Love, Love, Love

by Deborah Reber

  As if appeasing a bratty child, Vulcan sighed. “No, Cupid. We figured you couldn’t handle such matters with any maturity. Hence, twenty-five days.”

  “Oh good. Fine. That’s plenty of time anyway,” said the lovely cherub with a confident smile. “Laura Sweeney, you are about to get some serious love in your life.”

  “Have you seen her?” came frantic whispers in the hallway of Fimbrey High School. Boys were gathering in tight-knit groups all over the place. “You’ve got to see her. She’s off the hook!”

  “Who? Who are you talking about?” came the eager replies.

  “The new girl!” hissed one of the guys. “She’s got it goin’ on.”

  “And she just moved here,” added another one. “No ties, no baggage … She doesn’t know a soul!”

  Laura and Taryn waded through the crowded hallway, and every guy they passed seemed to be extolling the charms of the new girl. Laura had seen this phenomenon before, of course. The New Girl or New Boy was one of the few elements of surprise that could perk up what would otherwise be the ordinary high school day.

  “The new girl … the new girl … ,” mimicked Taryn. “There’s nine hundred girls in this school, but the boys see us every day, so we’re invisible. Then comes some new chick they haven’t been staring at since first grade, and they’re drooling all over themselves!”

  “She’ll be exotic for a day,” said Laura, “but by tomorrow they’ll stick her into one of the normal groups. She’ll be the ‘old girl’ then. We should try to catch a glimpse before she turns into one of us.”

  Taryn reached out a hand to stop her friend, and her eyes darted behind them. “We may have a chance,” she whispered. “Here comes the Welcoming Committee, and they look none too happy about the competition.”

  Laura turned to see Megan and Chelsea leading a mob of about ten irate popular girls. Down the hallway they marched with fierce determination in their eyes, and Taryn grabbed Laura’s arm and dragged her into the procession.

  After a moment, Chelsea looked back at Laura and Taryn, and her eyes blinked with surprise. “What are you trailing along for?” she asked. “You haven’t got boyfriends to protect.”

  “Protect from what?” asked Laura, playing innocent.

  Taryn laughed. “Don’t tell me Cody is sniffing around this new girl?”

  A little too quickly, Chelsea snapped, “Of course not.”

  Taryn gave Laura a wink, and they both quickened their step to keep up with the swarm of enraged cheerleaders. Led by Megan, the mob swept down the corridor until they spotted their target—a bunch of boys huddled around a tiny figure in front of a locker. Laura recognized Jake Mattson, Cody Kenyon, and half a dozen other popular seniors, but she couldn’t get a good look at the object of their attention. All she caught was a shimmer of blond hair.

  Laura also unexpectedly glimpsed a familiar face on a gangly body, hovering back a few feet but using his height to check out the attraction. A second later, as if hearing her footsteps in the crowded hallway, Peter Yarmench turned and glanced directly at Laura. But before she could say anything, she was distracted by an audible female growl.

  Like a heat-seeking missile, Megan Rawlins zoomed toward Jake and the dazed crowd of boys. Sensing danger, the ones on the outside scattered to let Jake and Cody take the brunt of the attack. Megan’s steely glare said it all: She was still the school’s reigning queen, and she wasn’t giving it up easily.

  For the first time, Laura got a good look at the new girl. Whoa, she thought, she’s drop-dead, movie-star gorgeous!

  As the other girls had the same revelation, they skidded to a stop. In the presence of this petite but shapely hottie, dressed in the latest couture threads and showing off abs of steel, they were stunned. To her credit, Megan somehow went on with her mission.

  “Jake,” she said, putting sweet daggers around his name, “you were supposed to meet me outside biology.”

  “Uh, yeah … right … s-sorry,” he stammered, reluctantly tearing his attention away from the fresh face smiling sweetly at him. “But we were just making our new arrival feel comfortable. She doesn’t know anybody at Fimbrey.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” said Megan, doing her best to look unimpressed by the stunning beauty in front of her. “We’ll make sure that she learns everything she needs to know to get along here at Fimbrey.”

