Ask Again Later

by Liz Czukas

  “Finally!” Lisa shouted.

  “Yeah, yeah. Shush!” I hissed at her.

  “Oh my God, this is so great!” Cassidy said. “He’s been into you for so long.”

  “I know.” I blinked, feeling as if the world tipped and righted itself in an instant. It was like my brain was riding a Tilt-A-Whirl. I pressed a hand to my temple, as everything slipped back into focus. I didn’t think I’d ever been this tired in my life.

  “Wait—so did you like him, too?” Ally asked.

  “I didn’t really realize it—or at least I wasn’t willing to admit it, I guess—but yeah, I think I did.”

  Cassidy and Ally went, “Aww,” in unison while Lisa rolled her eyes.

  “Hey,” Schroeder said, coming down on the step beside me. His fingers skimmed the inside of my arm on their way down to hold my hand, and I shivered. This touching thing was going to take some getting used to. It was so much more intense than I realized it would be. “I cannot believe I’m standing in Frank Blanchard’s pool.”

  “I know, right?” Ally said. “I so did not think we’d end up here tonight.”

  “I didn’t think I’d ever end up here,” he said.

  “We were going to prank him . . . ,” I said thoughtfully, narrowing my eyes.

  “We were?” Cassidy asked.

  “Were we?” Schroeder asked, squinting.

  “I think . . .” A high-pitched whine drove through my ears, and I shook my head. “Wow, I’m getting so tired my ears are ringing.”

  “Somebody’s talking about you!” Cassidy declared. “Which ear was it, right or left?”

  “Both.”

  “Oh.” She looked stymied.

  “When are we going to Neel’s house?” Schroeder wondered.

  “Soon,” Ally said. “I’m ready for some comfortable clothes.”

  “Agreed. Let’s get out of here.” Schroeder stepped back out of the water but kept hold of my hand. “We’ll go find the others. You guys stay here.”

  I stepped back onto the pool deck and followed Schroeder, both of us now barefoot.

  The only people we needed to find were Kim and Dan, and we were free to go.

  “Weren’t they playing pool earlier?” I asked, looking toward the basement stairs. “Or wait—weren’t they in the gazebo—or were they?” I blinked hard, unsure which thing was true.

  Schroeder looked at me. “You okay?”

  I nodded, though I wasn’t sure.

  “Let’s check the basement first.”

  We didn’t see any sign of them in the basement, but Phil was down there with Doug, Tara, and Randi.

  “There’s my sister!” Phil shouted. “You all right, kid? You look like somebody stuffed you in a trunk.” He laughed, and I felt another wave of dizziness.

  I grabbed Schroeder’s arm for support. “I’m going to head out with my friends. You guys okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Go ’head. We’ll probably just crash here tonight.”

  Looking around, I realized a few people were missing. “Where’s Troy?”

  Austin laughed. “Get this—Amy showed up all crying and shit—”

  Randi rolled her eyes. “She wants him back, and he totally went for it. Pa-the-tic.”

  “Oh!” I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or disappointed in him. “Well . . . okay, I guess.”

  Tara got up suddenly and gave me a little hug. “I had fun with you tonight.”

  I got a confusing series of flashes—Tara’s dress sparkling in afternoon sunlight, crowning of prom court, watching her dance with my brother, standing in the shadows outside Blanchard’s house.

  “Me too,” I said, because it seemed to be the right thing to say.

  I waved to everybody as Schroeder headed back toward the stairs.

  “Hey, Heart, wait a second!” Phil called after me. I slowed and turned back to face him. “This guy somebody I need to know about?” he asked, nodding at Schroeder and trying to look intimidating.

  “Oh please, Phil.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Be good to my sister,” he said, poking his finger out at poor Schroeder.

  “And you be good to Tara,” I replied, jabbing my finger into his chest. “Maybe lay off the booze tonight, huh? She shouldn’t have to take care of you all the time.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He sounded dismissive, but then he looked me in the eye. “All right.”

