A Charmed Life

by Jenny B. Jones

  “But he was obviously bothered by the idea of you on the hunt for a boyfriend.” Or two. “That’s encouraging, right? I really think he’s coming around.”

  She props her chin on her hand. “Then why don’t I feel encouraged?”

  In English Thursday, I slide into the desk behind Jared Campbell and smile, an open invitation to conversation.

  A few seconds later he turns around. “This novel is making me miss Hester and The Scarlet Letter.” He holds up his copy of Great Expectations.

  I swat his hand and laugh. “I know, instead of Great Expectations it should be called Crappy Letdown.”

  He grins and turns all the way around in his seat. “Great

  Expectations—of Insomnia.”

  I smile into his eyes, letting mine linger a little longer than a new friend would. “You know what else is a letdown?” I pucker my glossy lips in a pout. “Not getting the chance to dance with you any more. I had a really good time last week.”

  “Thanks. Me too.”

  I lean forward on the desk. “It’s been so hard adjusting here. But last week at the party I was able to forget all about my worries and just be me, you know?” I wave my hand. “Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for, you know, talking to me again.”

  “Sorry we didn’t get to talk a lot last Thursday.” He rests his arm on my desk. “I like to work the crowd to make sure no one’s getting too crazy.”

  “I think that’s great. It’s really thoughtful of you.” My cooing voice sounds obnoxious to my ears. Forgive me, Hunter. “Makes a girl feel safe to know someone like you is looking out for . . . her.” I giggle.

  “I keep an eye on everyone.”

  “So is it your party?”

  He laughs. “It’s the team’s party. It’s all for the team. Everything we do is for that win.”

  “Jared, if you ever find yourself at another get-together and need a dance partner, here’s my number.” I scribble on a piece of paper and slide it over.

  He holds it between both hands then folds it in two. “Actually . . .”

  Yes? Come on, big boy.

  “I hear there’s a party tonight.”

  “Really?” I’m all innocence.

  “I don’t usually do this, but if you’d like to go, I could pick you up.”

  I clap my hands to my chest. “I would love to go! But hey, why don’t I just meet you there? I have some stuff to do tonight, so I might be a little late. You could give me directions.”

  “Wow, I’m sorry, Bella. But the location is top secret.”

  “So it’s not at the same cabin? Do you know where it is?” I purr, like I think this is all totally cute.

  “Maybe. But if I tell you where it is, I will be toast.”

  Because your stepbrother would hurt you? Kick you off the team?

  Maybe Dante would rough you up? Short-sheet your bed? What?

  “Then I guess I’ll have to meet you somewhere.”

  He reaches into his pocket and hands me a purple piece of paper. “You’ll need this, even if you’re with me. Meet me at the old cemetery. Can you be there by eight?”

  I pull the ticket out of his fingers, my hand grazing his. “I can’t wait.”

  “Bella, you can’t tell anyone about the party. It’s top secret, okay?” He lightens his serious tone. “We don’t want the entire high school out there.”

  I tuck the paper into my backpack as the teacher opens her book to start class.

  “Today, students, we’re going to discuss what Dickens had to say about pretending to be something you’re not . . .”

  Stupid book.

  chapter thirty-one

  When Jared takes the blindfold off my eyes, I blink a few times to bring the fuzzy surroundings into focus.

  “A campground?”

  “An old overflow campsite. Nobody’s ever out here.” He helps me out of the car and leads me toward the festivities. Music blasts from a CD player, and the rest of the partygoers sit on hay bales around a flaming bonfire. Tiki torches are stuck in the ground every few feet, giving the area a dollar-store tropical theme.

  Jared high-fives some of the players. He talks to everyone he passes as if they’re his closest friends. He’s so kind to people. Looking at him, you’d think he would be all stuck up. I mean, he’s got it all—Abercrombie-model good looks, Advanced Placement brains, a position as a starter on the football team. It’s going to stink when I eventually reveal my theory that his stepbrother’s a total psycho.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Jared’s hand presses into my back, and we walk toward a car where a cooler sits in the trunk. I peer inside. All alcohol.

