by Anna Cackler
“Why not?”
“Yeah,” Ethan asked. “Why not? I’ve got a great stereo system if you guys need one.”
“Sure!” Shannon said. “Now all we have to do is find someone who can get us a couple of kegs!”
Finn’s head snapped up. “Whoa, Shannon! How big is this party gonna be?” I don’t think anyone heard him but me.
“Don’t worry,” Margo said. “My big brother’s always having parties. He can get us whatever we want.”
“Great!”
“Not great!” Finn said, a little louder now. “Now I’m all for cutting loose once and a while, but I don’t want this mess in my house. I don’t want to be responsible for this whole thing when it spirals out of control. And it will spiral out of control.”
“Don’t worry so much,” Shannon said. “How bad could it be? I went to Justin White’s senior party last year and it was really tame.”
“That’s because Justin White is really tame,” I said.
“How many people, Shannon?” Finn asked.
“A lot. It won’t be a hit unless there are a lot of people. I think that between Ethan and me we can shore up the numbers.” Ethan nodded his agreement. He’d only been living in St. John for a few months, but he was already one of the most popular people I knew besides Shannon herself. His good looks and charming smile had won over plenty more than just little old me.
“All right, I officially wash my hands of this nonsense,” Finn said, picking up his book again.
“Me too,” I said. “I’ll come over tonight if you want, Shannon, but I’ll have no part in this party business.”
“Oh come on, Emily!” Ethan said with an appealing smile. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
I’ll admit it. I almost caved right then and there, and with almost no convincing. It was that stupid smile of his that kept undoing me. “It’s with the sober people,” I said after a few tenuous seconds of indecision. The warning bell rang just then, and our bickering had to be postponed.
Shannon and I split off from the group to head down to our lockers, each of us in our own little worlds. Shannon was probably going over party plans in her head. I could tell by the half-smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Something was on her mind at least.
Suddenly someone knocked into me from behind, jolting me from my musings.
“Shannon! Where’ve ya been?” It was Charlie Hamilton. I glared up at him as he shoved his way in between me and my friend without even glancing my way.
Shannon smiled up at him. “Around. Why do you ask?”
“Hey Charlie,” I said loudly.
“Hey,” he said without even turning all of the way towards me. “So Shannon, You coming to the game Friday? I’m starting this time.”
I rolled my eyes and stopped trying.
“The football game? That depends. Em? You want to come with me?”
“No.”
Shannon shrugged. “I guess that’s a no then, Charlie.”
“Oh come on!” he begged, taking Shannon’s hand. “Bring someone else with you. Please come. Please?”
Shannon blushed. Holy cow Shannon was blushing! And smiling like a school girl! That never happened, especially not with Charlie. “Sorry Charlie. I’ve got plans with Adam anyway.”
Charlie frowned. Even I had to admit that a scowl looked oddly manly on his fair features. If he’d been looking at me that way, I’d forget all about Ethan in a heartbeat, much less snarky old Adam Choate.
“See you later Charlie,” Shannon hinted with a grin. She stopped at her locker and waited for him to shove off before yanking it open.
“You do not have plans with Adam this weekend,” I said.
She shrugged. “I know. But you’ve got to make him sweat about it.”
“That’s mean.”
“It’s not mean.”
“You’re teasing him.”
“I’m doing no such thing.” She was looking way too pleased with herself. Clearly this wasn’t something I wanted to be involved in.
“Fine.” I shoved my books around in my locker, hoping to find a fresh pencil somewhere at the bottom.
“Fine.”
“Good.”
“Great. See you in Calculus.” She flashed me a winning smile and slipped off to class through the thinning crowd.
“Fine.”
“I can’t believe my sister is doing this,” Finn said during Lit later that day. Ms. Walsh was out sick that day, and our substitute was insanely liberal. We had already finished the busy work she’d left us. In fact, most of the class had nothing to do and the room was filled with the ethereal chatter of bored students that echoed off of the cinderblock walls.
Jeff and Tom were completely absorbed in a sheaf of papers that lay spread out between them and they were speaking in low voices. I caught a glimpse of one of the pages and it seemed to be covered in chemical equations. I had no idea why they were being so secretive over their Chemistry homework.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.” I flipped through the Shel Silverstein book that I had cracked my head open for. Its spine, miraculously, was still in tact.
“She’s gotten herself a hobby,” he said. “Here, gimme your hand.”
“Which one?”
“The broken one.”
I extended the clunky cast across the desk and he produced a dark green marker. He turned my arm so that the inside of my cast was up and started doodling on the inside of my wrist in green.
“So what do you mean about Shannon’s hobby?” I asked.
“She’s taken up meddling as if it were a sport. She’s even neglecting that football jock that she likes so much. Charlie somebody.”
“Actually she meddled around his head just this afternoon. She claims she just having fun but she’s just torturing the poor boy.”
“Well whatever. That just supports my point.”
“I see what you mean. Not only is she trying to get me all excited about dating and messing with Charlie’s emotions, but she’s doing her best to get you and Margo together. How’s that going so far, by the way?”
He shrugged. “Not much has changed since the first day of school.”