  “What’s your name?” asked Chelsea, sounding as if she hoped the new girl would at least have an ugly name.

  The girl thought for a moment, flipped her perfect hair, and answered, “Cupidity. You know, like Charity or Felicity.”

  “Or Stupidity,” joked Megan, getting an uneasy laugh from her girlfriends.

  For the first time, Cupidity looked a bit annoyed, and her dazzling blue eyes narrowed at Megan. “That’s not very nice,” she remarked.

  Megan crossed her arms and shot a cutting glare at the newcomer. “I’ll tell you what’s not very nice—moving in on somebody else’s territory!” She grabbed Jake’s arm possessively and held him tightly, even though he shrugged uncomfortably.

  “We were only talking!” he protested.

  Megan ignored his defense, never taking her steely eyes off the competition. “Cupidity, you’ve got to decide whether you’re with the program or against it. One word of advice: Pick your friends very carefully.”

  Cupidity looked thoroughly confused by Megan’s veiled threats. “Uh, I just want to make friends,” she answered with pert innocence. “That’s the only program I’m with.”

  Chelsea sniffed and turned to leave, grabbing Cody Kenyon’s arm. “Are you coming, baby?”

  As the closest thing the cool crowd had to a bad boy, Cody had more latitude to break the rules. “I’m leaving, but not with you,” he told her. Until five minutes ago, Chelsea had been the great love of his skater-boy life, but now he ditched her with a sneer. With all this attention around, he had a large audience—including the new girl—and he squared his black-clad shoulders and sauntered coolly into the crowd.

  Chelsea broke into tears, and her friends gathered around to comfort her. This bad vibe, along with a warning bell, seemed to signal the end of the hallway confrontation. Everyone headed off in different directions, and Taryn waved good-bye too as she hurried off to class. For some reason, Laura hung back to study the petite force that had just invaded the school, even when the bells warned her that she would be late.

  She was fascinated by anyone who stood up to Megan, Chelsea, and the other queen bees, and Cupidity had done so without even breaking a sweat. As the newcomer peered into her locker, Laura felt a shadow pass them. She turned to see Megan, who had returned.

  “Oh, you two are hanging together,” said Megan with a sneer and a laugh. “I might have known. Just what this school needs—another brain!” Megan ambled her way down the hall, waving her hall pass and turning her back to them.

  Cupidity reached into her locker and pulled out a small bow and arrow, which she aimed at Megan’s back.

  “Whoa there!” exclaimed Laura, jumping between Cupidity and her target. She quickly grabbed the bow and stuffed it back inside the locker, whispering, “What’s the matter with you? You can’t bring weapons to school!”

  “It’s just a little bow,” protested Cupidity. “When I use it, there’s hardly any blood.”

  “Do you want to get kicked out your first day of school?” Laura sighed and slammed the locker door shut. “Now promise me you won’t go waving any more weapons around.”

  “It’s really a bad idea?” asked Cupidity innocently.

  “Yes, a very bad idea,” said Laura. “Where did you go to school before this … Middle-earth?”

  “I was, uh … homeschooled,” answered the newcomer. “Private tutors all the way.”

  “Lucky you,” said Laura. This girl was definitely odd, but Laura sensed that she was honestly confused and overwhelmed, despite all the attention from the guys. So she held out her hand. “I’m Laura Sweeney.”

  At
that simple declaration, the girl’s blue eyes widened like hubcaps on a Hummer. “Laura Sweeney! I was hoping to meet you!” She eagerly shook her outstretched hand.

  Laura smiled, but asked suspiciously, “Me? Why did you want to meet me?”

  “Uh, because,” stammered Cupidity with a frown, “I heard you, uh, could help me with my grades.”

  “It’s your first day. How bad can your grades be?”

  “I had lots of tutors, remember.” Cupidity smiled hopefully. “I have a good feeling about you, Laura. So many people want to be my friend, because … well, I’m gorgeous. But you seem down to earth, like there’s more to you than the usual boy-crazy teenagers. Of course, I often have lots of boys hanging around.”

