Candid (True Images Series)

by Michelle Pennington

  She glanced between the two of us, waiting for an answer. Since we both knew I would really get it if she knew I’d posted that picture of Jordan and Caleb, we didn’t have a clue what to say. Our hesitation was our undoing.

  “That’s what I thought. I’m afraid there will be consequences for this Sienna. You’re grounded for a month, to start with. As for you Lee, I was just beginning to trust you. I’m disappointed in both of you.”

  Lee faced her squarely, grave and sincere. “I just want you to know, Ms. Whitfield, that we did absolutely nothing but talk and work on her blog post. If you’d been right here watching us, you wouldn’t have seen anything that bothered you.”

  “But I wasn’t here, and just the way you two look at each other bothers me. Maybe you aren’t dating, but you are still getting way too involved with each other. She’s only seventeen.”

  “I’ll be eighteen next month, Mom.” I wasn’t surprised that she was mad, but it just wasn’t right that we were in trouble when we’d tried so hard to do be good. “Besides, you of all people know feelings aren’t something you can control. Yes, we care about each other, but we aren’t sneaking around to see each other. Can you say the same?”

  “Sienna, you know my past is exactly why we have these rules. I’ve never made a secret of that.”

  “I’m not talking about your past. I’m talking about how you’ve been dating Mr. Greeley for I don’t even know how long, and you’ve never had the guts to tell me about it.

  All the color drained out of my mom’s face as she stared at me, speechless.

  After a terrible moment of silence, Lee said, “Well, I think I’d better get going.”

  My mom never made any sign that she’d heard him and her eyes never wavered from mine. When the door clicked shut behind Lee, she finally spoke. “How long have you known?”

  “For over a month or so.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “Jordan Rubio.” I told her bitterly. “Imagine how I liked finding out from her.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “No, Mom, the question is why didn’t you say anything? I should have heard it from you. How long would you have kept it a secret from me if I hadn’t said something tonight?”

  She sighed and went to put down her purse and coat. I felt kind of bad because she looked really upset, but at least we were finally going to talk about it.

  When she looked at me again, she said, “I just didn’t want you to get hurt if it didn’t work out, and I didn’t want things to be awkward for you at school.”

  “I could have handled that a lot easier than knowing you’ve been lying to me all this time and finding out from a girl who hates my guts. Then you actually get mad at me for having feelings for someone and talking to him when you aren’t around. At least I’ve never lied to you about him.”

  “I was just trying to keep you from getting hurt, but you’re right, I should have been honest with you. Alex has wanted me to tell you all along. But you have to understand that the difference between what I’ve done and what you’ve done is that I’m an adult and you aren’t. You still live under my roof, and you have to follow my rules.”

  “I’ve been trying. We messed up a little tonight, but only because he was really worried about me. Go ahead and punish me for breaking your rules. I don’t care about missing the Homecoming dance or hanging out with my friends or doing anything but sitting around here by myself for a month. But if I’m going to get punished for breaking your stupid rules, next time I’m going to make sure I enjoy myself first.”

  I stormed to my room and slammed the door. Maybe it was childish of me, but there were so many emotions raging through me that they had to find an outlet. I paced around my room for a while, trying to control my tears so I could breathe normally again. Then I collapsed on my bed and lay there, worn out and depressed.

  A little while later, I heard a buzz from my phone somewhere in my backpack that meant I’d gotten a text message. I jumped up to get it and was glad to see it was Lee.

  Still alive?

  Yes.

  Cool. I’m glad she didn’t take your phone.

  She still might. Sorry I can’t go to the dance w/u.

  NP- Sorry I got you in trouble.

  Yeah, next time kiss me so it’s worth it.

  I wanted to.

  I know. CU.

  Bye…KOTL

  Not the same.

  Agreed.

