we used Jade’s switchblade to do the deed.” She paused to swallow. “Well, we thought everything was hokey dokey pokey until yesterday when Lynn stopped me after school, and told me she needed to talk to me about her car. It turns out she’d installed some fancy security camera to the car, and it had videotaped the entire thing. She threatened to show the tape to the school, and then to her father, who would press charges in a heartbeat.” She looked at Jade pleadingly. “Your turn.”
Jade nodded, and looked at Jessica. “This is where it gets interesting,” she said, with mock excitement. “Okay, well, Lynn told Alix that she wouldn’t show the tape to anyone if–” She looked at Alix. “I can’t tell her. You do it.”
“Thanks,” Alix said sourly. “Okay, Jess, Lynn’s blackmailing me. The only thing I can do to keep her from showing the tape to anyone is . . . is to make you drop out of the election.”
“Alex!”
Alex turned around, and looked to see who had called him. He finally saw Roxanne rushing out of the mob of people standing around the crowded hallway. His heart ached more with each step she took.
“Alex, we need to talk,” Roxanne said, when she finally caught up to him.
“About what?” Alex asked casually, though he had a pretty good idea of what she was referring to.
Roxanne was caught off guard. “Well . . .”
“Hey, guys,” B.J. said, coming up to them. He looked at Roxanne. “Want to get something to eat?”
Roxanne looked quickly at Alex, who was doing his best to keep a nonchalant face. “Yeah, I guess so,” she said, turning back to B.J.
B.J. smiled at Alex, and put his arm around Roxanne. “See ya around, Woods,” he said, and the two of them walked off.
Roxanne looked back one last time, sending an awkward appologetic look to Alex.
But he didn’t see it.
Jessica stared blankly at the floor.
“Okay,” Alix said worriedly. “I think she’s blacking out now.” She walked closer to Jessica, and waved her hand in front of her face. “Jess. Jess, can you hear me?” She put her hand down, and looked at Jade. “She’s gone.”
Jade shrugged.
Jessica blinked. “I’m not gone,” she said. “I’m thinking.”
“Okay,” Alix said uneasily, stepping back. “Just remember, homiside is illegal. Unless it’s Lynn you plan on killing. Then it’s just human nature.”
“I’m not killing anyone,” Jessica assured her. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Look,” Jade said. “Lynn can’t blackmail us and get away with it. Isn’t there anyway we can stop her?”
Jessica shrugged. “Lynn’s not stupid. She knows what she’s doing.”
“Besides,” Alix added, “if we push her too far, she’ll show the tape to everyone, and then we can kiss our freedom goodbye.”
Jade looked at her. “Yeah, but if Jessica drops out of the election, how can we be so sure that Lynn won’t show the tape anyway? She has nothing to lose here.”
“That’s true,” Jessica said. “In fact, that’s probably what she’s planning to do anyway.”
Alix sat down next to Jessica. “I’m so sorry, Jess,” she said. “I didn’t mean any of this to happen.”
Jessica nodded. “I know that, Al,” she said. “And later, when I get over the shock, I’ll probably be very upset with you.”
Alix nodded, and moved a few inches away from her.
“Okay,” Jade said. “I think what we should do is beat her at her own game.”
“How do you propose we do that?” Jessica asked.
“Blackmail her back,” Jade answered. “There’s gotta be something that we can do to get her in the same position we’re in.”
“Like what?” Alix asked.
Jade shrugged. “We can set her up,” she answered.
Jessica looked uncertainly at the two of them. “Isn’t that what got you in trouble, in the first place?”
“Well, yeah, sort of,” Jade answered. “But this time we’ll plan it out really well.”
“I don’t know about this,” Jessica said, shaking her head. “Why don’t we just talk to her, and make a deal. I’ll drop out of the election.”
Alix shook her head. “No way,” she said. “I’d rather be in jail for the rest of my life, than to have to see you get shipped off to Paris because of something you had nothing to do with.”
Jessica looked at her sharply. “I’d rather get shipped off to Paris than to see my best friend go to jail.”
Jade shook her head. “You guys are losing the big picture here,” she said. “Lynn has us by the necks. As long as she has that tape she can play us like puppets. I’ve only known her for a few days, but I know there’s no way in hell she’s just gonna hand us that tape as soon as Jessica drops out of the election.”
“That’s true,” Alix agreed. “She knows she can make us do whatever she wants as long as she has the tape, and if Jess drops out of the election, then she’s gonna know she won.”
Jade nodded. “So we know what we have to do?”
“We get the tape,” Jessica and Alix said at the same exact time.
“Alright, Claire,” Rachel said, sitting down across from her at Pizza Max. “I found out a few things about Leslie’s girfriend.”
Claire smiled, and leaned forward. “Do tell.”
“Okay, well, first of all, they’ve only gone out on one date,” Rachel started. “Her name is Nina, and get this, she’s Mathew’s sister.”
Claire frowned. “Oh, well, that’s not good,” she said. “I like Mathew. I’ve only met him briefly, but he’s nice.”
“Yeah, well,” Rachel said dismissively. “She’s a senior at Baldwin University. She’s the captain of the girls’ soccer, basketball, and volleyball teams. She also coaches basketball at a small preschool in Miami. She’s gotten straight A’s since second grade, and is running for president of the student body.”
“Sounds like an older version of Jessica,” Claire said dryly.
“No, she’s worse than Jessica,” Rachel said. “At least Nina has parents. That’s not the point, though. I haven’t gotten anything bad at all about this girl. She’s got the cleanest record in history. Not a detention. Not even a note home from the teacher.”
“How did you find out so much stuff about her?” Claire asked, frowning.
Rachel smiled. “You can’t tell a soul, okay?”
Claire shrugged. “Alright.”
“I tapped into the school’s files,” Rachel answered. “Don’t ask me how, I just did it.”
Claire looked at her. “I’m afraid of you, Rachel. Really I am.”
Rachel looked amused. “Thank you. Anyways, I’m still trying to find out something interesting about her, but seriously, she’s clean. Is there anything specific you’d like me to find out?”
Claire shook her head. “I’m starting to think this was a ridiculous idea to begin with.”
Rachel looked relieved. “Thank God. I was starting to think you were really losing it.”
Claire sighed, and looked across the restaurant where Leslie stood. “Are the two of them very serious about each other?”
Rachel shook her head. “I doubt it. They went to the movies the other day. They actually watched the movie, and afterwards they didn’t do anything X rated. In fact, it wasn’t even G rated.”
Claire smiled. “What did you do? Follow them?”
Rachel smiled. “I never reveal my secrets.”
“It’s nice being Baldwin High’s official gossiper, huh?”
“Yep,” Rachel said happily. “I get all the juicy news.”
Claire nodded thoughtfully. “I changed my mind about not going for Leslie,” she said. “In fact, I have an interesting piece of information you might want to pass around Baldwin University.”
Rachel smiled, and leaned forward. “Do tell.”
“I can’t take this anymore,” Alex was saying, as he and Mathew walked through the parking lot, that same lunch period, toward Alex’s car.
Mathew rolled his eyes. “You gotta get it together,” he told him. “Isn’t that your car over there?” He pointed to a black Jeep Cherokee that was parked across the lot.
Alex nodded, and they started walking in that direction. “I mean, she acts as though she cares, and then she totally disses me for that jerk B.J. McNair. I don’t know what she’s trying to do to me.”
Mathew shook his head. “Okay, I just want to know one thing. Have the two of you ever told each other how you felt? Because, what I’m getting here, is two people who are obviously in love with each other, trying to hide their feelings, and getting hurt in the process.”
Alex just shrugged.
“If you guys don’t tell each other how you feel, how in the world are you supposed to know what the other feels?”
Alex sighed. “It’s too late to tell her now.”
Mathew smiled. “You know, Woods, I never figured you for a whiny kind of guy.”
Alex looked at him. “Excuse me?”
Mathew pointed at him with his hand. “Look at you. You’re what? Six four? Two hundred pounds of solid muscle? And you’re whining like a baby. Be a man. Walk over to B.J. and Roxanne, punch out McNair, and sweep Roxanne off her feet.”
Alex smiled. “With my luck, she’ll punch me out, and run over to B.J.”
“And wouldn’t that be hilarious?” Mathew said jokingly.
Alex just looked at him.
“Okay, all I’m saying,” Mathew went on, “is that you’re supposed to do something more than just stand around crying.”
“I don’t cry,” Alex said defensively.
“Whatever,” Mathew said. “That’s not the point. What I’m trying to say, is that if you want her, you gotta try to get her. And don’t tell me you’re afraid of losing her if you tell her, becasue at this point you really have nothing to lose.”
“So, where do you want to eat?” B.J. asked, pulling the car out of the Baldwin High parking lot.
In the seat next to him, Roxanne stared out the window, totally lost in thought.
“Okay, let’s try this again,” B.J. said to himself. “Rox! Yoo-hoo! Hello!” He looked quickly at Roxanne. “I’m taking my clothes off now.”
“What?” Roxanne said, turning her head to look at him.
B.J. smiled. “I knew that would catch your attention.” He looked at her. “I wanted to know where you wanted to eat.”
Roxanne shrugged, going back to staring out the window. “I don’t care.”
B.J. frowned. “Rox, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Roxanne assured him, turning to give him a big grin. “See?”
B.J. smiled. “Yeah, I see.” He looked straight ahead at the road, and bit his lip thoughtfully. “It’s Alex, isn’t it?”
