Holly's Heart Collection Two

by Beverly Lewis

  Chapter 5

  The interview sailed by, smooth and easy. I asked the usual journalistic questions, prompted by the five W’s. Things like why he’d chosen to major in education, who were his mentors, and what he hoped to do when he graduated from college.

  Only once were we interrupted. The janitor came in to empty the trash. Later, I thought I heard the cre-e-ak of the door, but when I turned to investigate, no one was there.

  Satisfied that the interview was complete, I stood to go. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Barnett. It was nice getting acquainted with you.” If he only knew…

  “I’ve heard you have an excellent way with words, Holly,” he said, smiling again. “I’ll look forward to seeing your story in The Lift. ”

  “Thanks.” I reached for my notebook.

  He seemed reluctant for me go. “Above all,” he added, “I hope you keep working at your creative goals.”

  “Thanks,” I said again. Slipping my pen into my backpack, I looked up. That’s when his eyes met mine. And I knew, sure as anything, that I had hopelessly fallen for this student teacher.

  That night at youth service, a bunch of kids signed up for the Bible Quiz Team. By the looks of the quiz team T-shirts sales, it was a big deal.

  “Who’re you going to study with?” Stan asked as we came in together. Before I could respond, Andie walked over to him.

  “Got a partner yet?” she asked Stan.

  He sat down, crossing his long legs. He leaned back and merely grinned.

  Here comes John Wayne, I thought. But I was wrong. Today it was Stan Patterson himself. “I’m thinking about it,” he said.

  Andie giggled, probably holding her breath for him to pick her as his team study partner.

  When Danny showed up, I scooted down in my chair. No way could I survive a repeat performance with him. Paula and Kayla Miller arrived just in time, and I waved them over. Paula had established a strong identity all her own. I noticed it as she fluffed her soft shoulder-length curls. Kayla, her twin, seemed content minus the look-alike aspect.

  I sighed with relief as I glanced down the row of chairs. Good, no room for Danny to barge in.

  Pastor Rob made an announcement. “If you didn’t get a Bible Quiz Team card when you came in, please take one home. I’d like each of you to prayerfully consider being on the team or at least help with one of the fund-raisers. We’ll be traveling to Denver and Grand Junction for regionals, so it’s going to cost us some bucks.”

  I felt a twinge of guilt as I thought back to the flippant answers I’d given Danny this afternoon. It wasn’t the idea of studying and memorizing Scripture that kept me from signing up. It was Danny himself.

  Before the youth service ended, I slipped a card into my purse when Danny wasn’t watching.

  The next day was Friday. Audition results! Bypassing my locker, I ran toward the stairs. Had I made it? Was I Maria? Halfway up the stairs, I remembered that I was much too mature to race around the school like this. Slowing to a more sophisticated pace, I made my way toward the music room.

  The area was crammed with clusters of kids jockeying for position in front of the music bulletin board. I watched Andie’s expression change from curiosity to horror when she saw her name beside the character of Mother Abbess. She’d wanted Maria. Who didn’t?

  Paula clenched her fists and shook them back and forth with glee when she discovered her name beside Liesl, the oldest daughter of the von Trapp family singers. Liesl, along with Mother Abbess, was a strong supporting role. She’d be playing opposite Stan. Wouldn’t Andie die over that matchup?

  I could hardly suffer the suspense any longer and pushed through the crowd. Head and shoulders above most of the girls, I could see my name clearly at the top of the list. Holly Meredith—Maria. I grinned with delight. This was so perfect.

  Just below my name, Jared’s name was listed. He was Captain Georg von Trapp. Talk about a nightmare!

  Grabbing Andie, I bear-hugged her. “Can you believe it? I’m Maria!” I shouted amid the din of excitement.

  She pulled back, glaring. “I should’ve known.”

  “Known what?” I demanded, trailing after her.

  “C’mon, Holly. Are you brain-dead?” Her tennies slapped against the waxed floor as she hurried toward our lockers.

  I grabbed her arm, like she usually does to me. “Spell it out, Andie.”

