I knew they meant well, but all I wanted to do was call Mr. Allen and have him swoop down and save me. However, I realized that wouldn’t be handling the problem. I’d just be putting it off until another day. No, Vladi had a new girlfriend, and I was just going to have to find a way to move on and hope that someday he'd realize he had been wrong about me and Kyle.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Halle said. “Yasmin is dancing with Kyle right in front of Vladi trying to get his attention.”
“I will never understand those people as long as I live,” Thalia said.
“Stuart is coming over here right now,” Halle said, smoothing back her long black hair. “I think he’s going to ask me to dance.”
“Ew,” Thalia said and everyone stared at her. “Oh, sorry, I just… no, I stand by my ‘ew.’”
Peyton started to laugh as Halle walked over to Stuart and they went off to dance.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Ashanti asked me.
I nodded and we went over to the corner.
“We need to talk about what went on the other day — before I had to let you go because Halle came over,” she said. “At first, I didn’t know if I should bring it up, but it’s been bothering me.”
Oh no, was this when she was going to tell me she felt she was outgrowing me? My stomach rolled.
“You acted like I didn’t have your back in any of this, and it hurt me a lot,” she said.
“I—I wasn’t sure you did. I saw you spending so much time with those girls, and I felt left out.”
“I was trying to help you the whole time.”
“It’s just that I know everything is going to change next year once you’re officially with the cheer squad. And you love coming to this place, and it’s not my scene at all. You’re so much more outgoing than me, and I know you’re meeting all these cool, popular people who you have more in common with.”
“Landry, just because we like different things doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends. You’re my best friend. Sure, I like hanging out with Halle and Maggie. I’ve been friends with them since we were ten years old and we’re close, but I can’t talk to them like I can talk to you. And you were there for me when my grandma passed away. You supported me during cheer tryouts, and you always have my back. I trust you more than anyone else in the universe,” she said. “I admit I sometimes get a little jealous of how close you and Peyton are, but I know what we have is something a lot of people never get — true friendship.”
My eyes filled with tears again, but for a different reason. “I just — I missed you.”
“Me, too,” she said giving me a hug. “I hate to say this, but I was kind of jealous when you were telling me you were spending another weekend with Peyton. I wanted to invite you to hang out with us, but I know you hated that kind of thing and you wouldn’t want to be around Yasmin.”
“Wait, you wanted me to come along?”
“Of course, but I know this club thing is not your scene, so I figured you’d be uncomfortable.”
“I just thought you moved on,” I said.
“Nope, but now we have to figure out how to get Vladi alone.”
I shook my head. “Nah, he’s with someone new now. I have to accept it.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “Only because he thinks you like somebody else.”
Devon came over then. “Guys, Kendall and Liv are here. Why don’t you see what Kendall knows about this new girl Vladi’s with?” she said.
We walked over and Kendall gave me a hug.
“India just told me everything. Why didn’t you email me? I thought it was super weird Vladi told me all this stuff and then I didn’t hear from you,” she said. “I sent you a text and never heard back.”
I told her I never got her text but didn’t know how to say that even though she was super sweet, I still found it intimidating to text or email a high school girl first.
“So nothing happened with this Kyle guy?” she asked. “Because a lot of people said he had his arm around you in a picture.”
“He did but for a dumb reason. I’m not into him.”
She nodded. “Well, that’s not Vladi’s girlfriend. This is their first date. She’s in Steve’s math class and she’s older than Vladi.”
Terrific, an older woman.
“They’re both athletic. She plays volleyball and is on the golf team. She’s outgoing, oh, and she’s Russian, too, but second generation.”
“So she’s his dream girl and I should give up now?” I asked.
“He doesn’t light up when he talks about her,” Kendall said. “Even my stupid brother said that, and he doesn’t notice anything. Seriously, my mom dyed her hair blond, and it was two days before it registered with him. Clueless.”
