“So what do your parents do?” Mateo asked.
“My mom’s a nurse, and my dad teaches computer science at UCSF,” Devin replied.
“UCSF—as in… San Francisco? That’s kind of far away, isn’t it?”
“My parents are divorced. My mom and I just moved down here last summer. She works at Sunny Valley County Hospital,” Devin explained.
Mateo raised his eyebrows. “Wow. I didn’t know. My parents are divorced, too.”
Devin startled. “Oh! I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. Do your parents still talk to each other?”
Devin shook her head. “Almost never. They had a really, really bad breakup. My mom totally wanted to work things out, and my dad totally didn’t.”
“Same here. We live with my mom—my little brother, Sammy, and me, I mean. My older brother, Leo, is a sophomore at USC. Sammy and I have this strict visitation schedule for when my dad can have us on weekends and so forth. But if my mom needs to know where to drop us off or whatever, she won’t call him or even text him. She makes me or Sammy do it. And the same with my dad. It’s like they’re strangers or something.”
“That’s awful!”
“Yeah. I think adults can be more immature than kids sometimes,” Mateo observed sadly.
Devin stared at Mateo. He was so smart. And nice. And sensitive. Boys weren’t always the best at sharing their feelings. Mateo seemed to have no problem in that department. In fact, it occurred to her that this was the first time she’d been able to talk—really talk—about her parents’ divorce with another person. All she ever discussed with Josh was music, movies, their mutual friends at Spring Park, and whether thin-crust, New York–style pizza was better than Chicago-style deep-dish.
As for Emily, Kate, and Chloe… she was slowly becoming better friends with them. But it was definitely a process.
The bell rang. There was a loud, collective scraping of chairs as students scooped up their books and backpacks and headed for the exit.
Devin rose, too—and accidentally dropped her notebook. She bent down to pick it up at the exact same moment Mateo reached for it. Their arms brushed.
“Thanks.” Blushing furiously, Devin stood up and clutched her notebook to her chest. For some reason, she couldn’t meet Mateo’s eyes.
“You’re welcome. Where are you off to next?” Mateo asked her.
“Algebra, then English, then cheer practice. How about you?”
“French, then bio, then basketball.” Mateo slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Hey… you’ll be at the Medham game on Friday, right? Do you want to get together after and maybe grab a burger or something?”
Devin wanted to say yes. Then she remembered that she had a boyfriend. Girls with boyfriends didn’t go out for burgers with other guys.
“I… um… that is, I already have plans,” she fibbed. “Maybe another time?”
“Sure.” Mateo smiled. If he was disappointed, Devin couldn’t tell. “Don’t forget about the evidence file, okay? Maybe we could go over it on Wednesday during study hall?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Devin said good-bye and rushed off to her algebra class. Out in the hallway, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.
She glanced around to make sure the hall monitor wasn’t watching, then sneaked a peek at the screen. It was a text from Josh:
Hey, Devver. Miss you. xoxoxo
Devin quickly stuffed the phone back in her pocket, cringing with guilt.
But I didn’t do anything, she told herself. I’m not cheating on Josh.
So why did she feel as though she was?
“Am I overreacting, or was practice, like, a million times harder than usual today?” Emily complained as she, Devin, Chloe, and Kate headed out to the parking lot together. “I swear, my legs feel like nachos that have been nuked too long in the microwave.”
“Ew, Emily! My dad’s making nachos for dinner tonight.” Kate groaned.
“We were awesome, though. It’s the first time since Regionals that we all stuck our back handsprings in the closing sequence,” Devin pointed out. She’d been working on her cocaptaining skills lately, intent on being more upbeat and making note of her teammates’ achievements. “And Chloe… you killed that tumbling pass!”
“Thanks, Devin. Your tumbling pass was amazing, too.” Chloe turned to Emily. “I bet you’re extra-tired because of yesterday,” she remarked.
Emily frowned. “Yesterday? Huh?”
“You know. Because you were sick?” Chloe reminded her.
