by JL Paul
The Fall Festival consisted of a bonfire Friday night and a dance Saturday night. It wasn’t a formal event so it wasn’t necessary to purchase fancy gowns. Annie and Cammy had settled on a white skirt that covered my knees and a deep green, thin sweater that they claimed brought out the color of my eyes. They forced me to try on pair after pair of shoes until deciding that one inch heels would be perfect. I was sure they’d be perfect for breaking my ankle.
Although I tried to hide it, I was actually excited and edgy. Lance had taken to walking me to nearly all my classes. He was fun and flirty and always laughed at my nervous rambling. But each time I looked up at his face and caught his gaze, my heart went wild. I began to believe that Annie could be right – this was going to be my year.
I hung my new clothes in my closet next to the polo shirts I had to wear to class. Our school emerged from the dark ages years ago and adopted a new uniform of khaki pants and navy blue polo shirts with the school’s crest embroidered on them. It was much, much better than the plaid skirts the poor saps had to wear before I ever started here.
I hadn’t talked to Jake in over a week. I did call to tell him about Lance asking me to the dance. He had said he was thrilled, but his voice hadn’t been very convincing. He’d sounded tired, and I was glad he was on a short break. I knew he was in Chicago this week, spending time with his family. I hoped he was able to rest and relax before hitting the road again. Still, I was a little put out that he hadn’t taken a second to call me and let me know how things were going. My birthday was fast approaching, and I hadn’t forgotten his promise. I wondered if he had. I knew it wasn’t possible for him to take me for that Big ‘Un Friday because of the Festival or Saturday because of the dance, but there was always Sunday. And, I really wanted to see him again. I think my brain wanted verification that that night had actually happened, and the Jake I spoke to frequently was really that Jake.
My friends and I had taken to watching VTV while doing our homework each night. I’d stop when one of Controlled Environment’s videos came on so I could watch Jake intently. He seemed like a totally different person than the one I had spent an entire evening with a few weeks ago. Of course Annie and Cammy would giggle and nudge me and watch me watch Jake. Talk about irritating.
After I hung up my new purchases, I wandered down to Cammy’s room. Annie was there helping coordinate jewelry. I stifled a groan and an eye roll as I plopped on the empty bed. I did like being a girl, but I didn’t like being all girly-girl.
I watched them compare necklace and earring ensembles for about ten minutes before I grew terribly bored. Huffing, I stood, glaring at them both. They dropped the jewelry sheepishly and smiled. I took one of each of their hands and dragged them from the room. I led them to the Student Center to see if anything was happening. There wasn’t much to do in the tiny, nearby town on a Sunday so most of the students sat around the tables in the Center and talked or munched on snacks from the machine. We had a couple of pool tables, a foosball table and a big screen television at our disposal.
Lance and Dean were taking advantage of one of those pool tables when we entered. I nervously smoothed down my shirt, grateful that Annie had forced me into my best pair of jeans and a nice tank top. I did have some curves under my bulky clothes, and I wanted Lance to notice. Shallow much? Maybe so, but I’d been in love with Lance since our freshman year.
Cammy sidled up to Dean and batted her long, thick eyelashes. I wondered briefly if I should do the same to Lance. I decided not to because I was positive if I did, I’d look like I had something in my eye. Not the least bit attractive.
“Do you want to play pool, Bella?” Lance asked as he gestured to me. My mind turned to mush as my feet moved slowly to his side.
“I’m not very good,” I admitted.
He smiled, and I was nearly certain the overhead lights glinted off his teeth. “That’s okay—I’ll help. Me and you against Cammy and Dean.”
Cammy’s face lit up brighter than Lance’s smile while my insides turned cartwheels. Dean racked the balls while Lance chalked a stick. He hit the cue ball and sent the others flying all over the table. Two fell in the pockets and he motioned for me to his side of the table. He positioned me in front of him and handed me a stick. He placed his hands over mine and I hoped my trembling wouldn’t cause the stick to shake. His chin was just above my shoulder as he whispered instructions in my ear. A pleasant chill ran up my spine, and I found it very difficult to concentrate on his words.
