PG03. Pink & Green is the New Black

by Lisa Greenwald

  “No. That’s too many people,” Erica explains. “Just a small group: you, me, Zoe, Sunny, and maybe Annabelle, since she’s class president.”

  “Sure. That sounds good.”

  “Oh, and Evan and the twins,” Erica adds. “We need boys too.”

  “Got it.” I ignore the sinking feeling I get when I think about Travis. If I pretend our drama doesn’t exist, maybe it will just go away entirely.

  “We’re the executive committee,” Zoe says, clearly repeating something Erica must have told her.

  “After school today?” I ask.

  “Yeah, school library at 3:45,” Erica tells us, hopping down from the sink counter. “You tell Sunny and Annabelle. I’ll tell the boys.”

  We leave the bathroom just before the first bell rings, and I’m suddenly overcome with this feeling of gratitude for Erica. I need a project. I need something to focus on besides the end of my relationship with Yamir.

  Maybe I can’t make sure Elias likes Erica, or Gavin likes Zoe, or the AGE girls are happy and included, but I can make this Masquerade the best one Old Mill Middle School has ever had.

  I hold the key to the best makeup artists and makeup in all of Connecticut.

  And everyone knows that makeup is the most important part of a costume. The face is the first thing you see when you’re talking to someone. You look into the person’s eyes. You notice their smile. Makeup is all about highlighting the face. Sure, you can have cool pants or a cool shirt or even cool shoes. But the makeup makes the costume. The makeup is what everyone will notice and what everyone will remember.

  At lunch I tell Annabelle and Sunny about the meeting while Eve and Georgina are in line for the salad bar.

  “I have the biggest science test tomorrow,” Annabelle says. “I’m super stressed.”

  “It’ll be a quick meeting,” I assure her. “You’re the class president. You have to be there.”

  “I know,” she groans.

  I look at Sunny. She’s picking the cucumbers out of her Greek salad. “Will you be there?”

  “Yup,” is all she says.

  Annabelle gets up to find some ketchup, and I turn to Sunny. “Sun, what’s with you? You’re mad and it’s killing me. We need to talk.”

  “I’m sorry it’s killing you,” she says. “But what happened at the twins’ party was really messed up. You kissed someone else, and then you get my brother and his friends to come for Erica like everything is totally normal.”

  “That’s not what happened!” I yell, feeling stares from Mr. Marblane, the teacher on lunch duty. “That’s not what happened,” I say again, this time in a whisper.

  “Fine. Whatever. Let’s talk later.”

  “Finish your lunch and let’s go to the upstairs bathroom.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Fine.”

  It’s only 11:55 and I’m headed to the upstairs bathroom for my second time today. Everyone knows the upstairs bathroom is the place for secret, important girl meetings, and it’s not healthy to have more than one of those in a day.

  “See you at the meeting later,” Annabelle says as Sunny and I gather up our stuff to leave the table.

  I look at Eve and Georgina. Thankfully, they’re busy cramming for a test and don’t hear us. At least I don’t think they do.

  I hate leaving people out. In my mind, it’s as bad as stealing or physically hurting someone. But this wasn’t my choice. It was Erica’s. And there wasn’t much I could do about it—not when Erica knows I’ve been lying about Yamir for so long. I’m completely under her thumb.

  “Look, Sunny,” I start as soon as we’re upstairs and no one else is in sight. “I see how you can feel like I’m a total jerk. But that’s not the whole story.”

  “So tell me the whole story,” Sunny says.

  “First of all, Erica stole my phone and invited Yamir. I had nothing to do with that.”

  “Uh-huh,” Sunny says.

  Then I explain the thing about Travis and the planetarium and how I told him it shouldn’t have happened. I tell her about how Yamir has been ignoring me for so long now. How he never calls or texts or anything.

  “Boyfriends aren’t supposed to ignore you,” I tell her.

  “True.”

  “And believe me, I’m so upset about this. I mean, Yamir is Yamir. He’s a really big deal to me. I know that sounds weird because I’m only thirteen and he’s your brother. But I really care about him. I think I’ll always care about him.”