Roxanne’s grin disappeared. She turned to the window again, and stared outside thoughtfully. “Yeah,” she answered, after a moment of hesitation.
B.J. nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“B.J.,” Roxanne started, “you’ve got to understand how I feel about him. I can’t just turn it off whenever I feel like it. I love him. I’m trying not to, I really am, but I can’t just stop.”
B.J. nodded again, not trusting his voice to speak.
“About you and me,” Roxanne continued, “well, I think it could actually work. But you have to give me some time to get over Alex. So, we gotta chill out a bit.”
B.J. looked at her quickly, nodded shortly, and smiled. “I’ll give you all the time you need, Rox.”
Roxanne looked at him. “You really mean that?”
“Absolutely,” B.J. answered. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Rox. Nothing at all.”
Chapter Eleven
“Alix,” Roxanne called, as she stepped into the girls’ locker room, later that day.
Alix turned around, saw her, and turned her back on her.
“Al, I know you’re mad at me,” Roxanne said, walking over to her. “But come on. I need to talk to you.”
Alix turned around once again, and looked at her. “What do you want, Rox?” she asked.
Roxanne walked over to her locker, and dropped her things on the bench next to her. Then she turned to look at Alix. “Why is it that you don’t want me going out with B.J.? I mean, I understand about Alex, and everything, but maybe not comunicating was a good thing all along. Maybe the two of us weren’t supposed to get together.” She started opening her locker.
“I’m happy for you,” Alix said, a little too quickly.
Roxanne opened her lock, and looked at her. “Really?”
Alix nodded. “Yeah. I think you and B.J. make a very cute couple.”
Roxanne sighed with relief. “So, you’re not mad at me?” she asked.
Alix shook her head. “Nope.”
“Oh, thank God,” Roxanne said happily. “I was getting worried.
Alix nodded to herself.
“I want to tell you what happened at lunch,” Roxanne went on.
“Can’t wait,” Alix mumbled.
Roxanne either didn’t hear her, or decided to ignore the comment. She started changing into her P.E. uniform as she spoke. “At lunch, B.J. drove me up to this really beautiful place by the beach. It was like this huge mountain of boulders, and we ate lunch at the top, looking down at the beach below. It was so beautiful.”
Alix made gagging noises, while Roxanne stared dreamily at empty space.
“Hey, guys,” Jade said, coming up behind them. “What’s up?”
Alix looked at her. “I can’t believe you can ask that question, and still keep a straight face.”
Jade smiled. “Just trying to keep a positive attitude,” she said defensively.
Alix slammed her locker shut, and walked over to Jade. “Let’s go.”
“Oh, fine, don’t wait up for me,” Roxanne said sarcastically.
“Don’t worry,” Alix assured her. “We won’t.”
Jade smiled, and the two of them walked out of the locker room.
Roxanne frowned, and then shrugged, slamming shut her locker. She left the locker room, and walked towards the gym, where she found Jade and Alix talking amongst themselves in a corner.
She was about to walk toward them, when B.J. walked up next to her, and smiled.
“How’s my lady doing?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
“I’m doing pretty well, actually,” Roxanne answered, looking up at him. “How about you?”
B.J. smiled. “Well, now that you’re here, I’m doing perfectly,” he said.
Roxanne sighed to herself. It really was too bad that this guy was so sweet, because she was really afraid of waking up one morning and realizing that she was actually over Alex. That was a scary thought, specially after two years of telling herself she was in love with him, and being so sure that Alex was the one for her. She was afraid that she’d never find love. True love. The kind of love she’d always dreamed of having.
She’d thought that Alex was the one, but now, she wasn’t so sure. She gazed up at B.J. What was she supposed to do? How was she to figure out true love, when the one she’d always been sure was her true love, wasn’t it anymore.
It was like being sure that a certain thing was your all time favorite, and then along comes another that seems just as good, and the more time you spend with it, the surer you become that that’s the one you want.
The only thing stopping her from deciding which one she wanted was the fear of never knowing. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life wondering if Alex truly was the one for her. She didn’t want to have B.J. and then realize fifty years later, that he wasn’t her true love after all. Then again, she didn’t want to convince herself that Alex was the only one for her, and then it turning out that she’d messed up.
Why were decisions so damn hard? Why was the world full of them?
Maybe she should take into consideration Alix’s theory on all major life desisions–”If you have a tough choice to make, flip a quarter.”
“Look at them,” Alix muttered, a sick feeling growing at the pit of her stomach. “They’re so cocky about it. It’s like they think it’s right to prance around like Romeo and Juliet. I mean, have they no consideration for other people’s feelings?”
Jade looked at her, and shook her head. “Girl, you need to get a grip.”
Alix looked sarcastic for a second. “A grip?” she repeated. “You want me to get a grip ?”
Jade nodded slowly. “I remember saying something about that, yeah.”
Alix leaned against the wall, and looked resigned. “I have no ither choice, do I?” She looked around the gym, purposely ingnoring the section Roxanne and B.J. were occupying. She quickly turned back to Jade. “I just remembered the other thing that had been hunting my head. Remember how I told you Jessica was, like, obsessed with this kid on that America On-line thing? Well, guess who the guy turned out to be?”
Jade shrugged. “Brad Pitt?”
“Oh, right,” Alix said sarcastically. “She wishes. No. Mathew! You met Mathew, right?”
Jade thought about it for a second. “I remember meeting a Mathew, right.” She smiled. “Hey, that’s pretty cool. So, they like each other or something?”
Alix scrunched up her face. “Not exactly. They don’t exactly know it yet. Actually, neither one of them has any idea who the other person is. In fact, I kind of told Shyguy that Dreamer was a girl named Kat, from Maine.”
Jade frowned. “Huh?”
Alix half smiled, and nodded. “Sorry, didn’t mean to confuse you.” She then went on to explain to Jade how she had come to find out the true identity of Shyguy.
Once Alix was done, Jade nodded. “Very interesting. So, do you plan on telling them?”
Alix shook her head. “I thought about it, but I guess it’s a lot more fun if they figure it out for themselves. Besides, I got enough problems right now.”
“Hm,” Jade mumbled thoughtfully.
Alix looked at her curiously. “What?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Uh-huh,” Alix said, looking at her closely.
“What?” Jade said defensively. “I’m just thinking. Jeez, have a cow why don’t you.”
“I’m a veterinarean,” Alix said seriously. “I don’t eat meat. No cows for me.”
“Very amusing,” Jade said dryly. “But anyways, I was thinking how cute that whole online thing is.”
Alix frowned. “Cute?” she repeated. “You actually said the word ‘cute’?”
“I think I said that, yeah. Why?”
Alix shrugged. “It’s just that I expected you to have a more sophisticated adjetive for it.”
“And you don’t think ‘cute’ is sophisticated?”
“Well, it’s okay . . . if you’re five!”
“Well, you’re acting like a five-year-old right now, so I guess it’s contageous.”
Alix stared at her. “I am not behaving like a five-year-old!”
“Yes you are,” Jade argued.
“No, I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
“Girls!” cried a loud, hoarse voice. “Girls, stop this argument this instant.”
Jade and Alix looked at the P.E. teacher, and crossed their arms.
“She started it!” they both cried at the same time.
Jessica looked up as her Drama teacher entered the room.
Ms. Jacobs took a seat on the stool placed in the center of the classroom, and smiled brilliantly at the class. “Good news, class,” she said cheerily. “The drama department has chosen the fall play. Finally. ”
“What’s it gonna be?” Jessica asked curiously.
“Grease,” Ms. Jacobs answered.
Half the class cheered, the other half sighed.
Jessica was in the cheering section. She loved Grease. It was her all time favorite movie.
She turned her head to look at Mathew, who sat a row down from hers. He apparantly disagreed with the choice in plays.
Jessica took a piece of paper from her folder, and scribbled, “Don’t you like Grease?” on it. She folded the paper in half, and passed it down to Mathew.
He read it, looked at her, and shook his head no.
Jessica frowned. That was disappointing. It was crucial for people to like Grease.
She shrugged. Oh, wow, like it was really gonna matter who liked Grease or not. She had better get a grip, or she was going to lose it soon.
Jessica nodded to herself, and looked at the teacher, who was deep in conversation with one of the other students.
Ms. Jacobs finished her conversation, and nodded to the class. “Try-outs are Monday and Tuesday after school, in the auditorium. Don’t worry about memorizing anything, we’ll be reading directly from the script.” She stood up, and clasped her hands together. “Okay, today we’re going to start by chosing this semester’s performance. We can either go for individual monologues, or do a class play. What will it be?”
There was a chorus of “plays” and “monologues” from the class.
“Alright,” the teacher said, silencing the people. “All those in favor of going monologues, raise your hands.”
About five hands shot up in the air.
“Play?” the teacher asked.
About thirty eight hands went up.
Ms. Jacobs shrugged. “Play it is.” She walked across the room to her desk, and picked up a notebook. “Alright. I have scripts available for the following plays: Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty.” She looked up from the list, and smiled appologetically. “I know it’s not much to chose from, but it’s been sort of drastic getting everything settled for the fall play.”
“Those are, like, so lame,” Mitsi Honey said from somewhere in the room.
Jessica rolled her eyes. Mitsi was Lynn’s best friend, and Baldwin High’s most idiotic person. She was the official stereotype of a dumb blonde.
The teacher dropped the notebook on her desk, and shrugged. “Any other suggestions? I might be able to get a few other scripts.”
