by Kelly Oram
Anastasia broke up the moment with a sigh just before it could get awkward. I waited for whatever snide remark she had prepared, but all she said was, “Are you guys ready to go? I don’t want to be late.”
. . . . .
When we got to school, Rob was waiting for us in the student parking lot with a single red rose. As I accepted it, he planted a soft kiss on my cheek and whispered, “Happy birthday.”
“Thanks.”
I brought the bud to my nose, wishing it would hide my blush while Rob took my backpack and slung it over his shoulder with his own book bag. As we headed toward the school, he glanced at me. “You weren’t going to tell anyone, were you?”
“I wasn’t. How did you know?”
“I told him.” Juliette rolled her eyes at my frown. “You can’t let what happened last year take over your birthday for the rest of your life. You need some good to help balance out the bad.”
I smelled my rose again and a smile crept over my face. I was surprised at how right Juliette was. “Thanks.”
As the three of us stepped into the main breezeway and merged into the crowd of students, we could tell instantly that something wasn’t normal. There was some kind of buzz in the air. It took me a minute to realize that I was the focus of the excitement. It was the oddest combination of emotions ranging from fascination, to confusion, to utter contempt. People were staring and whispering—some of them excited, others unable to hold in their disgust. As we neared my locker, I started to make out some of the whispers.
“It’s her!”
“I can’t believe she knows him.”
“She’s not that pretty.”
“What does he see in her, anyway?”
I had no idea what was going on. I glanced at a group of younger girls who looked so excited they could barely contain their giddiness. One of them caught my gaze, and that energy finally burst. “Hi, Ella!”
Once the first greeting came, a chorus of others followed it.
“Hey, Ella!”
“Happy birthday, Ella!”
“You are so lucky, Ella!”
“Don’t you just love Brian Oliver, Ella?”
“Happy birthday!”
I glanced at Rob first, but he was just as mystified as me, so I turned to Juliette for an explanation. She threw her hands up in surrender. “Don’t look at me. I only told Rob and Vivian. I have no idea what’s going on.”
It was seriously like we’d left Los Angeles and landed in some alternate dimension. “Brian Oliver? Can I believe what? What’s going on? What is everyone talking about?” I asked, though I knew neither Juliette nor Rob had any answers.
Mitchell Drayton, the most gorgeous guy in school, who also happened to be the snobbiest because he had an agent and had landed a few bit parts on a couple of TV shows, walked right up to us. “Hey, Jules,” he said to Juliette and then turned his devastating smile on me. “Hi, Ella. Are you having a party or anything for your birthday? Need a date?”
Rob stepped a little closer to my side and glared at him. Mitchell glanced at the rose in my hand, and then gave Rob a once-over. He took a step back, chuckling to himself. “Sorry, bro. Didn’t realize I was stepping on anyone’s toes.” To me, he said, “I’m having a party tomorrow night with some of my actor friends. You should come. Bring Rob and Jules too, if you’d like. Eight P.M. Jules knows where I live.”
My mouth hung agape and my heart pounded as I watched him walk away. Every teen movie that was worth anything started out with a scene like this—everyone being unusually nice to the poor, unsuspecting outcast right before she gets publicly humiliated. “Do you think Ana is trying to play some kind of prank?” I whispered.
“No way.” Juliette sounded confident, but I wasn’t so sure. She noticed my skepticism and shook her head. “Seriously. Did you notice the lack of snottiness this morning? Mom read us both the riot act last night and told us that if either of us so much as frowned at you today, we would be grounded until we were thirty.”
Great. Not that I didn’t appreciate the gesture, but that had to have pissed Anastasia off more than anything. I was lucky she hadn’t exploded already.
“It’s not Ana,” Juliette insisted.
“Well, it’s definitely something,” Rob muttered, frowning at a couple of guys who were staring at me.
“I’ll figure it out,” Juliette said as we reached her homeroom. “Lunch together today?”
