by Suzanne Weyn
“We could get another bed into my room,” I suggest.
Mom laughs hard. “I can’t even get into your bedroom,” she says.
“I would clean up,” I say. For some reason I feel offended, though I’m not sure why. I suppose a person doesn’t like another person to say she’s messy even when she knows she is.
“I don’t know, Lulu. Is her dad okay with this plan?”
“Mmm . . . he isn’t actually aware of it yet,” I admit.
“I had a feeling that was the case. Let me think about it.”
“All right, but you have to think fast,” I say. “She needs to know.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Mom asks me.
“Of course it is, Mom! Vee is my best friend, plus Megan. I don’t want her to move. What will I do if she moves?
“You still have Megan. Besides, you and Vee can stay in touch. Plus you can make other friends.”
“No! No! No, Mom! You don’t understand how it works. Megan and I won’t stay friends if Vee isn’t here.”
“Why not?”
“That’s just how it is.”
“You can make new friends.”
“No, I can’t. I’m not good at that!” I say.
Mom’s face creases into a look of surprise. “Why do you think that?”
“Because I haven’t made a new friend since the sixth grade. It’s Megan, Vee, and me.”
“The Three Amigas, the Three Musketeers, the Three Stooges,” Mom says.
I have no idea what she’s talking about but I get the idea. Groups of things in threes. “Yes!” I say.
“Maybe you should expand your circle of friends to more than two,” Mom says.
I don’t want to hear it. Plus it’s late and I need some sleep. Lacrosse again tomorrow, and my phone says to expect sunny skies. There’s no escape this time.
“It would be fun to have Vee here,” I tell Mom. “Please say yes.”
“I’m thinking,” Mom says. “Good night.” She blows me a kiss.
I blow one back. “Night.”
I climb into bed, really tired now. I settle under the covers and realize that I’m smiling. Why? Nothing so great has happened—at least not yet. And there’s lacrosse tomorrow. So why am I so happy?
I imagine how Gwynneth will feel when she learns that Vee isn’t moving to Shoreham after all.
I’ve won! I’ve destroyed Gwynneth, my archenemy! She won’t be able to steal my best friend! She’s been vanquished, smooshed, eliminated!
THAT’S why I’m smiling!
Chapter 9
JOE THE DRUMMER is on my mind. Is it crazy to obsess over a celebrity crush? Yes! Totally. Can I stop? No! Believe me, I’m trying. Trying! Trying! Trying! Boy, am I ever trying!
It’s no use!
If I have any shot at all of making this dream come true, I have to give Vee all the support I can. We’re going to win this because we have nearly a week’s lead on everyone else. The only way we can lose is if either Gwynneth or Vee messes up the Snapstreak for some reason. I can’t think of any reason why either of them would do that, so . . . Joe the drummer, here I come.
I put my sneakers next to my pack so I don’t have to go searching for them in the morning and I’m off to bed, eager to continue dreaming about Joe the drummer.
On the bus the next morning, Vee and Lulu barely notice me when I get on and slide into my usual seat in front of them. Turning to face them, I hear them chatting excitedly about the possibility that Vee will move in with Lulu. “I’ll come over this afternoon to help you clean up your room,” Vee says to Lulu. “That way your mom will see that I’m a good influence on you and she’ll be more inclined to say I can stay.”
“I can help,” I say, suddenly feeling left out.
“I don’t need you guys to help,” Lulu says. “I can clean my own room.”
“But you won’t,” Vee says. “That’s the whole point. With me around you will. Your mom will see that.”
“And me too,” I add, not really sure what I mean by that. “She’ll be glad I’m helping, too.”
“I like my room the way it is,” Lulu says.
Vee’s eyes go wide. I laugh just a little because I can see what’s going on here. “I’d invite you to live with me, Vee,” I say, “but my parents wouldn’t go for it. Dad would never agree to have another person eating our groceries, which he says are ‘overpriced.’”
Vee laughs. “That’s okay. I understand.”
“Does Gwynneth know you’re not moving to Shoreham?” I ask.