  Laura shrugged. “Yeah, and you certainly haven’t made many friends among the other girls here. You weren’t really going to shoot Megan Rawlins with a bow and arrow, were you?”

  Cupidity gave a lilting laugh. “Oh, no, that’s just my way of taking out frustration. My therapist told me to do symbolic acts like that. I wasn’t going to hurt her, honest.” She looked around the empty hallway. “So are we late to class?”

  “Very,” answered Laura glumly. “At least you have an excuse, being new. We’d better stop by the office and get a hall pass.”

  “Oh, thank you,” said Cupidity, granting her insta-friend a sparkling grin. “We’re going to be super close, I can tell!”

  Laura shook her head, wondering if this would be a blessing or a curse.

  After school, the boys were still falling down steps to get a good look at Cupidity. She was totally surrounded. Even Cody and Jake had ditched their former loves to follow the new girl around. To her credit, Cupidity didn’t play favorites with them or anyone else; she was unfailingly friendly to everyone she met. Even a few of the girls seemed to be warming to her, but Megan and Chelsea were nowhere to be seen in the crowd on the edge of the parking lot.

  Laura watched from a safe distance, although she was supposedly going home with Cupidity after school. That was going to stun everyone when they saw her stroll off with the hot new chick, but Laura had mixed feelings about her fast friendship with the newcomer. For one thing, she was carrying Cupidity’s duffel bag, and she could feel the distinct outline of her bow and the sharp tips of her arrows, which could get them both into a lot of trouble.

  That’s ironic, thought Laura, a girl named Cupidity being into archery, even if it is only symbolic. She shrugged and decided, Probably no one but me would get that.

  Laura felt a familiar presence hovering behind her, and she turned to see Peter Yarmench staring over the top of her head. “Hey, Laura, do you think you could maybe introduce me to your friend?” he asked. “Maybe when there aren’t four hundred other guys around.”

  “You too?” she remarked with a sigh. “Well, I don’t really know how long she and I will be hanging out, but I’ll try. You might have to get at the end of the line, and it’s a long line.”

  “Oh, come on, don’t count me out,” said Peter. “She likes you, so maybe she likes the brainy type. She smiled at me in the lunchroom. Besides, after this summer, I’m not as shy as I used to be.”

  Laura turned around expecting to find him staring at Cupidity and her admirers, but instead he was gazing at her with a mysterious smile. He quickly glanced away, though, and shifted on his feet, looking as shy as ever. “Anyway,” he went on, “if you two want to form a study group or anything, call me.”

  “I think she could definitely teach us a few things,” said Laura. “So tell me, what about this summer?”

  Peter smiled enigmatically. “Oh, up at the lake, when my folks and I were at the cottage.”

  “You met someone?”

  “Two someones,” he answered with a smile. “You know, it’s a lot different to meet a girl outside of high school, when you don’t have all those years of history. You’re just you. You know what I mean?”

  “Yes,” Laura answered with a wistful nod. “A fresh start.”

  “That must be what it’s like for Cupidity to start over here,” said Peter. Again he peered over Laura’s head at the new star of Fimbrey High. “Hey, she’s coming this way! She waved to us!”

  “I hope so, I’ve got her stuff.” Laura waved back and hefted the duffel bag.

  Jake Mattson broke off from the others, proudly waving a slip of paper in the air. “I’ll call you later, Cupidity!” he shouted, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

  Peter licked his fingers and tried to stick down a cowlick at the crown of his head. “Will you introduce me to her, please?”

  “Okay.”

  Laura tried to introduce her old friend to her new friend, but everyone was talking at once and moving off toward their cars, rushing to escape from school.

  Peter said something, and Cupidity grinned and answered, “Cool to meet you, too, Peter. Any friend of Laura’s is one of mine, too.”

  “Hey, Sweeney!” shouted a voice from the crowd; it sounded like Chelsea. “We’ll remember the way you turned on us!”

  What does that mean? Laura whirled around, trying to find the source of the shout. Maybe she had misunderstood, because it was noisy in the parking lot. With her heart beating faster, Laura darted ahead of her friend. “Where are we going?” she asked with concern.

