“Well,” Ben says, throwing his arms around Alex and Vanessa, “looks like we’re all here now. One big happy family.”
We all grin at him and laugh. Family maybe, but happy? That’s a stretch.
“No. We’re not all here,” Amy whimpers, tears coming down her eyes.
Keesh swoops to her feet in a split second. “Amy, this isn’t a good idea so just go somewhere else.”
“Meggie, can we talk?”
Everyone quickly turns my way.
I look up at her and say, “Don’t you dare call me, Meggie. And no, I don’t need to talk to you.”
“Come on, Meg. Don’t be like this.” She turns toward Keesh and Steph for support. “What? Are you guys never gonna talk to me again? We’ve been friends forever. This is it? You’re just gonna ditch me?”
Steph stands up. “Meg’s not interested in being your friend anymore, and neither am I or Keesh, so you need to go away. But just remember one thing, we didn’t ditch you. You ditched us. Real friends don’t do shit like you did. Now just go,” Steph cries, her hands shaking and her mouth quivering. Dominic jumps to her side. He puts his hand on her shoulder for comfort.
“Come on, Amy. You’re just making yourself look more stupid,” Jen says to her sister. She grabs her sister’s hand and yanks her away.
Ben mumbles under his breath, “I doubt that’s possible.” Alex smacks him in the back of his head and tells him to shut up.
Amy stomps off with Jen, leaving us in peace, in silence.
“Well that was fun,” Ben exclaims.
Chapter Thirty Three
Memorial Day Weekend is filled with possibilities. Since Prom, everyone has been preoccupied with thoughts and talk about Amy and Eric. It finally seems to be dying down. Amy’s parents came to school and convinced her counselor to switch around her schedule—so, we don’t have all the same classes anymore. For any other student, switching classes at the end of the school year would have been unheard of. But for Amy, the daughter of the president of the school booster club, a schedule change is a piece of cake. The only class we have the same is ASB, but she found another group of people to kick it with and it’s fine with me.
This weekend has given me, and my friends, a chance to start over.
“You guys ready?” Alex asks when I open the door.
“Hi, Alex,” my mom gushes. “So nice to see you again. You’re taking the girls to a party?”
Keesh and I can use some cheering up too. We just found out we didn’t make the dance team. It’s okay though. I kind of expected it. I was so caught up in dealing with Amy I didn’t have my mind right. We still have two more years. Maybe if we do well in intermediate next year, the teacher will bump us up to team. We’ll see.
“Hi, Mrs. Miller,” he gives her a hug. She loves it. “Yeah. We haven’t done much since prom so we thought we’d have some fun before we all have to study for finals.”
She adores Alex. He could say he’s taking me to the mountains to sacrifice me to a cult and she’d be fine with it.
Keesh, Steph, and I pass my mom and are out of the house.
“Bye, Mom. Love ya,” I shout.
“You all have a great time,” she yells to us.
“Bye, Mrs. Miller,” Alex calls back to her. “We’re gonna lap it so we only have to take one car,” Alex explains as he slides open the door to reveal the rest of the crew. Ben, Vanessa, Josh, and Erica are squished in the far back seat of the van. Steph, Keesh, Jonathan, and I take the middle seat, and Alex and Dominic sit in the front. I know Steph wants to sit with Dom, but there’s no way he’ll fit in the back with three other people, he’s even too big for the front.
The party is already crowded when we get there. The guys were hungry so we stopped at Denny’s first. I would seriously hate to work there, with high school kids coming in all the time. We aren’t the best patrons. We’re so loud and obnoxious, always laughing, cussing, and yelling at each other across the table. And we always take a souvenir—a menu, ketchup bottles, silverware. Once, Jonathan actually took a booster seat.
