That's What's Up!

by Paula Chase

  They sat in the last row of the huge auditorium, cloaked in darkness.The busy stage was the only brightly lit area. Trunks were opened, closed and pushed across the stage as the heavy period-piece costumeswere stored. No one from the stage even looked their way.

  “What are you still doing here, anyway?” Lizzie whispered.

  “Track,” Jacinta said. “We ended early.” She rubbed absently at her sore thighs, savoring the pain even as she winced. Before Lizzie could say another word, Jacinta blurted, “If you want to go to the Extreme, I know how we can roll.” She lowered her voice more as it echoed softly back. “Before you make up excuses ... just yes or no, do you wanna go?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Lizzie said. She looked toward the stage to see if anyone noticed them. But Ms. Jessamay was shouting directions amid the general chatter.

  “Alright, my aunt is going to New York for her job,” Jacinta said. She leaned in closer to Lizzie and Lizzie leaned in, too. Their foreheadsnearly touched, making them a strange mixed-race Siamese twin—one a natural blonde, the other blonde thanks to the magic of hair dye. “I begged her to let me stay home instead of going to my father’s house. And she finally said yes.”

  Lizzie’s eyes widened. “How’d you do that?”

  Jacinta chuckled and waved it off.“I told her that I didn’t want to go home and have to be so close to Raheem for four days.” Her eyebrowsjumped as she shrugged. “Which is sort of true. If I went home, it would be impossible not to run into him.” She exhaled softly. “I’m not down for that this weekend.”

  Lizzie clucked in sympathy.

  “Anyway, so she said it was cool as long as I checked in with my father every night,” Jacinta continued.

  “Wait ... how are you going to do that from O. C.?” Lizzie fretted.

  “Look, I’ll just call him every night from my cell. I have the featurewhere I can get my number forwarded to Aunt Jacqi’s home number. When I call it will look like I’m calling from there.”

  Lizzie groaned softly. “I don’t know, Cinny.”

  Jacinta grabbed Lizzie’s wrist and shook it firmly. “It can work, Lizzie.Your parents will let you stay over, won’t they?”

  Lizzie’s mouth twisted as she considered the question.

  “They don’t even need to know Aunt Jacqi won’t be home,” Jacintasaid, correctly reading the worry on Lizzie’s face. “Look, our parents are so used to us all doing S.O.’s they barely even check anymorewith each other.”

  Lizzie nodded slowly, still unsure. “I guess ... but what if they do?” she asked.

  Jacinta sat back in her seat, thought about it then shrugged. “They won’t.”

  “Cinny, my mom will know something is wrong as soon as I ask,” Lizzie said. Her brows knitted in worry. “I can’t ...”

  “You’re an actress. Just act,” Jacinta reasoned.

  “I’m not that good,” Lizzie mumbled.

  “Okay. I’ll call and ask your mother for you. How ’bout that?” Jacinta looked in Lizzie’s eyes. “Just let me handle it. Okay?”

  Lizzie gnawed at her thumbnail.

  Jacinta’s smile gleamed through the dimness as she said, “You know you wanna hang out with your boy, T.” She whispered loudly, “You in?”

  Lizzie hunched her shoulders to her ears then let them go with a huge sigh as she nodded.

  Jacinta grinned. “For real, I’ll take care of everything.”

  Live a Little

  “What you know ’bout me? What you know?”

  —Lil’ Mama, “Lip Gloss”

  Hours later, Jacinta made good on her word.

  With her advice, “You’re an actress. Just act,” chiming in Lizzie’s ears, she blanked her mind of the road trip and hanging with Todd and focused instead on tomorrow’s Algebra II exam.

  Nothing like a good algebraic equation to numb your brain, she thought, letting the familiarity of the numbers lull her to the homeworkzone.

  She jumped when the phone rang beside her, breaking her concentration.

  Frowning at the number shining back at her on the screen, it took a full two seconds to recognize it was Jacinta calling. In the four months they’d been friends, Jacinta had never called her house before.And even though Lizzie had known Cinny was going to call tonight, hearing Jacinta’s “Hey, girl” on the other end was still odd. They IM’d all the time, but never talked on the phone.

  “Hey,” Lizzie said, dumbstruck, as if the call were coming from another planet.