“Nothing?” I asked, looking up. “So is there even a chance, then?”
He shrugged again. “You never know, I guess.” He glanced up to gage my reaction, but I gave him nothing.
“I still think you guys would be cute together.”
“Oh yes, because that’s what every guy dreams of in a relationship. Cute.”
I grinned. “And what do you look for?”
“Brains and body,” he said with gusto. He released my arm and looked up. “My perfect girl is one who has the wherewithal to hold her own in an argument, and then hold her own in bed.” He paused thoughtfully then added, “Or vice versa.”
“And here I thought you didn’t care about sex.” I studied my arm. It was covered in various quotes and funny poems by now, with little room for anything else. Standing out in deep green on the inside of my wrist was a perfect little apple, complete with a stem and a leaf. I smiled and looked up.
Finn was stoic in his seat. “I’m a man, aren’t I?”
Shannon’s agenda for that night’s planning turned out to be one of the most uneventful things I’d ever experienced. As it turned out, she and Ethan had spent most of calculus class passing notes back and forth, hashing out the details of the upcoming event. Between the two of them, we were expecting a huge turnout. The O’Malley house, in one and a half weeks, was going to be the hit spot in town for everyone under the age of twenty-five.
“Here, Margo,” Shannon said, pulling a white peasant blouse out of her closet. “Try this on. It would go great with those jeans.”
“Okay,” Margo agreed hesitantly. “Why am I trying this on?”
“Because.” Shannon pushed her into the bathroom.
“Why is she trying that on?” I asked. I was flipping through the channels on the little old TV in Shannon’s bedroom.
“Because.”
There was a knock at the door and Finn pushed it open without waiting for an answer. “Hey Em, have you finished your essay yet?”
I didn’t look up. “Yeah. Why?”
“Never mind.” He disappeared down the hallway to his own room.
“Margo! It’s perfect on you!”
I turned to see what Shannon was going on about and did a double take. Sweet little Margo, in Shannon’s old peasant blouse, suddenly looked like a teen pop star. She blushed scarlet. “Really? You think it looks good?”
“It looks great on you,” I said. “Really.”
She looked over at Shannon. “Do you think I could borrow it for your party?”
“Borrow? No. Have? Yes. I never wore the stupid thing. Dad got it for my birthday a year ago. I don’t have the figure for it.”
That last part was a lie, but I didn’t feel the need to burst Margo’s bubble.
The door opened again and we all jumped. “Hey Em.” Finn had stuck his head back in the room. “What did you do your essay on?”
“Shel Silverstein and his unconventional use of words and phrases to communicate big moral and common sense ideas to children.” I rattled the words off with my attention back on the TV.
“Ah. Crap. I’ve got nothing.” He made as if to leave again, but Shannon lurched forward and grabbed his forearm.
“No, Finn. You’re just the person we need.” She dragged him inside. “Come in here and tell Margo what you think of this top.”
“What does Finn care about clothes?” I asked, turning a critical eye to my friend, and then felt very stupid. “What to I care about clothes?” I turned back to the TV.
“Finn cares plenty.”
“I do?”
I glanced up at Margo, who was getting redder and redder. She was inching toward the bathroom door now, obviously thinking to get the blouse off before someone said something really embarrassing.
“Yes, you do. Look at her, Finn. Margo!” Shannon grabbed her retreating friend and pulled her in front of Finn. “What we need is a man’s opinion.” I looked from Shannon to Margo, then back again. What was Shannon doing?
Oh. Right. Shannon’s new hobby. For being such a meddler she wasn’t very good at it.
I looked from Margo to Finn, back and forth. Margo was almost purple now, and Finn still just looked indifferent and confused. Poor Margo. It was in that moment that I decided it was time for a bit more subtly, and a bit less meddling.
I got up and stood next to Margo. “Yeah, Finn. Doesn’t she look great?” Finn turned his gaze to me, but said nothing. “Doesn’t she really look nice? Even a man such as yourself must see the value of an attractive woman in attractive clothes.” Margo looked like she wanted to sink into the floor now, but I knew that I had said the right thing. She would thank me later.
Margo may not be the dream woman Finn had described, but why should he wait for something that may never happen?
“Why-” he stopped short, watching my face carefully. I could almost see the pieces slipping into place in Finn’s brain as he realized the implications of my words. Something huge had just occurred to him, and it was all thanks to me.
His smooth gaze slipped over my face and came to a rest on Margo’s. “You know, you really do look good in white.” There was a look in his eye that I couldn’t quite identify. It was as if he were seeing a whole realm of possibility that had never occurred to him before. Shannon looked like Christmas had come early, but she managed to keep her hysterics at bay for the moment.
“Thanks.” Margo managed to drag her eyes up from the floor to meet Finn’s gaze. It was perfectly timed and I silently blessed her for it because her shy blushing only added to the homeliness of her overall look.
“You should wear that to Shannon’s party,” he said. “You haven’t got a date yet, have you?”
Margo blanched. “Um, no.” She looked like she was going to vomit all over him.