  “I’ll take Personal Growth for two hundred, Alex,” I teased.

  “Same to you.”

  “See you at home.” I grinned at him and turned to follow Schroeder out of the basement.

  “What was that about?” he asked as we squeezed up the crowded steps.

  “Long story. I’ll tell you sometime.”

  We surveyed the main floor and didn’t find any sign of our missing No Drama Crew members.

  “Upstairs?” Schroeder asked doubtfully.

  “We should check.”

  Most of the rooms on the upper floor were closed, just like last time I was up here, but this time not all of them seemed to be occupied. We opened most of the doors, coming across several unconscious people. It was impossible to tell if they were sleeping or passed out, and I was well beyond the point where I wanted to be responsible for anyone who’d overindulged.

  The last room we checked had a sign on it that said KEEP OUT, OR I’LL KILL YOU.

  “Call me crazy, but I’m guessing this is Frank’s room,” I said.

  “Five bucks says he has at least one poster of a naked chick on his wall.”

  “Eww.”

  “Wanna find out?” Schroeder had a wicked gleam in his eye that could not be denied.

  “Let’s go.” I popped the handle, surprised it wasn’t locked. Apparently, Frank Blanchard believed his word was sufficient deterrent. Inside, the only glow came from a fish tank. Except when we got closer, I realized it was actually home to a large lizard of some sort.

  I couldn’t help it. “Gross,” I said with a shudder.

  “Huh. I would have thought you were an animal lover,” Schroeder said.

  “Furry ones? Yes. Scaly ones? No.”

  He smiled and let go of my hand to circle the room quickly. I found myself staring at the lizard’s bulging eyes, unable to look away.

  “Aha!” Schroeder pushed the main door shut, revealing the predicted poster of a busty blonde on the wall.

  “That’s just sad,” I declared.

  “Sad?”

  “Well, it’s so predictable. Why do guys like blondes with impossible proportions?” I held my hands out to indicate the size of boobs I’d need to compare to Little Miss Naked.

  “I prefer brunettes myself,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes. “What a line.”

  “It’s true!” He closed the distance between us and put his hands on my hips. “There’s just something about dark brown hair that I like. . . .” He kissed me then, and it was the first time we didn’t have an audience or a tight space to contend with. We came together, my arms sliding along his shoulders and his around my waist, breathing in sync as our lips moved together.

  All over my body, nerve endings fired to life, bringing sensations back to my brain in a wild flurry. I pressed myself so hard into him that he stepped back for balance. It happened again and again until he bumped into Blanchard’s bed. We sank onto the plush blanket together, our hands and mouths never breaking contact.

  Oh God, the things I’d been missing out on. Was kissing always this heady? This intense? I was dizzy with it, and desperate for more. I would have gladly kissed him until I ran out of oxygen, but he broke away.

  “Slow,” he reminded me. “You said slow.” With a grunt, he pulled away, lying flat on his back and panting.

  “Right.” I held a shaking hand against my mouth. “We’re supposed to be finding the others.”

  “Right.”

  But still, we both lay there breathing hard for a few more minutes.

  “We should get out of here,” I said.

 
; “Yeah.”

  I got up first, checking for any wardrobe malfunctions. Beyond the obvious gap in the back where the tape was showing, of course. Schroeder was much slower to get to his feet, clearing his throat a few times and taking a deep breath before he stood.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “I’m good.” He looked around the room. “I’m strangely pleased with myself for making out in Frank Blanchard’s bedroom.”

  I grinned. “Glad I could help.”

  “Let’s go.” He held out a hand to me, but I didn’t take it. “What?”

  “Let’s short-sheet his bed.”

  “Seriously?”

  Giggling, I shrugged. “Why not? You don’t like him, right?”

  He opened his mouth like he wanted to protest, but it turned into a goofy grin instead. “Yeah, okay.”

  Moving in tandem, we peeled back the blankets and quickly folded the top sheet. With the bed re-covered, there was no sign of the stupid prank, but we were laughing over it like this was the height of comic genius. It probably was.