  “You cool, right?”

  Lizzie caught herself nodding, then whispered, “Yeah.”

  “Okay. Let me talk to your moms real quick.”

  Heading for her bedroom door, Lizzie froze when Jacinta’s voice hollered, “Hey, Lizzie!”

  “What?” Lizzie whispered.

  Jacinta laughed. “Why are you whispering?”

  Lizzie chuckled. “I did tell you how bad I am about schemes, right?”

  “I see. No, I was just going to say, remember to act surprised that I’m asking you to my house.”

  “Don’t think that’s gonna be a problem,” Lizzie muttered. “Okay, I’m heading downstairs. Hold on.”

  Her voice was still tinged with surprise when she walked into the family room and handed over the phone. “Mom. Cinny wants to ask you something.”

  “Cinny?” Her mom’s eyebrows caterpillared together in confusion.She took the phone. “Hi Jacinta. It’s Mrs. O’Reilly.”

  Lizzie sat beside her on the couch and continued playing dumb, gazing at her mom throughout the one-sided conversation.

  Lying she was bad at. Acting, she could handle.

  Blank. Blank. Keep your mind blank, she chanted to herself.

  “A sleepover huh?” her mom said into the phone. She trained her deep green eyes on Lizzie when she said, “I swear, you girls never get enough of each other.”

  Lizzie smiled and shrugged. Her mom ran her hands through Lizzie’s hair. “Well Cinny, you’re proof that Lizzie isn’t the only personin the world not going to the Extreme.”

  Lizzie’s cheeks flashed pink.

  “Should we drop her over to your house on Friday?” her mom said, making Lizzie’s heart stop for a second. It galloped on when her mom said, “Oh, I guess that’s fine. He’s going to drop you guys straight to your house, right?”

  They talked on for a few more seconds before her mom said, “Okay. I’m sure you girls will have a good time. Do you want to talk to Lizzie? Hmm ... oh, okay. Bye, sweetie.” She hung up. “Cinny’s going to call you back in about ten minutes.”

  With a mix of skepticism and hope in her voice Lizzie asked, “So I can stay?”

  “Yes. I’m glad you have some plans for the weekend.” Her mom folded her arms. “See, now this won’t be the worstspringbreakever, Miss Drama Queen, USA.”

  “Maybe not the worst,” Lizzie agreed.

  Her mom laughed. “Well, how does Mina feel about you guys sleeping over without her? Does that break one of her friendship rules?”

  “This has all met her approval,” Lizzie assured her. “She even gave us some suggestions. We’ll probably go see the new Nick Cannon movie.”

  “Well don’t run Miss Jacqi to death, Friday night,” her mom warned.

  “We won’t.” The phone rang and Lizzie picked up before the second ring. She went to her room, taking two steps at a time as Jacintagave her an update.

  “Okay, I still need to call and ask Mrs. Lopez,” Jacinta said. “But I think she’ll let Kelly go.”

  “To O.C.?” Lizzie scowled.

  Jacinta sucked her teeth. “To my house, Liz.” She emphasized every word, hammering the story into Lizzie’s head. “Remember, we’re having a sleepover ... right? A sleepover at my crib.”

  Lizzie nodded along, trying to keep the truth separate from the lie.

  “Sleepover, sleepover, sleepover,” she chanted under her breath. She took a seat on the carpet in her room. “Next time, you guys just kidnap me so I won’t know the truth about where we�
�re going. Makes it easier for me to play dumb.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Jacinta laughed.

  Lizzie hugged her knees to her chest. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  “Live a little, girl,” Jacinta teased.

  Lizzie rolled her eyes. “If we’re caught, I won’t be living at all.”

  “We won’t get caught,” Jacinta assured her.

  To Lizzie’s surprise, Jacinta’s confidence was infectious. She made the whole plan seem so innocent and logical. “And we’re gonna surpriseMina, okay?” Jacinta said. “So don’t tell her you’re rolling down there.”

  A happy chill tap-danced down Lizzie’s spine. This was just the type of action Mina would love a piece of. She couldn’t wait to see Mina’s face when they burst into the arena Friday night.

  “Oh my God, she’s going to freak.”