The DJ plays Walk It Out as we arrive. It’s almost too perfect. We all shake our way to the dance area and get our freak on. The song finishes and the place goes wild with Get Low. Everyone’s swaying their hands in the air to Lil’ Jon’s lyrics. The song is so dirty, but I love it. Keesh cracks everyone up as she backs it up into Jonathan. The poor guy looks scared. It seems like forever before we take a break. Little by little, some of us migrate from the dance floor to get some drinks.
“You want something?” Alex asks me.
“Yeah. Why not? Surprise me.”
I watch as he splits his way through the crowd, and I keep dancing.
“Can you believe the year is almost over?” Ben speaks loudly into my ear.
“No way.” I laugh. “It seems like yesterday we were at a party and you were trying to get me all liquored up.”
He smiles. “Yeah well, that was a long time ago. I’m sorry I hurt you, Meg.”
“Don’t trip. It’s all good now.”
“Well, I’m glad we’re friends again. I’m gonna miss you.”
I laugh. “It’s not like you’re dying, you’re just graduating.”
“Don’t remind me,” he shouts.
Vanessa and Alex return with drinks in their hand.
“You’re not drinking, are you?” I ask Alex.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m Designated Dave. It’s a Coke, nerd.”
“Just checking,” I shout, taking a swig of my drink. “Umm, yummy. A Diet Coke.”
He winks. “Just thought you’d want to remember the last party of the year.”
I smile at him, hypnotized by his presence, and we dance for the rest of the night.
The drive-in. I’ve never been to the drive-in. I didn’t realize they still existed. Alex texts me to see if I want to go out tonight. I, of course, text him back with a yes. I thought we were just going to go to the movies. But when we get here, it isn’t a movie theater…it’s a drive-in.
“I brought some popcorn, licorice, Kit-Kats, and a Diet Coke for you and Coke for me.” Alex starts digging the goodies out of a bag.
“Cool…but didn’t I see a snack bar back there?”
“Yeah, but the line is always long and you end up missing part of the movie.”
“This is interesting,” I mutter, as I look around.
“You’ve never been here before?”
“Nope.”
“They show two movies and we’ll hear the sound through the radio.”
Hmm.
We get situated with snacks and drinks before the movie starts. I unbuckle my seatbelt and move the seat back to get comfortable. I think about how sweet Alex is. He got all my favorite snacks. I’ve never told him these are my favorite. He’s just noticed from all the times we’ve been around each other. Or maybe they’re his favorites too. It doesn’t matter. We’re here. I’m here…with Alex.
Previews show first and I feel like talking. It’s weird because at a movie theater, you know you’re not supposed to talk, but here, in Alex’s little car, I just want to talk to him.
I look at him and he catches my gaze.
“You know, I’ve never sat in the front seat with a girl at the drive-in before now,” Alex snickers.
“Ooookaaay.”
“Usually, I’d be in the backseat all cuddled up already.” He chuckles.
“And you’re telling me this, why?”
“I don’t know. I have mixed feelings right now.”
“Explain.” Curiosity is killing me.
“Well, you know I have feelings for you, Meg. I have for a long time but I’ve been holding back,” he confesses.
“Why…why would you hold back?”
“Because I’m leaving. I’m graduating,” he pauses, “I don’t think it would be fair to you to have some college boyfriend while you’re in high school.”
“So you are leaving. I can’t believe we’ve never talked about th
is before. I was actually hoping you’d be going to college since that’s my goal too. So, where’re you going?”
“Berkeley,” he says, a cocky grin spreads across his face. “It’s pretty far away, like a nine hour drive. I won’t be coming home a lot. Only for holidays.”
“Oh.” I saddened by the news, to say the least.
“See. That’s why we can’t be together. You need to experience all the things I did in high school. Well, not all of them. But I don’t want to hold you back. If you go to a party and meet someone, I don’t want you to have to worry about me. If some guy asks you to homecoming, I want you to go. I can’t be here for all that stuff…” he trails off.
“Oh. I understand.” I want to cry but I don’t. I don’t want to sound like a baby. I understand what he’s saying, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
“I really want to be with you, but I just don’t think it would be fair, to either one us,” he explains.
