Put It Out There
Page 7
“I’d probably have to do a couple months in Juvie. But I wouldn’t get caught.”
“So, you think you can do it?”
His mouth angled as if I’d insulted him. “Child’s play.” About ten minutes later, he pulled into the dirt parking lot in front of the abandoned railroad station where the band sometimes partied. He leaned into the back seat and pulled his laptop out of his bag. I watched as he inserted some sort of gadget stick into the USB port and turned the computer on. It was interesting to watch him work. He typed really quickly, navigating through a bunch of script pages that looked like hieroglyphics to me. When he asked for it, I handed him a copy of the previous year’s policy. Within minutes, he stopped typing and read for a while. “The claim says it’s approved.”
“Really? It was that easy to change it?”
He glanced at me and raised his eyebrow. “FYI, what I just did was not easy, but that’s not what I meant. I mean, their records show it being approved. Why do you think it was denied?”
“We got a letter from the company.” I dug it out of my bag and handed it to him.
He pushed his glasses up and scrolled down on the computer screen to read more. “It must be a mistake. The claim was approved and sent to some guy named Len Waddell for processing. He must have sent the wrong letter. It should be easy to clear up if your grandpa talks to the company.”
“Really? That’s great. Can you make it so they won’t know we were messing around with it?”
He tilted his head and grinned at me. “I can make it rain out here.”
I looked over my shoulder and scanned the empty grass lot. “I believe you.”
He laughed and typed until the screen went blank.
CHAPTER TEN
Without actually admitting how I knew for sure a mistake had been made, I was able to convince my granddad it would be a good idea to request the insurance company double check the records. It wasn’t difficult to persuade him. Like Trevor, my granddad trusted my intuitions without asking too many questions. The insurance company representative told him the review process could take weeks, so there was nothing else to do but keep paying on credit and wait.
The next day at school, I checked in with Steve at his locker. His sister was still in a coma, stable but critical. Ever since it had happened, I had tried each night to conjure up some sort of vision about her recovery, but nothing came to me. So much for practicing to get better at it. Steve didn’t like talking about Giselle that much, so I tried to come up with other things to ask him. “Did you start the assignment for Mrs. Tookey’s class?”
“No. I haven’t been able to focus on homework.”
“I’ll help you catch up if you want. We can meet in the library after school.”
He shook his head, and it seemed to take all his energy to do it. “Thanks. I can’t today. Maybe another day.”
I sighed and watched him stuff his bag into his locker. Right before the bell, Sophie walked by us. I called her name, but she kept walking as if she hadn’t heard me. “I’ll see you later, Steve. Let me know when you want to meet to do homework.” I ran after Sophie. She walked fast, books clutched to her chest. “Soph!” She turned the corner and kicked open the bathroom door with the sole of her knee-high Dayton’s. I followed her in. “What’s wrong?”
She slammed her books down on the shelf above the sinks and glared at me. A grade-eight girl walked into the bathroom and Sophie snapped, “Get out!” The girl turned and ran back out into the hallway. “What did you do yesterday after school?”
My mouth went dry. “Uh. I went to the art room for a while, then I hung out at the library until it was time to catch the bus.”
“Really?”
I twirled a strand of my hair so tightly it cut off the circulation to the tip of my finger. Hanging out with Doug without her wasn’t something I needed to lie about, but I was reluctant to be honest since she’d flip if he got arrested because of me. “Why?”
“Lisa Alvarez told me she saw you and Doug take off in his car. Is that true?”
Busted. I exhaled slowly. “Yes, but —”
She shook her head in a disappointed way, then picked up her books and bumped her shoulder into mine as she walked past me.
I spun around. “Sophie. I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you because —”
She waved her arm over her head and kept walking. “Save it. I don’t have time for liars.”
Sophie completely blew me off for the rest of the day. Normally, she was cool about things, and even when she was mad, the cold shoulder usually only lasted for a few hours before she was over it. For some bizarre reason she was still super-pissed after school. She wouldn’t even look at me when I walked over to her locker and said, “Hi.”.
The next day, I assumed she would be over it since it wasn’t that big of a deal, and we didn’t technically do anything that would get Doug in trouble. To my complete shock, when I walked up to our regular lunch table, she glared at me and said, “Go away, liar.”
It felt as if she kicked me in the kidney. My eyes watered and Doug shrugged in an apologetic way. I walked away before I started bawling and sat on the floor at my locker to eat my lunch by myself. Sophie had a mean streak when it came to fake or judgmental people, and I had witnessed her hostility for years, but it had never been directed at me before. It was such an uncharacteristic overreaction, which left me equally hurt, remorseful, and confused.
Mason Cartwright and a girl named Izzy turned the corner, holding hands. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve so they wouldn’t see I was crying. Izzy yammered on about something that sounded gossipy and didn’t notice me. He did. He looked down at me and hesitated, concerned I was upset. She tugged at his hand. I averted my eyes to send the signal that I didn’t want him to ask what was wrong. He reluctantly kept going.