“Oh, right! Yes. I was sick. Really, really sick. With the flu. The twenty-four-hour kind, not that longer-than-twenty-four-hour kind. So I’m all better now.” Emily gave a little cough. “Well, almost all better.”
Devin gave Emily a warning look, wishing that her friend would shut up already. Devin was no expert at lying, but it was probably better to keep one’s cover story short and sweet, not long, rambling, and crazy-sounding.
Emily smiled brightly. “So, enough about me and my boring twenty-four-hour flu! I came up with the best new idea for our fund-raiser.”
“What about our ideas from last week?” Devin asked. The four girls had met at Emily’s house last Tuesday for a brainstorming session. It had been more of a popcorn-and-gossip session, but they had generated a few good ideas. Devin had liked one of Chloe’s suggestions, about decorating coffee cans and distributing them to restaurants and stores around town so that customers could donate their spare change.
“No, this is waaay better. Get this—we’re going to do a fashion show!” Emily announced.
“A fashion show?” Devin repeated.
“Yes! I’ve been thinking about it, and I made up a list of things we’d need to do.” Emily stopped on the sidewalk, reached into her backpack, and pulled out her REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF notebook. She flipped to the first page. “So this is the plan. We ask all the cool boutiques in town to each donate one outfit. We install a runway in the gym, like the ones they have at Fashion Week in LA. The audience bids on the outfits. And if you win an outfit, you take it home. If you need a different size, the store will exchange it for you.”
“That’s… kind of genius, actually,” Chloe said slowly. “I like it!”
“Who’s going to model the clothes?” Kate asked.
“We are! The cheerleaders, I mean. Some of us can be on modeling duty. The rest of us can work the event, do backstage, hair and makeup, whatever.” Emily turned to Devin. “What do you think?”
For a brief second, Devin imagined herself strutting down the runway in a stylish outfit—something other than her usual jeans-and-hoodie combo. Would Mateo be there?
Why am I thinking about Mateo? Devin chided herself. Josh. Think about Josh.
Emily elbowed her. “Um, earth to Devin? Are you daydreaming about your boyfriend? Or are you daydreaming about your other—”
“Fashion show! Yes, count me in!” Devin practically shouted.
“Daydreaming about who?” Chloe asked, glancing between Emily and Devin.
Devin laughed feebly, then changed the subject. “So who’s the money going to? I mean, we’re raising part of the money for Nationals and the rest of it for our new charity, right?” she added.
“Yeah. Our team needs to decide on a charity.” Emily extracted a pen from her pocket and scribbled something in her notebook.
“Actually, I have an idea,” Chloe said, raising her hand. “It’s kind of related to my new volunteer job.”
“You mean Hearts Heal? How did it go on Saturday, by the way?” Kate asked her.
“Amazing! I met this really nice guy there,” Chloe replied.
Emily stopped scribbling. “Wait, what? Why is this the first time we’re hearing about this?” she demanded.
“No, it’s not like that,” Chloe said quickly. “He’s Gemma Moore’s brother, Daniel. He’s a sophomore at Sunny Valley Performing Arts. He plays the violin.”
“Oooh, violin! Sounds super-romanti
c,” Emily teased her.
“Seriously, stop it! He’s just a friend!” Chloe insisted.
“Is he cute?” Emily persisted.
“I don’t know. I guess?” Chloe blushed. “But back on topic. I have this idea for the charity.”
“What is it?” Devin asked.
“I, um, can’t say right now. I have to talk to Coach first. But I’ll let you guys know ASAP.” Chloe glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, hey! Gemma!”
Chloe rushed away to catch up to Gemma, who was walking to the parking lot. The two girls starting talking, their heads bent close.
“What was that about?” Kate wondered out loud.
“Dunno. Maybe she wanted to talk to Gemma about her hunky brother, Daniel,” Emily suggested.
Devin rolled her eyes. Did Emily ever stop thinking about boys?
On the other hand, Devin herself was thinking about boys a lot lately.
One boy in particular, anyway.
What was wrong with her?
