Gilbert and her mom pick me up the next morning. I pretend I need to finish my math homework in the car so I don’t have to speak to them.
In English class that day we get back our essays on Of Mice and Men. Ms. Sanders hands them out face down. “Good job” she whispers to Melinda who is sitting in front of me. I watch her turn hers over; there is a big red “A.” “See me after class,” the teacher whispers to me. I flipped my paper over and see I have received a “D.” Argh.
While the teacher drones on about our next reading, I doodle on my paper. I write Leah plus Winston and Leah Geller (Winston’s last name) as if we were married. Hey, a girl can dream. I am so involved in my doodling, I don’t even take the notes off the board.
At the end of class I walk up to the teacher’s desk.
“Leah, what in the world is going on with you? Your essay was a rough draft at best,” Ms. Sanders says.
It was true I hadn’t spent much time on it. I liked the book okay, but I wrote the essay while I was watching a Gilmore Girls marathon. I shrug and don't say anything since I figure that last piece of information is not the kind of thing a teacher wants to hear.
“I expect you to work harder on this next section. We will be studying poetry. I think you will really like it.”
I nod, “I have to get to my next class,” is all I can think to say.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.” The teacher says as I hurry out the door.
I run to my locker and find Gilbert there. “Gilbert, you’ll never believe, Ms. Sanders just made me stay after class because I got a D…” I paused mid-sentence. Gilbert isn’t even looking at me. I turn to see what is going on and see Dylan walk up behind me.
“Hi,” Gilbert says to Dylan.
“Hi,” Dylan says back. They are looking at each other with these stupid lovey-dovey expressions on their faces. Excuse me! Am I not even here? I am in the middle of a very important story.
“So like I was saying…” I try to continue, but am interrupted again.
“Are you walking to math?” Dylan asks Gilbert. She nods. “I’ll walk you.”
Um, are they out of their minds?
“Tell me later,” Gilbert says to me as she closes her locker and gives me a smile. I could strangle her.
Later in gym class, I am sitting on the bleachers with Maddy, both of us had decided not to dress that day because we didn’t feel like running the track. I claimed to have menstrual cramps (a total lie as I haven’t even gotten my period yet, but I had seen enough movies to know this worked) and Maddy said she had a note from the doctor but forgot it at home. Our gym teacher was clearly annoyed but let us get away with it. I mean, I like sports alright, but running in circles in the middle of the day, getting all sweaty, and then going back to class is not on my to-do list.
“Do you think Alex is being kind of stuck-up since she started hanging out with Dylan?” I ask Maddy.
“I don’t know about stuck-up, but she has been kind of out of it.” Maddy answers while picking at her nails. She has a bad habit of picking at her cuticles.
“I just feel like she has forgotten all about her friends,” I say. I know I am being a touch dramatic, but still.
Maddy shrugs.
The truth is that it wasn’t that Gilbert had forgotten about me, I just wasn’t used to sharing her attention. Not that this sensible, rational thought went through my head, instead, I just decide to be pissy.
The next couple of days go on like this. Gilbert asks me what is wrong or sends me a cute text and I all but ignore her. She doesn’t seem terribly phased. She and Dylan study every day after school together and pass notes back and forth in history. I am so depressed I even agree to Jimmy’s insane project schedule that has me meeting him every Monday and Thursday until it is due.
Thursday after Jimmy's and my study session—can you believe, he has me researching the Hanging Gardens of Babylonia?—my cell phone rings. PRIVATE it reads on the phone screen. I pick up.
“Leah?” It is a boy’s voice.
“This is she,” I say in my most mature tone.
“It’s Winston.”
I jump up and down, but coolly say, “Oh hey, what’s up?”
“I was just calling to see what you are up to this weekend.”
I am not sure what to say. Do I make like I am incredibly busy and important or tell the truth, that I don’t have a thing on the agenda and will do whatever he suggests? I decide to be vague, “I’ve got a couple things planned. Why?”