I started to ask her if she could talk to Vladi for me when Kyle and Yasmin walked over to us.
“Hey guys,” he said. “Nice sweater, Thalia. Does your grandma know you borrowed it? Just kidding.”
He flashed a smile, but Thalia’s eyes were watery like she wanted to cry.
“I like her sweater,” I said. “Do you have a problem with it?”
“I said I was kidding,” he said. “No worries.
“Don’t get all worked up there, supermodel,” Yasmine said, rolling her eyes.
I had had enough of her attitude. “Well, I think it’s important to be careful with what you say so lies and rumors don’t get started,” I said, glaring at her.
“Huh?” Kyle asked, confused. “What does that have to do with an ugly sweater?”
“It’s not ugly,” Ashanti said. “And this doesn’t concern you, Kyle.”
Yasmin was staring me down now. “I just call things like I see them.”
“Right, you don’t embellish anything.”
“No, I don’t,” she said.
“So explain to me why everyone thinks I’ve been flirting with Kyle when I know you’re the one telling people that.”
She glared at me. “Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said not wanting to rat Halle out.
Yasmin stared at me. “Whatever. I’m bored. Let’s go,” she said to Kyle. They walked away, and I was about to check on Thalia when I saw Vladi standing there.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
I had so much I wanted to say, but nothing would come out. Instead, I just nodded.
Ashanti elbowed Halle.
“We were just calling Yasmin out for…” Halle cleared her throat. “Making some stuff seem like a bigger deal than it was.”
Vladi stared at all of us and then his date walked up.
“There you are. I wondered where you went,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. “Come on. They’re playing my favorite song.”
“In a minute. Can you give me a second with my friends?” he asked her. She walked away looking over her shoulder.
Halle glanced over at Vladi. “I guess I should have said something a long time ago when Yasmin was saying all that stuff about Kyle and Landry.”
Vladi put his hand up. “I know Landry’s not into Kyle,” he said.
“You do? Then why did you block my calls?” I asked.
“Because I just now realized it.”
“So someone else had to tell you she was on the up and up for you to believe her?” Ashanti asked.
“No, I realized it now when she stood up for Thalia. Landry told me she would never like somebody who would be mean to her friend. At the time, I didn’t know if she was telling the truth or if she was just caught up with the attention from him, but there’s no way she would like some guy that was that much of a jerk.”
“Are you still mad at me? Can we talk alone for a minute?” I asked.
“I’m with somebody right now. I gotta go,” he said and headed back to his date.
My heart felt like someone kicked it. I felt Ashanti’s arm around me.
“Landry, I’m so sorry,” Halle said. “I wish I had spoken up sooner. It’s just
not that easy to stand up to Yasmin.”
I couldn’t speak. Jay came up then to ask Ashanti to dance.
“Thanks, but I think we’re going to call it a night,” she said. “Landry isn’t feeling well.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I can call India’s dad to pick me up. You stay.”
“No way,” she said.
We walked over to the girls, and Peyton took one look at my face and gave me a hug.
“What happened?” India asked.
I told them the whole story, and I could see pity in their eyes. They knew what I already felt — that it was too late for Vladi and me.
“At least he knows the truth now,” Devon said.
I called Mr. Allen, and he said he was waiting across the street.
“Do you want me to come, too?” Peyton asked.
I shook my head. “Nah, I just want to be alone and cry and maybe eat cookie dough.”
They walked us to the door, and I felt a little weird when Halle gave Ashanti a hug. Peyton told me to call her tomorrow and I nodded.
Mr. Allen was waiting by the curb. “You can go back inside,” I said to Ashanti. “I know you want to dance with Jay.”
“Forget him. Do you seriously want to be alone or can I come over for a bit, so we can talk?” she asked. “Would your mom be okay with that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I don’t want to be by myself right now.” I texted Mom and asked if Ashanti could come over.
Mom: Of course.
Mr. Allen dropped us off and we went inside.