Jessica shrugged. “Why don’t we just write our own?”
Ms. Jacobs looked at her. “I don’t see why everyone should sit down and write a play, and also have to perform it.”
Jessica sat up. “My friend likes to write. If I get her to write a cool play, it would be interesting. Or at least, original. Not like those other Disney plays. Everyone has seen Snow White at least a hundred times.”
Ms. Jacobs was lost in thought for a second. “Alright, Jessica,” she said. “If your friend can write a good, appropriate play by next Friday, then we could give that idea a try. In fact, I’ll chose your friend to be the assistant director.”
Jessica nodded, and smiled.
“Does anyone have a problem with that?” the teacher asked, looking around the room. When no one said anything, she directed her attention to Jessica. “What’s your friend’s name?”
* * *
“Alix!” Jessica yelled after class, running through the crowded hallway.
Alix stopped, turned around, and frowned curiously. “What may I do for you, oh powerful one?”
Jessica caught her breath, and looked down at her. She nodded, and put her arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Al, remember when you told me about your little thing with Lynn?”
Alix stepped away uncertainly. “Oh, no! You’ve regained your senses. You’re gonna kill me now, huh?”
Jessica shook her head. “No. I’ve found a way to make it all even.”
“Do I get to live at the end?” Alix asked, stepping forward a few steps.
“Of course,” Jessica answered breezily. “All you have to do is write a play for my drama class to perform.”
Alix frowned. “Squeez me? Baking powder? I’m sorry, I thought I heard you say that you wanted me to write a play for your class to perfrom.”
“I did say that.”
Alix slapped her forehead, and looked miserably at Jessica. “Why do you do this to me?”
Jessica ignored the question. “And it’s gotta be appropriate, and interesting, and cool, and most of all, it’s gotta be done by Friday.”
“It is Friday,” Alix argued.
“Next Friday.”
“Oh, Lord,” Alix muttered. “Why me?”
Jessica smiled. “Because, your the only person I know, who can write. Besides, Al, look at it this way, if my teacher likes it, you get to be the assistant director.”
Alix looked at her mockingly. “Why didn’t you just say so? I mean, now it all falls into place. I see now that you were doing this merely for my own good. Wow, thanks, Jess, you have given new meaning to my life. I can see clearly now. I see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“C ‘mon, Al,” Jessica said. “It’ll all be even between us.”
Alix sighed. “Why is this so important to you?”
Jessica shrugged. “I really don’t want to perform in some lame Disney play. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see one of your stories come to life.”
Alix rolled her eyes. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll do it. I have no idea why you care so much about this, but if it will make you happy, I’ll do it. I’ll write some stupid play on the meaning of life, and its components. I’ll explain my theory on how purple is like a porpoise.”
Jessica held up her hands. “Don’t start with that,” she warned.
Alix shrugged. “Why not? It’s an interesting theory. I think it could be indirectly related to the theory of evolution.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I can see how you would reach such a conclusion.” She shook her head quickly. “But anyways, thanks for doing this for me.”
Alix nodded. “Yeah, whatever. Oh, by not the way, did you get any ideas on how to get the tape from what’s-her-name? Lynn.”
“Nope,” Jessica answered. “I’m running a blank. In fact, I’m still in denial over the whole thing.”
“Yeah, well, start snapping out of it, because you have another speech on Monday.”
Jessica brightened. “Oh, right. It’s Friday. Good. We get the whole weekend to work on a plan.” She frowned. “I wonder if Shyguy will be on tonight.”
Alix opened her mouth to say something, but shut it quickly. She hadn’t yet decided how to go about the whole Jessica/Mathew thing. She had to take things one step at a time.
Chapter Twelve
Mathew sat down in front of his computer as soon as he got home from school. He signed on to America Online, and stared curiously at the screen before him.
He had mail. He’d never gotten mail before. How cool. He ran the curson to the top of the screen, and clicked on the mail box.
Dreamer hey, Shyguy
Mathew clicked on the “READ” button, and Dreamer’s letter appeared on the screen.
Hey, Shyguy,
I went on today, but I couldn’t find
you. So, I just thought I’d say hello. I’ll
be on for about another hour. So, if you get
this before then, IM me.
Dreamer
Mathew looked at his watch, and back up at the time it said the letter was sent. He left the mail room, and sent Dreamer an Instant Message.
Instant Message from Shyguy
Shyguy: Hey, Dreamer. I just read your
letter.
Dreamer: Hey Shyguy. I wasn’t sure if
you’d be online today. How have you
been?
Shyguy: Pretty good. I just got home from
school.
Dreamer: Did you have a good day?
Shyguy: Yeah, it was okay. Nothing
extremely interesting happened,
but it was a pretty good day. How
was your day?
Dreamer: It was okay.
Shyguy: Just okay?
When Dreamer didn’t answer, Mathew frowned.
Shyguy: Are you there?
Dreamer: Sorry. My best friend is here
and she is really annoying.
Shyguy: Oh.
Dreamer: Could you hold on for a second?
Shyguy: Yeah, sure.
Mathew waited patiently for Dreamer to come back. He was getting confused with this girl. She sounded different every time he talked to her.
Alix shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she argued. “I really think you should go talk to your grandparents.”
Jessica threw her hands up in frustration. “But I’m talking to Shyguy! I get to talk to him like never. Besides, since when do you want me to talk to my grandparents?”
Alix rolled her eyes. “Hear me out,” she said. “Let’s say that the whole getting-the-tape-from-Lynn plan doesn’t work out, and your g-parents have to come, don’t you think you have a better chance of convincing them to let you stay in America if you act like a goodie-goodie from now on?”
Jessica thought about it. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I’ll have to say good bye to Shyguy, though.”
“Oh, jeez, Jess, you sound like you’re about to die, or something. You’ll be back eventually.”
Jessica looked at her. “Don’t be so sure.”
Alix shook her head. “Go on. Talk to the senile beings from hell. I’ll say buh-bye to Romeo for you.”
The butler, who had been standing at the doorway for the last fifteen minutes, held out the phone to Jessica.
Jessica groaned. “I’m heading towards my doom,” she muttered, as she walked out of the room.
Alix blew out a sigh of relief, and moved to the seat in front of the computer.
Dreamer: I’m back . . . and you are?
Shyguy:
Dreamer: Yeah. So, anyways, still
single?
Shyguy: Unfortunately. U?
Dreamer: Yep. Still boyfriendless.
Shyguy: I guess I should be happy
about that. Wouldn’t want to
be jealous.
Alix made a few gagging noises. That was corny, Mathew, she thought to herself. “Let’s see. What would Jessica say to that?”
Dreamer: That’s sweet of you to say.
Shyguy:
Dreamer: So, what have you been up to
today? Or did I ask that already?
Shyguy: Not in so many words. Today?
Well, I went to school. I did work.
I came home. That was pretty much
all that happened.
Dreamer: Sounds like a very productive
day.
Shyguy: Oh, yeah, very. How about your
day?
Dreamer: I attempted counting the hairs
on my head. I lost count somewhere
around ten thousand, though.
Shyguy: Now that’s a productive day!
Dreamer: Thank you berry mucho.
Shyguy: You know, it’s funny, you
sound just like a friend of mine.
Dreamer: Is it a guy or a girl. Your
friend, I mean.
Shyguy: A girl.
Dreamer: Sounds kinky. What’s her name?
Shyguy: Alix.
Alix nodded to herself. “Oh, yeah, I’m bad. I know it.”
Dreamer: That’s the coolest name I’ve
ever heard. She sounds like an
interesting person.
Shyguy: She’s pretty cool. Not my
type, though.
Dreamer: And why is that?
Shyguy: Too strange.
Dreamer: Hey, strange is cool. I
hear some guys find it sexy.
Alix slapped her forehead. What the heck was she doing. She was supposed to be helping out Jessica, not herself.
Dreamer: Sorry. I get a little
carried away sometimes. So, if
your friend, Alix, isn’t your
type–who is?
Shyguy: You.
Well, that makes lots of sense, Mathew, Alix thought. Contradicting yourself a little?
Dreamer: How do you know I’m really your
type? I could turn out to be the long
lost twin of your Alix friend. If that
were the case, would it be so bad?
Shuyguy: I suppose not.
Dreamer: Is she pretty?
Shyguy: In a childish sort of way.
“Okay, Mathew boy,” Alix said outloud. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Dreamer: Well, is there someone at your
school whom you consider truly
and maginficiently gorgeous?
Shyguy: You know, for a complete stranger
you seem to care an awefully lot about
my love life.
Dreamer: Just checking out the competition
Shyguy: Nice save. Don’t worry, though,
there’s no one I’m interested in at
my school. Or anywhere else for that
matter.
Wrong answer, Alix thought, annoyed. She threw her hands up in the air in frustration, and sat back in the chair. “You are supposed to tell me that you’re totally, and absolutely in love with some Jessica person in your school. But no–”
Shyguy: Are you there?
“Don’t interrupt me,” Alix told the screen. “I’m talking to you. Listen to me. I have a very good point.” She frowned. “And I’m talking to myself. Great.” She shook her head, and started typing.
Dreamer: I’m really sorry, but I have to
go. I have to go walk my dog.
Shyguy: Oh, that’s too bad. Will you be
on tonight?
Dreamer: Probably. If I can’t find you,
I’ll E-mail you, though.
Shyguy: I’ll do the same.
Dreamer: Okay. Bye.
Shyguy: Later.
