Snapstreak

by Suzanne Weyn

  That explains why it hurts in both places. “I’ll be okay, though, right?” I ask.

  “Yes, but you have to rest.”

  That’s fine with me. All I want to do is sleep right now.

  “You’re going to have to take some time off from school,” the doctor says. No problem there. It gives me more time to think of Snaps to send Gwynneth.

  “We’re going to want you to rest your brain and your eyes,” the doctor adds.

  “How do I do that?” I ask.

  The doctor nods toward the phone I hold in my hands. “The first thing is no electronics for a while.”

  “Wha . . . What?” I sputter.

  “That’s right,” says the doctor. “No laptop, no tablet, and no phone. It’s too great a strain on your mind and your eyes. The key word here is rest. You need lots of sleep and relaxation.”

  “I can’t do that,” I say. “I’m in a Snapstreak competition. My entire school is depending on me to keep the streak going. We have to win this free concert by BBD.”

  “What’s BBD?” the doctor asks.

  Is she kidding?! How could she not know BBD?! “Boys Being Dudes,” I tell her.

  “Sorry that you’ll miss the dudes,” the doctor says. “The electronic screen is very hard on your eyes. Doing all that typing takes more focus than you might realize. I suggest that you even restrict your TV watching.”

  What am I supposed to do? Stare at the walls all day? More important than that is my Snapstreak. Everyone is counting on me. Gwynneth is counting on me. “But the concert,” I say, my voice getting high and whiny.

  “Your health is more important than some concert,” the doctor says.

  Some concert!!!!! She so totally doesn’t get it! “This might not seem important, but believe me, this is really, really important. I’ll be letting down my whole school! And not only that—”

  “Vee,” Dad cuts me off. “You heard the doctor.”

  I heard her loud and clear, even though I wish I hadn’t. There has to be a way around this. I won’t Snap until I see the hourglass pop up. “I’ll be better in about a day, won’t I?” I ask the doctor.

  The doctor smiles but shakes her head. “We’re talking about weeks, maybe months. It will all depend on what symptoms do or don’t develop in the next few weeks. We’ll be watching you closely. It’s crucial that you don’t get hit on the head again. So absolutely no gym or sports or anything physical. This is serious. You must rest.”

  Getting whacked in the head with a lacrosse ball might make my head hurt for a while, but being without my phone is going to KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL me for sure!

  Chapter 11

  SHOES! I CAN’T believe I sent Vee a video of shoes! Not even cool shoes, either, like her golden sparkle sneakers. No! Just crummy old shoes, mostly sneakers. Like . . . what was I thinking?!

  What I was thinking was this: I’d better send Vee something before time runs out. I was, like, blank, you know? Every time I have to send Vee a Snap I totally stress. She is the coolest person ever and she totally thinks I’m also cool. Which is such a laugh.

  It’s hysterical, really.

  If she only knew where I was coming from when I met her that day in front of Emma’s old house. Lucy, Kayla, Ava, and I were coming back from a Mathletes tournament! (Which we rocked, BTW.) Here’s a screenshot of the Snap I sent to everyone that day.

  I didn’t send it to Vee, though. There was something about her. I could just tell she was a cool girl. Like, she hadn’t even moved into Emma’s house yet and she acted like she already owned the block. If I had to go to a new neighborhood and some strange girls came up to talk to me . . . I would melt. I wouldn’t know what to say. I might even run away. Not Vee, though. She just like stood there . . . cool, as cool could be.

  And then I learn all this amazing stuff about her. She’s a model! She plays JV lacrosse in the eighth grade. She’s like Super Girl or something.

  I so desperately want us to be friends!

  A cool friend is just the thing I’ve been hoping for. It’s as though Vee fell from the sky, an answer to my prayers. I’ve been looking to, like, change my image but didn’t know how to begin. I had all that eyeliner on the day I met Vee because I was experimenting. I wanted to see what kind of impression I’d make with some makeup on among new kids and I totally overdid it with the eyes. Lucy, Kayla, and Ava told me it looked good, but maybe they were just being nice.