“Well, the guys and I are going to go and see a movie at Century Mall on Saturday, if you and your friends wanna meet us there.”
Yes, yes, yes.
“I guess so, what time?”
We iron out the details. As soon as I hang up, I call Gilbert. I mean how can I be mad at her now, I need advice, outfit planning, and a wingman. She isn’t home so I leave a message. I instant message the others letting them know what the plan is. Maddy and Rowan are in but Riley has to go to her grandparents. She is so bummed. At dinner I ask my mom if it is cool and see if she can drive us. She says she will. Everything is working out perfectly.
Gilbert IM’s me later that night.
Alex_aka_Gilbert: hi
LeahLouis: hi
LeahLouis: did u get my message?
Alex_aka_Gilbert: yes
Alex_aka_Gilbert: sorry was with D studying
LeahLouis: did u two do anything?
Alex_aka_Gilbert: lol
Alex_aka_Gilbert: like what?
LeahLouis: like kisssssssssss
Alex_aka_Gilbert: NO!
LeahLouis: you swear?
Alex_aka_Gilbert: on the bible
LeahLouis: hes your bf
Alex_aka_Gilbert: no hes not
LeahLouis: he totally is!
Alex_aka_Gilbert: lol
Alex_aka_Gilbert: don’t tell my mom!
LeahLouis: I would never!
LeahLouis: did u hear bout Sat?
LeahLouis: and Winston??????
Alex_aka_Gilbert: yes
Alex_aka_Gilbert: wahoo!
LeahLouis: are you in?
Alex_aka_Gilbert: of course
LeahLouis: cool
Everything is perfect, I have my best friend back and a date with Winston—okay a group date—on Saturday. What can go wrong?
Chapter 8
Saturday, November 14
Today’s horoscope: It’s a great time to gather friends for fun, laughter, and maybe even love.
It is Saturday morning. The girls are over at my house, clothes cover the floor of my room, and it is almost time to go.
“Okay, what do you think of this one?” I have on jeans and my sailor striped sweater.
“Maybe too cute,” says Maddy. I look in the mirror and she is right. Maddy is by far our most fashionable friend.
“You don’t want to look like you are trying so hard,” Gilbert said. She pulls a white button down out of the closet. “Here, try this.”
She’s right. I look classic but casual. I slip on my black ballet flats, and some hoop earrings and the outfit is complete.
My mom calls upstairs. “Are you girls ready?”
We so are.
My mom drops us off at the mall. We have about a half hour to kill before we are supposed to meet Winston. We walk around looking in the different stores and head into Robert Sands. Rowan picks up a sweater from the pile.
“This is cute,” she says as she turns over the price tag. “Oh!”
“I know I can’t afford anything in here on my measly allowance. I just get ideas then buy the knock offs,” Maddy says. We all think she is very smart.
As we wander past the skirt rack I hear Hannah’s voice from the dressing room. “Have you guys seen Kate’s brother? He is a total hottie.”
Emma steps out of her room. “Yeah, he is totally gorgeous. Too bad he goes to that sucky boarding school.” Emma catches sight of me, “Oh, hi Leah.” The rest of the Fab Five come out of their dressing rooms.<
br />
Olivia has an armload of clothes. “I think I am going to get all of these,” she says to her friends. Rowan’s mouth opens but she closes it before anyone notices.
“What are you guys up to?” Sophie says.
“Oh, we’re just here to catch a movie.” I answer.
“Are you going to get that?” Emma asks Maddy who is still holding onto a shirt she is looking at, knowing full well that it is out of her price range.
“My Gold Card is maxed out at the moment, I guess I will just have to wait,” Maddy says and hangs it back on the rack. We put our hands over our mouths to hold back our laughter.
Olivia, who isn’t the brightest of the group says, “Oh, I know, I hate it when that happens.” There is an awkward moment of silence. Luckily my cell phone vibrates. I pull it out of my pocket. There is a text from Winston: in front of theater.
“Well, we gotta go. See you guys later,” I say.
“Yeah, later.” The Fab Five say as they head to the register to make their purchases.