Mom glanced up from the TV show she was watching. “You’re home so soon, sweets. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, no one we knew was there, so we decided to leave early and play Skylar games,” Ashanti said.
“Okay,” Mom said. “You guys want snacks? I bought some lemon poppy seed muffins for your grandparents. And there’s some pastry thing. It’s got icing on it and some sort of fruit filling. It looks like something Grandpa would like. Have at it.”
We took some snacks back to my room. We sat there chewing in silence, and I realized how nice it was to be able to have a comfortable silence with someone. Just knowing Ashanti cared and was there for me without having to say anything.
“Wanna solve a mystery?” she asked, picking up the game disc.
I nodded. We started to play, and Mom came in and asked if Ashanti wanted to spend the night since it was getting late. Ashanti texted her parents who said they were fine with it. Her mom said she’d drop off an overnight bag.
“Hey, did you ever figure out your grandma’s mac ‘n cheese recipe?” I asked.
“Nope. Nobody knows what Dexter cheese or Waddell sauce is,” she said.
“Have your mom bring the recipe when she drops off your stuff. We can ask my grandma about it. She loves to cook and play with recipes.”
Mrs. Russell dropped off Ashanti’s things, and we put our sweats on. I glanced over at my phone.
“Hoping he’ll call?” she asked.
I nodded and told her how he had said he liked hearing my voice before he fell asleep.
“Wow, you guys were getting a lot closer, weren’t you?” she said. “You never told me that.”
I nodded and my eyes filled with tears. “He told me I could always count on him and I knew he meant it and then all this happened.”
“He knows now though. I mean, I saw his face when you told Kyle off for insulting Thalia. The way you talked to Kyle was proof you’re not into him.”
“Yeah, but Vladi has some other girl now,” I said.
Ashanti bit her lip. “Well, Kendall doesn’t seem to think he’s all that into her.”
“That girl sounds perfect for him, and did you see how they seemed like the perfect couple? She’s the exact opposite of me — athletic, outgoing, like Amazon-ish tall, and they’re both Russian. I mean, they’re like a soap opera forever-couple who always find their way back to one another,” I said. “They even look like they should be on the cover of Soap Sudsies magazine together.”
“So they look cute together, and they have a lot in common. That’s not everything. Jay trips over his own feet in gym class and likes sci-fi movies, yet I still like him even though we’re into different things. And you’re not into the dance scene and I couldn’t beg you to try out for cheerleading, and yet you’re like a sister to me.”
I hugged her. “Thanks.”
“Always. Always.”
“And if you dump me next year for that creep Yasmin, I will never, ever forgive you,” I said.
She cracked up. “Actually, I was going to see if I could hang out with Vladi’s new girl and sit at their lunch table next year. I could braid her perfect hair while they hold hands.”
“Yeah, you do that. Call me over at St. Faustina’s and let me know how it’s going.”
We were both laughing so hard we could barely speak.
Chapter 32
The next morning, Mom came in to say Grandma Lily and Grandpa Bernie would be at the house in an hour. Ashanti said she’d call her dad to come get her, but I wanted her to meet my grandparents, so she stayed and we got ready together. I glanced over at my phone.
“Still hoping he’ll call?” she asked.
“Yeah, at least to let me know we’re still friends.”
“Landry, they’re here,” Mom said.
I ran into the living room and Grandpa gave me a big hug.
“There’s my girl,” he said. “Oh, it’s been too long.”
Grandma hugged me next, pulled back, asked if I was eating well, and then hugged me again.
“This is Ashanti,” I said.
“We’ve heard so much about you,” Grandma said smiling at her.
Mom and Grandma took the luggage into the guest room, and Grandpa told me he was bringing my surprise in. Then he brought in a baby blue painted bookcase. It was gorgeous.
“Wow,” Ashanti said coming closer to see it. “It’s your favorite color, too.”