  “I know. Until then just chill,” Jacinta instructed. “Just plan it like a regular sleepover. Right?”

  “Right,” Lizzie said. She twirled a strand of hair around her fingersand let it unfurl on its own as she declared, “Man, the things we do for love.”

  Jacinta chuckled wryly. “Puh ... trust, I’ve done dumber things for it.”

  Lizzie didn’t argue. But in her mind she thought, dumber than sneaking away for the weekend without anyone knowing?

  Doubtful.

  A Kink in the Plan

  “I feel like slapping somebody today (slap, slap).”

  —Ludacris, “Slap”

  Heat rose in Jessica’s cheeks. Swallowing hard, she tried to suppressthe storm welling in her chest. Maybe she’d heard her father wrong. Her fork clattered to her plate, dinner forgotten, and she pierced her father with narrowed eyes as if it might help her comprehendbetter.

  Her father sipped from his glass, smiled and completed his announcementabout the family riding down to O.C. together. “So we’re all set.Your grandparents can’t wait to see us tomorrow.”

  “But you said I could ride down with the Lintons,” Jess said. The calm in her voice belied the emotional maelstrom roiling in her chest. Only her face, set in classic Jess argument mode, hinted at the tantrum to come.

  She gazed across the table at Sara, their twin senses silently communicating.

  Sara blanched. She looked as if she wanted to duck. Instead, she sat back in her seat and moved the mashed potatoes, gravy and pork chop around on her plate as Jess demanded, “Why? Why can’t I ride down with the Lintons? You said I could.”

  She folded her arms as if to say, “this better be good.”

  Their dad, always the picture of calm in the face of her storms, smiled. His brown eyes and coffee-bean complexion were the same as Jessica’s. So were his long, lean body and strong will. He was the one match Jessica had never conquered. “Because it’s been awhile since we’ve traveled as a family,” he said calmly. “I want to spend some time with my girls before you all disappear into the crowd at the beach.”

  “Your dad and I miss Johnson Family Time,” their mom said. She stood beside her husband’s chair, beaming. A petite blonde, whose face was Sara’s without the rich, light-cocoa coloring, Jennifer Johnsonlooked from one of her twins to the other and her eyes began to tear. “You girls are always either gone with friends, at some activity or another, or squirreled away upstairs on that computer. It’s been harder and harder to force some time into the schedule for us to bond without one of your friends underfoot. Can’t Dad and I have two hours with just the four of us?”

  Jessica scowled. She pulled her arms tighter against her chest. “But Mom, you guys promised I could ride with the Lintons weeks ago.”

  “How about this? You can ride back with them,” their dad said. He scooped a mouthful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

  “Jess, look, we gave up last year’s vacation because, luckily, Daddy and the band were booked solid.” Proud, Jennifer gave her husband’s shoulder a squeeze. “This will sort of be like a make-up trip.”

  “Why not the ride back, then?” Jess begged. “If you’re going to let me ride with the Lintons I choose the ride down.”

  “No. We already promised your grandparents we’d stop and see them on the way down,” their dad said. He stood up and kissed his wife on the cheek. “Dinner was good, baby. I’m going downstairs to rehearse.”

  With that he disappeared down the hall. The sounds of his footstepson the stairs dimmed and then a door shut, signaling Jessica to begin the real assault.

  “I don’t get it. Everything was set and now just out of the blue you want Johnson Family Vacation?” she snapped. Her lip pooched in a childish pout.

  Unfazed, her mom cleared the table. But without her husband to help weather the storm, her voice was weary. “Jessica, why must everything be a battle, honey? Is family time that unappetizing to you?”

  Jessica carried her plate to the sink, simmering down the venom in her voice. She could feel her mom wanting to give in. “Mom, family time is cool. But Mari-Beth and I have already made plans.” She stood her ground near the sink, pleading quietly with her mom. “Please, just let me ride down with them and then ride back home with you guys.”

  “Grand and Pop are already expecting us ... but ...” her mother said, wavering.

  “We can stop on the way back. They won’t mind,” Jessica pressed. Her voice took on the happy lilt of someone about to get their way.

  Strains of smooth jazz floated through the house. For a second, the two Johnson women were silent as they listened to the saxophone’scall.