  The whole GQB2the2ndpwr Snapchat name was a total goof. Emma and I made it up because we thought it was funny—the idea of a Queen Bee Mathlete. Vee didn’t get it; she thinks I really am some kind of Queen Bee. I didn’t mean for her to come to the wrong conclusion. But since she did . . .

  Now I have to keep this image going. How am I ever going to do that? It’s not easy to keep pretending I’m something that I’m not—GQB2the2ndpwr, cool girl.

  I’m telling you it’s, like, exhausting. I always have to remember to put that eyeliner on every time I take a picture to put on Snapchat. (My mother totally forbids me to wear eyeliner until I’m in high school, and even then, she’s not in love with the idea, so I have to put the eyeliner on and then take it off right away before she sees me wearing it. Yesterday I took it off without a mirror and had it smeared over my face without my knowing. When my mother questioned me I told her I was trying out for the part of a raccoon in the school play.)

  So, according to my calculations, if I can get Vee to be my friend AND win this concert of these guys, Boys Being Dudes . . . or whoever they are (I don’t pay that much attention to the radio, even though I play the violin), it all adds up to me having a cooler image when I start high school in the fall.

  But I have to keep thinking of these Snaps to send. Help! I’m out of ideas.

  Checking my phone I see that the little hourglass has popped up again. Why is Vee taking so long to answer? It’s the shoes! She hates the shoes. She thinks I’m a total nerd. Why did I ever send her those shoes?

  A purple box just popped up on Snapchat! Yay! It has to be Vee. I have to answer fast.

  Oh no! It’s a video of her being hit in the head with a lacrosse ball! Wow! She’s knocked right off her feet. Ouch! She follows it up with a chat:

  V-Ness

  If my dad finds out I’m sending you this I will be in so much trouble.

  See? She’s a tough girl AND a rebel. Nothing gets her down. Like . . . how can I ever hope to measure up to that?

  Chapter 12

  SITTING ON THE edge of my bed, I text Vee.

  Megawatt: V? You

  ?

  No answer. Lulu texts me.

  Luloony: V is still at the hospital.

  Megawatt: How do you know?

  Luloony: Mom talked to her dad.

  Megawatt: What’s w them?

  Luloony: They were talking about V’s head injury

  Megawatt: V ok?

  Luloony: Concession

  Megawatt: Wha? Like a hot dog stand? Did she get a bad hot dog?

  Luloony: Ugh! Autocorrect! Concussion

  Megawatt: OMG!! Sounds bad.

  Luloony: Way bad. She needs to rest. Dad took away her phone

  Megawatt:

  NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What about BBD???!!!! How long will she have to rest?

  Luloony: I don’t know but this is bad.

  Megawatt: BAD!!!!!

  My phone suddenly buzzes. It’s Vee. How did she get her phones? “Vee!” I cry out as I click onto the call. “How do you feel?”

  On the other end, a little hiccup of a whimper rolls up into a giant sob and them fades out again into a pathetic sigh. “Horrible.”

  “I thought your dad took your phone.”

  “He did,” she says. “But he’s asleep so I took it back. I had to send Gwynneth a snap before time ran out. I sent Lulu’s video of me getting cracked in the head.” Vee sniffs and starts crying again.

  “Don’t cry, Vee,” I say. “We’ll figure something out.” My eyes fill with tears. It always
happens to me when someone else starts to cry.

  “I don’t care what the doctor or Dad wants,” Vee says in a choked voice. “When he goes to work, I’ll get my phone.”

  “But you’re supposed to be resting.”

  “I don’t need to rest!” Vee is really crying hard now. She might think she doesn’t need to rest but she sounds super wiped out to me. “I have to go. I’m going to puke again,” Vee says and the call goes dead.

  Wow.

  My fingers fly across the keyboard of my laptop as I Google. I want to know what could happen to Vee if she doesn’t take her concussion recovery seriously.