Alix shut off the computer, and sighed. This wasn’t working very well. In fact, the way things were going, she was heading straight for a brick wall.
Alix looked around the room. She loved Jessica’s room. She especially liked the wall behind the king size waterbed, which was painted different shades of blue, and covered with painted pictures of colorful fish. It gave the impression of being underwater, which Jessica had once explained was her way to “escape.” Alix hadn’t been sure what she’d meant by saying that, but it was still a great image for whatever purpose.
Alix got up from the chair, and walked out to the balcony. If she owned this house–or at least the balcony–she would never move from that spot–except to eat, and go to the bathroom.
“Sorry it took so long,” Jessica said, coming up beside her.
Alix looked at her. “Well, at least you’re still alive.”
Jessica sighed. “Barely.” She looked at the ocean, and sighed deeply.
“And what’s the matter with you?”
“Very bad news.”
“How bad?”
“Really bad.”
“That’s not good.”
Jessica closed her eyes, and leaned her head down to rest it on the railing. “Guess what.”
“Chicken butt?”
“No.” Jessica shook her head. “No. No. No.” She paused and took a deep breath. “My grandparents are coming next weekend.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alix gasped, and stared at Jessica. “That’s no good.”
Jessica nodded slowly. “I’m aware of that, Alix,” she said.
Alix shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you are.” She turned her back to the ocean, crossed her arms, and looked at Jessica. “So, now what are we gonna do?”
Jessica shook her head slowly. “I really don’t know,” she said sadly. “It’s like everything’s pouring on me at the same time, you know?”
“Yeah, I kind of do,” Alix stated.
Jessica turned to her. “Oh, God, Al, I’m so sorry,” she said quickly. “I forgot why we’re even doing this.”
Alix shrugged again. “It doesn’t really matter,” she said sadly. She looked away. “You know what really gets me mad? It’s the fact that everyone else can do anything they want and get away with it, and I get in super trouble when I try to do something original.” She shook her head. “It’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair,” Jessica said, sadly. “You have no idea how unfair life is until it is too late.”
Roxanne played with the straw in her Coke cup. She had no idea how, when, or why her life had suddenly taken a turn for the worst. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
It was like life had suddenly realized it hated her, and wanted to make her life a living hell. That would be an interesting theory. Partly because it made sense, and partly because the fact that the idea had even popped into her head showed how neurotic she was becoming.
“Life sucks, huh?” Alix asked, sliding into the booth across from her.
Roxanne shrugged, and rested her chin on her hands. “Pretty much, yeah.” She looked at Alix and frowned. “I thought you were mad at me?”
Alix shrugged. “I was, but we have more important things to worry about now.”
“We, as in, you and me?”
“And Jessica,” Alix added. “Guess who’s coming for a visit?”
Roxanne shrugged.
“The g-parents from hell,” Alix answered. “Jessica is really screwed now.”
Roxanne sat up. “Oh, God. That’s really bad.”
Alix nodded.
“So what is she gonna do?”
Alix shrugged. “I guess we have to get this whole thing straightened out before they get here. That gives us a week to find a way to keep me and Jade out of jail, and get the tape from Lynn. ”
“So, what’s the plan? Do you even have a plan, or do you just plan to wing it?”
Alix looked at her mockingly. “Yeah, we’re just gonna walk up to Lynn and say, ‘Lynn, how are you today? Good? You know, I was just wondering, could you please give me back that tape you have of us?’ And she’s gonna whip out the tape and say, ‘Here you go, Alix, sorry for the inconvinience. Have a nice day.’ ”
Roxanne shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”
Alix sighed. “Sorry. I’m a little upset right now. Don’t mind me.” She looked around the Spot, but turned her attention back to Roxanne once she saw that no one interesting was around. “So, how are you and B.J.?”
Roxanne shrugged. “We’re doing good, I guess. I don’t know. It’s just going so fast with us, though. It’s like one day we don’t know each other, and the next we’re like a couple. It just doesn’t feel natural. I feel like I’m just going along with it because I don’t know what else to do. And Alex, oh wow, I’m totally clueless as to what to do about him.”
Alix nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Roxanne buried her face in her hands. “Everything’s just coming at me all at one time. I’m losing track of all my problems. I’ve reached the point at which I don’t care anymore.” She looked up, and ran her hand through her stream of brown curls.
“See, now that I can understand,” Alix said. “But you know what? It’s weird because I always thought that problems were so simple to fix, and now my mind is such a mixture of emotions, that I can’t think of anything as simple.”
Roxanne half smiled. “I’m not worried about you,” she stated.
Alix frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I know that everything’s gonna work out for you. All you have to do is think of the solution, and it will come to you.”
Alix crossed her arms, and leaned forward. “Now, how do you figure.”
“You’re too light-hearted to really sit down and worry about something,” Roxanne said. She frowned as she struggled to find the right words. “I’m not sure how to explain it, you know. It’s like, I bet you don’t spend hours lying in bed sulking about your problems, like most normal people would do. You complain about them, you know they’re there, but you sort of push them to the side at the fear of being too serious about something.”
Alix half smiled. “What is it with people trying to analize me lately.”
Roxanne shrugged. “You’re an interesting person to try and figure out.” She looked around the crowded restaurant. “So, where’s Jessica?” she asked, turning back to Alix.
“I left her at her house. She’s in one of her spacey moods.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah.” She looked quickly at her watch, and stood up. “I should get going. I’m gonna try and catch up with Alex. I sort of ditched him this morning.”
“Thank you God, for she has finally come to her senses,” Alix said, looking up at the ceiling.
Roxanne rolled her eyes, and waved quickly. “Later.”
“Hasta la vista, baby.” Alix waved.
Roxanne walked out of the Spot, and walked toward the beach, where she found Alex at the surfer shop. Alex looked up at her as she entered.
“Rox?” Alex asked, stepping out from behind the counter. “What are you doing here?”
That was a really good question. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to him. She looked around the store. Wooden walls; surf boards all over the place; posters of surfers. There was no way she’d be able to come up with a believable excuse. “Um, I want to surf,” she blurted out.
Alex looked surprised. “Really? I thought you gave up on that?”
Roxanne shrugged. “Yeah, well, I changed my mind.”
Alex nodded. “Okay, well, choose your board,” he said.
Roxanne bit her lip again. This was gonna be tuffer than she had anticipated. “Do you have anything with baseballs on it?”
Alex started laughing. “Sorry, Rox, we don’t.”
Roxanne shrugged. “I don’t know. You choose one for me.”
Alex frowned. “You want me to choose a board for you?”
“Yeah,” Roxanne said slowly. “Is that against surfing policies, or something?”
“No,” Alex answered simply, walking over to a rack of surfboards. He took one out from the bunch, and placed it in front of Roxanne. “How’s this?”
Roxanne smiled as she looked at it. A huge, teal-colored Nike swoosh sign covered most of the surfboard, and the black background made it look 3D. It was perfect–if she knew how to surf. “It’s okay,” she said nonchallantly. “How much?”
Alex shrugged. “It’s on me,” he said. “I kind of made it for you anyway.”
Roxanne stepped toward him. “You made it?”
Alex shrugged. “Yeah. Does that mean you want it, or not?”
“Of course I want it,” Roxanne said quickly. “It’s perfect.” For drowning, she added silently.
Alex leaned the board against the rack, and crossed his arms. “Um, Rox, do you plan on going surfing like that?”
Roxanne looked down at her clothes. He was right. She couldn’t very well go surfing in basketball shorts, sneakers, and a tee shirt. She looked back up at Alex and smiled. “Of course not. I also need to get, um, surfing clothes.”
“A bathing suit?” Alex suggested.
“Is that what that is?” Roxanne asked seriously.
Alex coughed to hide his laughter.
“Um, I have a bathing suit underneath my clothes,” Roxanne said. Oh, Lord, she was sounding so dumb. “Okay, well, I’m going to surf now.”
Alex scratched his forehead. “Want me to come with you? You know, in case there’s a problem with the, um, board.”
Roxanne shrugged. “If you want.” She went to get the surfboard, but Alex picked it up for her. “Um, excuse you, that’s mine now,” she told him.
Alex smiled, and handed it to her. “Sorry. It’s just hard to say goodbye.”
“You want a moment alone with it?” Roxanne asked. “I could step outside while the two of you converse.”
“Very funny, Rox.”
Roxanne smiled. “Yeah, I know, you don’t have to tell me that.” She turned her head to look out of the shop, where she could see the beach and the waves. Well, it had been seventeen interesting years. And besides, how bad could it be? Dying was probably over rated anyway, right? Oh, God, she was going to die. “Ouch!” she suddenly screamed, letting go of the surfboard. “Ow! Ow! Ow!”
“Rox, what’s wrong?” Alex asked concerned.
Roxanne leaned against the wall. “Uh, just a cramp,” she answered. “I’ll be alright in a minute.”
Alex stared at her with worry. “You know, maybe you shouldn’t surf today. I mean, it could be pretty dangerous.”
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she agreed, trying to hide her relief.
Alex nodded. “The waves are pretty lame today, anyway. You’d probably get bored.”
Yeah, just what I was thinking, Roxanne thought to herself. She looked at the surfboard once again, and smiled a little. “You made this for me?”
Alex looked embarassed. “Well . . .”
Roxanne looked at him. “You know, for a football player, you blush a lot. People might start to wonder about you.”
Alex smiled shortly. “You know, Rox, I was kind of hoping you’d stop by. I kind of wanted to talk to you.”