  “Right here.” Cupidity halted at a sleek yellow convertible, which looked brand-new. In fact, it still had dealer’s plates on the back, as if it had just come from the showroom. The crowd of stragglers came to a stop and stared as she and Cupidity climbed into the beautiful car. This was not the type of vehicle people in Denton, Ohio, drove, and Laura guessed that it was Italian, maybe a Ferrari or a Lamborghini.

  She didn’t usually attract attention, so Laura felt funny with half the school watching her as she drove off with her new friend. She hoped Taryn, Peter, and the others understood, but somebody had to take this exotic creature under their wing. Cupidity couldn’t be left entirely to the mercy of Cody, Jake, and every other boy in school. At least one girl had to befriend her.

  No good deed goes unpunished, thought Laura. It’s taken me twelve years, but I’ve finally made enemies of Megan, Chelsea, and the whole clique.

  Tires squealing, Cupidity roared out of the parking lot, cutting in front of several other cars and barely missing the gate and the crossing guard. Laura sank into her seat, but the top was down and everybody could still see her, especially the old crossing guard, who was yelling his head off. “Hey, this is a school zone,” he reminded the driver.

  “Well, duh!” answered Cupidity, then turned to face Laura. “So the first day of school was fun. How do you think I did?”

  “How did you do?” asked Laura with surprise. “You mesmerized half the school and made the other half furious at you. Do you know what effect you have on guys?”

  Cupidity smiled. “I’ve always been lucky at love. My birthday is Valentine’s Day.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?” said Laura, shaking her head. “You know, Jake and Cody and some of those guys had girlfriends … before you came.”

  “I know their kind,” scoffed Cupidity. “I’ve seen them a million times—heroes already posing for their statues. They’re too in love with themselves to really be in love with anyone else, but they’re the most fun to mess with.”

  Laura peered curiously at her new friend, thinking that she had a weird way of talking, but that she’d certainly make senior year interesting.

  “We’re here!” announced Cupidity, pulling the yellow sports car into the driveway of an elegant apartment complex. “I thought it would be best to live close to school.”

  Laura breathed a sigh of relief, because she had been certain that Cupidity would live in a huge mansion. These were nice apartments, but still apartments. The new girl parked the car, grabbed her duffel bag, and jumped out, while Laura grabbed her backpack and followed meekly. A few seconds later, they walked into a fantastic apartment that looked freshly painted and was furnished with all new stu
ff. In fact, Laura could still smell the paint, and she saw a price tag on one of the lamps.

  “You really did just move here, didn’t you?” asked Laura, looking for a place to sit. All of the couches and chairs were elegant leather and appeared as if they hadn’t even been sat on yet. She finally picked a big armchair, and dropping into it felt as if she were oozing into a vat of butter.

  “How come you moved to Denton?” asked Laura. “Did one of your parents get transferred?”

  “My parents aren’t here,” announced Cupidity as she went to the refrigerator. “I live alone. Do you want a soda?”

  It wasn’t easy to bolt upright in the cushy leather chair, but Laura managed to sit up. “Did you say you live alone? By yourself?”

  “Yeah,” answered Cupidity as she returned with two sodas. “I don’t see the need for parents; they just get in the way.”

  Through her brave smile, it seemed that a tear welled in the corner of a dazzling blue eye. Laura looked at her friend with concern and asked, “Is something the matter?”

  Cupidity nodded and lowered her voice to answer, “Parents have always been a sore subject with me. My mother was a party girl, and I haven’t seen my father in a while. They have money, of course, and I’ve had the best of everything. Now a rich uncle looks after me and rents me this place. You won’t tell the school board, will you, that I live alone?”

  “No, of course not!” Laura laughed nervously. The idea of a high school student living like an adult was exciting but also somewhat frightening. Then again, Cupidity seemed mature beyond her years, and she looked as if she could take care of herself. Maybe she would shoot any intruders with her bow and arrow.

  Laura leaned forward, choosing her words carefully. There was no way to ask this politely, so she just came out with it. “Cupidity, you know you could be friends with any of the girls at school, including all the really popular ones. Why would you choose to be friends with me?”