Vee shakes her head. “When it’s definite, I’ll have to tell—”
“No!” I cut her off. “Gwynneth must never know you’re not coming to Shoreham.”
“She’s going to find out eventually,” Vee says.
“Okay, but eventually, not now,” I say. “If Gwynneth knows you’re not coming to Shoreham, she won’t want to be your friend anymore and she won’t bother keeping up the Snapstreak.”
“Why wouldn’t she want to be my friend?” Vee asks, looking hurt.
“Maybe she would,” I say. I feel bad that I’ve hurt her feelings, but I have to be honest. “She might not, though. If you’re not going to be around, why bother?”
“I don’t know,” Vee says doubtfully. “She’ll still want to win the prize, won’t she?”
“I suppose,” I say. “Let’s not take any chances, though. I say you shouldn’t tell her, just in case.”
“In case of what?” Lulu asks.
“There’s still a chance your mom will decide I can’t live with you,” Vee says to Lulu. “I’ll wait until it’s definite to tell Gwynneth.”
Vee is wearing her new sparkly gold sneakers. “Aren’t you worried you’ll mess those up out on the field during lacrosse?” I ask.
“A little,” Vee replies, “but I want one of you to take a video of me playing lacrosse today. I’ll Snap it to Gwynneth.”
“I’ll do it,” Lulu says. “You know I’m always on the sidelines during gym.”
“Does that hurt your feelings?” I ask Lulu. She’s one of the worst players, and Vee is almost always a team captain. Vee picks her but hardly ever plays her, except at the very end because Ms. Pate wants everyone to play, at least a little.
“I don’t play you because I don’t think you really want to run around,” Vee says.
“It’s true! I don’t!” Lulu says. “The sideline is fine. I prefer it there.”
“See?” Vee says to me. “Don’t get caught,” she tells Lulu, “just try to catch ten good seconds.”
“Aye, aye, captain!” Lulu jokes.
Vee’s phone buzzes. She takes it from the front pocket of her backpack. As soon as she sees who’s texted her she flushes pink.
“It’s Ethan Myers, isn’t it?” Lulu guesses. “I could tell from the way you’re blushing.”
“I’m not blushing,” Vee says, even though clearly, she is. She always blushes when the subject of Ethan Myers comes up. “He says he wants to go with me to the BBD concert if someone from our school wins it,” she tells us.
“Noooooooooooooooooo way!!!!!!!!” Lulu says, thumping Vee’s shoulder excitedly. “A date, Vee! That would be a date!”
“No it wouldn’t,” Vee says as she sends a return text.
I strain my neck to see what she’s typing but I can’t get a good look. “What are you telling him?”
“I’m saying let’s see if I win first,” Vee tells me.
“Oh, that’s cool,” Lulu says with admiration.
“Would you go with him if you win?” I ask.
“Would she go with him?!” Lulu cries out. “What kind of question is that?! Of course she would. Vee has liked Ethan since sixth grade. He’s finally paying attention to her. He one-hundred-percent absolutely likes you, Vee.”
Vee gets another text. “He says he’ll see me at gym,” she tells us. She smiles, pleased. She knows she’s a good player and will look good out there.
A Snap comes in
. “Gwynneth,” Vee reports. She looks at it quickly and then sticks it into the pocket of her backpack.
“Let’s see,” I say.
“It’s nothing,” Vee says.
“Then show us,” Lulu says.
“I told you it wasn’t important,” Vee insists.
“Okay, be that way,” Lulu says, scowling.
It’s not like Vee to keep texts and Snaps and things like that secret. What could have been in that Snap?
Chapter 10
I’VE BEEN KIND of a wreck ever since Heidi Dog sent my five big lies to Gwynneth.
The Snap worked. Gwynneth was SUPER impressed. She started chatting me immediately:
GQB2the2ndpwr
I’m going to tell EVERYONE at Shoreham Middle all about your awesomeness. Come visit over the summer. All my friends are dying to meet u!
Bring modeling shots.
I absolutely can’t go to Shoreham now. I’ll either have to admit I lied—a lot—or I have to keep these lies going for the rest of my life! Both those possibilities make my stomach twist.