Roxanne pretended to be surprised. “Oh, really?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah. I wanted to appologize for acting like a jerk lately. I-I’ve just had a lot on my mind. So, you know, I’m sorry.”
Roxanne nodded. She thought about it for a minute, and nodded again. “Okay, Alex, I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t come here because I wanted to surf. I came because I wanted to appologize for blowing you off lately. That was wrong of me, and I have no clue what I was thinking, if I was thinking at all. So, I’m sorry too.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at her. “So, you didn’t come here to surf?”
Roxanne shook her head. “No. Who would come to surf in here, Alex? I think you’ve definately swallowed too much seawater.”
Alex smiled. “I guess this means we’re friends again, huh?”
“Yeah,” Roxanne said, with more enthusiasm than she felt. “Friends.”
Alix stared at the piece of paper in front her.
Well, at least she was organized.
“Oh, right, and that’s a real helpful observation,” Alix told herself sarcastically. She shook her head, crumpled the piece of paper in her hand, and got up. The Spot was too boring to hang around anyway.
Alix walked out of the restaurant, and started for the parking lot. She didn’t feel like going to the beach. She just wanted to go home, and mope.
“And, see, now that’s not a very happy face,” a voice said, from somewhere in the empty lot.
Alix kept on walking, ignoring the voice.
“Let me guess,” the voice went on. “Life sucks?”
Alix turned around. “Why do you keep following me?” she asked.
Jeremy tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know,” he told her. “Maybe I like you.”
Alix rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, that makes one of us,” she said, turning back around.
Jeremy jumped from the hood of the car he was sitting on, and ran to catch up to Alix. “You know, it’s essential that you like yourself. I mean, how are other people supposed to like you, if you don’t respect yourself?”
Alix didn’t look at him. “I could care less what people think of me.”
Jeremy raised a questioning brow at her. “Is that so?”
“Yeah, that is so,” Alix answered.
“So why are you so upset?” Jeremy asked.
Alix stopped walking, and turned to him. “I’m upset because I’m being blackmailed by the evil witch of the west, my friend’s getting punished for something I did, I know more about certain things than I should, and I’m being pestered continuously by strange guys at the beach, who think they know the meaning of life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.” With that, she started walking away.
“Friends,” Jeremy called after her.
Alix turned around. “What?”
“That’s the meaning of life,” he answered. “To have friends. Real ones.”
Alix nodded slowly, and began walking. “Yeah, right.”
Jessica stared at the rolling waves unfolding continuously under her balcony. She had stopped thinking about an hour ago, and now she was just staring blankly at the people in the distance. All happy. All having fun. All tanning their bodies, and playing beach volleyball as if life were nothing but a party. And after they were finished with their laughing and playing, they would return home, where a loving family would warmly welcome their arrival. The majority not knowing the feeling of utter hopelessness that came when the people you loved didn’t return home.
Ever.
Jessica shut her eyes. She had to get over it eventually.
“Maybe you should go back to that doctor dear,” her grandmother had said. “She was such a nice woman.”
Jessica opened her eyes, and shook her head. There was no way she was going back to that lady. She was insane. She had no idea what she was talking about. Too much talk about “feelings” and “dreams”. What was the deal with dreams anyway?
They never came true.
“How’s it going?” Claire asked, walking into Rachel’s room.
Rachel looked up from her computer. “Hey Claire,” she said. She motioned for Claire to take a seat next to her, and then pointed at the screen. “We’re in.”
Claire smiled in awe. “I have to hand it to you, Rache, you sure are amazing.”
Rachel smiled. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t say that, exactly.” She took a deep breath. “Alright. So, what now?”
“Well, what can we do?”
Rachel half smiled. “We can do anything from changing a letter in her name, to changing her entire file.” She shrugged. “I’m tapped into the entire computer system of B.U. We don’t have much time, though. So, what will it be?”
Claire thought about it for a minute. “Rachel, I really don’t know. Get out of there. I have to think about this.”
Rachel obeyed. “Okay, we’re out,” she said. “So what do you want to do? I mean, there’s not much you can do with a file that will affect a relationship.”
Claire smiled. “Rachel, Rachel,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t just want to break them up. I want to terminate the relationship so that it can never grow again.”
Rachel looked at her uneasily. “Claire, I think you’re taking this a little far. I mean, it’s just a guy.”
Claire shook her head. “No. He’s not just a guy. He’s the guy, okay? The guy.” She got up from the chair, and walked to the door. “I’ll be back when I think of something more specific. In the mean time, I’ll just have to pay a little visit to Baldwin University, and have a talk with Nina. I think she should know about Leslie’s little problem.”
Rachel frowned. “What problem.”
Claire looked at her innocently. “Rachel, come on, don’t try to cover it up now. His drinking problem, of course.”
Rachel attempted to smile, but failed. “Oh, right. That one.”
Mathew stared up at the ceiling. Popcorn ceiling was so amusing, wasn’t it? Just the way it stuck out of the flat surface was so . . .
Mathew sat up. “What am I doing?” he asked himself.
The door to his room burst open, and Nina walked in. “Hey little bro. What’s up?”
Mathew lied back down. “Nothing,” he said. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Oh, well, then you wouldn’t mind going out tonight, right?” Nina said quickly.
Mathew turned his head to look at her. “What?”
Nina sighed, and sat down at the edge of his bed. “I want you to double with me and Leslie.”
Mathew stared at him. “Why?” he asked slowly.
“Because, you’re lying on your bed staring at the ceiling, and quite frankly, I’m worried.” She handed him the phone. “Here, call that girl you like, and invite her to the movies.”
“What girl I like?”
Nina shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sure there is one. So whoever she is, call her up. Come on.” She stared at him for a second. “Call her!”
Mathew stared at her. “I don’t like anyone.”
Nina laughed. “Okay. Then call a girl you don’t like, and invite her. Come on, Mathew, I don’t have all day. What about that girl we played basketball with? Jessica?”
Mathew sighed, and sat up. “I can’t call her.”
Nina nodded, and took the phone from him. “Fine. I’ll do it. What’s the number?”
Mathew looked at her like she was insane. “You’re kidding right?”
Nina rolled her eyes at him. Then she smiled. “Oh, look. She’s number one on your speed dial. Isn’t that cute?” She got up from the bed, and ran across the room, while dialing.
Mathew stood on the bed. “Give me the phone, Nina. This isn’t funny.”
“Hi, Jessica?” Nina said into the phone.
Mathew fell back down on the bed, and put a pillow over his face. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.”
“Hi, Jess,” Nina was saying. “This is Nina, Mathew’s sister. Listen, I’m going to the movies with my boyfriend tonight, and I’m dragging Mathew along, because he’s got no social life what so ever, and I worry about him. So, would you like to come along and keep him company? You know, just babysit him . . .–” Nina laughed”–Yeah, I know. Okay, I will tell him. Thanks, Jess . . . bye.” Nina hung up the phone, and smiled at Mathew. “She said she’d come.”
Mathew threw the pillow at Nina. “I hate you so much.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Nina said dismissively, walking out the door. “I get the guy a date, and this is how he repays me. Some people.” She walked out of the room. “Oh, and you better take a shower, and comb that hair of yours, Matt! You’re picking Jess up in twenty minutes!”
Alix walked into her house. “Hello!” she yelled, shutting the door behind her. “Anyone home?”
Rachel walked down the stairs, her bookbag hanging from her shoulder. “Hey, Al,” she said, walking quickly for the door. “I’m going to the library for a couple of hours, okay? Mom and Dad went out with some business people, so they won’t be back for a while. Oh, and they left some money on the counter for a pizza. Go ahead and order if you’re hungry. I’ll get something to eat later. Bye, Al. See you later.” She opened the door, waved shortly, and left.
Alix raised both eyebrows. “Okaaaay.” Then she smiled and ran to the kitchen counter where she picked up the phone, and dialed her favorite number. “Hi, Pizzas-N-Stuff? Yeah, this is Alix . . . Oh, hi Bob . . . Yep, the usual . . . I’m timing you this time, too . . . Okay, bye.” She hung up the phone, and walked up to her sister’s room, where she took a seat in front of the computer, and turned it on. She patiently waited for America Online to come on.
“Okay, my screen name,” Alix said, clicking on the name “Alix 1000″, and then entering her password. She smiled contentedly. “I love this thing.”
Welcome Alix 1000
“Yeah, whatever,” Alix muttered. She scanned the list of rooms, until she found one that she liked.
fanny123 I swear, you people are lame
LollyPOP We are not
A team Hey people
DuhDuh43 Duh
Alix1000 Um, are there any guys in here
A team I’m a guy. . . I think
BOBABC I’m Bob
fanny123 I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up
Alix1000 How old are you A team?
DuhDuh43 Duh
Losers Hi
Weed666 huh huh huh
A team 16 and you, Alix?
fanny123 I have to go now. Bye all
DuhDuh43 Duh
Losers Hey, Duh, you’re a loser
DuhDuh43 duh
BOBABC I am a GUY
Alix1000 16
asdfggh I want to be a nacho man
Boricua Hey people
SurferDude Hola dudes
PitaBread Yo
DuhDuh43 duh
DuhDuh43 duh
Boricua Any girls in here
Weed666 heh heh heh
A team Alix, where are you from?
PitaBread I like girls
Alix1000 Florida
Instant Message from A team
A team: Want to talk?
Alix1000: You know, that would be cool, yes
A team: I lived in FL for about two years
Alix1000: What part?