Nikolai walked up and smiled as if he knew exactly how I felt. “Do you want to eat lunch together?”
He was such a sweetie. I took a deep breath and blinked to lessen the sting of the tears. “I would love that.” I patted the ground next to me. “Have a seat.”
He sat crossed-legged and opened his brown paper lunch bag. He pulled out a sandwich, bit into it, chewed for a while, and then pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Why were you crying?”
Not wanting to bore him with my problems, I shrugged and said, “I’m having a bad day. How’s it going with you?”
“Good, but I suck at French. Why aren’t you hanging out with your cool friends?”
I shoved his shoulder playfully. “I am.”
He looked perplexed for a second. Then he realized I was referring to him. “Ha ha. Good one. I’m the opposite of cool.”
“Obviously not. You’re having lunch with a grade-eleven girl. That’s pretty cool for a grade-eight boy.”
“Do you mind if I tell my friends we kissed?”
I laughed at the irony since it would be the only kissing gossip I had ever been included in. “I guess that would be all right. I wouldn’t want you to lie, though.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “There you go. Now it’s true.”
He grinned and his face turned red. “Thanks.”
“No. Thank you. I was feeling really sad. You made me feel better.”
“Any time.”
Steve wandered over with his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked back and forth between Nikolai and me. “Hey.”
“Hi. Do you want to join us?” I asked.
He slid his back down a locker and sat on the floor beside me.
“How’s your sister doing?”
“A little bit better. They brought her out of the coma. Her liver is still not functioning properly on its own, though.”
I shared my grapes with him because he didn’t have a lunch. “How are you doing?”
He shrugged, as if he wasn’t even sure. “I’m going to start playing tennis again.” He glanced at Nikolai, then asked me, “Would you like to go for coffee some time? Just friends.”
I nodded and sm
iled. “Sure.”
The following day, Trevor came by the Inn for breakfast. He filled a plate at the buffet table. I served him his coffee with cream, no sugar. Once it was less busy, I sat down at table across from him.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said as he flicked a straw wrapper at my arm. “How’s it going?”
“Not great,” I mumbled and slouched.
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons.” I fidgeted with the fork.
“Sophie’s still mad at you?”
I glanced up at his face. “Yeah. I didn’t know you knew about that.”
“Doug mentioned you guys were fighting.”
“Did he mention what her problem is? She’s being completely unreasonable. It’s so unlike her to unleash her fury on me, especially for something that really wasn’t that big of a deal. I don’t know what to do.”
He shrugged and split one of my famous apple-cinnamon muffins. He gave half to me and took a bite of the other half. “What did you lie to her about?”
“Nothing. It was so stupid. She asked me if I had been with Doug the other day after school. I told her I hadn’t because he and I had agreed not to tell her. She found out anyway.”
Trevor frowned and studied my face. “Why did you have to lie about being with Doug? Is something going on between you two?”
“No.” I looked over my shoulder to check if anyone could overhear us. “It’s nothing like that. I asked him to hack something for me, and I didn’t want anyone to know because he’s on probation for that vandalism thing. I should have just told her the truth. Ironically, she wouldn’t have cared about the illegal hacking part, but the lying part is like a mortal sin. It’s just so weird that she’s still mad.”
Trevor’s shoulders relaxed and he leaned back to peel an orange. “It’s not about you. Doug sort of hinted that Sophie is going through some shit and she’s not coping that well.”
“What kind of shit? I’ve been her friend since kindergarten. Why wouldn’t she tell me if she had a problem?”
“I don’t know, Deri. You need to talk to her.”
“I tried. She won’t return my messages.”
“Well, maybe you just need to be patient. Everyone was pretty patient with you while you went through everything you went through last year.”
I nodded, remembering how unconditionally supportive Sophie had been after my dad died. And how when we were growing up, she always stood up for me. “I miss her.”
“Don’t worry too much about it. She’s not going to throw away your entire friendship over one mistake.” He separated the orange segments and offered me one.
“Oh my God, Trevor. What happened to your hand?”
He rotated his wrist to look at the gouged knuckles on his right hand. “A guy fell over the falls. While we hoisted the basket up the cliff face, the balance shifted, smashing my hand against the rock. It doesn’t hurt. This does, though.” He stretched his leg out from under the table to show me the stitches that ran down his shin. “I slipped and a jagged edge stabbed me. Every time I move, it kills.”
I reached across the table to steal another segment of orange from him. “Remind me why you voluntarily risk your life for strangers.”
He laughed. “It’s fun.”
When we were younger, I used to always get a sick feeling before Trevor got hurt. It was never actually a vision, more of a dread. It hadn’t happened in a couple years, though, which was maybe a sign that my brain glitch was going to continue to fade as I got older. Or, maybe I didn’t feel it anymore because we weren’t as close as we used to be as kids. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“How’s it going with Steve Rawlings?” he asked.
“We’re just friends.” I picked up a spoon and stirred my cold tea. “He’s dealing with a lot of stress still.”
He took a sip of his coffee and folded a paper napkin into tiny creases with his left hand. “What are you doing on Saturday night?”