  Here’s what I learn: An untreated concussion could make her unable to do her schoolwork because her vision could blur and her eyes would get tired when she tried to read; she could have headaches and neck pain that doesn’t go away; she might always feel tired and she might start to act emotionally unstable and irritable; she could develop depression, anxiety, and irrational fears; Vee could become mentally ill; she could develop epilepsy, which I know causes people to have uncontrollable seizures. She might suffer from dizziness for the rest of her life.

  The rest of her life!

  This is way, way, way more serious than I would have guessed. I can’t let Vee ignore the doctor’s orders. This is really upsetting. I text Lulu.

  Megan: Just searched concussion. Scary! Vee HAS TO REST!

  Lulu: Searching . . . OMG!!!! This is nuts! Scary feels.

  Megan: Way serious. No fooling with this! I feel guilty, guilty, guilty!

  Lulu: It’s not your fault.

  After saying goodbye to Lulu, I continue to sit on my bed, thinking. Lulu and I have to make sure Vee rests. What kinds of friends would we be if we didn’t? Selfish friends, that’s what kind. It’s such a shame, though. To think that we almost had Boys Being Dudes playing right on our performing arts center stage! (I imagine Joe the drummer onstage in the PAC, beaming a smile from behind his drum set to me as I bop along in the first row.)

  There has to be a way to keep the Snapstreak going. Of course there’s a way! A great idea strikes me. Grabbing my phone, I send Lulu a Snap.

  Chapter 13

  I DON’T EVEN LIKE Gwynneth! Of course, I don’t know her, but I don’t like the idea of her.

  And I don’t like the look of her, either. All that eyeliner! Queen Bee types really bug me.

  They’re only nice to their own hive, and even then, not so much. I don’t know how they even rise to that position. They’re kind of bullies, if you ask me.

  This is why I don’t love Megan’s idea when she runs it past me. This is her big stroke of genius—that she and I take charge of Vee’s phone and keep up the Snapstreak pretending to be Vee.

  First of all, how are we getting the phone away from Vee’s dad?

  Second, what do I have to say to GQB2the2ndpwr? NOTHING!

  This is a lot to think about and it’s making me hungry, even though it’s almost midnight. I head downstairs to see what’s in the fridge. Mom is already there, sitting at the kitchen table, staring down at a bowl of cereal. “Why are you up?” she asks when I come in.

  “Why are YOU up?” I say as I take a bowl from the cabinet.

  “Stuff to think about,” Mom says.

  “Are you thinking about if Vee can live with us?” I ask, sitting beside her.

  Mom sighs. That’s not good. “I don’t think it’s a great idea,” she says.

  “Moooooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!!” I say.

  “Luluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!” she replies.

  “Don’t mock me,” I say. “Why can’t she stay with us?

  “We don’t have enough room, Lulu. We don’t have an extra room for Vee and your bedroom is such a mess that I don’t know how you even find your bed at night.”

  “I’ll be neater,” I say. She rolls her eyes in disbelief. “Really,” I add. “I can do it.”

  Mom keeps her doubtful expression.

  I stand, offended. “I can’t believe your lack of faith in me,” I say in a hurt voice. “I’m going to bed.”

  “If you can find it,” Mom mumbles under her breath.

  I whirl back to face her. “What did you say?” I ask, even though I heard her.

  Mom grins guiltily. “Sorry. Kidding. Sweet dreams.”

  “Really, I can be neater,” I say.

  “Good. I hope so,” she says. I know she doesn’t believe it one bit. And I’m not sure I do, either.

  The next day Vee isn’t in school, which I expected. During lunch, Megan and I send her a Snap of the gross meatloaf they served that day. We do this even though her dad took her phone. I have faith in her ability to find it again, just like she did the other day.

  A bunch of kids see what we’re doing and want to be in the video. They clutch their necks and pretend to choke. Ethan Myers acts like he’s poisoned. “Sorry you’re hurt but be glad you’re missing this meatloaf,” he says.

  “How romantic,” Megan whispers to me.

  “Isn’t it?” I say.

  “Maybe she won’t even see this,” Megan says.

  “Oh, she’ll find her phone,” I say. “I have faith in our girl.”

  “She should really be resting,” Megan says.