Cammy stood on the opposite side of the table, nearly bursting. I glared briefly at her before shooting. Missing the cue ball entirely, heat flooded my cheeks. It’s not like that wasn’t inevitable. I mean, I’m not usually that bad but it was hard to focus while Lance was so close.
I did manage to improve enough to assist in a victory. But Dean and Cammy came back to beat us the next game. Lance started racking the balls for our rubber match when my cell rang. I frowned when ‘The Man’ came up on the screen. I really needed to speak to Jake about his timing.
“Hey, Jake,” I answered a little stiff. Lance’s brow shot to his hairline as his eyes narrowed. “What’s up?”
“Catch you at a bad time, angel?” he asked.
“Just shooting pool with some friends,” I replied in a tone I hoped sounded casual. I smiled at Lance and he relaxed, leaning his athletic frame against the table.
“Is Mr. Wonderful there?” Jake teased.
I chortled. Annie, who’d been sitting on a sofa, flipping through one of her beloved tabloids, shot me a questioning look. I shrugged. “Yes.”
“Good, I hope he’s jealous because you’re talking to me. Won’t hurt him a bit.”
“I highly doubt that,” I muttered. This was Lance we were talking about. He never had a reason to be jealous.
“You never know, Iz. I told you, you’re a very pretty girl. If it were me, I’d be seething. I wouldn’t want my woman talking to some guy I didn’t know on the phone.”
I wanted to remind him that technically I wasn’t Lance’s woman—he was only taking me to the dance. It’s not like we were going steady or anything. But I couldn’t very well utter those words while Lance listened to everything I said.
“Maybe,” I muttered instead. “Jake, can I call you back? They’re sort of waiting for me so we can finish the game.”
“Sure, Iz,” he laughed. “Give me a call later.”
Stuffing my phone in my pocket, I smiled. “Are we ready?”
“Who’s Jake?” Lance asked.
“An old friend of mine. From home. Remember when I said something about him at the bonfire?” Okay, so Jake wasn’t really an old friend from home, but did Lance really need to know that tidbit?
Lance merely nodded, and we finished the game a little more quietly than before.
***
The Wednesday before the Fall Festival started out bad and only got worse. Annie had had an early meeting for the school newspaper, so she hadn’t been around to throw a pillow at me when my alarm blasted. Therefore I was late getting out of bed. I had skipped breakfast, which was not a good thing for someone like me, and ran out of the dorm in a flurry to reach my first class before the final bell. I had a pop quiz in Government which I was totally unprepared for, and Lance hadn’t shown up at all for Calculus. I hadn’t seen him all day until he shouted for me as I was hurrying to make it in time for my last class.
“Bella, wait up,” he shouted. My heart flipped and all worries about tardy slips left my mind. He reached my side with an uneasy smile.
“Hey, where have you been?” I asked as he took my arm and hurried me toward the English building.
“I need to talk to you.”
I shrugged, a little concerned about the anxious tone of his voice and the way he avoided my eyes.
“Umm, Krysti and I talked this morning. I think we might get back together.” My heart sank to my toes and tears prickled the back of my eyes. I managed to keep my composure as I nodded. I didn’t know wha
t to say. “She wants us to go to the dance Saturday.”
“All of us?” I blurted. Stupid, stupid me.
“Umm, no. Just her and I. I told her I would. I’m really sorry, Bella, but you understand, right?”
I swallowed the huge lump in my throat. “Sure, Lance. That’s fine. I understand. Don’t worry about it. I really need to go, though. I’m already late for class.”
I managed some kind of smile as I turned before heading in the opposite direction. I heard him call out to me, but I ignored him as I made my way blindly to my dorm. I slammed the door and dropped my book bag to the floor. Of course Annie wasn’t there – she was in class, as was Cammy.
The tears fell from my eyes and hysteria loomed nearby, but I wasn’t about to give in to it. I would be strong. I paced the small room, taking deep, steadying breaths. My eyes fell on the hoodie sitting on top of my dresser. I’d pulled it out that morning, intending on throwing it over my school shirt, but I was in such a hurry, I’d forgotten it. It was Jake’s hoodie. Jake.