  She gives me a scrunched-up, pained look. “So then why did you even go into that planetarium with Travis?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “I didn’t know how to get out of it. I shouldn’t have.”

  She stays quiet for a little bit. “The thing is, I love you, Luce. But Yamir’s my brother, and it seems like you really hurt him.”

  “He hurt me too. He hurt me first.” I glare at her. “Don’t you see that?”

  She shrugs. “I guess.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t discuss it,” I say reluctantly. I really need a best friend right now, but I don’t know how to tell her that. Claudia made such a big deal about being honest with people. “It’s weird because he’s your brother. I get that. We can’t make this an issue between us.”

  “Fine,” she says. “I just heard the bell. We can’t be late for class again.”

  “Right. Let’s go.”

  We leave the upstairs bathroom, and I think we’ve come to an agreement. I hope so, anyway. And I hope I don’t have any more upstairs bathroom meetings for the rest of the week. Maybe even the month.

  In between my classes later in the day, Mrs. Deleccio finds me in the hallway.

  “So, what’s the latest on the composting, Lucy?” she asks. She’s carrying a huge stack of science books, and I take some of them to help her.

  “Oh, I’ve been researching, but it’s really complicated. We’ll need to get approval from the town, figure out where to get the containers and where to put them, and then we’ll need to decide who will take care of emptying them,” I tell her. “Plus, I’m really worried the kids will be grossed out. It will take time to convince them.” I pause. I’m exhausted thinking about it all. “I’m trying, but I’ve been so busy with homework and Eighth-Grade Masquerade prep.”

  “Okay, well, you suggested it, and it seems like a good idea, so I hope you can follow through with it.” She smiles.

  “I will.” I walk with her to her classroom to drop off her books. I should just admit that this composting idea is too much for me. I don’t know why I haven’t acknowledged that yet. Sometimes people take on too much. And that’s what I’ve done.

  Maybe it’s like Claudia said—you have to talk to people and be honest and tell them how you feel, or they can’t help you.

  Instead of pretending I can handle it, I just need to be honest and admit that I can’t.

  Lucy’s tip for surviving eighth grade:

  Learn how to work with others and be part of a team.

  Erica and Zoe are already in the library when I arrive after school. They’re sitting in the reading nook under the windows.

  “Hey,” Zoe says. Erica ignores me.

  Soon the twins arrive, and Travis sits down right next to me. “What’s up, Desberg?” he asks.

  So I guess we’re doing the whole last-name thing now. I wasn’t even sure he knew my last name.

  “Not much. You?” I look up at him and realize he has a group of freckles above his right eyebrow. Gavin doesn’t have them. Maybe that’s how their mom told them apart when they were little.

  “I totally failed that science quiz,” he says. “But Mr. Poolis says we can retake it.”

  “Oh. Cool.”

  He looks at me like he has more to say but then stays quiet.

  Soon everyone else arrives, and Erica goes down her agenda. Mr. Marblane is the faculty adviser for the eighth grade, so he’s automatically in charge of overseeing the Masquerade. He mostly stays quiet, though, and lets us do the work.
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  We discuss the kind of food we should have, the decorations, and the music, and then Erica says, “And Lucy has offered to do everyone’s makeup at her family’s spa.”

  “Not for free,” I explain. “But I’ll give a discount. Twenty dollars a person.”

  Zoe and Erica look at each other.

  “That sounds fair,” Zoe says. “My mom gets her makeup done all the time. It’s way more than that.”

  Erica nods and types something into her phone. “Okay, Lucy, put up a sign-up sheet and send an e-mail to everyone in the grade by next week. Make sure you make a list of all the time slots, and allow enough time for everyone.”

  “I got it,” I say.

  The meeting ends and Sunny tells me she has to go see the art teacher to discuss the art fair at the end of the year. She doesn’t tell me to wait or that her mom will give me a ride home.

  “Talk later,” is all she says.