  *****

  I had to go to school with mom the next day. I wouldn’t get to ride with Lee again for the foreseeable future. Going with my mom meant that I got to school about thirty minutes early. I didn’t want to hang out anywhere I might run into Jordan or Caleb just in case word of my first post had gotten around, so I headed to the yearbook room.

  I had gone there before school pretty often before Lee had started giving me a ride to school, so I didn’t think anything of it until I realized Mr. Greeley was looking at me weird.

  Then I realized that Mom must have told him what happened last night.

  “Mind if I work on some stuff for a few minutes?” I asked awkwardly.

  “Of course not. Uh, Sienna, I just want you to know that I always wanted to tell you about your mom and me.”

  “I know. She told me.”

  “I hope you don’t mind that we’re dating.”

  “It seemed really weird at first,” I admitted. “But I got over that a long time ago. I think you’re a pretty cool person, and I’m glad she’s dating someone nice.”

  “Thank you, Sienna. That means a lot to me. Can I ask you a question though?”

  “Sure.”

  “If you don’t have a problem with me, why do you look so nervous?”

  I sighed. “It’s kind of crazy, but basically, I’ve been trying to get Katie Edwards elected Homecoming Queen and I’m pretty sure that Jordan Rubio will be my mortal enemy from this day on.”

  “Undoubtedly. Take cover here as long as you need. Oh, and by the way, I convinced your mom to let you keep taking pictures at the game.”

  “How’d you do that?”

  “I looked at her really sad and made her feel guilty over making me hobble around on this leg of mine. She knows there isn’t anybody who’d take care of you as well as Lee out there, so she agreed he should keep spotting for you. Besides, even she knows you two can’t get in too much trouble in front of everybody like that.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Like I said, it was actually pretty selfish of me. The cold really hurts my leg, and I’d rather be curled up in front of my fire with your mom.” He winked at me and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “I always suspected she was somewhere with you on Friday nights.”

  I stayed hunkered down in the yearbook room until I got a text from Lee that he was waiting for me in the parking lot. I grabbed my stuff and dashed out to meet him.

  I was almost to his truck when Jordan intercepted me. My stomach sank until I realized that she looked extremely cheerful. Clearly, she had no idea what lay in store for her.

  “I saw your little blog post last night,” Jordan said, laughing at me like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “You did?” Why wasn’t she gouging my eyes out?

  “Yeah. Nice try, but did you really think you could swing the election to Katie in just one night? Sorry, but I’m afraid you’re just out of luck.”

  So she’d only seen the edited post. Thank heavens for that. “Well, we’ll find out, won’t we?” I moved past her and jumped in Lee’s truck.

  “Oh, hey. There you are,” he said, tossing the notebook he’d been staring at onto the seat between us. “You look beautiful this morning – but why are you so pale.”

  “I thought for sure I was dead when I ran into Jordan just now.”

  “You did? “He looked out his windshield and glanced around. Since he’d backed into his parking spot, we saw Jordan right in front of us and she’d been joined by Brittany and some of
the other cheerleaders. “I didn’t see. I was cramming for my English test. What happened?”

  “Absolutely nothing. She doesn’t have a clue that I had that picture of her and Caleb up for a while.”

  “Well, she’s sure taking a serious interest in whatever Brittany is showing her on her phone.”

  “Oh no. Do you think…?”

  Then Jordan looked up at me and if looks could kill, I’d have breathed my last breath right then.

  “Yep,” he said, “It looks like somebody’s sending a screen shot of your first post around.”

  “Maybe everyone will think it was taken a long time ago.”

  “Sorry. Not a chance. There was a poster behind them for a movie that hasn’t even come out yet.”

  “Dang. I can’t believe I didn’t notice that. Well, it was worth a try. Next time, can you save me from doing something stupid before I do it?”

  “Sure. Of course, you’d have to warn me first. It’s time to go in. Let’s see if I can keep you alive to enjoy your month of being grounded.”

  We had to walk past Jordan and her friends. There was no way around it. Luckily, Lee’s broad shoulders shielded me from the worst of their glares, but I did see that Jordan looked as sick and panicked as she looked angry.

