My New Crush Gave to Me

by Shani Petroff

  J.D. returned with a bridge chair and placed it next to me. “Ready for the musical stylings of Teo?”

  Was I ever.

  “Then get ready to visit the eighties.”

  “The what?” I asked.

  “The eighties.”

  “Ha-ha,” I said. “What does he really like?”

  “I’m being serious,” J.D. said, holding his fingers up in the Boy Scout pledge.

  He had to be kidding. “Really?”

  “Why would I lie?” he asked.

  “I don’t know why you do a lot of things,” I said. “To mess with me because you think it’s funny, because—”

  “I don’t need another one of your lists,” he said, half laughing. “I get it, but I promise you, Teo loves the eighties.”

  “Why?” I mean, I’m sure the decade had its moments, but that’s the type of stuff my mother listens to. If Teo was going to pick something old, why not some old-time jazz or the Beatles or anything else?

  “There are some decent songs from back then,” J.D. said, coming to his cousin’s defense.

  “I know, but it’s his favorite? I just don’t get it.”

  “You’ll have to ask him.”

  That idea made me smile. I may not have loved eighties music the way Teo did, but getting to know him better sounded really good. And after what went down with Zakiyah, a necessity.

  “I have no idea what songs to pick,” I confessed. “Honestly, I’m kind of musically illiterate.”

  “That’s hard to believe.”

  “No, it’s true. I shouldn’t be making fun of Teo. I know nothing about music. I can sing along to a ton of songs, but if you ask me who sang them or what they’re called, I’m hopeless.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me at all,” he said, punching something up on the computer. Then he turned to me. His eyes had a little glint to them. “The surprise was you admitting you actually don’t know something.”

  I smacked him in the arm. “Such a comedian.”

  “Admit it, I’m growing on you.”

  “I plead the Fifth. After all, I still need your help.”

  “Look who’s funny now,” he said. “Here, these are the songs my dad has on his iPhone. There’s a ton of eighties stuff.”

  “Do you know which ones Teo already has?” I asked.

  “Nope,” he said. “But does it really matter? The idea is to show him that you took an interest in what he likes. You don’t have to nail each song.”

  “That’s true, and it will definitely be better than what I got today.” I pulled the candy cane from my bag. “Pre-crushed and all.”

  “Wait, that’s what…” J.D. stopped talking.

  “What?”

  “Sorry, just got distracted by the files,” he said, and started punching some random keys on the computer.

  “Are you okay?” He was acting weird, almost a little shady. “Were you the one who gave me the candy cane?”

  “No! I am a good gift giver, remember? Besides, I drew Katie’s name,” J.D. said, still playing with the computer.

  I scanned the titles of his dad’s music on the screen closest to me. There were a lot of them. “Truthfully, I don’t really care what I get. For me this is about Teo.” I rubbed my temples as I continued to peruse the never-ending eighties song choices. “I seriously have no idea what to put on this playlist. Can we just take the ten your dad listens to the most?”

  “Charlie Donovan, are you suggesting taking a shortcut?” J.D. asked in mock disgust. “Cheating, even?”

  “It’s not cheating. It’s taking advice from an expert, in this case, your dad,” I explained.

  “All right, if your conscience can live with it. But I do think we need to put this one as track number one,” he said, and punched up a song. “This is what you live by, right?”

  The lyric “It’s hip to be square” filled the room.

  “Huey Lewis and the News,” he informed me. “I think it sums you up.”

  “Me? Fine, maybe I am a square or a nerd or whatever. But who are you to talk? Don’t think I didn’t notice some of those books on your shelves.” I stood up and pointed to Hellenistic Art: From Alexander the Great to Augustus and National Geographic Image Collection. I put on my best grandma voice, “Are these what all the kids are reading these days?”

  “I own my geek status proudly,” he said. “And they’re not all nonfiction. I read everything.”

  I studied his shelves as the music files transferred onto the drive. He really did have eclectic taste. There were a bunch of art and photography books, but there were also biographies of everyone from world leaders to stand-up comedians, history books, mysteries, horror novels, and even some rom-coms. I loved books, but lately I’d been reading more articles and studies. Looking at his never-ending shelves kind of made me crave reading something with more meat to it.

  He must have seen me salivating because he said, “You can borrow one if you want.”

  “What do you recommend?”

  He moved to the third shelf by the window. “I think these are fitting. Welcome to my Christmas selections.”

  “You have a whole shelf of Christmas books?”

  J.D. pulled out a book. “Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing.”

  “I’m not. I’m just surprised.”

  “I’m all about Christmas,” he said, and handed me the book. “This will put you in the holiday mood. It’s a play on Scrooge, but told by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who accidentally alters history and then has to work with the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future to save everyone’s Christmas.” J.D. paused and put his arms out. “Did the Earth stop rotating?”

  “Huh?” I asked.

  “It’s just, I figured something big had to have happened. You look as if you may actually like my suggestion.”

  Like and J.D. did not belong in the same sentence, but I had to admit it sounded like a fun book. “You are ridiculous,” I said, and put the book in my bag.

  “Only in the best way, though, right?”