  “I wish I could see his face when he tries to get in,” I said.

  “I just wish there was some way of making him suspect it was me, but never actually be sure.” Schroeder tapped his finger against his chin.

  I considered the possibilities. “I could leave a Rolaids on his pillow, like a chocolate in a hotel.”

  He laughed and held out his hand to me. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Hooking my fingertips on his, I followed him to the door. Suddenly, he stopped and reached into his pocket.

  “Wait! I’ve got it.” His hand emerged with a tightly folded twenty-dollar bill.

  “What’s that?”

  “My mom gave it to me in case of emergency.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Way better than my emergency provisions.”

  Smiling, he let go of my hand to unfold the bill, revealing something inside. “To give it weight so it wouldn’t fall out of my pocket,” he explained at my quizzical look. When it was fully exposed, I recognized the gold Chuck E. Cheese token he’d lent me in chem lab.

  “Perfect!”

  He slipped back to the head of the bed and set the coin on Frank’s pillow like a hotel mint.

  We stole out into the hall, pleased that no one was there to witness our escape. Schroeder cupped my face in his hands and kissed me softly.

  “What was that for?” I asked.

  “I figure I should probably do that as much as possible before you wise up and change your mind.”

  “Chase!”

  He did a double take, fingertips still resting on my jaw. “Wow, that sounds weird.”

  “I’m sorry, should I . . . not?”

  “No. I don’t know.” He smiled slowly. “I didn’t realize I’d gotten so used to that stupid nickname.”

  “At least I don’t call you Pancreas.” I frowned at him.

  He grinned. “That was one of my favorites.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Come on. Let’s go find the others and get out of here.”

  30 On sunrises, cinnamon rolls, and fate

  Time has a funny way of bending and stretching. Sit in a boring class and the minutes tick by so slowly you can watch your life draining out the door. But sit in the waiting room at the dentist and fifteen minutes will be gone before you can catch a deep breath.

  Prom had spanned a lifetime’s worth of hours for me, and yet it passed so quickly I could hardly believe the sky was turning pink with predawn light when the day-care-slash-serial-killer-mobile rolled onto the tree-lined street outside Blanchard’s house. Neel’s house was less than a mile away, but I could already feel my eyelids sinking toward sleep as I rested my head on Schroeder’s shoulder in the back of the van. Our fingers were laced together on the seat between us, and his knee knocked softly against mine as we went over a bump in the road.

  Hours earlier, I would never have predicted I’d end my night this way, and yet now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

  “Neel? Will your mom let us sleep for a while before breakfast?” Ally mumbled from a row ahead of me.

  “We should eat breakfast first, then sleep,” Ryan said.

  “This man is a frickin’ genius!” Neel pointed at Ryan, sitting beside him.

  Schroeder laughed, vibrating my head, and I grumbled, nuzzling closer.

  “I am going to sleep until I’m forty-five,” someone announced.

  “No way. You’ll have to pee before that,” someone said.

  “We’re almost there,” someone called from behind the wheel.

  “Yay.” Someone yawned. Their voices made a dizzying pattern in my head. I couldn’t keep track of who was talking, or how much time passed after anyone spoke.

  “We’re here,” someone said, and I tried to pry my eyes open. It was hard work.

  “Abandon ship,” Neel announced.

  We struggled out with a lot of groaning and yawning.

  Earlier in the week, we’d all sent bags with pajamas and street clothes home with Neel to stash until prom night, and few things had ever sounded as welcoming as my soft pajamas just now.

  Schroeder slipped his arm over my shoulders. “You look dead on your feet,” he said.

  “I feel like I’ve been through at least two proms tonight.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  Neel’s mom greeted us with disturbing perkiness. She’d been up since four thirty getting ready for us. She sent us into two different rooms to get changed. Ally went facedown on the bed in the guest room we were assigned to as soon as she walked in.

  “Get up.” Cassidy nudged her. “You know you want to take off that strapless bra.”

  “I already took it off,” Ally mumbled into the comforter.