  She scrunched her face. “Teacher’s pet,” she snarled. “I saw what you did.”

  I swallowed hard. Had Andie spied on me doing the interview?

  “You thought I was at the Soda Straw with Stan, didn’t you?” Her dark eyes flashed with anger. “Well, you were wrong.”

  “I don’t get it,” I said, still puzzled.

  “I came back to school yesterday to get my math assignment.

  That’s when I ran into Danny, looking pretty lousy. It’s none of my business, but what did you say to him?” She took a quick breath. “Never mind. Danny told me you’d gone upstairs. And when I looked for you, there you were in the choir room, shooting the breeze with Mr. Barnett.” She wouldn’t let me toss a word in edgewise. “How does it feel to bribe a teacher into giving you the lead role?” Her accusing stare made me angry.

  “You’ve got it wrong, Andie,” I stated flatly. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “Oh yeah?” She slammed her locker. “Guess again.”

  I couldn’t believe it. “Please, don’t do this,” I said. “You’re wrong—it was only an interview.”

  She didn’t hang around to hear more. Off she flew, down the hall to first period. I opened my locker, refusing to let her childishness spoil my moment.

  Maria! I’d actually landed the female lead. I could hardly wait to start working with Mr. Barnett.

  In science, Mr. Ross droned on about the number of neutrons in a given nucleus. I tried to listen, but this wasn’t exactly my favorite subject. It came in a close second to getting my foot stuck in the toilet—unfortunately, a real-life occurrence.

  I doodled while the less-than-fascinating lesson continued. H.M. and A.B. I wrote calligraphy-style complete with swirls and curls all around.

  I proceeded to assess the age difference between Mr. Barnett and myself. Fourteen from twenty—only six years. Not bad. In a few years, say, when I was eighteen, he’d be twenty-four. And someday we’d both be in our twenties. That seemed appropriate enough. The older you get, the less the age thing matters. But…how could I be sure he’d still be around when I grew up?

  Instead of taking notes, I pulled out my tablet from the interview yesterday. I’d have to be careful not to let anything too obvious slip, especially since Andie was on my trail. So far, she’d only accused me of being the teacher’s pet.

  After science, Captain von Jared met me at my locker. “Hello-o, Maria,” he sang out, leaning against my locker.

  I couldn’t help wondering what Mr. Barnett was like when he was a junior high student. Surely he had more class than to sing in public, which is what Jared began to do. “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” Right there in the hall with everyone listening. Well, not really listening. Just really staring.

  “Knock it off,” I said, playfully pushing him aside. “I need to dump some books.”

  He spied my interview notes. “Hey, what’s this?”

  I snatched it back. “None of your business.”

  “Oh, aren’t we cute,” he teased. “I suppose you expect me to wait till it shows up in The Lift. ”

  “It’s hardly a rough draft,” I shot back.

  He leaned over, reading my notes again. “Hey, you’re right, this is rough. But what can you say about a wimp like Mr. Barnett, anyway?”

  I spun around. “A what?”

  “You heard me. Barnett’s obviously not very good with the ladies, or he’d have latched on to one by now. I mean, what is the guy, twenty-something going on—”

  “That’s rude,” I shot back.

  “Okay, so judge me.” He ran h
is fingers through his wavy hair.

  “Look, Jared,” I huffed, “I’ve had it with your attitude. Miss Hess thinks we’re lucky to have someone like Mr. Barnett helping with the musical this year. And so do I.” There, now maybe he’d back off.

  “Oh, man,” Jared whispered, coming closer. He touched my cheek. “I think you’re—”

  “Get back!” I jerked his hand away.

  “I’m sorry, Holly. I didn’t mean to—”

  “Yes, you did,” I retorted.

  His voice grew softer. “Look, we’ll never pull this musical off if we can’t work together.”

  Jared wasn’t kidding. Whether I liked it or not, he and I were stuck with each other. I let go of my sophistication for only a second and groaned audibly, piling my books into my locker.

  “C’mon, Holly, give me a break.” He grabbed my hand. “It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”

  “Right,” I muttered, thinking of Mr. Barnett again. Was he this immature in eighth grade?