  “My mom can drive you home,” Travis tells me on the way out. “Gavin’s going over to Evan’s house. So it’s just me.”

  “Oh, okay.” I smile. “Thanks.”

  We walk out together, and he’s telling me about this new movie that’s coming out. Something about these three teenagers going on a crazy trip to Australia. It sounds really good, the way he’s describing it.

  We sit outside on the ledge in front of the school. It’s February but it feels warmer, like spring is getting ready to start.

  I look at Travis and I realize something. He’s not Yamir. And I can’t expect him to be Yamir. But Yamir disappointed me. And Travis seems okay. Maybe even better than okay.

  I want a date for the Masquerade, and I’d be lying if I said that kissing Travis was completely gross. It wasn’t. It lasted for half a second, but it was kind of a nice half a second.

  Erica will be mad at me for not making up with Yamir, but it’s not like I have a choice. I can’t make Yamir like me. I can’t make Yamir pay attention to me. But I can give Travis a chance.

  “Hey, Travis?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Remember the other night, in your planetarium?”

  He nods.

  “I’m sorry I pushed you away,” I tell him. “I hope you’ll give me another chance.”

  All he says is “Cool,” and then he goes back to talking about that movie. Something about how the teenagers are attacked by giant bottles of root beer. It’s starting to sound a little dumb, but I don’t really mind.

  I think this has the potential to be something good.

  Travis’s mom drops me off, and Mom, Dad, and Grandma are sitting on the front porch. I guess they noticed the warm February temperatures and wanted to take advantage of them too.

  “Who was that?” Mom asks.

  “Oh, that new kid Travis’s mom,” I explain and walk inside. I don’t want any more questions. “Is Claudia still here?” I ask, from inside the house.

  “Until tomorrow morning,” Dad says. “I’ll take her to the airport on the way to work.”

  I go upstairs and find Claudia in her room, on her bed, reading some gossip magazine.

  I pop my head in. “Hi, Claud.”

  “Hey. Come sit.” She pats the spot next to her and closes the magazine.

  I sit with her on her bed. It’s like it used to be before she went away to school. “So, listen, I wasn’t telling the whole truth,” she starts. Shock of the century. I can’t wait to hear what the whole truth is.

  “Yeah?”

  “Bean did ask me to marry him. But in a joking kind of way. He even gave me a Ring Pop.”

  “Oh. Yum. What flavor?” I smile, even though I know that’s not important.

  “Strawberry. Duh.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, then Yamir e-mailed me.”

  “Huh? What?”

  “He told me what happened at that party. And he e-mailed me to ask for advice. I was shocked. It seems so unlike him.” She stops talking for a second, I guess to gauge my reaction.

  “He asked you to fly home?”

  “No. Obviously not.” She cracks up. “I got the e-mail after I landed in Connecticut, so it was kind of perfect timing. I wanted to see what Mom and Grandma would say about the Bean thing. And Dad too. And I got to check on you as an added bonus.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “So, can you tell me what’s really going on, Luce? The whole story. You’ve given me little bits and pieces, but I wish you’d tell me everything so I can help.”

  I shrug. “I guess. But where should I start?”

  “At the beginning.”

  I start talking. I tell her about how Yamir started ignoring me. How I tried to act like I didn’t care. I tell her about our middle-of-the-night talk that one night, and how nothing changed. And then about Sienna. And then about Travis and the planetarium. And the kiss.

  “Uh-huh,” is all she says.

  “So what do you think?”

  She waits to speak. It seems like she’s carefully weighing her options, choosing her words.

  “I think you’re in eighth grade, and it’s okay not to know. It’s okay to change your mind.”

  I nod. That seems a little lame to me. That’s it?

  “Here’s the thing: boys are kind of dumb sometimes. They don’t pick up on cues. And that’s why you need to talk to them. Speak your mind. Open up when you’re not happy with how things are going. It’s really the best way to handle any relationship, but especially a boy-girl one.”

  “Really? Even with Bean?”