“You know where to find me.”
Juliette disappeared into her classroom, and Rob scowled at everyone we passed as he walked me to mine. He was as skeptical about my stepsister as I was, because he said, “It had to be Ana. Vivian wouldn’t have said anything. I’ll figure out what’s going on.”
He’d stopped us at the door to my classroom and grabbed my hand so that I couldn’t walk away. A girl whose name I didn’t remember accidentally bumped into my shoulder as she walked past us into the room. “Watch it!” she snapped. When she realized it was me in her way, her eyes narrowed. “You think you’re so special now? Well, you’re not.”
Another girl walked in behind her, smiling viciously. “I bet she paid him to do it.”
They walked to their seats, cackling.
More confused than ever, I looked at Rob again. “You going to be okay until lunch?” he asked.
The worry in his eyes made me smile. “I guess you don’t remember what it was like for me when I first got here,” I teased.
His face grew dark, a storm of emotion brewing in his eyes. I felt terrible when I realized he knew exactly what I’d been through these past months, and how much it upset him. “Hey.” I gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s all good. I’m fine. Thank you for my flower.”
He finally smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Vivian was bubbling over with energy when she came into the cafeteria at lunch. “Brian Oliver wished you happy birthday on Twitter!” she squealed. “What the hell?”
“I know. Juliette told me in second period and ‘What the hell?’ was my thought exactly. I don’t get it.”
The looks and greetings all made sense after I heard the news. Brian Oliver had made me the center of attention when he publicly wished me happy birthday that morning. The excitement and jealousy, and even Mitchell’s party invite, all made sense now. But that was about all I understood.
“How did he know it was my birthday? How does he know I even exist?”
“Because you’re brilliant,” Rob said, sitting down next to me.
“What?”
“He’s a fan of your blog.”
“No!” Vivian shrieked. “Let me! Please? I’ve been dying to show her all day!”
Rob laughed and waved his hand in a be-my-guest gesture, making Vivian’s whole face light up. I was afraid she was going to pull a muscle when she smiled because her mouth stretched across her entire face. “It all started with this.”
Vivian really had been waiting to tell me the story. She already had her phone cued up to a specific post on Brian Oliver’s Facebook page. “‘Happy birthday to my favorite blogger and number-one fan, Ellamara!’” Vivian read aloud. “‘Your words of wisdom are unparalleled.’ And look!” she squealed. “He posted a link to your review of some movie he was in.”
I looked, and sure enough there was a link to my review of the movie The Long Road Home—the apology letter I’d written to Brian Oliver.
“That’s not all,” Vivian said. She began scrolling up Brian Oliver’s Facebook page. There was post after post of him sharing Ellamara’s Words Of Wisdom posts.
“He’s been quoting me on Facebook?”
Vivian nodded so enthusiastically that she looked like a bobblehead doll. “All day! He’s been doing it on Twitter too, and now other people are doing it. ‘Ellamara’s Words of Wisdom’ is trending right now.”
This I had to see. I pulled up my Twitter on my phone and nearly had a heart attack. “No way!”
“What?” Rob and Vivian both leaned in and read over my shoulder.
Rob laughed. “That’s what happens when Hollywood’s golden child tells the world to listen to you. I hope your personal information isn’t attached to your blog anywhere.”
“No. I have a separate e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook page for all my blog stuff, and a PO Box for publishers to send books to. I should be safe, but this is insane!”
“Right?” Juliette said as she finally joined us.
With Juliette there, we started over from the beginning. She’d brought an entourage with her to get the scoop—Dylan and Luke and a few other friends who were curious enough about the story to brave being seen talking to me at lunch—but there simply wasn’t a story to tell. I didn’t know Brian Oliver. I had no idea how he discovered my blog.
“I have a question,” Rob said, finally joining the impromptu Q and A session. “How did Brian Oliver know it was your birthday? He could have come across your review on his own, but how did he know today was your birthday? I read your blog. I know you haven’t mentioned it.”