A team: Jacksonville. So, Alix, what kind
of music do you like?
Alix1000: heavy rock, metal, alternative
A team: Whoa, you just named the three things
I hate the most. I like classical music
Alix1000: Oh, wow, you’re a dork. See ya.
Alix shook her head, and shut off the computer. This was dumb. It was no fun when you didn’t know who you were talking to. She got up from the desk, and walked back to her room. Then she fell on her bed and closed her eyes. “Life sucks.”
Jessica and Mathew walked into Pizza Max, and soon spotted Leslie and Nina sitting in the far off corner of the restaurant.
“Don’t they look cute together?” Jessica said, jokingly.
Mathew smiled. “Adorable.”
They walked over to their table and sat down across from them.
“Hey, Les,” Jessica said. “Hello again, Nina.”
“Hey, Jess,” Leslie said, smiling warmly. “How are you, Mathew?”
Nina smiled. “Well, aren’t we the happy bunch?”
Jessica frowned. “I though it was the Brady Bunch?”
Mathew shook his head. “No, it’s the Collins-Heart-Kenan Bunch.”
“Wrong,” Leslie said. “It’s the Kenan-Heart-Collins Bunch.”
Jessica shook her head. “Yeah, you all wish. It’s the Heart-Collins-Kenan Bunch.”
Nina laughed. “Hey, come on. Can’t we all just get along?”
Jessica nodded. “Yeah, Nina’s right. Let’s call truce.”
“Truce!” Leslie called. “Is Truce in the house?”
“Ha ha,” Nina said, with a laugh. “Very funny.”
Jessica and Mathew smiled.
“Sorry,” Leslie appologized jokingly. “I’m a natural born kidder.” He smiled. “Sorry.”
“Okay, so what’s the plan tonight?” Jessica asked.
Nina leaned forward. “Well, Les and I were saying that we could go to the fair, instead. What do you guys think?”
Jessica smiled. “I don’t mind. I haven’t been to the fair yet.”
Mathew nodded. “The fair sounds cool.”
“Alrighty then,” Leslie said. “I guess we have got a plan. But first, we dine.”
* * *
Roxanne looked up at Alex and laughed. “I am not watching that,” she said, turning back to the list of titles, as the two of them stood in front of the ticket booth of the local General Cinema.
Alex shrugged. “Alright,” he said, scanning the names. “How about . . . um . . .”
“Money Train,” Roxanne suggested. “Wesley Snipes. Woody Harrilson.”
Alex smiled and nodded, pulling out his wallet. “Two for Money Train, please,” he said to the person in the ticket booth. He paid, and then held out a ticket to Roxanne. “There you go, my lady.”
Roxanne smiled. “You know, I could pay for my own ticket,” she said, as they walked toward the doors. “It’s not the 30′s or anything.”
Alex opened the door for her, and smiled as she passed through. “It makes me feel more manly if I pay.”
Roxanne looked back at him. “Well, you have a long way to go, my dear,” she joked, and then headed for the consession stand.
Alex stood behind her in the line. “Very funny.”
Roxanne grinned at him. “I know.”
“Modest, too.”
“If you say so,” Roxanne said, walking up a few steps as the line moved forward.
Alex smiled. “I do.” Then his smiled faded, to be replaced by a frown. “Um, Rox, what did you say B.J. was doing tonight?”
Roxanne turned around. “He said he had to drive his cousin to the airport,” she answered. Then she frowned. “Why?”
“Because, I think they made a little stop on their way to the airport. Look.”
Roxanne followed his gaze to the side of the theater, where B.J. stood making out with a short blonde haired girl. “Who the hell . . .?”
Alex bit his lip. “You will not believe who that is.”
Roxanne squinted her eyes. “Man, I need glasses.” She walked a few steps closer, and then almost screamed.
It was Lynn.
Chapter Fourteen
“Rox! Wait!” Alex yelled, running after Roxanne. “Wait up!”
Roxanne’s run turned into a jog, and then slowed down until finally, she stopped. “Take me home,” she said, as Alex appeared next to her.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked.
Roxanne turned to look up at him. “Do I look okay to you, Alex?” she asked. “Do I? Because if I do, then you’re not looking close enough.”
Alex didn’t answer.
Roxanne shut her eyes to keep the tears from falling. “Why would he do that to me, Alex? Why? Am I not good enough for him?” She laughed bitterly. “I must look like such an idiot to you.” She nodded to herself. “Who am I kidding? I am an idiot.”
“Don’t say that,” Alex said softly.
“Why not? It’s true.”
“No it’s not,” Alex said, shaking his head slowly. He took her hand in his, and looked into her eyes. “I want to show you something. Come on.”
Roxanne shook her head. “I just want to go home, Alex. Please. Just take me home.”
“I will,” he promised. “But first, I want to show you my world.”
Leslie smiled, and rubbed his hands together. Then he took the mallot in his hands, and looked at Mathew. “Watch a real man in action, Matt. Maybe you’ll learn something.” He then swung the mallot behind his shoulder, and brought it down with all his strength.
They all watched the small weight go up . . . up . . . up . . . and then come five inches short of the bell.
Mathew nodded. “Wow. I wish I could do that.”
Nina and Jessica chuckled.
Leslie smiled sarcastically. “I would love to see you try, Mathew.” He held out the mallot. “Go ahead.”
Mathew grabbed it, and looked at Jessica and Nina, who were now laughing histerically. “Okay. Watch and learn, Les. And girls, prepare to see a real man in action.”
Mathew swung the mallot behind his shoulder, and brought it down as hard as he could. The weight went higher than before, but still came short by about three inches.
Jessica and Nina burst out laughing, and Leslie grinned proudly.
“Shut up,” Mathew said, handing the mallot back to the guy behind the small counter.
“So, where to now?” Leslie asked, taking Nina’s hand in his.
“I’m hungry,” Nina said.
“Didn’t we just eat?” Mathew asked.
“I’m hungry, too,” Jessica said.
Leslie shook his head. “I thought girls were all on diets, or something?”
Nina shrugged and smiled. “Well, see, you guys lucked out. You got the exeptions to that rule. Come on, I’m starved.”
“What are you doing in here with the lights off?” Rachel asked, clicking on the light switch to Alix’s room.
“Wallowing,” Alix muttered, shielding her eyes from the light.
“Wallowing?”
“In self pity,” Alix added, sitting up on her elbows. “What do you want?”
Rachel crossed her arms, and leaned against the doorway. “I just got home–Alix, why are you looking at me like that?”
Alix lied back down. “I feel like there’s something I forgot to do.”
“Right,” Rachel said slowly. “I noticed the money is still on the counter. Didn’t you eat?”
Alix sat back up. “That’s it! I forgot about the pizza.”
“Ah-huh,” Rachel said. “Okay, well, I’m going to take the car again. I just came home to change. You want to come along? I’m going to the fair with Claire. I think Jessica’s there with Mathew and a couple of other people.”
Alix shook her head. “Nah, you go ahead. I don’t feel like going anywhere today.”
Rachel shrugged. “Alright. You want me to turn the light off?”
“Yeah,” Alix answered, lying back down.
Rachel shook her head, turning the light off as she closed the door.
Alix lied there, staring at the shadows on her ceiling. The trees outside cast a moving silhouette on the walls, and each shadow seemed to grow bigger with each passing second.
Alix put one of her pillows over her face. “I can’t believe I’m afraid of the dark,” she told herself pathetically. “At this age.”
“Alix, what are you doing?” someone asked, as the room suddenly flooded with light.
Alix pulled the pillow from her face, and then covered her eyes with her hands. “Hi, Jade. Would you mind shutting off the light, please. I’m a little blind at the moment.”
Darkness appeared again, as the lights were turned off.
Alix opened her eyes, and looked at the shadow moving towards her. “So, Jade, what brings you here?”
“Alix, quite frankly, I’m worried about you,” Jade answered.
Alix sat up. “Why do you say that?”
“I’m not even gonna waste my time answering that question,” Jade said, leaning down to take Alix’s hands. “Get up. We’re going out.”
Alix shook her head, and pulled her hands away. “No thanks, Jay. I’m fine where I am. I just want to lie here in the dark, waiting for the boogy man to get me.”
“Alix, are you listening to what you’re saying?”
“Nope. I lost a grasp of reality about an hour ago,” Alix answered.
“Great,” Jade said, sarcastically, walking towards the wall to turn on the lights.
Alix put the pillow back on her face, and groaned loudly.
Jade rolled her eyes, and walked back to the bed. “Alix, come on,” she pleaded. “Get up.”
“Why would I want to?”
“Because,” Jade began, looking around for a reason, “it’s seven. And it’s Friday. And you’re lying here like a lump of . . . well, I’ll think of a good example later. Besides, we’re going cruising for guys.”
“Oh, gee,” Alix said, sarcastically, “that sounds like fun. Sure, why not? I’m already in hell. Why not add rape to the list of things gone wrong? I might as well get pregnant, too. Boy, that would make a cool Oprah episode.”
Jade shook her head. “See, now you’re just exagerating,” she said. “Come on.”
Alix slowly got out of bed. “Fine. It’s not like you’re gonna give up, anyway, right? Okay, I need to change first. Where are we going, again? Hot Buns?”
“Cute, Alix,” Jade said sarcarstically. “Very cute.”
“Yeah, well, you know me.” Alix walked to her closet, and threw open the door. “Alright. We got dorky outfits, and even dorkier outfits–which will it be?”