I’m glad we have gym first period today. Playing lacrosse will keep me too busy to think about anything else but moving the ball up the field. For forty-five minutes all I have to think about is scoring.
Even though Pleasant Hill Middle School isn’t the fanciest place, it has great athletic fields. There is a track that goes around the football field. Today, while we girls play lacrosse, the boys are out running on the track.
On the sideline, Lulu keeps trying to take a video of me. She’s attempting to be sneaky about it so Ms. Pate won’t see that she has a phone. She holds the phone low, tilting it upward. Girls keep getting in her way, blocking her view of me.
I feel guilty that I asked her to do this. If she gets caught with the phone again she’ll go to SAP. Her mom won’t be happy, and if she finds out it was because of me . . . That won’t help convince her that I would be the greatest roommate for Lulu. I want to take it back, tell her to put the phone away, but I can’t get to her now.
Lulu keeps checking on Ms. Pate, which makes her look really guilty. If Ms. Pate notices Lulu she’ll be able to tell in an instant that Lulu is up to something, just from the sneaky way she’s skulking around. I can’t even concentrate on the game; I’m so busy watching Ms. Pate and Lulu, as well as keeping an eye out for Ethan. This wasn’t a good idea at all!
The boys have come out and are jogging around the track. I catch sight of Ethan, but he doesn’t notice me. I stop for a moment to watch him jog. He really is the cutest.
I picked Megan to be on my team and I see her coming up the midfield line. She notices that I’m open an shoots the lacrosse ball to me. Catching it in my net, I race up the field. (I hope Ethan is seeing all of this.) Just as I’m about to score, two girls on the opposing team rush toward me. Megan is open, so I toss the ball back to her.
Ethan is coming around the bend. I smooth my hair.
He waves.
I wave back and smile.
Has Megan made the goal? I turn back to find out.
WHAM! The lacrosse ball smashes right into my forehead.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOwwwwwww! I drop to my knees. The ground around me spins. Then a black hole opens and swallows me whole.
When I open my eyes I’m lying on my back on the grass staring up into Ms. Pate’s worried eyes. My classmates surround her, all gaping down at me. “She’s awake!” Megan cries out. She’s kneeling by my shoulder. Lulu is jumping up and down at the back of the crowd, trying to see over their heads.
They all squeeze closer, but Ms. Pate tells them to get back. “Give her air,” she says.
A siren screams, getting louder and louder. A spinning red light appears above the heads of the girls. “I don’t need an ambulance,” I say, although my head really hurts. I struggle up onto my elbows to prove I’m okay.
“Lie down and don’t talk,” Ms. Pate says, putting her hand on the back of my neck and guiding me down to the ground.
Megan sighs deeply. “I’m so sorry, Vee, so, so, so sorry. I thought you saw me toss the ball to you.”
“It’s okay,” I say and a shot of pain crosses my forehead.
A man and woman, the emergency medical team, hurry out onto the field carrying a stretcher. “I really don’t need to go to the hospital,” I say to the EMTs.
“You’re going, Vee, so don’t argue,” Ms. Pate says.
Carefully, they lift me and place me on the stretcher. I can’t believe this is happening. It’s so dramatic. Like on TV!
The EMTs carry me through the open back doors of the ambulance. Ms. Pate climbs in beside me. The woman medic sits beside her as the man medic slams the back doors shut. The motor starts. We zoom away from the school with the sirens blaring.
It’s so unreal!
The medic whose name tag says LAUREN shines a penlight into my eyes. “Her pupils are dilated,” Lauren tells Ms. Pate. “She might have a concussion. How long was she unconscious?”
Unconscious! Now I really feel like a TV character. I never knew anyone who was unconscious. Will I get amnesia? That always happens on TV when characters are clonked on the head. I know my own name. I recognize Ms. Pate. I don’t have amnesia yet, but it might set in later.
I’d find this all pretty amazing and interesting if my head didn’t hurt so much. The pain is not only in the front but also at the base of my head, in the back where my neck and head meet.