I’d wondered that myself. In fact, that was the most mind-boggling part of this whole ordeal. “I don’t know. Honestly, I was surprised that anyone knew it was my birthday. I didn’t even think my dad knew it was coming up. The only person I’ve talked to about it was…”
And suddenly, everything made perfect sense. The entire table fell quiet, waiting for me to reveal the big secret, but all I could do was smile. “Of course. I should have known.”
“Was who?” Vivian demanded.
I sighed. “It was Cinder.”
“The Internet guy?” Rob asked.
I nodded.
My heart sank and soared at the same time. Cinder and I hadn’t spoken since I told him I was pissed and hung up on him, but I knew he still cared about me. He knew what today was. He’d been the one to bring it up a couple weeks ago.
He remembered the day because he’d been texting me at the time of the accident. He said he was dreading the day, and that as it got closer it felt as if it was haunting him. I was really surprised until he explained. For him, that was the day he lost me. When we talked about it, I confessed that it had been my birthday. He promised he would find a way to distract me today and make sure that I enjoyed my birthday and didn’t just think about the accident.
“He kept his promise,” I whispered to myself, fighting back sudden tears.
Vivian waved a hand in front of my face, trying to regain my attention. “What promise?”
“He knew what today was. I mean, what it is besides my birthday. He promised he’d distract me so that I wouldn’t think about it. Even though I yelled at him and haven’t spoken to him yet, he still kept his promise.”
Vivian sighed. “That’s so romantic. You have to forgive him, Ella.” She’d been urging me to do that ever since I gave her the details of our argument. “You’ve got to call him back.”
Rob didn’t seem to agree. “How do you know he did this?”
“He’s the only one who could have. He’s the only one who knew it was my birthday, and his dad is some big shot in the film industry, so he could have managed to get in contact with Brian somehow. I’ve always known Cinder has connections in show biz. I should have figured it out sooner.”
“How do you know? You’ve never even met him. The guy’s probably a liar.”
I shook my head. “He’s been feeding me Hollywood insider information since we met. He always knows stuff before it hits the trades. He must have had his dad call in a favor or something.”
“Maybe he knows Brian,” Vivian said. “I mean, if they were friends, it would explain why he likes the guy so much.”
“True,” I agreed. “He’s mentioned knowing a few celebrities, though he’s not a name dropper, and I’ve never asked which ones. I guess they could be friends. Knowing Cinder, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
That made everyone around us whisper and giggle. One girl even said, “I can’t believe you know someone who is friends with Brian Oliver!”
“I don’t, really. I’m not sure how Cinder did it. He could know Brian, or his dad could just know a guy who knows a guy who knows him.”
“That was a pretty cool thing to do, though,” Rob said. It took me a minute to realize he meant Cinder making sure I was distracted today.
A smile crept across my face. “Yeah.” I was going to have to call him later and apologize for not talking to him all week.
“Just how close are you with this guy?” Rob asked. The suspicion in his voice was embarrassing.
“He’s my best friend.”
“But you’ve never met in person, right? You’re just, like, pen pals or whatever?”
I finally understood the reasoning behind Rob’s line of questions, and my heart sank a little. I stared at my lunch, having no idea what to say to him. He seemed to understand because he said, “This is the part where you kick me to the curb, isn’t it?”
I forced myself to look at Rob. He didn’t seem crestfallen or anything, which I hoped meant his interest in me hadn’t been as strong as everyone else believed it was. I didn’t want to hurt him.
“I’m sorry. I’m in no position to be dating anyone right now. Technically, I am single. There is nothing going on between Cinder and me, and there never will be, but I love him anyway. I hate that I love him, and I try not to love him, but I fail miserably.”
Rob studied me for a minute in that quiet, intense way of his and asked, “Are you sure there’s nothing between you? You’re sure he doesn’t like you, too?”