“So what does this mean? Are you saying we’re not gonna be friends anymore?” I ask, in almost a whisper.
He touches my face softly with his fingertips. “No way, we can email, text, call. I’ll visit when I come home if you want me to. We just can’t be a couple, not now.”
“Explain that. Not now.” I’m not shying away from this conversation. I’ve been waiting for this for way too long to walk away from the details.
He smirks. “If things work out according to my plan, you’ll experience the high school experience, I’ll do the same with college, and then someday, if it’s meant to be, it’ll just happen. We’ll be together.”
“Someday huh.” I grin.
“Someday.”
“So I guess that means you’re not going to throw me in the backseat then?” I joke.
He chuckles a bit. “Not tonight anyway.”
We gaze at each other in silence.
“Oh wait.” He startles me. “I almost forgot.” He grabs a paper bag from the backseat. Oh no, he better not have lunch in there. He reaches in slowly and pulls out a small pink box.
“This is for you,” he says, with a mischievous smile.
“What is it?” I set the little box in my lap to open the lid. “Oh my gosh.” It’s a cupcake. There is a pink polka dotted candle coming out of the top.
“Happy birthday, Meg,” he says, reaching over to light the candle.
“How did you know?” What a surprise.
“The girls told me. They said your mom usually has a big party for you, but this year you didn’t want one. Happy Birthday, make a wish.”
I close my eyes, make a wish, and softly blow out the candle.
“Thank you, Alex.”
I lean over and hug him. His hair has grown out since we first met, and I love the feel of it underneath my fingers. I could stay like this forever. We hold each other close for a minute and then let go with a big sigh. He takes my hand. “Is this okay?” We look down at our intertwined fingers.
“Yup.”
For the rest of the night, we watch the two movies, hand in hand, only taking a break to drink or eat something. After each break, he grasps my hand again like we’re magnets being pulled together.
This is enough…for now.
Chapter Thirty Four
Stores are filled with graduation balloons, cards, little stuffed animals, etc. The school year is over and there isn’t anything I can do to stop Alex from graduating tonight. I’m pretty sure my grades went down. I couldn’t focus on studying for finals. Everyone in our tight-knit crew of friends feels the exact same way, none us want to see the seniors go. I don’t think they want to leave us.
There’s something magical that happened the night of Prom. While it pretty much sucked, the results have been so much better. Keesh, Steph, and I have become pretty good friends with Vanessa and Erica. Vanessa has turned out to be a lot nicer than I thought she was. I guess I shouldn’t have judged her by her pom-poms. Josh and Jonathan have also become tight with Dominic, Ben, and Alex.
Next year, things are going to be so different. Alex is headed up north to Berkeley. Ben, Vanessa, and Erica are staying close at a community college. At least, we can see them anytime if we want to. Emails and phones calls will have to do for Alex and I.
Keesh, Steph, and I convinced Mr. Mitchell to let us all in the stadium for graduation. There is no way we could score enough tickets, so being in ASB helped us out again. It’s not so bad being a “Double Threat”. There have definitely been some perks to go along with this title.
We anxiously wait for our friends to walk out as Pomp and Circumstance comes through the speakers. It’s a huge graduating class of four hundred students. And there they are: Ben first, then Vanessa, Erica, and last, Alex.
Tears stream lightly down my cheeks. I’m so happy and so sad at the same time.
“This is going to be us in three years,” Steph screeches.
We quiet down with the rest of the crowd to listen to the graduation speeches and all the rest of the crap that goes with it. Who cares about all the formalities? We just want to see them get their diplomas. When the time finally comes, the graduates stand up row by row, and march toward the stage.
“Here they come,” Keesh squeals.
“Ben Calloway,” the counselor calls. We scream.
“Vanessa Reyes.” She crosses the stage. We scream again.
“Erica Martinez.”