  “Um . . . nothing for me, thanks.”

  “Let’s keep looking.” He takes me to another trunk, reaches into the cooler, and pulls out a Coke. “For the lady.”

  I thank him with a smile and watch as he grabs one for himself.

  “I’m not into that stuff either.”

  But does your stepbrother supply the alcohol for these parties? I want so badly to ask him the questions whirring in my brain. All of Luke’s warnings replay in my head.

  “I’m glad you brought me tonight.” I sigh and gaze into his face.

  “Whose soiree is this anyway?”

  Jared grabs a bag of Ruffles from the trunk, tears it, and holds it open. “It’s everyone’s party, remember?”

  “Is this something you football players throw together?” I can’t let this go.

  He shrugs. “It’s definitely for us.” Jared’s head drops closer to mine. “And anyone special we might want to invite.” I giggle but take a step back, putting a little space between us. I can just see me talking to Hunter on the phone tomorrow morning.

  “So what did you do last night?”

  “Who, me? Oh, went to a party with a guy, flirted with him. Let him think I was interested. How was SportsCenter?”

  Another set of headlights shines on the campsite. Jared watches the vehicle until the driver gets out. “Dante’s here. I’ll be right back.” His hand lingers on my shoulder as he passes.

  Time to start digging around and asking questions. I grab the Ruffles and turn to find my first interviewee.

  And run smack into Britanny Taylor.

  “I know what you’re up to.”

  I gasp and a chip lodges in my throat. My cough comes in spasms, and I blink watery eyes.

  “Wh-what?”

  “You,” she spits. “And Jared. I know what you’re doing, and I plan to tell him all about it.”

  I clutch the chips to my chest and force myself to take some deep breaths. “What are you talking about, Brittany?”

  “He felt bad about how everybody shunned you, and so he’s been nice to you out of pity. But you’re using it to lure him in.”

  “Lure him?” What is he, a trout?

  “Yeah.” Her hateful mouth twists. “So you can get back at me. Because you knew I liked him. And now you think you’re getting me back for ratting out your Miss Hilliard blog. But let me tell you something, Bella. You move in on Jared, and I will come after you with a vengeance. You do not want to mess with me.”

  Mee-yeow. Is it just me, or are the people in this school just a wee bit violent? Somebody needs to get Truman High some therapy. In large doses.

  “Look, Brittany, clearly you’ve not been to your anger management classes lately, so I can understand why—” I swallow the rest of the words as I look over Brittany’s shoulder and see who else gets out of Dante’s car.

  Matt Sparks.

  His face is uncertain, his eyes searching. Then he’s swarmed by classmates, teammates, and he perks up. So . . . Matt wasn’t planning on coming to the party tonight, huh?

  “Are you even listening to me?”

  My attention snaps back to the shrew in front of me. “Oh yes. You were threatening me?” My voice is as bland as oatmeal.

  Brittany sticks her finger in my face. “Watch yourself, Bella.

  Because I’m not going t
o allow some little rich girl to come in here and take what’s mine.”

  “That’s funny—at no point did anyone tell me you and Jared were dating. Because I definitely stay away from the boys who are taken.”

  She hisses like a venomous snake. “You’ve been warned.” And she slithers away.

  That girl is not nice. Let’s just hope she stays on her side of the bonfire tonight.

  I walk back to the coolers and select another Coke. With dripping can in hand, I approach Matt Sparks. His eyes widen as I stand before him.

  “Drink?” I hold it out. He slowly reaches for it.

  “I . . . uh . . .”

  “You intended to come to this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

  His eyes flash. “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

  “Any particular reason why you didn’t want us here tonight, Matt?”

  “Why don’t you go back home and highlight Lindy’s hair or something. She’s more your friend now than mine. Maybe I thought it was just time to start branching out and hanging with a new crowd.”

  I’m torn between furious and hurt. “I’m not trying to bust up your friendship. Lindy—” The truth dances on my tongue, but I force it down. “She cares about you. She misses your friendship.”