His wide mouth stretched into a grin. “You and I should go.” I had never once thought of Finn wrangling himself a date. He did it all so confidently. So casually, as if it were no big deal at all.
“Um. All right.” She managed a smile. She at least thought this was a big deal.
He grinned even wider, and punched her playfully on the arm. “Don’t look so terrified,” he teased. “It’s just a date. Tell you what, we’ll have a dress rehearsal. What are you doing this Friday?”
Holy crap, this was going far better than I could have hoped for.
She laughed, loosening up a little. “Hanging out with you, I guess.” How she pulled off wit in her state, I’ll never know, but it worked like a charm.
“I thought you weren’t going to be involved in the party,” Shannon said to Finn.
“I believe my exact words were ‘I’m not going to be responsible for this mess.’” he corrected. “And I’m not. I’ve got a date for the biggest party in town, which is more than either of you two can say.” He pointed at Shannon and me both, winked at Margo, and stepped into the hallway. “Now nobody bother me. I’ve got to go research a two-page essay that’s due tomorrow.”
We all waited in absolute silence until we heard Finn’s bedroom door click shut. “Oh my God!” Margo breathed, lowering herself onto Shannon’s bed.
“Congrats, Margo!” I grinned. “Well done. Isn’t this great, Shannon?”
But my friend was frozen where she stood, an odd look of strained happiness pasted onto her face. Her bright hair had fallen into her eyes and her hand was frozen in mid air on its way to brush it aside.
“Shannon?” Margo was breathing hard and had one hand at her throat. It was going to take her a while to get over this one.
“What?”
“What’s the matter?”
Suddenly her hand flashed through the air and her hair was back in its place. “Nothing!” But she said it too loudly, and I knew there definitely was something wrong.
“Shannon?” I asked, but she wouldn’t look at me.
“I’m so glad this all worked out so well!” she said suddenly to Margo, snapping out of whatever it was that had bothered her. “What will you wear? What do you think you’ll do?”
And that was my cue to turn back to the TV.
Seven
“What’s wrong with you lately?” Ethan asked me that Friday after school.
“What do you mean?” The half-chewed pencil in my mouth muffled my words a little. Mr. Yarsden had given us one problem for our homework that weekend, but that one little problem was the longest, most involved word problem that I had ever encountered. Ethan and I sat alone at the picnic tables behind the school for half an hour before we finished the first half of the stupid thing.
He closed the text book that I was desperately trying to distract myself with. “I mean you’ve been really mopey for the past three days.”
I brushed my hair out of my face and glared at him. “Nothing’s wrong with me.”
“Something is. Out with it.”
“I’m telling you, there’s nothing wrong. Can we please finish this stupid problem? I want to go home.”
“No.” He crossed his arms. “It’s Friday night. We should do something.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “Anything to make you stop being so depressed. What’s everybody else doing tonight? We should all get together and go see a movie.”
“Finn and Margo have plans for tonight, and Shannon’s busy obsessing over it.”
Comprehension dawned on his face. “Ah, right. The big date. I forgot.”
“Yup.” I stuck my pencil back in my mouth.
“Stop that,” he said, taking it away from me. “Lead isn’t good for the digestive system.”
“It’s fortunate that pencil lead is made from graphite, then.”
“That’s not good for your digestive system either.”
“Well maybe I enjoy slowly poisoning myself to death.”
“See?” He pointed at
me. “There, right there! You’re so depressing!”
I leaned forward to take back my pencil, but he leaned away, holding it just out of reach. I lunged again, stretching right across his body to try and get my chew toy back, but he just laughed. I stopped, my face just inches from his, and glared at him out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t mean to glare. My heart started pounding in response to how close his face was to mine and I suddenly couldn’t help but notice that he smelled amazing. Like fabric softener. The expensive kind.
But I wasn’t done being mad so I glared at him. I wanted to wipe that cheesy smile right off of his face.
“Let’s me and you do something then,” he said. “On our own.”
I sat back on the bench. “I don’t feel like seeing a movie.”
“Do you like go-carts?”
“We don’t have a track in St. John.”
“What about putt-putt golf?” He raised one eyebrow. “Eh?”
“Not a fan.”
“Fine. Since you’re being so difficult, I’ll choose. And I choose a movie. I’ve been wanting to see that new thriller that came out last week. Dead End, I think it was.”
“Have fun with that.” I snatched back my pencil the instant he let down his guard. I stuck it stubbornly back into my mouth.
“Oh, we will have fun.”
I grinned despite myself, and then wiped my face clean immediately. “All right,” the concession felt less like surrender than I expected. “Just call me later when you want to pick me up.”
“I’ll pick you up at six, how’s that?”
“That’s a little early for a movie.”
“Well if we want to have dinner first, then we have to leave early.” He smiled innocently at me.
“Dinner?”
He shrugged. “I figure that we may as well make it official, since we’re going to be alone anyway.”
My face flushed just then and I nearly bit clean through the pencil. “Make what official?”
“Our second date.” He laughed at my shocked expression, and then carefully removed the ruined pencil from my mouth. He dug in his bag and produced a fresh one for me, inserting it between my frozen lips to replace the old one. “If that’s all right with you, of course.”