  “You are not getting me to compliment you.”

  He took the flash drive out of the computer. “Not even after I give you this?”

  I took it and held it close to my chest. “Okay, yes, you are amazing. Well, this is amazing anyway.”

  It really was. Thanks to J.D., tomorrow Teo was going to get his first Secret Santa gift, and I was going to be on my way to proving to Zakiyah, myself, and the world that I could win the heart of the most perfect guy on the planet.

  Fourteen

  I set my alarm ten minutes earlier than usual so I could ensure I’d be at school before Teo. But I didn’t have to bother. I was so anxious about everything working out right that I could barely sleep. I was up way before my alarm sounded.

  Today was a two-part plan. First the delivery of the gift, and then running into Teo. I put the flash drive in an envelope. I had spent an hour going back and forth on the note. I thought about using the names of some of the songs that were on the drive in an attempt to be flirty: “Don’t You Want Me” to be your Secret Santa? “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” … and finding out who is giving you these gifts. “Karma Chameleon” is bringing us together. But I was smart enough to realize how totally corny that sounded. So I kept it simple. A track list, and for the signature, I didn’t want to write “Love, your Secret Santa,” so I just put a heart instead. Then I taped it to his locker.

  Then I waited for part two—the “accidental” meeting. It took a little snooping, but I managed to get Teo’s schedule. I compared it with mine, and it seemed the best time to catch him was after last period. Our classrooms were in the same hallway, and there was no bell to rush us along—but it was still risky. If he booked it to his car before I made it out, or if he made a surprise detour to the water fountain instead of the main entrance, I could miss him and have to wait another day to talk to him. I didn’t like leaving things to chance, and with so many variables to account for, I
made this my backup plan.

  Which meant that plan A was after my fourth-period world history class. This was a little trickier—and would rely on luck—which was not something I liked to count on. After fourth period was when Teo headed to lunch. According to my estimation, if he headed straight to the cafeteria within a minute or two of the bell ringing, he’d pass my class, we’d have a chance to talk, and I’d still make it to fifth period on time. BUT if he went to his locker first, I’d have to resort to plan B. Teo’s locker was all the way in the senior hallway, which was in the opposite direction of my class. And as much as I wanted to talk to him, I did not want to be late to fifth period.

  Normally, my hand was the first one up during all my classes, but today I couldn’t concentrate. All I could think about was what I was going to say to Teo. I couldn’t risk sounding like a fool, so I did some prep work. I was now prepared to speak with him about the newspaper, his Secret Santa gift, eighties music (which I spent a few hours researching last night), his volunteering, and even the football game. I watched the clock tick toward the 11:30 mark. Every second felt like minutes. With just thirty seconds to go, I crossed my fingers and prayed that Teo would be where I needed him to be. As soon as the bell rang, I bolted for the door. I didn’t want to risk missing him walk by. A minute passed. Then another. My whole body was heating up. This had to work. Come on, Teo. I couldn’t wait much longer.

  “Let me guess what you’re doing,” a voice said from behind me.

  I didn’t need to look to know it was J.D. “Don’t start,” I warned him.

  Not that it mattered. J.D. was going to be J.D. regardless of what I told him. “Oh, I hope he comes by,” he said, in what I’m assuming was his best impression of me, even though my voice was nowhere near that high or squeaky. Then he put his hand on his forehead. “Look, it’s him! I may just faint.”

  He might have been joking, but he was right about Teo heading our way.

  J.D. shook his head. “Your eyes seriously popped out like a cartoon character’s. You need to rein it in,” he said. “What’s next? Will your heart beat a foot from your chest, or maybe you’ll actually melt into the floor?”

  I ignored him and instead summoned all my courage and waved his cousin over. “Teo,” I called out.

  I could feel my heartbeat quicken. I had actually done it. I was going to talk to Teo Ortiz. Everything was going to plan. Well, except for the fact that J.D. was standing there. He was not part of the equation. “Go,” I whispered.

  He didn’t move. He was enjoying watching me squirm.

  Right as Teo approached, J.D. decided to speak up. “What’s that, Charlie? Do you want me to leave so you can be alone with—”

  I elbowed him in the side. Why did he have to be so annoying?

  “Teo,” I said, following the script I carefully crafted. “I’m so glad you were able to make it to the Sentinel meeting last week. We can definitely use someone like you on the paper.”

  “Definitely,” J.D. said, mocking me.

  I was not going to let him get me off track. I was nervous enough as it was, which was why I had practiced what I was going to say about six dozen times. There was no way I was going to stumble over my words in front of Teo. I had done my homework.

  “Thanks,” he said, and gave me one of his dazzling smiles. It was one of those that went all the way up to his eyes. His amazing dark eyes that I needed to stop focusing on so I could keep speaking.

  “Did you get anything from your Secret Santa?” I asked, and reminded myself to smile back at him.

  “A playlist of songs,” he said.

  I couldn’t read his expression. Did he like the gift? Did he hate my song choices? I had planned responses in both instances, but none for apathy.

  “That sounds nice,” I said, leading him in the direction I was hoping for.

  “Yeah,” he said noncommittally.