  “You’re going to get it now, you ---“she called after me.

  “Beep!” Lee said real loud, drowning out Jordan’s foul tongue. It made me laugh, which only made Jordan madder. Only an air horn could have drowned out what she said after that.

  Lee walked me all the way to my home room class and made sure I was safe inside before he took off for his own. Luckily, no one who was likely to want me dead was in class with me. As the morning’s announcements came over the intercom, Principal Duncan went over the rules for the secret ballot voting that would take place at lunch to elect the Homecoming Queen and her court. There was a brief mention that Cecilia Maycomb would no longer be on the ballet, but few people seemed surprised by it. Word gets around fast, and hopefully all my friends had gotten out their messages to vote for Katie by now.

  The real topic of whispered conversation seemed to be about Caleb and Jordan. Most people hadn’t even seen the picture, but I was sure everyone would hear about it before long.

  After home room, I stepped hesitantly in the hall, and was surprised to see Will, Michael, and a few other guys from the basketball team standing outside like they were waiting for me.

  “Lee can’t make it, so he asked us to walk you to your next class,” Will told me as I joined them.

  “He did? You guys don’t have to do that.”

  “Well it won’t be pretty if we don’t, so you might as well come with us,” Michael said. “Besides, it’s not like I mind or anything,” he continued with his sexiest smile.

  “Don’t forget what Lee said,” Will reminded him.

  “I wasn’t touching her!”

  I laughed and said, “Oh, come on or you guys will be late to your classes.” As they crowded around me with protective stances, I had to admit that it felt nice to be so taken care of. Especially when I saw Caleb towering above everyone else as he came towards us down the hall. We made eye contact and my legs felt like they might collapse underneath me I was so scared. Luckily, we got to my class before we had to pass him.

  Lee made sure I had some guys around to guard me until lunch, when he could finally meet me himself. When I came out of my class, and saw him waiting there, it was way better than having half the basketball team. He just made me feel safe.

  “I hope you don’t mind eating in the cafeteria today, because you’re going to. They’ll be expecting you at your usual spot.”

  “Ok, but we have to go vote first.”

  “Let’s vote after we eat. I just passed the ballot boxes and the lines are ridiculous.”

  “Oh, all right.”

  Ten minutes later I was watching Lee shovel his way through a pile of something that was supposed to be lasagna while my tuna salad on whole wheat pita bread lay untouched in front of me.

  “Want me to get you something else?” he offered after a minute.

  “No, I don’t feel like eating.”

  “I wouldn’t either if that’s all I had,” he said, eyeing my lunch with a grimace.

  “But you’ll eat that? Grease, over-cooked noodles, mystery meat, and all?”

  “Uh, yeah. That’s what makes it good.”

  “Whatever. I swear there are a million butterflies in my stomach right now, but you seem awfully calm about everything considering how worried you were last night.”

  “Well, that was because you were seeing my first reaction to it. I’ve surrendered to the inevitable now. I’ll have to keep a sharp eye on you for a while, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have a run in with Caleb Murphy sooner or later, but there’s no turning back now that you’ve set it all in motion.”

  “You know, I’d much rather you didn’t get in a fight with Caleb. I like the way your face looks.”

  Lee sighed. “Oh, ye of little faith. I can hold my own with him if I need to.” His expression hardened. “Besides, it’s completely up to him. If he hurts you, that’s it.”

  “I don’t know why he cares so much anyway. I mean, won’t he just score points with the other guys for making out with her?”

  “Maybe with some, but it can’t be good for team dynamics for him to be putting the moves on the quarterback’s girlfriend. Not to mention his own girlfriend is probably freaking out on him.”

  “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. Who is it?”

  “You really didn’t know? He’s dating Julia Hatfield.”

  “He cheated on the coach’s daughter? Man, he’s not only a slime ball - he’s a complete idiot!”