  “I think Lindy and I need some time apart.”

  “So you can hang out with your new party friends?”

  “If you don’t approve of them, why are you here?”

  I open my mouth. Then shut it. “I’m here with Jared Campbell.”

  Matt looks over his shoulder then back to me. “Look, just be careful out here, okay?”

  “What does that mean?”

  He starts to say something then retreats. “I . . . um . . . just, you know, the typical party rules—don’t set your drink down, don’t go off alone with anyone, don’t pee on rattlesnakes.”

  “Don’t pee on rattlesnakes?” I lower my voice even more. “Is that supposed to mean something?”

  He speaks directly into my ear. “It means if you squat over a rattler, you’ll get two fangs in your butt.” Matt leaves me to join some friends.

  By ten o’clock, I’ve danced with just about everyone. Truman seems to be forgetting about the Great Blog Disaster. Well, except for Brittany, but if I never regain her friendship, I think I’ll still be able to sleep at night.

  Great. I am in sore need of a bathroom. Or I guess in this case, a large tree to go behind. I look for Jared to tell him where I’m going. That way if a wild bear comes and hauls me off, someone will know to look for me.

  Not finding my date for the night, I suppress a sigh and walk into a wooded area, my cell phone shining like a weak flashlight. About a hundred paces out, I decide I’m far away from view and pick my tree. Oh, the indignity. For the record, I have never peed outside. It’s unladylike. It’s uncouth. And—ew—apparently I have bad aim!

  All finished and anxious to get out of here, I zip my denim shorts and button the top button.

  “Are you sure he’s going to do it?”

  Who is that? I stop at the voice and plaster myself to the back of the tree. I’m probably stepping exactly where I did my business.

  “He’s here, isn’t he?” That’s Dante.

  “Between the beer and the music, I think everyone’s pretty distracted right now. We should be able to slip out in about an hour.

  Wait for the signal, then meet at the old bridge.”

  An hour? I have to be home in thirty minutes due to my new, restricted curfew. It took an act of Congress to talk my mom into letting me out of the house tonight.

  “He thinks Sparks is the missing link, that we need him in the Brotherhood to make us stronger.”

  “I don’t know, man,” Dante says. “This is getting crazy. We can’t afford another disaster.”

  “Look, you know he won’t let you out of this. It’s too important that the legacy continues. We’ll make sure there aren’t any more mistakes.”

  “Mistakes? Dude, accidents happen. People fall. Drivers lose control. We don’t have any power over that. And we also can’t stand any more bad attention. I’m not going to any more funerals.”

  “It’s his team. We do what he says, Dante. Now either you’re in or you’re out. But you think long and hard before you leave the Brotherhood. You know what happened to Reggie.”

  “I’m not backing out. You know I’m in this. Just forget it.”

  Their voices grow weaker as they walk away.

  I know one thing for sure.

  I have to get home by curfew—so I can sneak right back out, with Luke at my side. We have some late-night spying to do.

  chapter thirty-two

  Jared pulls over and takes off my blindfold when we hit the town square.

  I smile prettily, like it’s not the creepiest thing ever to have your eyes covered. “Thanks for taking me back early. My mom’s kind of a stickler lately on the curfew.” I can’t imagine why.

  He steers the car back onto the road. “I had a great time with you tonight. I always do.”

  “Thanks.” And I had a good time with him. Jared has an amazing personality. But I feel nothing for the boy.

  He puts the car in park when we roll up to the unwelcoming graveyard a few minutes later. I mean, seriously, if you want to impress a girl, do not ask to meet her at a cemetery.

  “So . . .” His arm rests on the back of my seat. “How’s that boyfriend in New York?”

  We both laugh. “Very subtle,” I say. “Um . . . Hunter and I are finding a long-distance relationship to be harder than we thought.”

  “Bella—” His eyes grow serious in the dark of the car. “I would love for us to be friends—hang out. But if you get to the point where New York is too far away, there are guys here in Truman who would like the opportunity to date you.”