I grabbed my phone and hit his number. He surprised me when he answered immediately.
“Hey, Iz. Need help with your homework?” His cheerful tone released the pain in my heart.
“Jake,” I croaked as the tears increased.
“Iz,” he said, startled. “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”
Sniffing, I took a few more breaths, trying to calm my tears so I would be able to speak. He waited patiently until I was able to pour the whole pathetic story out to him.
“That…” I cringed at the rather colorful names he came up with for Lance. He paused, and I thought he must have run out of insults and needed a second to think up a few more. But he didn’t. “I’ll take you.”
I blinked, stupidly thinking that would clear my hearing. “What?”
“I said I’ll take you to the dance. What do we have to do to get me in that fancy school of yours?”
I sank to my bed as I cleared my mind. “Um, well, I have to have my dad sign a permission form saying it’s okay for me to have a guest. Do you really want to do this? I mean, it’s not necessary. I could always use the time to do homework or something.”
“I want to take you, Iz. It’ll be fun. I’ll spend the weekend down there and take you for that Big ‘Un I owe you. Maybe we could do that Friday night.”
My heart lifted at the thought of spending an entire weekend with Jake. I missed him sorely and really wanted to see him. But I was a little worried about him coming to school. What if everyone mobbed him?
“Are you sure?”
He chuckled. “Absolutely.”
“Okay. There’s a party Friday night, but I don’t really want to go. I’d rather gorge on junk food.”
His laughter brightened me a little, and Lance’s rejection was slipping slowly out of my mind. “Are you allowed to leave campus?”
“Yeah. Curfew is 1:00AM on weekends for seniors.”
“Cool. I’ll get a room in town, and you can meet me in the lobby Friday night. We’ll go do something, then I’ll take you to this dance Saturday.”
A slow smile spread across my lips as my heart filled with affection. I sniffed again. “Thanks, Jake. For everything.”
“Not a problem. It’s the least I can do for carjacking you.”
I managed a sincere laugh, feeling somewhat better. We chatted for a little while, and he told me about his visit with his father. Finally, I declared I had to get my homework done. We hung up just as Annie stormed into the room, obviously having already heard the news about Lance and Krysti. Her dark, angry face changed quickly to confusion at my nonchalant attitude.
“Hey,” I said. “I guess you heard about Lance.”
She nodded, lips set in a firm line. I decided to put her out of her misery and let her in on Jake’s plan.
“You can’t be serious!” she exclaimed, eyes gleaming. I could actually see the wheels turning in her head. “Wait until everyone hears this!”
“No,” I said, grabbing her arm. “Please, Annie, you can’t tell anyone.”
“Why?” she persisted. “It’s not like no one will recognize him.” Annie pouted, arms crossed over her chest. She was personally vying to become the next great tabloid editor, and with gossip like this, she’d definitely move up a peg or two.
“Because,” I answered. My mind whirred, realizing what a disaster this could turn out to be. Sure, I would absolutely love to see Lance’s reaction to my replacement date, but I didn’t want to use Jake. How uncomfortable would that make him? And what about when he was recognized? Doubt crept into my mind and I gazed at the cell phone I’d dropped on my bed. Should I call it off? “I don’t know if this is such a great idea.”
“What’s not a great idea?” Cammy asked as she drifted into our room. She plopped on Annie’s bed and watched us with inquisitive eyes.
“Jake’s taking Bella to the dance,” Annie blurted, ecstatic to be telling someone.
Cammy’s eyes widened as she gasped. “I thought Lance was taking her?”
“He dumped her for Krysti. Can you believe that? Denise told me that Krysti was all jealous because Lance was paying Bella so much attention, so she convinced him to skip class and they talked all day. Supposedly Krysti had some kind of meltdown in the cafeteria bathrooms, and Karen found her and told Lance. Apparently, he forgave her, and now they’re going to the dance.”
“No!” Cammy exclaimed, hand to her heart. “That’s not very nice.”
“I know,” Annie emphatically agreed. “So Bella called Jake, and he offered to take her. How cool is that?”