  “Yeah. I doubt Coach Hatfield will like him too much anymore. Good thing he’s a monster tight end.”

  “Good for who? I personally wish he was a skinny field goal kicker like Luis. How long until you’re finished with that?”

  “I’m done. Come on, Nervous Nellie. Let’s go.”

  Soon we were in line to vote, and Lee had been right to wait. Almost everyone had already voted and filed into the gym to wait for the pep-rally to start. The student council was feverishly counting votes in the library, trading ballot boxes in and out as they filled up.

  I admired all the “Crown the True Queen, Katie Edwards” signs hung around everywhere, with their gold glitter crowns and poster paint bubble letters. The volleyball team and some of Marisol’s friends had been in charge of getting them up before school this morning. I was anxious to find out if we’d pulled this off.

  After we voted, Lee and I went to find a place to sit in the crowded bleachers. He was looking for his basketball buddies when Katie came up to me. Her smile was bright enough to blind someone.

  “Sienna! There you are. I can’t believe this. I’ve had so many people tell me they voted for me. Do you think we might actually pull this off?”

  “I hope so, but I’ll be nervous until they announce the winner. Jordan’s been working on this since we were freshmen, and we’ve only had a couple of weeks. Still, regardless of who gets the most votes, there are a lot of people at this school who think you deserve it, and that counts for something – right?”

  “It counts for a lot. Can I ask you something though? Why didn’t you want to be homecoming queen? I know a lot of people wanted to nominate you but you refused to run.”

  I flushed pink. I had hoped no one would find out about it. “I don’t know why they nominated me. I’m not cut out for this kind of thing, and I never would have won anyway. Now you – you will make a perfect Homecoming Queen. You’re beautiful, smart, and very nice.”

  “Well, you could have been describing yourself, but if you really wouldn’t have liked it, then I feel better. Thanks so much for everything you’ve done.”

  “I didn’t actually do much. I didn’t make posters, or send texts, or…”

  “Oh, stop. I know what you’ve done,” she said, smiling. �
�Hey, it’s time for me to go. Keep your fingers crossed.”

  As she left, I looked around for Lee and found him waiting a few steps up the bleachers. He held his hand out to help me navigate the narrow path between people, and I took it automatically. As soon as our hands touched, however, I couldn’t believe the reaction I had to just that simple contact.

  We’d touched plenty of times before – definitely more than my mom would have liked. But something about the warm, masculine roughness of his skin sent my heart skittering in a crazy beat. Maybe it was because we were in front of so many people and Lee obviously didn’t mind if anyone saw us as a couple. He continued to hold my hand to help guide me in a winding path through people until we reached Will, Marisol, and some of the other basketball players.

  When we sat down, I smiled and raised my eyebrows at him. He looked confused and then realized that he was still holding my hand.

  He let go and said, “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

  I grabbed his hand again. “Well, then let’s both not think about it. My mom can’t see us, even if she comes in, and shoot, I’m already grounded.”

  He grinned and ran his thumb over the back of my hand. “It’s your call. Let me know if you want to break any other rules today.”

  “We’d better not. If Katie wins, I’m going to be in enough trouble as it is.”

  “Yeah. Maybe I should work on getting you grounded until we graduate.”

  “Why?” I asked indignantly.

  “To keep you safe from any run-ins with Jordan or Caleb outside of school.” Then with a quirk of one eyebrow he said, “And because getting you in trouble would be a lot of fun.”

  Chapter 15

  I couldn’t focus on the cheerleaders’ dance routine, the jump roping contest between the starters for that night’s game, or any of the entertainment that was meant to fill time until the ballots were counted. My eyes stayed focused on the doors to the gym, waiting for Evan Plumber, the student body president, to come in with the results.

  Finally, when I thought I was going to go bonkers from waiting, he came in. I didn’t realize I was squeezing Lee’s hand so hard until he pried my fingers off and rubbed at the indentions my nails made in his skin. “Sorry.”