When we get to the hospital, the medics rush me into the emergency room. It’s all kind of a blur. They take pictures of my brain in something called a CAT scan. (Strange name. I imagine kittens pawing my hair as they examine my head.) They have me draw pictures of clocks. I keep trying to draw a round clock but my clock keeps coming out more like a fat worm. Putting the numbers into the clock is surprisingly difficult, too. The number six at the bottom slips out of the clock altogether. I wonder why I can’t do it.
Maybe I’m forgetting what a clock looks like. Amnesia alert!
Then, while I’m resting in the exam room with Ms. Pate keeping me company, a hot rumbling swirls in my belly. In the next second I’m upchucking in the trash can. It’s pretty embarrassing. But Ms. Pate is nice. A nurse brings me a glass of water and then carries out the can.
The doctor and nurse return to the examination room. I tell them I puked. (As if they couldn’t tell from the stink.) The doctor and nurse look at each other, as if puking is meaningful. “Is that normal?” I ask. “After you get hit in the head, I mean.”
“It can be,” the doctor answers.
All I really want to do is sleep, so as soon as the doctor and nurse leave the room I turn my back on Ms. Pate and stretch out on the examination table. As I drift off, it hits me that my backpack isn’t in the room. Who has it? Did they leave it on the field? My phone is in it!
It’s so weird not to have my phone. Megan and Lulu will want to know how I am. Maybe Ethan will even call or text me.
“Has anyone called my dad?” I ask Ms. Pate.
“I did,” she says. “He just left me a message. He’s stuck in traffic.”
The nurse comes in and picks up a chart lying on the desk. “Where’s my phone?” I ask. “Can I have it?”
“I’ll go see if it’s at the nurses’ station,” he says, leaving.
A moment later he returns and hands it to me.
“Thanks,” I say. “I hate being without it.”
“I know how you feel,” the nurse says. “We’re not allowed to use them while were working.”
Dad rushes in. His right eye is twitching like it always does when he’s upset. “Are you okay, Vee?” he asks.
“I’ve been better,” I say.
Ms. Pate updates him on everything that’s happened. He listens, nodding. As she speaks he looks more and more distressed. I don’t want to upset him even more but I’m feeling pretty terrible even though the throbbing headache is slightly improved from the medicine the nurse gave me. “Can we go home?” I ask.
&nbs
p; Dad looks really worried. “I’ll go get the doctor,” the nurse says.
“I’ll come with you,” Ms. Pate tells him. They leave and I sit there trying to keep my eyes open. (I’m relieved that I recognize Dad. No amnesia yet.) Sleepy though I am, I also want to check my phone. I have two Snaps.
One is from Gwynneth, of course. It’s a video she took while walking down the hall in her school. It’s just kids walking, just shoes. Actually, it’s kind of funny. She’s added little mice icons running around as if they’re underfoot in the hallway.
The next Snap is from Lulu. She took a video of me being hit on the head. Ow! Seeing it makes my head hurt all over again. At the part where I fall down, she’s added stars and cuckoo-bird sounds.
Lulu: Okay?
Vee: Idk. Head hurts.
The pain gets even worse as I stare at my phone.
“Maybe you should put that phone down for now,” Dad says. “Just relax.”
A million reasons why I have to be on the phone pop into my head but I don’t have the energy to argue. “Okay,” I say, setting my phone aside. Ms. Pate returns with the doctor. She says she’ll be going back to school now that Dad is there. She says she’ll call Dad later to see how I’m doing. Dad shakes her hand as she leaves and thanks her for all she’s done for me. I thank her, too.
“We want to watch you overnight,” the doctor reports after Ms. Pate has gone. “We’d like you to spend the night in the hospital for observation. Were going to run a few more tests.”
“Am I all right?” I ask. “The words on my cell phone got all shaky.”
“We’re pretty sure you have a concussion,” the doctor tells us. I’ve heard about concussions before but I’m not a hundred percent sure what it means.
“Is that like amnesia?” I ask.
Dad squints his eyes and looks at me strangely.
“You know,” I say, “like people get on TV.”
“No, it’s not amnesia. Your brain got rattled around in your skull when the ball hit you,” the doctor says. “Then when you fell backwards, your head got hit a second time.”