  “What kind of songs?” I asked.

  “Bunch of oldies.” He moved his bag to his other shoulder and looked toward the cafeteria.

  Oh no. I was boring him. This was not how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be flirty and help spur the conversation forward. Instead he was looking for an exit strategy. Think, Charlie. Think! Go with football.

  “You have a big game coming up on Friday, right?”

  “The game,” he answered, the sparkle coming back into his eye. “Win this and the championship is ours.”

  “I know you guys will be amazing. Your record is impeccable.”

  “You’re going to be there cheering him on, right?” J.D. butted in.

  Thanks a lot, J.D. He knew I wasn’t into sports. I didn’t like watching games on TV, and I certainly didn’t like having to watch them while sitting outside in the freezing cold. But now I had no choice.

  “Of course I’ll be there,” I said. I was going to kill J.D. for this later. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “I’ll keep my eye out for you,” Teo said and smiled at me.

  My breathing picked up. He was going to look out—for me? Okay, maybe J.D. hadn’t had such a bad idea after all. This was a step in the right direction.

  The warning bell rang, and I knew I should go, but I didn’t want to. Teo motioned toward the cafeteria with a little nod of his head and started walking. I followed, and so did his cousin.

  “You should join us after the game,” J.D. said. “A bunch of us are going to Scobell’s.”

  “Yeah?” I asked. J.D. may have done the inviting, but I directed my question toward Teo. “I wouldn’t be intruding?”

  “Of course not,” Teo said and winked at me. “You should definitely come.”

  “I’ll be there,” I said.

  Teo turned into the cafeteria, and I just stood there watching him disappear into the crowd.

  You should definitely come. And a wink. I was making progress. This was good. Better than good.

  “Don’t say I haven’t been holding up my end of the bargain,” J.D. said, interrupting my thoughts. “I got you your ‘Teo time.’”

  “So far, so good,” I said. Secretly I was jumping up and down. He had done an awesome job, but I wasn’t quite ready to admit that to his face.

  The bell rang, and I cut off my conversation with J.D.

  My love life was finally headed in the right direction, but that still wasn’t an excuse to be late. I raced down the hall. Schedules and plans were meant to be followed. It’s how I was going to win over Teo Ortiz, and so far, everything was going like clockwork.

  Fifteen

  “We could have snuck in right at the end of the game, or at the very least at intermission,” Morgan said as we maneuvered into the stands at the football field.

  “You mean halftime,” I corrected her. I might have known next to nothing about sports, but Morgan actually knew nothing.

  “Whatever it’s called, I don’t care, we could have come then. Someone would have filled us in on what we missed,” she said. “Teo wouldn’t know if we were actually here or not.”

  “Weren’t you the one who told me I was an awful liar and shouldn’t do it?”

  “Wellllll…” She shrugged. “That was before I knew it entailed me sitting through an entire football game on cold metal bleachers.”

  “It’s not exactly on my bucket list either, but thank you for coming with me,” I said, and tried breathing into my hands to generate a little extra warmth. Even with gloves, a giant puffy coat, a hat, and a scarf on, it was freezing.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said and pulled out her thermos filled with hot tea. “You owe me.”

  “Hey, what happened to Miss School Spirit? You’re usually into things like this,” I reminded her.

  “I like Secret Santas and parties and the school paper and the Math Bowl. Things that don’t involve me turning into a Popsicle.”

  “Well, I will buy you whatever you want at Scobell’s afterward to make up for it.”

  “Fine,” she said and began rocking for warmth.

  I let out
a groan.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Look to your left.”

  Making his way over to us was J.D. Ugh. “Like I haven’t had enough of him this week?”

  “Be nice,” she warned me. “He’s helping you, and if it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be hanging out with Teo after the game, and we wouldn’t be here. If anyone should be mad, it should be me! All I’m getting out of this is a milkshake.”

  “And helping a friend,” I reminded her.

  “Yes, and helping a friend,” she repeated back.

  “Well, well, well,” J.D. said, taking a seat behind us, and putting one arm over Morgan’s shoulder and one arm over mine. “If it isn’t my favorite neighbor and her number two.”

  “Number one,” I said, and flicked his arm off me. I didn’t do second place.

  “I bet Ira would beg to differ. Where is he anyway?”

  Morgan shook her head at us. She was used to J.D. and me egging each other on. It had been this way since the beginning of the year when she and I took over as coeditors. “Ira does Friday night dinner with his family. He’s going to meet us at the diner afterward.”

  “Shouldn’t you be taking pictures?” I asked him, in a not-so-subtle attempt to remind him of his newspaper duties and to get him to leave us alone.

  “Roger’s helping out. He’s down there,” J.D. answered. “I thought I’d get some shots from up here, a more artsy take, just the way you like it.”

  “Are you trying to make me hate you?” I asked.

  “Trying,” he said. “That means you don’t. See, I knew I was moving up in your eyes.”

  “I think you missed the operative word in my sentence.”

  “Me? You?” he tried.

  “Hate.”

  He took an imaginary dagger and stabbed his heart. “You’re killing me. And just when I had the perfect gift idea for you too.”