Jade walked up next to her, and stood staring at Alix’s closet. She reached in, and pulled out a pair of baggy blue jeans, and a large flannel shirt. “There you go.”
Alix shrugged, and walked over to the bed, where she dumped the clothes. “Goody. I get to be a homey g for the night.”
Jade turned around to look at her. “A what?”
“Homey g,” Alix repeated. “You know, like, those people that talk like, ‘Yo wuz up?! I’m down, dog. Hey, g, check this out.’ You know?”
Jade stared at her for a minute. “Right,” she said at last. “You know, on second thought, lets not go for that outfit.”
“Here we are,” Alex announced, shutting off the car, and opening the door.
Roxanne got out of the car, and looked around. “The beach?” she asked, staring at the sandy dune in front of her.
Alex slammed the door shut, and walked around to Roxanne. “Not just any beach,” he said, taking her hand in his. “My beach.”
Roxanne looked at him skeptically. “Your beach,” she repeated. “Alrighty.”
Alex held her hand tighter, and started walking towards the dune. “Come on, Rox,” he said.
Roxanne readily obeyed. “You know, I’m not in the mood to go skinny dipping, if that’s what you had in mind. I don’t care how dark it is.”
Alex smiled, but didn’t say anything.
Once they had reached the top of the dune, Alex stopped. “Look,” he said.
Roxanne squinted her eyes. “Alright, I hear waves crashing. And I think there’s a seagull around here somewhere. But, I don’t see anything.” She turned to Alex. “What exactly is it that you’re pointing at?”
Alex didn’t answer, but instead started climbing down the other side of the dune.
“Great.” Roxanne sighed, and after a few seconds of hesitation, started down the sandy hill. “If I fall, I’m gonna be very mad at you, Alex!”
Alex turned around at the bottom, and grabbed a hold of Roxanne’s hand, once again. “See, you didn’t fall,” he said.
“Okay, Alex, that’s it,” Roxanne said, brushing the sand from her clothes. “Why are we here?”
“I want to show you something I’ve never shown anyone before,” Alex answered. He reached into his pocket, and took out a flashlight.
“Hate to burst your bubble,” Roxanne started, “but I’ve seen plenty of flashlights before.”
Alex smiled. “No. Not the flashlight.” He turned on the flashlight, and aimed it directly in front of him. “That.”
Roxanne followed the light, and gasped. In front of her she saw, what appeared to be a large mass of rock. Palm tree branches covered most of the large hole in the middle, but Roxanne could still tell what it was. “Whoa. That’s a cave, right?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, but it’s what’s inside that I want to show you.” He started walking toward the cave.
Roxanne followed close behind.
Alex led her through a series of passages, which Roxanne was sure were leading towards the water. She could hear the waves gently lapping against the narrow walls of the cave.
“I didn’t know you were gonna take me to see Batman,” Roxanne quipped. “I would have dressed better.”
Alex smiled. “Yeah, well, he happens to be a friend of mine.”
“Right,” Roxanne said sarcastically. “And I bet next you’re gonna tell me that you’re Wonder Boy.”
“Wow, Rox. I didn’t know you thought so highly of me. I’m flattered, really.”
Roxanne laughed. “Very funny.”
Alex laughed too, but suddenly turned off the flashlight.
“Alrighty,” Roxanne said. “Why did you just do that?”
“We’re here,” Alex announced. “Close your eyes.”
Roxanne rolled her eyes, though Alex couldn’t see that. “What difference would that make? I can’t see a thing, anyway.”
“You’ll see in a second. You have to close your eyes first. Are you eyes closed, yet?”
Roxanne nodded. “Not that you’d know the difference, but yeah.”
“Okay,” Alex said quickly. “Keep them closed.” Then there were a few seconds of silence.
“Alright, open your eyes,” Alex said at last.
Roxanne hesitantly did so. When her eyes got used to the light, and were able to focus on what was in front of her, Roxanne let out a gasp.
Alex came up beside her, looking hopeful. “Do-do you like it?”
Roxanne didn’t answer for a while, as she struggled to fully grasp the image ahead. In front of her was a large cavern, which had been made to look like a huge room. There was a small pond on the right side, where the ocean water had seeped through. Candles of all shapes and sizes, along with about ten flashlights, lighted the room. There was even a bed on one side of the cavern. “Wow,” was all she could manage.
“Here,” Alex said, taking her hand once again, and leading her to one side of the room. “Look.”
Roxanne obeyed. Fish of all sort of colors, sizes, shapes were swimming in a huge tank on the wall. It was like staring at a miniture ocean. Roxanne looked at Alex. “When did you do this?” she asked him.
Alex shrugged. “I found this place about five years ago,” he answered. “Ever since, I’ve spent my time redercorating it.” He looked at her. “Does that mean you like it.”
Roxanne’s eyes landed on his. “I love it.”
“See, now this is much better,” Alix stated, looking down at her black Aerosmith tee shirt, and ripped black jeans.
Jade looked at her, and smiled. “Yeah, for a vampire,” she joked.
“Exactly,” Alix agreed. She smiled and looked around. “So this is the famous fair. Hm. I’d never been to a fair before. It’s . . . well, loud.”
“I know,” Jade said. “It’s more fun like that.”
“I guess,” Alix answered, still looking around at the many flourescent lights, and hundreds of people laughing and screaming. “It’s sort of crowded.”
“Very good, Alix,” Jade said. “Boy, you’re observant today. Come on, let’s see what they’ve got.”
Alix shrugged, and followed Jade through the maze of tents, and carts, and people, until at last they came to a stop in front of an odd looking tent. There was a big sign in front reading: “WELCOME TO MADAM ZORA’S HOUSE OF THE STARS–Readings are $5.00 for 15 minutes/ or FREE if you’re not satisfied with the reading.”
“Hey, this looks interesting,” Jade said.
Alix stared at her skeptically. “You actually believe this stuff?”
Jade shook her head quickly. “Now way,” she answered. “But I’ve always wanted to trick on of those psychic wannabe’s.”
Alix shrugged. “Alright,” she said. “It’s not like we have anything to lose, anyway, right?”
“Right,” Jade agreed, opening the flab of the tent, and walking inside.
Alix followed her, and stepped inside the tent. Inscence was burning at one side of the tent, and candles lighted the place. A small table with chairs sorrounding it, took up most of the small space. A woman in her late fiftie’s, wearing huge hoop earrings, and lots of bangly jewelry, sat in one of the chairs. She smiled warmly as they entered.
“Welcome,” she said, pointing to the chairs. “Please, sit down. I am Madam Zora, at your service.”
Jade and Alix exchanged a skeptical look, and then proceeded to take a seat in front of the woman.
“So, how may I help you?” Madam Zora asked, leaning forward.
Jade shrugged. “Well, what can you tell us?” she asked.
The old woman smiled. “Whatever you want to know,” she answered.
“Where’s your crystal ball?” Alix asked suddenly.
“Oh, I don’t work with crystal balls,” Madam Zora said. “They’re too heavy. Besides, I have a terrible memory. I’d probably leave it somewhere.”
Alix bit her lip to keep from smiling. “So, what do you work with then?” she asked. “Tarot cards?”
Madam Zora shook her head. “No. Tarot cards are too general.”
“Oh, you read palms then?” Jade asked.
Madam Zora let out a long laugh. “No,” she said, still chuckling to herself. “I like you girls. You’re amusing. No, no palms for me. I work with energy fields.”
“Auras?” Alix asked.
“Yes.” Madam Zora nodded. “Auras.”
“So,” Alix said, leaning forward, “what can you tell me about my aura? Is it purple with teal spots?”
Madam Zora looked at her closely. “No,” she answered. “But it’s a very interesting one, indeed. In fact, I’ve never seen anything remotely like it before.”
“Oh, cool,” Alix said. “So, am I gonna die soon, or something?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be able to tell that,” Madam Zora said. “You’re aura is very special, my dear. You have a certain energy that is different than most. It radiates positive feelings more than negative. You have a good heart.”
Alix shook her head. “I doubt that very much,” she said. “For the past six generations every woman in my family has died from heart decease. So, actually, my heart is probably not very good.”
Madam Zora smiled, and leaned back in her chair. “You’ve had a lot on your mind lately, right, Alix?”
Alix was taken aback. “How did you know my name?”
The old woman laughed. “I’m psychic,” she answered. “That, and your name plate.”
Alix looked down at the name plate she wore on her chain. “Oh, right.”
Jade spoke for the first time in a while. “So, how’s my aura?”
Madam Zora looked at her. “Your aura is very dark, my dear. It shows you lead a very private and mysterious life. You’re not very friendly toward a lot of people, but you know who to be friends with from the moment you meet them. You have various gifts. Music and art are your strong points, and you have no problem escaping reality through either.” She stopped. “I see a boy in your life. He’s not made his appearance, yet, but when he does your life will change drastically.”
“You got all that from an aura?” Alix asked raising both eyebrows.
Madam Zora smiled. “Yes, I did.”
Alix looked at Jade. “That’s some aura, girl.” She turned back to the gypsy. “Okay, so what else can you tell me about my life?”
“You’re a toughy, Alix,” Madam Zora admitted, leaning forward once more. “Problems. I see many problems, and a lot of confusion. I also see a guy. You have feelings for him. Very strong feelings, but there is an obstacle keeping you two apart. That’s good. Stay away from him, because he is bad news. There’s another guy that you have feelings for, but you don’t know it yet. He’s the one you want. He’s the one you need.”