  I controlled myself and closed my locker without slamming it. And with as much maturity as I could muster, I walked away from Captain von Disgusting, thinking of a zillion drawbacks to playing opposite him in the spring musical.

  STRAIGHT-A TEACHER

  Chapter 6

  I fumed my way into creative writing class. It was going to be horrible—Jared and me together onstage, playing like we were in love. Three weeks ago it wouldn’t have been a problem. But now?

  Finding my desk, I sat down with a thud. What a nightmare! Jared sat across the aisle to my left, staring at me. I tried to ignore him, but it was hard. Unless I wore blinders, I couldn’t help seeing him.

  I tried to zero in on Miss Wannamaker’s talk. She was discussing humor techniques in writing.

  “By bringing two unrelated entities together,” she said, “it is possible to surprise the reader. The element of surprise is essential for humor. For instance,” and she paused to think. “Ah yes, here’s a good example. ‘My mother’s feet are so big, they have their own zip code.’ Feet and zip codes are totally unrelated. So it creates the unexpected, and a good laugh.”

  She continued giving various examples of surprise twists. I was distracted, however, by Miss W’s big, beautiful diamond, her engagement ring from Mr. Ross. It caught the light, nearly blinding me.

  Rumor had it their wedding was to be held in the auditorium on the last day of school. A fitting place for two middle-aged teachers to be married, since they’d met here at Dressel Hills Junior High. Visions of white silk, candlelight, and flowers flitted in my brain. Miss W and Mr. Ross. True love breaks age barriers, no matter where, no matter when.

  Jared startled me by holding out a sheet of paper. I shook my head, thinking it was some mushy note of his. But he looked serious, pointing to the words at the top of the page. I felt mighty embarrassed when it turned out to be one of Miss W’s handouts. Slipping it into my notebook, I went back to daydreaming about weddings. This time it was mine. And Andrew Barnett’s. Someday…

  I didn’t dare close my eyes in class, but staring at the clouds would do. Zipping through time and space, I was now twenty-two, the perfect age for a girl like me to say “I do.” It was, after all, the age of my mother when she married my father. Andrew, at twentyeight, had eagerly, but patiently, waited for me to graduate from high school and finish college. Now, the proud owner of a degree in English, I planned to write scripts for Andrew’s musicals once he and I had united our hearts in wedded bliss.

  I stood by his side in front of an altar flanked with white roses. All shimmery in white organza and lace, I gazed into my groom’s eyes. On cue, he went to the keyboard and played his lovely song, written especially for our wedding. Strains of the haunting love song filled the sunny mountain chapel.

  Soon the minister posed the important question. “Do you, Andrew Barnett, take Holly Meredith to be your wedded wife?”

  “I do,” Andrew answered. He smiled sweetly.

  The minister turned to me and asked, “Do you, Holly Meredith, take Jared Wilkins—”

  Jared Wilkins?

  Inwardly, I shrieked as Jared’s boyish face appeared before me, in front of the flower-draped altar.

  “Jared Wilkins,” Miss W was calling his name.

  Snapping to attention, I jerked back to reality as Jared stood at the front of the class, preparing to read. By the looks of things, we’d had an assignment while I was planning my future.

  I listened carefully as Jared read, trying to decipher the assignment. The class laughed as he read his clever combinations of unrelated entities. Maybe, just maybe, if I hurried, I could catch up with the class before someone called on me.

  I searched through my notebook for the handout Jared had given me earlier. By the time I found it and read the assignment, it was too late to put anything on paper.

  Miss W called my name. “Holly, will you please read your work to the class?” Startled and completely unprepared, I looked up at her. She adjusted her glasses, studying me. She knew.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Wannamaker,” I confessed. “I’m not ready.”

  She cast her angelic smile my way. “Holly, this isn’t like you.” She walked toward my desk. “Do you understand the assignment?”

  I understood, all right. I’d been caught daydreaming, and she was making a point of it. Being the wonderful teacher she was, Miss W didn’t embarrass me, but she did pat my arm in a concerned sort of way as she called on Marcia Green, the smartest student in school.