  “Um, yes, even with Bean. He proposed with a Ring Pop!”

  We both crack up laughing, and then we hear Grandma calling us down for dinner.

  “Well, what did Yamir want you to do, anyway?” I ask. “I mean, what was the point of him e-mailing you?”

  “I guess he wanted some insight into my little sister,” she says. “He seemed all confused. Like the whole thing came out of nowhere.”

  I stand up. “But that’s just it. It totally didn’t. He’s clueless!”

  “I know.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes me tight. “You’ll take a little break from each other. It’ll be okay.”

  “But what should I do about Travis?”

  She gets a text message but ignores it. “Well, what is your gut telling you?”

  “I don’t know! That’s the problem!” I look at her and wait for her to say something, but I think she’s waiting for me to talk. “I mean, he’s nice. And I think I should give him a chance. But in the back of my head, I’m always thinking about Yamir.”

  Claudia nods and puts a pillow behind her head. “I know what you mean. I like Bean and everything, but in the back of my mind I know I’m young and there are so many other people to meet.”

  “Really?” I ask, completely shocked. “You mean you have doubts?”

  “Of course. Everyone has doubts!”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Luce, come on. Of course I do.”

  “Yeah, but you always seem so confident in your decisions. Maybe some people have doubts, but not you.”

  Claudia rolls her eyes. “Believe me. I do.”

  “But, Claud, you’re basically the smartest person I know. If you ever have doubts, just call me, and I’ll reassure you that you’re doing the right thing.”

  “Thanks, Luce.”

  I wrap my arms around her and hug her as tight as I possibly can. “I’m really going to miss you, Claud.”

  She squeezes me back, just as tight. “Me too, Luce. I hope you know how much I love you.”

  Downstairs, Mom, Dad, and Grandma are all sitting at the table. There’s a steaming platter of eggplant Parmesan and an overflowing bowl of spaghetti. Claudia’s favorite meal. Plus, there’s a wooden bowl of Caesar salad.

  “How’s everyone?” Dad asks, serving the salad.

  Mom launches into another story about Adrienne’s crazy animals. At this point we’ve started tuning her out. Grandma tells us about this lady who seems to come in for a spa treatment every sin
gle day. And that’s when I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve been at the pharmacy and the spa. I miss it.

  “That reminds me, I need to talk to you guys about the spa,” I tell them. “Remember when you said it was okay for everyone to get their makeup done there for the Masquerade?”

  Mom and Grandma look at each other.

  “You said yes,” I remind them.

  “Okay. We said yes.” Grandma puts some eggplant onto Claudia’s plate.

  “I want to come up with a schedule so we make sure everyone has enough time and gets what they want. And I want to make sure all the staff is working that day.”

  They assure me that they’ll take care of it, but I get nervous they’ll forget. “I’ll come in tomorrow after school. I want to talk to everyone. We have less than a month, and the spa might already have some bookings.”

  “Sounds good, Luce.” Mom smiles and twirls some spaghetti around her fork.

  Later I go to bed, but I can’t fall asleep. I keep thinking about Yamir e-mailing Claudia. I want to get up and ask to see the e-mail, but that’s probably a bad idea.

  In a way I feel better that Yamir does care—in his own weird, Yamir way, at least. But it’s also complicated. I already told Travis I wanted to give things with him a chance. And maybe it’s too late to fix things with Yamir now anyway.

  I toss and turn the whole night. I am going to be so tired tomorrow.

  Lucy’s tip for surviving eighth grade:

  Be nice. Always be nice.

  It turns out I don’t have much time to think about Yamir or anything else, really, for the next few weeks. I’m too busy getting ready for the Masquerade. At first I was always nervous that Erica was going to turn on me and tell everyone how I basically lied about Yamir. Plus, I was worried she was going to tell Travis terrible things about me. But then one day I realize that she can’t. That she won’t. She needs me to help plan the Masquerade. She needs me to get the spa ready and have all the staff prepared. She needs me to give the amazing discount.

  Sometimes all you really need is to be needed.