  “When she’s rested, she’ll find her phone and then she’ll see it,” I reply. I can’t believe Vee has to be cut off from civilization just because she got hit on the head. It seems cruel and inhumane.

  “I don’t know,” Megan says in a worried voice.

  I send the Snap. It would be worse for Vee to believe we weren’t thinking of her. She wouldn’t want to miss a video with Ethan in it, even if he was being goofy.

  During classes I keep my phone on mute and ask to go to the girls’ room to check. Nothing. Between classes I lean into my locker for coverage and sneak a peek. No reply. I wonder if this time her father hid her phone somewhere where she can’t find it.

  “It’s possible she’s sleeping,” Megan says as she comes alongside me.

  “That must be it,” I say. There’s no way Vee wouldn’t respond to a Snap video masterpiece like this. At dismissal there’s still no word from her. Megan and I decide we’d better get over there ASAP to see if she’s okay.

  When we get to Vee’s house, we notice that her dad’s car isn’t in the driveway. “Maybe he went to work,” Megan says.

  “That would be good. It gives her a chance to find her phone,” I say.

  Eric opens the door. “Is Vee awake?” I ask as we step inside.

  “She’s definitely not sleeping,” he tells us.

  “How do you know?” Megan asks.

  “Listen,” Eric says, pointing toward the stairs. “Aaahhh!!” Vee shouts.

  Megan and I race up the stairs, leaving Eric behind. “Vee, what’s wrong?” I shout down the hallway.

  We find her in her dad’s room sitting on the corner of the bed, slumped over. “He has to have hidden it here somewhere,” she says.

  “Your phone?” Megan asks, sitting beside her.

  Vee nods. “I think he knows I took it from his room last night.”

  “Of course he knows,” I say, joining them on the bed. “He just has to look at the time stamps on your texts.”

  “I thought he respected my privacy too much to do that,” Vee says.

  “He probably figured you wouldn’t snoop around in his room for your phone, either,” I reply.

  “Maybe he took it to work with him,” Megan says.

  “He didn’t go to work,” Vee says. “He just ran out to the store. He’ll be back soon. This is my only chance to find my phone while he’s out.”

  “Maybe he put your stuff in the car. My mom always hides birthday presents and stuff in the trunk of her car,” Megan says.

  Vee’s eyes grow wide. “That’s it! My laptop is missing, too. I can’t find the charger for my tablet, either. He’s got it all in the car. He must! I’ve looked everywhere.”

  Vee drops her head into her hands. “This is it! If
I don’t Snap Gwynneth by ten tonight, the Snapstreak will end. We’ve lost. No BBD for us.”

  All three of us sigh at the same time. All our big plans are doomed. The end. There’s just no way it can happen now. “Joe the drummer is so cute, too,” Megan says sadly.

  Vee suddenly slaps her hand over her mouth and stands. She races out of the room and we hear loud barfing sounds coming out of the hallway bathroom. “Poor Vee,” Megan says. “She looks terrible. We should say bye and let her rest. It’s probably good she can’t find her phone.”

  “I get what you’re saying,” I reply. “But no BBD? No Joe the drummer?”

  Megan shrugs. “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

  “I’d better check on Vee,” I say. She’s not in the bathroom, so I go to her bedroom. Vee is sprawled across her bed snoring loudly. I spread her quilt over her. She shouldn’t be worrying over this Snapstreak stuff. That’s easy enough to see.

  That night Mom makes us soy burgers. We’re eating them when the phone rings. “Hi Tom,” Mom answers her phone. “How’s Vee?”

  Vee’s dad! Suddenly I can’t swallow. Is he calling to complain that we Snapped Vee? Has he looked at her phone and seen the video? Am I in trouble with Mom now?

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” Mom says. “Of course you’re welcome to borrow the book. It’s the most clearly written book on kids’ health that I’ve ever found. Hopefully Lulu will stay healthy and I won’t need it for a while.”

  They’re talking about a book. Whew! At least I’m not in trouble.

  Mom gets off the call and gets up from the table. “Vee’s dad is stopping by. He wants to read up on concussions, and I have a good medical book I was telling him about. He’ll be here in a little while.”