“That was a whole lot for being a toughy,” Jade said with a short smile.
Madam Zora smiled once more, but then she turned serious again. “Alix, be careful.”
Alix nodded, and got up. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she promised, reaching into her back pocket. She took out a five dollar bill, and handed it to the woman. “This was cool. I don’t know if it was true, but it was definately interesting.”
Jade stood up, and did the same. “Yo, you’re the coolest psychic I’ve ever met,” she stated, handing over the money. “Granted, you’re the only psychic I’ve ever met, but if I had met more, I bet you’d still be coolest.”
Madam Zora accepted the money with a small grin playing on her lips. “You girls come back one of these days,” she said. “I’ve never enjoyed a costumer more than I have enjoyed the two of you.”
“Oh, we’ll probably be back,” Jade promised.
“Yeah, you know, with the lotto drawing being tomorrow and all.” Alix smiled.
“Mmmmm.”
Leslie looked at Nina, shook his head, and turned to Mathew and Jessica. “See, I wish I had that effect on her.”
Jessica and Mathew both laughed. The four of them were sitting in front of a small coffee shop, waiting for Nina to finish her ice cream.
“Ice cream is the best,” Nina stated, finishing the last of her waffle cone.
“Amen to that,” Jessica agreed.
“What is it with girls and ice cream?” Leslie asked. “Is it like a hormonal thing?”
Nina nodded mockingly. “Yeah, Les, that’s it. It’s a hormonal thing.”
Mathew shrugged. “Well, with you women, we never know.”
Jessica and Nina stared at him.
“Did he just call us women?” Jessica asked, her mouth hanging open.
“I think he did,” Nina said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Leslie and Mathew looked confused.
Jessica looked at Mathew. “You know, you’re one of the very few guys that refer to us as women. We’re surprised.”
“Wow,” Nina agreed. “Brother of mine, I must admit, I have taught you well.”
“Does that mean, we’re men?” Leslie asked.
Nina arched her eyebrows at him. “And then he woke up and it was all a dream.”
Jessica nodded. “Guys can’t be considered men until they’re at least twenty-six. It’s a fact. They have done studies.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute, right Matt?” Leslie said. “We are men.”
“In tights,” Nina quipped.
“Oh, that was cute,” Leslie teased.
Nina grinned. “I know.”
Mathew leaned toward Jessica. “I think they’re getting mushy on us.”
Jessica frowned. “That’s not mushy.”
“But you’re cuter,” Nina insisted.
“I know you are, but what am I?” Leslie said.
Jessica nodded. “Okay, that was mushy,” she admitted, getting up from the small table. She turned to Mathew. “Shall we?”
“I can’t believe we’re actually gonna go through with this,” Rachel said, shaking her head.
Claire rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you’re gonna be doing anything, except standing there.” She resumed looking around for Leslie and Nina. “I’m sure Nina will believe every word I say without much arguement. If by any chance, there is a little doubt in her eyes, then that’s when you come in. All you have to do is say that you know all about it, and that you back me up one hundred percent.”
“Claire, did it ever occur to you to give up on this one?” Rachel asked. “I mean, it’s a guy. The only conversation you have had with the guy is involving orders of pizzas and sodas. When you come down to it, you’ve never really talked to the guy.”
Claire shrugged, still looking around the crowded fair. “Facts are useless nonsense,” she said. “I know about this, trust me. Now, help me find them. They’ve got to be around here somewhere.”
Rachel sighed, and started her search. After a few minutes, she spotted the couple. “I think I found them,” she said quietly.
Claire looked around frantically. “Where?”
Rachel pointed with her head. “Over there, in front of that coffee shop place.”
Claire nodded as she saw them. “Okay. Are you ready?”
Rachel sighed again. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she answered.
Claire nodded again, took a deep breath, and began her descent toward the unsuspecting couple.
“I don’t believe you!”
Nina and Leslie looked up, and away from each other, as they spotted a fiery red heard girl walking quickly towards them.
“Oh, is this your new hoe?” the girl shrieked, pointing at Nina, but keeping her eyes glued to Leslie. She turned to Nina. “Has he told you about me? I doubt it. He’s probably forgotten my name, he was so drunk.”
“What?” Leslie asked totally confused.
Nina frowned, and moved a little bit away from him. “What are you talking about?”
“Him!” the girl yelled. “Everynight, he comes home, with the scent of different girl on his clothes. And with his breath reeking of beer, he tries to put the moves on me. Of course, by then he’s so drunk he’s already asleep by the time I realize what he was trying to do. Evernight, a different girl.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Leslie yelled at her.
The girl nodded. “You see? He’s trying to deny everything. Of course it’s easy for him to say it didn’t happen, after I clean up after him everyday. And why do I do that? Because I’m stupid, I guess. I actually believe it when he tells me I’m the only one. Of course, the joke is on me, huh? There’s no point in denying anything now, is there, Jonathan?”
“Wait,” Nina interrupted. “His name’s Leslie.”
The girl laughed. “Is that what he told you?” She turned to Leslie. “Is that what you tell them?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Leslie shrieked. He looked at Nina. “Nina, let’s go. I have no idea who this girl is.”
“Oh, fine!” the girl screamed. “Listen, buster, I’m not gonna be there tonight for you to use as you wish. This girl is walking out of your life.” She looked at Nina. “And I suggest that you do the same, before he feeds you anymore crap. And watch him when he’s drunk.” She shook her head at Leslie, her face full of disgust. “I hate you, Jonathan. I hate you so much. I hate what you do, and I hate what you stand for.” Then she walked away.
Leslie stood in shock for a few seconds.
Nina got up from the table. “Um, Les–or Jonathan, or whatever your name is. I . . . uh, have to go.”
Leslie snapped right back into reality. “Nina! Wait! I have no idea what that girl was talking about! Nina!”
“It is a beautiful night,” Jessica agreed, looking up at the sky. She turned to Mathew. “You know, I’m really glad I agreed to go to out tonight. I was kind of hesitant when Nina called me.”
Mathew smiled. “I’m glad I decided to go too. I was sort of dragged from my bed, but I have to hand it to Nina, she knows what she’s doing.”
Jessica smiled and nodded. “You know, walking home wasn’t such a bad idea,” she said. “It wasn’t as far as I thought. Besides, it’s good excersise.”
“Well, it is a beautiful night,” Mathew said. “And we couldn’t find Leslie and Nina anywhere, so it wasn’t like we had much of a choice, huh?”
“Well, true,” Jessica agreed. “But it was still pretty cool.”
Mathew nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “It was pretty cool.”
They reached Jessica’s front door, after walking past the iron gate at the entrance to the huge mansion.
Jessica turned to Mathew, and smiled, stretching out her hand. “Well, Mathew, I have to say, I have enjoyed tonight more than any night I’ve had in a long time. Thanks.”
Mathew smiled down at her, and shook her hand. “Well, Jessica, I have to say the same.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home?” Jessica asked. “I mean, my car’s right there.”
Mathew shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I enjoy walking down the beach. Especially at night.” He started walking away, but stopped and turned around. “Jess, are there really only a few guys out there who would refer to you as a woman.”
Jessica nodded. “You’d be surprised.”
Mathew sighed. “Well, then I they have no appreciation for beauty.” He smiled at her. “Good night, Jessica.”
Jessica had to smiled. “Good night, Mathew.” She watched him walk away for a little while, and then opened the door. She walked inside, and was surprised to find that all the lights were turned on.
Jessica closed the door behind her, and frowned as she thought she heard voices coming from the living room. She started walking in that direction.
“Jessica!”
Jessica turned around quickly. That was the last voice she expected to hear that day. “Grandma?”
Ellen Heart walked toward her grand daughter, carrying in her stride the class and posture that was expected of a woman of her stature. “Jessica, darling.”
Jessica frowned again, and had the sudden uneasy feeling that came with the element of surprise. “Grandmother, what are you doing here?”
“Is that the way to talk to your grandmother?” Ellen asked, giving Jessica a small peck on the cheek. “You’ve been raised better than that.”
Jessica nodded, still overwhelmed. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to get here for another week.”
“We couldn’t wait a second longer to give you the surprise,” Ellen said excitedly.
“Surprise?”
Ellen breathed deeply, to maintain her coolness. “Jessica, we’ve got the biggest surprise for you. It’s the one thing you’ve been wanting for a long time. And it’s a true miracle that you’re getting this, Jessica. Nothing short of a miracle.”
“What is it?”
Ellen gave Jessica a quick hug. “Alright. Enough suspense. Follow me.”
Jessica hesitated for a minute before following her grandmother to the living room. When they got there, all the lights were shut off, so Jessica couldn’t see anything, except for three silhouettes sitting on a couch.
“Hi, Jessica,” a voice said.
“Hi, grandpa,” Jessica said, her nerves starting to get to her. “What’s all this about? Please, you’re killing me here.”
“Hello, Jessica,” said another voice.
Jessica froze. Her heart started beating faster than it ever had before, and she held her breath without noticing it.
“Hi, Jess,” said yet another voice.
Jessica knew she would faint at any moment. Those two voices. They were so familiar, and yet so very distant. She hadn’t heard them in years. The longest two years of her life. And now, she was hearing them again. It wasn’t possible. It had to be a dream. It couldn’t be real.
Tears fled to Jessica’s eyes, as she struggled to find her voice. “Mom, Dad,” she whispered.