  My heart constricts. I wish I liked him like that.

  My hand covers his on the gearshift. “Jared, if only I had met you a few years ago. Thank you for your friendship. I didn’t intend this, but I’ve noticed a lot more people are willing to talk to me now that I’ve been seen with you a few times. And if something changes in my life, I’ll let you know. But in the meantime, I still want to do things together.” Did that sound suggestive? I mean do things as in go to a movie. Not as in get horizontal on the couch.

  “Friends it is.” He nods, his gaze sliding across the stones in the graveyard.

  “You’ll invite me to a party again?” I open my door and step out.

  “Next week there will be a ticket for you.”

  I wait until our vehicles part ways at the downtown four-way stop before I call Luke.

  “This better be important—it’s late.”

  “Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep, but I have news.” I fill him in on what I heard at the party.

  “And what do you want to do about it? You’ve obviously got something up your sleeve, and I have a feeling it’s not good.”

  I should be offended, but I’m not. “How serious are you about seeing this story through?”

  He mumbles something then answers. “What do you want, Bella?”

  “Be at my house in ten minutes. Park on the dirt road, turn the lights off, and I’ll meet you out there.”

  “You said you were blindfolded. How do you know where we’re going?”

  “The GPS on my phone.”

  He pauses so long I think he’s gone back to sleep.

  “Luke?”

  “Wear something dark this time, Kirkwood.” And he disconnects.

  “You know we’re both probably going to get caught and get grounded for life,” I say as I shut myself in Luke’s 4Runner.

  “I’m okay with that.”

  He takes in my appearance, making sure I’m not clothed in bright pink. Though I was tempted to wear some sequins just to tick him off.

  “How do we know where they’ll be out there? And what if they see our flashlights?” I’m suddenly panicked by all these details.

 
; He turns onto the highway, leading us toward Byler, the nearest town. “You should have thought of that before you got me out of bed.” His eyes cut to me. “But luckily we have some serious moonlight tonight, so that ought to help some. Let’s just hope the wild bears don’t get us though. The Oklahoma lakes are just crawling with them.”

  “What?” And then I see his lips quirk. “Oh, you’re hilarious.”

  “Actually, I think I know which bridge they meant. A train runs through the lake area late at night. It crosses an old bridge. It’s so rickety, I don’t know how it can hold up a train.”

  Luke drives on for another few minutes before cutting into a field where a dirt road appears.

  “How in the world did you know this road was here?”

  Luke lifts a dismissive shoulder. “It’s a cool place to take girls.”

  “If you’re a serial killer.”

  Pulling in behind some trees, Luke turns off the engine and faces me. “Are you ready for this?”

  His eyes hold me captive. Why is it easier to look directly at someone in the dark? I blink and glance away. “Let’s just get it over with.”

  We spill out of the SUV, and I follow Luke through knee-high weeds for what seems like an eternity.

  Somewhere I hear water lapping, and above us a full moon shines down like a Broadway spotlight just for us.

  “We’ll have to climb this little hill. Are you up for it?”

  I know he’s looking at my shoes, expecting me to have worn something totally impractical. I shine my flashlight on my black Diesels. “Don’t cry if I beat you to the top, Chief.”

  Ten minutes later, I’m wishing I had packed snacks. And I need a foot rub. “I think people have climbed Mt. Everest in a shorter amount of time.”

  “Almost there,” he whispers. “We need to turn our flashlights off at this point, Bella.”

  I flip the switch.

  “And you’re going to have to take my hand.”

  “Why?” I squeak.

  “Because I know my way around here. You don’t. So unless you want to fall down the mountain and give away our cover, I’d grab hold.”

  I stare at his outstretched hand but can’t seem to move.

  “Suit yourself. See you at the top.”

  “No, wait!” I run after him, stumbling on a rock, my body propelled right into his. “Oomph!” Ignoring my throbbing ankle and my battered pride, I give him my hand. Which he ignores. “Oh, just take it!” I hiss.