  “Where is it?” I asked.

  “Don’t know.” Ally yawned. “Don’t care.”

  “You guys, I need help.” I turned, to remind them of my dress repair, and Cassidy started laughing.

  “Oh yeah! I’d kind of forgotten about that.” She came closer. “Oh my God, this has gotten wicked nasty.”

  “Just get it off me!” I protested.

  Cassidy and Kim worked together, bracing their hands against my back as they coaxed the massive placket of tape away from the fabric. Finally one side was free, and my dress fell in a heap around my feet, leaving me in only my bra and underwear.

  “Holy crap, what happened to the zipper?” I whirled to inspect the damage. At some point during the night, the slide had come completely off the tapes. It was a miracle the tape held the thing together.

  “You are so lucky that didn’t happen at the dance,” Cassidy said.

  “No kidding.” I picked up the poor, decrepit remains of my beautiful bombshell dress, taking in the detritus on the tape. “What is all this?”

  The tape was a mosaic of fuzz. I recognized the color from the banquet chairs at dinner, the gray interior of Becca’s trunk, and even some of the bronzy-brown plush that had covered Frank’s bed. There were also bits of dried flower, a couple of seashells, a scrap of paper, what looked like part of a straw wrapper, glitter, a feather, and several things I couldn’t identify.

  “Yuck,” Cassidy said.

  “It’s like prom threw up on you,” Kim decided.

  “Gross,” Ally mumbled from the bed.

  We got into our pajamas and headed out into the kitchen, leaving Ally exactly where she’d fallen. There was no convincing her to move. The guys were already downstairs, we discovered, with glasses of orange juice and big cinnamon rolls.

  “Neel, your mom rocks.” I helped myself to a warm roll from the tray on the bar.

  “She does, doesn’t she?” he agreed around a mouthful of roll.

  “Let’s go to the dock.”

  We made our way down the wooden steps to the boathouse and circled around the side to the dock, walking out to the end, where we could all sit with our feet hanging above the water to wait for sunrise. The sky had a golden glow that
promised we wouldn’t be waiting long.

  The prom postmortem began, with people sleepily recounting events.

  “Did you see when Karen Lewis got pulled out by the chaperones? They had to call her parents and everything.”

  “Man, the look on your face when you saw Foley streaking!”

  “Oh my God, I can’t believe the people who won court this year. Talk about predictable. We have to change that next year when we’re seniors.”

  “Yeah, good luck with that.”

  “Heart, I thought your brother would get king for sure.”

  “Nah, not with Austin and Olivia there.”

  “What was Olivia screaming about during dinner anyway?”

  “It was a fake roach,” I answered without thinking.

  “Where’d you hear that?”

  I blinked, getting that same feeling of the world tilting and righting itself. “I . . . saw it . . . didn’t I? But, no . . .” I looked at Schroeder for confirmation.

  “I don’t know, you weren’t sitting with us,” he reminded me.

  “Oh, shut up.” I nudged him with my shoulder. “Are you ever going to let that go?”

  “Nope. You owe me one prom.”

  “Maybe if you’d actually ask me, I’d go with you.”

  “Heart, will you go to prom with me?”

  “When? Next year?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the next one, yeah.”

  “Ow-ow-owww!” Cassidy howled. “Chase Schaefer—makin’ his move!”

  “Ow-owwww!” Neel and Ryan joined her in another howl of approval.

  “So?” Schroeder nudged me.

  “You’re really asking me to prom for next year?”

  “Yes.”

  I looked at him with disbelief, but inside every part of me was screaming Y-E-S! What I actually said was, “Okay.”

  “All right then. It’s a date.”

  “Ow-owww!” They all chimed in with howls of approval this time.

  “You guys are idiots,” I said.

  The sun broke the tree line at that moment, with its first bright sliver. We all fell silent, and the birds burst into delighted song.

  Schroeder—Chase—put his arm around my waist, and I let my hand rest on his knee. Down the row, Cassidy sighed contentedly.