“How romantic!” Cammy dreamily declared, head in the clouds. Did they even remember I was in the room?
“Yeah, I know. But Bella won’t let me tell anyone,” Annie said, shooting me a dirty look.
“Hello, I am still here,” I said.
“Sorry,” Cammy apologized. “Jake Johnson is really taking you to the dance?”
I lowered my body to the bed and nibbled on my bottom lip. “Yeah, he said he would. But I’m beginning to think it’s a bad idea.”
“Nonsense,” Annie said, waving my concerns away. “Jake is used to the attention. Besides, if he didn’t want to take you, he wouldn’t have offered.”
“I know,” I sighed. She had a point. But that little cloud of guilt hovered inside my head. “Maybe I should just hang out with him in town or something.”
Cammy nodded. “That would be sweet.”
“Oh no you don’t, Isabella Ames,” Annie warned. “This is your chance to pay Lance back.”
“I’m not concerned with paybacks; I’m concerned with Jake getting mobbed.”
Annie and Cammy exchanged a glance but remained silent.
***
“Daddy?” I said brightly into my cell phone. I paced the sidewalk outside the Admin building hoping my voice would cheer him. “I need you to do me a huge favor.”
“What do you need, princess?” he asked. I grinned. I absolutely adored being a Daddy’s girl.
“Well, the Fall Festival is this weekend, and I need you to sign a permission slip allowing one of my friends to come on campus this weekend . . . as sort of my date.”
“I thought your mother told me you were going with some football player?” he mumbled in an absent tone, more than likely focused on a case file or something. “Did something happen?”
“Yeah, he sort of asked someone else. But it’s okay,” I hastened to add. “My friend, Jake, said he’d take me, but I need your permission for him to come on campus.”
“Do I know this friend, Jake?” I wanted to groan but I didn’t. So sometimes being a Daddy’s girl wasn’t so wonderful—especially when it came to things like boys and dances.
“Well, you don’t know him yet. But I hope to introduce you to him during Thanksgiving break.” Okay so that wasn’t the total truth. But, it wasn’t a bad idea. I wondered if Jake would consider coming to my house if they were off for the holiday. I could just imagine Seth’s fac
e.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Dad continued to grill me. I could hear him rustling papers on his end and I hoped he was busy enough to cut the inquisition short.
“No, Dad. He is just a friend. I was upset because the jock dumped me for a cheerleader with a big chest, and when I told Jake, he volunteered to take me. He’s a very nice, decent guy, Daddy. You’d love him.”
I crossed my fingers, hoping he wouldn’t ask any more questions. “Okay, fax me the form. But do it now—I’m due in court soon.” I nearly jumped for joy. “But I want to meet this boy.”
“Thanks so much, Daddy! You’ll meet him soon, I promise.” He chuckled and ended the call. I raced inside the building to get the form from the secretary. I grabbed a pen and filled it out best I could. I scratched ‘graduate’ in the school section, hoping no one would question me on it. I had no idea what school Jake had attended and if he had even graduated at all. Age. Hmm, I was pretty sure Annie had told me he was twenty. I reluctantly scribbled that in the space. I stared at the form, horrified by how little I actually knew about Jake. I knew he had a younger sister about my age and a father in Chicago. I knew his mother left when he was very young. I knew he’d been playing in bands most of his teen years and that the drummer, Nick Collins, had been his best friend for practically ever. I knew he was smart but hated school because it annoyed him. I knew he formed Controlled Environment when he was fifteen and got his big break at seventeen.
But I didn’t know his address or what he liked to do when he wasn’t playing music. All the times we spoke on the phone and I rambled on and on about me but hardly ever asked a single thing about him. I shrugged and filled in the form best I could before faxing it to my dad. I would grill Jake when I saw him this weekend and find out every single detail I could.
***
Before I knew it, Friday came. My friends greeted me at breakfast with a small, chocolate birthday cake which I couldn’t even eat. By lunch, I was nothing but a total basket case. Annie and Cammy tried to coax me into eating, but I was afraid nothing would stay down. Not even a greasy meal from my favorite fast food restaurant sounded appetizing.