CHAPTER 8
“So I was thinking I would do my paper on the theme of isolation in Othello,” Adam said to Kate. “Unless that’s a lame idea. Do you think that’s a lame idea?”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Kate told him, tapping her pen against her notebook. “You can work in the stuff about the island of Cyprus—you know, how Iago tries to drive Othello crazy once they are isolated there.”
“Yes, totally. That’s so smart. But I would have expected no less from you, Lady Kate,” Adam said with a smile.
He squeezed her hand, then began typing notes into his iPad. Kate smiled and picked up her decaf latte. The two of them were hanging out at the Mighty Cup in downtown Sunny Valley. She’d never been to the trendy café before, which seemed really crowded for a Monday night, filled mostly with college students and professor types. Kate, Chloe, Emily, and Devin usually went to the fro-yo place down the street. But Adam had suggested it, and she was happy to try something new.
As Adam continued typing, Kate thought about the first time he’d asked her out. In English class he’d given her a tiny, rolled-up scroll adorned with a blue-and-silver twist tie. It contained a quote from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, along with a poem he’d written himself, inviting her to the homecoming dance.
Kate smiled at the memory as she took a sip of her latte. Her smile disappeared. The drink was way too bitter for her. Why had she ordered it? Just because Adam had ordered it, too? She should have stuck to something familiar, like hot chocolate or peppermint tea. She glanced over at Emily’s brother Eddie, who was working behind the counter. Maybe she should ask him to make her a new drink?
Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Emily:
What R U doing? Can U come by for fashion show sesh in 20?
Kate texted back:
Sorry, can’t. @ Mighty Cup with Adam. BTW your brother’s working tonite!
Emily wrote:
Tell him 2 bring home some free cupcakes after his shift!
“Hey, Finland! Fancy meeting you here!”
Kate’s head jerked up at the sound of the familiar, unwelcome voice. Willow strolled up to their table, wearing skin-tight jeans and a low-cut black T-shirt. Her only makeup, not that she needed any, was a slash of bright red lipstick.
Willow sidled up to Adam and kissed him on the cheek. She smiled coldly at Kate. “Hey… Kim, right?”
Kate felt her entire body tense up. “Actually, my name is—”
“Wassup, bro?” Jason came over to their table and pretended to knock down Adam’s chair. Tucker and Chen followed behind, laughing loudly.
“Dude, stop!” Adam said, chuckling and grabbing Jason’s arm. “What are you guys doing here? Jase, you reek of garlic.”
“Dinner at Humble Pie, remember? We texted you,” Chen told him.
“Sorry. Kate and I had to go over our topics for our English papers,” Adam apologized.
Willow pulled a chair from the next table and squeezed in between Adam and Kate. “So, Kate. Explain. How did you get into Advanced English for upperclassmen? Are cheerleaders allowed in honors classes?” she asked sweetly.
“Excuse me?” Kate snapped.
“Don’t mind Willow. She’s nice once you get to know her, I promise,” Adam told Kate. “And, um… news flash, Wills: Kate happens to be smarter than you and me put together. In fact, she’s the only one in Mrs. Lawrence’s class who got an A plus on the midterm.”
“I don’t think anyone can be smarter than you, Adam. Well, except for me, maybe,” Willow said, snaking her arm around Adam’s shoulder. “Remember when we cowrote that epic essay on existential philosophy for Mr. Levy’s class? And he loved it so much he wanted to publish it on his blog?”
“Oh, yeah. That essay was pretty incredible,” Adam agreed.
“Not as incredible as the essay Tucker and I cowrote about Mr. René Descartes,” Chen bragged.
“Oh, yeah? No one buys that cogito, ergo sum crap anymore, dude. Empiricism rules!” Jason said, slamming the table with his fist.
He, Tucker, and Chen pulled over three chairs and crammed into the remaining spaces around the table as they continued bantering with Adam about René Descartes and someone named David Hume.
Kate took another sip of her bad, bitter latte, trying to cover up how out of it and uncomfortable she felt. She watched Adam, wondering if he had any idea how rude his friends—especially Willow—were being to her.
Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, grateful for the distraction. It was a text from Chloe:
Hearts Heal e-mailed that they’re looking for more volunteers. R U interested? U could drive over with me Saturdays 12–2.
Kate texted back:
Definitely! I’ll talk 2 my parents when I get home and let U know.
Chloe wrote:
Where R U now?
Kate wrote:
@ Mighty Cup being miserable.
Chloe wrote:
What???? Why????
Kate wrote:
Willow is here acting like Adam’s GF again.
Chloe wrote:
Don’t let her get 2 U. Show her who’s the real GF!
Kate sat up straight and pushed her shoulders back. Chloe was right. Kate needed to put a stop to Willow’s weirdly territorial behavior with Adam.
Kate got up from her chair and walked over to Adam’s. She took his hand, smiled, and said, “I need some air. Do you want to walk me home?”
“It would be my honor!” Adam rose to his feet and hastily stuffed his iPad and copy of Shakespeare’s plays into his backpack. “Later, losers.”
“Okay, Romeo,” Chen teased him.
“You’re just bailing because you’re losing the argument,” Jason added.
Willow narrowed her eyes at Kate and said nothing.
As Kate and Adam walked out of the Mighty Cup, Adam said, “Sorry about them. They can be real jerks sometimes. But they’re my best friends, and I’ve known them since I was, like, in diapers.”
What about Willow? Is she one of your best friends, too? Or is she more than that? Kate would have liked to ask. But she didn’t want to come across as a jealous, green-eyed monster.
Although if she wasn’t careful, she was going to turn into just that.
CHAPTER 9
“Your father will pick you girls up later. I have my acupuncture appointment this afternoon, then an open house afterward,” Mrs. Davis told Chloe as she and Kate got out of the Mercedes in front of Hearts Heal.
“Thanks, Mom!”
Chloe closed the door and watched her mother drive off. She turned to Kate and squeezed her arm. “I’m so glad you could come with me today!” she said happily. With her jam-packed schedule, she hadn’t spent nearly enough time with Kate and her other friends lately.
“Yeah. I usually babysit my sibs on Saturday afternoons so my dad and Barbara can go to yoga together. But they switched to a Sunday morning class so I could do this,” Kate replied.
“You’re so lucky to have a big f
amily,” Chloe remarked. With Jake and Clementine off at college, it was just her and her parents around the house. Mr. Davis traveled a lot for work, and Mrs. Davis was equally busy at her real estate firm.
“I guess. I miss peace and quiet, though,” Kate admitted.
“Well, if you like peace and quiet, Hearts Heal is kind of the opposite of that,” Chloe warned her with a smile.
Chloe held the door open for Kate as they walked into the Hearts Heal building, then paused to rub an achy muscle in her calf. The extra-intense practices had taken a toll on her, and running their competition routine full out at the game against Medham last night hadn’t helped, either. Coach Steele had insisted that the squad perform their routine as often as possible between now and Nationals, including more basketball game halftime shows as well as a special showcase for an audience of middle school students from Jefferson and Los Gatos.
Just like last Saturday, Hearts Heal was crowded and chaotic. Chloe quickly found Mrs. Hillman and introduced Kate to her.
“Thank you for so much for being here today, Kate. We can definitely use an extra pair of hands,” Mrs. Hillman said gratefully. “We just got our Saturday clothing donations, and they need to be sorted. Chloe, can you take Kate through the drill?”
“No problem. Is Daniel here yet?” Chloe asked.
“He’s out helping with food-pantry deliveries. He should be here soon,” Mrs. Hillman replied.
Chloe took Kate to the back room and showed her what Daniel had taught her last week. As the two girls rooted through boxes and bags of clothes, Chloe thought about Daniel—and Gemma, too.
Last Monday after practice, Chloe had caught up with Gemma in the parking lot. She’d made some small talk about practice and Nationals before carefully asking her if everything was going okay for her at home. But Gemma hadn’t confided in her—she’d just mumbled some excuse about having to be somewhere and taken off. Chloe had tried to talk to her a few other times during the week, but with no success.
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