We reapply our lip-gloss and head to the movie theater. Winston is there along with two other guys who I recognize as the skaters from Lakeshore.
We all greet and introduce each other and go over to pick out a movie to see.
“Let’s see Blood Loss,” one of the skater boys says and all the guys enthusiastically agree.
I turn to the girls, give them a big smile, and say, “Yeah, totally.” A horror movie is perfect because it means we can grab the guys’ hands.
Rowan tugs on my sleeve and whispers, “I’m not supposed to see scary movies.”
“We will just tell your parents you saw The Adventures of Jack and Jill; don’t even worry about it.”
But she still looks skeptical. “Um, I might have nightmares.”
“You’ll be fine. Come on, we are thirteen years old. What could possibly scare you?”
We buy our tickets and are about to walk in when Jimmy walks up behind us. Is our whole friggin’ school going to be at the mall today?
“Hey, Leah. That’s so cool that we are both here. What movie are you going to see?”
The skaters look at Jimmy with disgust. I am trying to pretend I don’t know him. He sees my ticket as I hand it to the attendant.
“Blood Loss. Oh, cool. Me too. We can all sit together.” He hands the attendant his ticket and follows us in.
“Maybe you should sit with your own friends,” Winston said under his breath, but Jimmy hears. Fortunately, he doesn’t have a clue.
“Oh, I’m here alone,” he says like it is no big deal.
Great.
We all walk into the theater. The girls and I jockey around behind the boys so that when we enter our row I end up sitting next to Winston. Poor Rowan is on the end. Jimmy sits down next to her. She gives me the hard stare and I give her a sympathetic shrug. What am I supposed to do now? I settle down into the seat. Winston’s shoulder is touching mine. It is all so thrilling.
The movie is totally scary which gives me lots of opportunities to grab Winston’s arm. He even patted my leg on a couple of occasions. I am in heaven. I look down the row at Rowan. She has her feet up on the seat and one hand over her eyes. Her other hand is gripping Jimmy’s arm. Jimmy looks like he is in pain, but lets her continue. He seems to know she needs him.
After the movie the girls and I head into the bathroom to regloss. Rowan splashes her face with water. She looks totally sketched.
“Did you and Winston hold hands?” Maddy wants to know.
“We never ended up holding hands. But we were totally touching each other,” I answer while I check my nose for boogers in the mirror.
“You guys look so cute together,” Rowan says.
“Do you think?” I ask, knowing full well we do.
All the girls agree.
“His skater friend is kinda cute,” Maddy admits.
“Yeah, you should totally go for it!” we all encourage her.
“I can’t believe that Dylan had to babysit today. That sucks so bad,” Gilbert says as she checks her phone for another text from him.
“I know. It would be so cool if he was here,” I say as I fluff my bangs. What do I care? Winston is right outside.
We walk out still giggling over our boy talk. The guys are all waiting for us. Including Jimmy. He is standing a couple of steps away and when we head out of the theater he tags along like a puppy. I am so annoyed, but I try to keep my cool. We have about a half hour left before my mom picks us up so we go to The Bean and get mocha fraps. Winston is so cool, he orders a cappuccino. Jimmy gets a complimentary cup of water.
We sit down and make our circle tight enough so that Jimmy has to sit on the outskirts and peer over shoulders to be part of the conversation. Maddy talks the ear off the skater boy who simply nods and grunts answers. But to her credit, by the time we get up they have exchanged numbers. I keep my attention on Winston. I hang on his every word. Whatever he says, I agree with. Gilbert leans back and texts Dylan the whole time.
When we are outside waiting for our rides home Winston turns to me, “Do you want to go to the Christmas tree lighting with me next weekend?”