“I made it myself,” Grandpa said. “The scalloped edges were a bit tricky at first, but I got the hang of it. Figured you needed something special for all your books.”
“I love it,” I said hugging him. “I know just where to put it in my room.”
Grandpa took the bookcase into my bedroom, and Grandma told me she had made me something, too.
“Now don’t get too excited, but I did a picture for you,” she said.
It was a sketch of a vase of flowers that she had painted in shades of royal blue, pink, baby blue, and yellow.
“It’s gorgeous, Grandma.”
“Notice anything?” she asked. “It matches your favorite fleece blanket.”
“It does,” Ashanti said. “It has to go above the bookcase.”
“I’m so glad you’re taking the art class, Grandma” I said.
“Oh, me, too. It’s much more fun than I could have imagined.”
“Hey, while you’re here, can we show you a recipe for something? Ashanti’s grandma used to make this famous mac ‘n cheese, and her family is having problems finding all the ingredients,” I said.
Ashanti went and got her the recipe and told her about the sauce and the cheese. Grandma’s face lit up.
“Was your grandmother from Chicago?” Grandma asked.
“Um, yeah, but she only lived there until she was, like, fifteen or something. Then her family moved here.”
“Waddell sauce used to be this special condiment a local diner in Chicago used. That place went out of business when I was a teen, so I’m not surprised you couldn’t find anything about it,” Grandma said. “But I know how to whip up a pretty good substitute.”
“You can make it?” Ashanti asked.
“Sure can and Dexter cheese is a brand, too. If memory serves, it’s a bit like munster, colby, and jack cheese all together,” she said and then glanced over at my mother. “Any chance you have some of these items in the kitchen?”
Mom shook her head. “You know I’m not into cooking, Ma.�
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“Yes, yes, and I’m some relic from the past for loving it,” she said. “Okay, take me to the nearest market and I’ll get what we need. Then we are going to make some mac ‘n cheese.”
Grandma and Mom left and Ashanti started to get anxious. “This is so dumb, but I’m worried about getting my hopes up. What if it’s not the same because my granny didn’t make it? Suddenly I feel like everything is riding on this turning out okay,” she said.
Grandpa Bernie sat down across from her at the table. “My grandmother used to make the best pierogi in the world. Nobody’s could come close to hers. I remember one time someone tried to make her potato version, and it was like they forgot to add the flavor. I seriously wished they’d stop trying, but then Landry’s grandma was determined to recreate them. Even though she didn’t quite get them right, the fact she cared enough to try made them the best dumplings I ever ate.”
Ashanti’s eyes filled up with tears and she nodded. Grandma and Mom walked in then with the groceries.
“Dear, where do you keep your aprons?” Grandma asked Mom.
“Mother, I don’t own any. Would you like to borrow a sweatshirt or a hoodie so you don’t get anything on your outfit?”
“No, I’ll be fine,” Grandma said. “Okay, girls. Let’s start the sauce. They didn’t have the Dijon mustard I prefer, so we’ll wing it with this one. There was no fresh dill, so apparently we’re using this dried kind… like savages.”
Ashanti giggled and Mom rolled her eyes. Grandma put Ashanti in charge of stirring up the melted cheeses, and I helped with the macaroni.
“Dear, where’s your pasta strainer?” Grandma asked Mom.
“Probably wherever you put it the last time you rearranged my kitchen,” Mom said smirking.
“Well, it’s hard to cook in an unorganized kitchen.”
“Mother, I have a full-time job and other interests.”
“I understand that, but I wish you would understand that I enjoy this and it’s not a chore for me. Cooking happens to be one of my hobbies,” Grandma said.
Ashanti and I exchanged a look.
“You’re right, Ma. We have different interests and I should appreciate yours more. You know I love your cooking,” Mom said.
“And I’m proud of your accomplishments,” Grandma said with a smile. “Now go drain that pasta, and let’s get the show on the road.”
Landry in Like Page 21