“Um. Nothing. Why?”
“A guy at work was giving away two tickets for the stage musical of Footloose in Vancouver. His wife can’t go because she has to work. I thought you might be interested since you’re into eighties crap. Do you want to go?”
Oh my God, what? Like a date? Did Trevor Maverty just ask me out? I lost motor function and dropped the spoon on the table. No. Why would he mean a real date? Don’t be stupid. I think he did. I tried a couple times to open my mouth to answer. On the third try, words came out. “Sure. That sounds fun. Thank you.” I had to dig my fingers into my knees to prevent my legs from bouncing around. “What time should I be ready?”
“Around five and we’ll go for dinner downtown first. I can drop you off at your mom’s apartment after the show if you want to spend the night there.”
Holy cow. That sounds like a real date. Motor function returned and I almost shot up from my chair to do some cheerleader leaps. “You can stay over with me,” I blurted out, then realized how forward it sounded. “I mean, in the guest room.”
“Sure. If your mom’s okay with it.” He stood and picked up his dirty plate. “So, I’ll see you on Saturday.”
I nodded like a springy dashboard doll.
“I’ll let myself out the kitchen exit.” He smiled and walked towards the kitchen with his plate.
A sweet, smart, outdoorsy, good-looking guy like Trevor was exactly who I always imagined myself ending up with at some point. It never occurred to me it would happen so soon, nor that it could literally be Trevor. I reminded myself he hadn’t called it a date, but then I decided it didn’t matter because if we had an awesome time, it could maybe lead to a real date. After letting the enormity of what just happened sink in, I ran into the lobby and released my happy dance, which was a mixture of the running man, a hand jive, and a Beyoncé booty bounce.
“Did you win the lottery?” My granddad laughed.
“I’m definitely feeling lucky.”
“Me too.” He smiled and handed me a letter. “I got an offer on the Inn from a developer.”
I abruptly stopped jigging around.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
On Saturday, I woke up early. Insane butterflies ricocheted around in my stomach due to my unclearly defined outing with Trevor. I also had severe muscle tension through my shoulders due to the unclearly defined sale of the Inn. To shake off the jitters, I went for a trail run. The smell of giant cedars and Douglas firs filled my lungs. The sun dappled through the boughs and the silence was so serene, but it didn’t help with my nerves. When I thought about the possibility that Trevor might like me as more than a friend, a tickling sensation danced all over my skin. When I thought about the offer on the Inn, a jabbing sensation cut through my brain like tiny little daggers.
I still had the whole day to get through, so after my run I kept my excitement and panic at bay by doing inventory and placing the orders for cleaning supplies we needed. While I had Windex on my mind, I proceeded to wash the windows in the dining room, lobby, and library. They were heritage frames with eight glass panels each, and there were ten across the front of the Inn, so it took a while. It wasn’t intellectually challenging enough to keep me distracted from watching the clock, though, so I dove into some bookkeeping. Unfortunately, since we hadn’t been that busy, I completed the accounts payable in fifteen minutes. It was only noon. I glanced over at Trevor’s house, wondering if he was excited too. Lucky for him, they got called out on a rescue while I was on my run, so at least he was busy with something interesting. I sat at the computer and opened up the Inn’s website administration page to make some random updates it didn’t need. How did people who dated all the time do it?
Around three o’clock, I desperately wanted to call Sophie and ask her what I should wear. I held my phone in my hand and stared at it for a long time. Normally, planning my date outfit would have been something she would have killed for—especially for what could arguably be considered a first date with Trevor. Eventually, I called, but she didn’t answer.
My mom was thrilled we were staying over, and she already had the menu planned for Sunday brunch. Not that Trevor would probably see what I was going to wear to sleep in, but I packed my cutest pyjama shorts and a tight spaghetti-strap tank top just in case.
At four-thirty, my phone rang. It was Sophie. She was crying. Sophie never cried. “Deri, I need you. Can you come over?”
“What’s wrong?”
“My parents had a huge blow out. My dad packed all his things. He left, and he’s not coming back.”
Sophie’s parents were the mildest-mannered people I had ever met. I couldn’t even imagine them fighting, let alone breaking up. “I’m sure it’s temporary. They’ll work it out. They just need time to calm down.”
“My mom wants a divorce. She told him not to come back.”
Normally, nothing fazed Sophie, so it crushed me to hear her break down. Part of me always knew that being tough was her defence mechanism, but proof that she wasn’t completely invincible scared me a little. She had always been a protector, a confidence-builder, and the best best friend I could have ever asked for. I wasn’t exactly sure how to be there for her the way she had always been there for me, but I knew I owed her. She needed me immediately and it wasn’t something that could be rescheduled. Trevor and I could always go out some other night. Hopefully.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hung up and ran over to Trevor’s house. I knocked loudly, waited two seconds and knocked again. I peeked through the glass inset in the door and saw him coming down the stairs wearing dark-grey dress pants and no shirt. His toothbrush hung out of the corner of his mouth as he opened the door.