  Jared slid into his seat, motioning to me with his hands, palms turned up. “What’s going on?” he whispered.

  I turned away, ignoring him as I stared at the blank sheet of paper in front of me. My daydreaming had just put a black mark on my record. I hoped Miss W wouldn’t count it against me when it came time for the semester grade.

  When the bell rang, Jared waited for me by the door. “I heard we’re having the first read-through on act one today after school.”

  “We are?”

  “Mr. Barnett said to pass the word.” Jared held the door for me as we headed for the hall. Reluctantly, I walked with him through the halls toward history class. On the way, I saw my mom with Stephie, my stepsister, heading upstairs.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised.

  “Miss Hess is having tryouts for the younger von Trapp children this morning,” Mom said. “Stephie’s dying for a chance at it, so I took her out of school.”

  Stephie nodded. “I’m going to be Marta.” Mischief danced from her eyes.

  I blurted my exciting news. “And I’m going to be Maria.”

  Mom threw her arms around me in front of Jared and everyone. “That’s absolutely wonderful, Holly-Heart.”

  Jared grinned, waiting for me to tell his news, no doubt.

  Stephie came to my rescue. “Aren’t you supposed to tell me to break my foot or something?”

  Jared nodded. “Close enough.”

  Mom remembered Jared. “Hello, again,” she said to him. “Are you in the musical?”

  Is he ever!

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “I’ll be playing the part of Captain von Trapp.”

  Mom’s eyes twinkled as she put two and two together. “Oh, Holly,” she said. “So this is your leading man.”

  I glanced at my watch. “Well, I better get to class.” I was eager to end this cozy conversation between Mom and Jared. “See you after school. Good luck on your audition, Stephie.”

  “Bye, Holly,” Stephie called after me.

  Jared seemed more than anxious to keep up with me. “Mind if I walk the leading lady to class?”

  I tossed my hair. “I’ll walk myself, thanks.” My pledge to abandon the boys my age was still in force. Besides, what if Mr. Barnett met up with us?

  Jared was right; Mr. Barnett began spreading the word to everyone involved in act one of the play. If possible, we were to meet in the choir room after school. I told Andie about it when I saw her at lunch. “It’s going t
o be so-o fabulous,” I said.

  Still fuming, she pretended not to pay attention.

  “Okay,” I said. “Have it your way. But I thought nuns took the vow of celibacy, not silence.” That got her going.

  “Holly Meredith, you think you’re so smart because you got Maria’s part,” she retorted, looking to Stan for moral support. But he only made matters worse by waving Paula over to their table.

  Andie made a face, but Stan laughed it off. “After all, if Paula’s going to be my girlfriend in the musical, don’t you think I oughta get acquainted with her?”

  Leave it to Stan to get himself into hazardous situations. Andie began twisting a curl around her finger. Man, was he in trouble now!

  “Just relax, Andie,” I heard Stan say as I turned to go. “It’s only a play.”

  Only a play? I thought. It was much more than that. It was the path that led to time with Mr. Barnett. And nothing—not Andie, and certainly not Jared—could keep me from walking it.

  STRAIGHT-A TEACHER

  Chapter 7

  A bunch of kids showed up for the read-through of act one. Students took turns sitting around a long table. I sat at the opposite end, away from Jared. Characters who appeared in later scenes sat on the risers, observing.

  When it came time for the third scene, where Andie portrays the Mother Abbess, we cracked up. She really hammed it up, especially when she came to the part about Maria being a good choice for a governess. “Look here, Sister Maria twit,” she ad-libbed. “I’m sick and tired of the way you’re causing problems around here, trying to catch clouds, flibbity-jibbiting your way through morning prayers…” Andie crossed her eyes and looked down her nose at me, raising her voice to a ridiculously high pitch. “Are you catching my drift?”

  “Andie,” Mr. Barnett cut in. “Please read your lines more carefully.

  I snickered, watching his face, serious and drawn, loving every second of his putting Andie on the spot. She so deserved it!