Of course I do! Piermont puts on a Christmas tree lighting every year. It is cute; practically the whole town comes down to the park one Saturday night in late November to see the mayor turn on the lights that are hung on a big pine tree. Everyone in town except my parents, who apparently think the whole event is a bit cheesy. The high school choir sings and elementary kids do a few songs. I sang in it once in third grade long before I realized I can’t carry a tune. Now there is no way I will sing in front of other people. Sports teams sell hot chocolate and cookies to fundraise for their teams and there is a guy who dresses up as Santa who hands out candy canes. I think it is the fat middle school librarian, but I can’t be sure. It is all very
Americana. Twinkling lights, carolers, candy canes. What could be more romantic?
“Yeah, that’d be cool.”
“Good, then it’s a date.”
He called it a date. A date with Winston! He is telling me he will call me when Jimmy walks right up on the two of us.
“Leah, may I speak to you for a moment?” Jimmy asks.
“Sure."
“In private.”
Is this guy kidding me? I take, like, five paces away from the group. He can tell this is as far as I am going to go.
“Um, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me,” Jimmy says.
“Go out, like, where?” I plead ignorance when, in fact, I know perfectly well what he is asking.
“You know, date each other,” he says. I am floored. Is he blind?
“No, Jimmy. I don’t like you, like you. In fact, I am not even sure I like you.”
“But we are study partners,” he says, like that means something.
“Yeah, exactly, that’s all.” I turn and walk back to my group. My face is red and my hands are shaking. Everyone has overheard. I can’t believe Jimmy embarrassed me like that in front of all my friends. Winston and the skaters are cracking up.
Winston yells over at Jimmy, “Hey geek, why don’t you go find some friends of your own to hang out with. It’s pretty clear no one here wants you around.”
Jimmy finally gets it and hurries over to where his mom is waiting in their beat up Toyota Tercel.
The girls look at me like Winston is being kinda harsh. I give them a look that says, “what do you want from me?” and turn to grab Winston’s hand as I say to him, “What a total loser, right?”
Chapter 9
Monday, November 16
Today’s horoscope: Look over your shoulder. Something is blowing your way.
The rest of the weekend flew by. Sunday, Maddy came over. We were supposed to be doing our homework together, but instead we were figuring out new ways to put together outfits from the clothes in my closet. Mostly it is an excuse to talk about my date with Winston. I am so excited. All I have to do is get through this week.
; I pull a sweater hoodie out of the closet and hold it up for Maddy to see. She picks up plain white tank top and my cut offs. Totally cute.
“Do you think Winston will kiss you?” Maddy asks.
“I don’t know. I mean, I am hoping we will hold hands, or he will put his arm around me. I guess I hope that he kisses me at the end of the night. But…” I stop.
“What?”
“Well…I am kinda nervous. I've never kissed a boy before.” I admit.
“I thought you kissed Matt when we played truth or dare at the football game last year,” Maddy says. She is right. It was during the high school football game. Our parents always dropped us off so we would get the whole evening to ourselves. I guess they think we go there to actually see football being played. Sometimes my friends and I watch the cheerleaders, but to tell you the truth, I can’t tell offense from defense or a first down from a touchdown, so I don’t usually spend much time watching the game. Mostly, my friends and I run off to the park behind the stadium and gossip or chase boys. One night we decided to play truth or dare with some of the other kids from my grade. One of the guys dared me to kiss Matt; we were both in sixth grade at the time. I was feeling particularly
audacious that night and so I walked up and laid one right on Matt’s lips. But I didn’t like him or anything, and other than being kind of exciting, it wasn’t very romantic. Maddy remembers everything.
“Yeah, but that was a dare. And it was like for a second. We basically just bumped lips. I mean, how does it work when you just want to kiss someone? Do you ask them or does it just happen like in the movies? Like you see each other and just move towards one another and then mack down? Am I supposed to use my tongue?” I am starting to panic.
“Huh,” Maddy thinks. “I don’t know. What are you supposed to do with your tongue anyway, roll it around like this?” Maddy sticks her tongue out and tries to make circles with it.
“Gross.” I yell.
“Maybe more like this.” I stick my tongue out and do my best impression of a movie kiss.
“Ewww!” Maddy howls.
Gilbert and Louis Rule the Universe: First Impressions Page 4