I nodded. “He has a girlfriend and he specifically told me he doesn’t want to meet in person. He likes that we don’t know each other.”
Rob’s face pinched up slightly as if Cinder’s request pissed him off, but he didn’t say as much. “So we need to get you over him. Would it help if you had someone else—a boyfriend—to help take your mind off him?”
I blushed when I realized exactly what Rob was saying, what he was offering me, but I immediately shook my head. “That’s really sweet, but I don’t think it would be fair to you.”
“Do you like me?” Rob asked.
I nodded reluctantly. “I do, but—”
Rob didn’t let me finish my sentence. “Are you attracted to me?”
My face flamed at the question. I dropped my eyes to my lap and chewed my bottom lip so hard it hurt, but I managed a small nod.
“Then that’s enough.”
When I looked up confused, he smiled. “You don’t have to be in love to date someone. We don’t have to be serious. We don’t even have to be exclusive if you don’t want. You could just give it a try. Go out with me and see if something sparks.”
I considered his offer. I did really like Rob. He seemed like a laid-back guy. Maybe he wasn’t really looking for anything serious, either. It didn’t seem fair, but I did need to try to get over Cinder, and the more people I could show Dr. Parish I had in my “support system” the sooner I’d earn my independence. Still… “I don’t know. I think it would feel like I was using you.”
Rob picked up a slice of pizza from his lunch tray and grinned at me. “Use away, Ella. Maybe it won’t work out, maybe it will. Either way at least you tried, and we get to have some fun.”
He bit into his pizza and his eyes twinkled with mischief as he chewed. Once his mouth was clear, he said, “You look like you could use a good rebound, and I just want to make it very clear, right now, that I am always down to be a pretty girl’s rebound.”
I finally managed a smile that reached my eyes. “Good to know.”
“So what do you say?”
I’d be an idiot if I didn’t at least try. “I guess we could give it a shot. My Dad wants to go out for my birthday tonight. He already asked me to invite Vivian.” I glanced at Juliette. “Do you think he’d mind if Rob came, too?”
Juliette shook her head. “He’ll be cool. It’s my mom you have to worry a
bout. She gets all crazy excited when Ana or I date anyone. She’s going to freak that you have a boyfriend.”
I blanched at the term and Rob laughed. “So no title, then.”
Vivian snorted. “Other than Rebound Boy, anyway.”
I grimaced, but Rob laughed again. “It has a nice ring to it.”
. . . . .
By the time I got home from school I was mentally exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to relax to the sound of Cinder’s deep, rumbling voice. I knew I needed to call him. I missed him, and he deserved my thanks.
My dad had recently lifted the ban on my room, so I escaped to the sanctuary as soon as I got home from school. As I was shutting the door, I heard Anastasia speak for the first time all day. She’d been silent on the rides to and from school, obviously striving for the Thumper method of not getting in trouble—if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.
As soon as I was out of sight, she pounced on Juliette like a starving lion. They were in the kitchen—Juliette rummaging through the fridge for her daily after-school snack—and their voices carried easily across the great-room style main floor to my bedroom.
“How did she do it?” Anastasia demanded.
Since she was talking about me, I left my bedroom door open a crack and shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation.
“She didn’t,” Juliette answered. “She was just as surprised as the rest of us. Cinder did it. It was his birthday gift to her.”
“Cinder?” Ana gasped. “The creepy Internet guy?”
I heard the fridge shut and the sound of a can opening. “He’s not creepy,” Juliette insisted. “He’s actually kind of cool.”
“How do you know? Have you talked to him?”
“No, but I hear Ella talk to him all the time and their conversations are completely normal. Plus, I read her IM feed once when she went to the bathroom and left her laptop open on the couch.”
“Nah-uh! Did you read anything good?”
I was surprised by the confession, but I found it hard to be mad at the invasion of privacy because of the smile I heard in her voice. “It was highly entertaining. Those two banter back and forth like a romance novel heroine and her dastardly pirate captor.”