  Sara joined her sister and mom near the sink, making their pair a triangle. She handed her plate over and was about to walk off when her mom said, not unkindly, “No, Jess. Daddy’s planned a fun trip down to O.C. Honestly, why can’t you be more easygoing like Sara?” She rubbed Jess’s arm. “It’ll be fun. I promise.”

  “How can it be fun when I’m practically being held hostage?” Jess sneered. “I can’t believe you guys are breaking a promise.”

  Sara, always the compromiser, interjected. “Hey, Mom, I bet Grandma and Pop would love for us to stop by on Sunday, instead. Then we could have a big dinner with them.”

  Jessica’s face lit up.Yes! Sunday dinner. Good one, Sara, she thought, sending her twin telepathic kudos.

  Their mom shook her head. “Sorry, girls. It’s a good idea. But Dad wants to stop on the way down.” As she waited for the water to fill the sink, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

  Jessica turned heel and stalked out of the room. She lingered around the corner, listening as Sara whisper-shouted, “Mom.”

  “What, sweetie?” her mom asked.

  “Please stop telling Jess to be more like me. She hates when you do that ...” Sara sighed. “And so do I.”

  “Oh you know your sister. If she wasn’t dramatic I’d think somethingwas wrong,” their mother said, then began humming along to the saxophone riff floating through the house.

  If they expected her to be dramatic, Jess certainly wasn’t about to disappoint. She stomped down the hallway and slammed her bedroomdoor. Seconds later, Sara knocked.

  Jess knew it was Sara, because there was a pause: Knock-knock, then nothing.

  Sara was the only one in the family who honored Jess’s policy of knocking and waiting for an invite.

  At least someone respects my wishes around here, Jess thought bitterly.

  She blew out a big breath of exasperation before finally calling out “come in” to her twin. She stayed in front of her mirror, brushingher hair vigorously as if it were on fire.

  Sara burst in and flopped on the bed. She propped herself on one shoulder, watching Jess in the mirror.

  Minutes passed with no words between the twins.

  This was part of their routine when Jess didn’t get her way. Jess the vent-er, Sara the listener.

  As Sara waited quietly, Jess took her time, like she always did, a silent unceremonious countdown to an outburst.

  Three ... Jess grabbed a water bottle from the stand b
eside her and gave it several hearty pumps.

  Two ... Jess’s fingers ran through her hair until it was saturated. The auburn weave began to crinkle. In a matter of seconds, it was just as curly as Sara’s.

  One ... Jess fluffed the hair, satisfied it was curly enough, then pulled the top half into a ponytail. She took a few more lackluster squirts with the water before slamming the bottle down and declaring,“Mom and Dad are impossible.” She faced Sara, leaning against the wall, her arms folded. The words poured out, an angry stream of frustration. “Just because we finally have lives of our own, they’re getting all sentimental and sappy, treating us like we’re still in elementaryschool.” Her voice was an exaggerated, dopey whine. “Family time. We need more family time.”

  She rolled her eyes and ranted on. “Mari-Beth is going to have a frickin’ cow when I tell her. And she’ll probably ask Simone to go with her instead.” She slammed her fists into her thighs and let out a random scream. “I’ve gotta find a way to change their minds.”

  Sara waited a second—she always did. A strategy, Jessica was sure, so it wouldn’t seem like she wasn’t listening.

  “It sucks. But you know it won’t be all bad.” Sara teased, “Grand might make some of her strawberry cupcakes.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. Her arms went back to their tight lock against her chest. “Gross, Sara. I haven’t eaten those things in years.”

  “You ate them at Christmastime,” Sara bit back, annoyed.

  “Whatever. They have like a bazillion calories in them.” Jessica turned back to the mirror and fiddled with her hair.

  “I’m on your side, Jess. Don’t be a snot,” Sara scolded.

  Jessica caught a glimpse of Sara’s pinched face in the mirror. It didn’t take twin sense to know Sara had reached her limit. She toned down her acidic tongue.

  “I swore off Grand’s strawberry cupcakes as my New Year’s resolution.”She walked over and sat on the foot of the bed. “You should too or you won’t fit in that teeny tiny cheer uniform.”

  She poked at Sara’s muscular—but nowhere near fat—thigh and they laughed.