Josh yells, “Yeah, Erica.”
“Alex Aguilar.” He takes his diploma, looks up at us, and winks.
We scream, yell, and clap some more.
We try to settle down after our friends cross the field.
“Now what?” Jonathan asks.
Dominic answers, “Ben said to meet them by the buses so they can say bye before they go to grad night.”
“Let’s go then.” I stand to leave.
“Don’t you want to see them turn their tassels?” Steph stops me.
We wait and cheer them on again. I’m anxious to get to the buses. I’m dying to see Alex. I know I’ll see him during the summer, but for some reason, tonight makes everything seem so final. I feel like it’s all over. Once he gets on that bus…it’s…it’s all up to fate.
“Let’s go,” I instruct everyone as I start to make my descent down the bleachers. The crew follows as I head out toward the buses.
“Chill, Meggie,” Keesh says. “They’ll probably be awhile. They still have to see their parents, take pictures and all that crap.”
Oh, I forgot about that stuff.
It isn’t too long before I hear Dominic yell, “Congratulations, man.”
The hugs begin as each of us take our turn congratulating all the graduates.
“When do you guys leave?” I ask Alex.
Just then Mr. Mitchell shouts into the bullhorn, “Graduates, you need to get on the buses, we leave in five minutes.”
Alex shrugs. I look up at him. Everyone else is invisible now.
“Did you bring it?” he asks.
“Yup.” A single tear falling down my cheek.
He wipes my tear and we exchange yearbooks.
He throws his arms around me, and I wrap mine around his waist. I inhale his scent and soak in his warmth not wanting this embrace to end. But it has to. He pulls back, and gazes in my eyes. He brings his right hand up, sliding his fingers through my hair, and rests it on the back of my neck.
And then…and then…he kisses me. Not just a peck either. A passionate kiss like the ones I’ve read about in my mom’s romance novels. His breath is sweet. Our lips join perfectly, fitting together like puzzle pieces. He slowly pulls away again, planting a few gentle kisses on my lips, and finally, one last peck on my forehead where he lingers for a few seconds. Perfect. He hugs me again and whispers in my ear, “I’ll be thinking of you.”
We’re interrupted by cheers and clapping.
“Wooohoo.”
“Get it, girl.”
“Alright, Alex.”
“It’s about time.”
> “Yeaahhhh.”
We turn to look at our friends and we laugh.
He hugs me one last time before joining Ben, Vanessa, and Erica to get on the bus.
I watch them board. I watch the bus pull away.
I open my yearbook to the Backward’s page, where there’s a huge picture of Alex wearing his crown. I knew this is where he’d write. I’m not surprised to see the one special word scrawled out in his writing, because I wrote the same one to him.
Someday…All My Love, Alex
We don’t need to say anything else.
Someday…
Dear Readers,
Thank you very much for showing interest in the Double Threat series. I had a great time writing Meg’s story and had even more fun laughing at Jonathan and Josh. Those two kids crack me up. Please take the time to visit Smashwords.com, or your other favorite retail sites, to leave a review. I’m always interested in hearing from my readers. In fact, I used some suggestions in Double Threat My Bleep. You can also visit me on Facebook. Like my pages: Double Threat Series, or my personal page, Julie Prestsater. If you’re on Twitter (which I have recently become addicted to), follow me: @juliepbooks. And lastly, you can always visit my website, juliepbooks.com, for the most current information on what’s to come, and also read my ramblings about life on my blog.
Double Threat My Bleep is available now. Look for part three, Meggie’s junior year, in the spring of 2012. Also available is my stand alone novel, You Act So White. And if you’re interested in a little adult romance…check out the After School Special series, out in the summer of 2012. If you thought Meg’s crew was a blast, wait until you read about their teachers.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely yours,
Julie Prestsater
P.S. Here’s a teaser of what’s to come in Double Threat My Bleep…
So I'm A Double Threat Page 20