My New Crush Gave to Me

by Shani Petroff

  Apparently Teo and I needed to work on subliminal messages, because he seemed to mistake my panic-stricken look for one of budding showmanship—and pointed at me for number five. “Five golden rings,” I whispered.

  Teo wrinkled his forehead but just kept going. I had to do that seven more times?! I looked around. There had to be a way to escape.

  “Own it,” J.D. said. “Let people hear you.”

  “Easy for you to say. You can sing.”

  “You want Teo? He doesn’t want scared and meek. And last time I checked, that wasn’t you. Besides, the night is going to be a lot more fun if you actually take part.”

  I didn’t have much time to make up my mind because the sixth verse had started, and seconds later it was back to me. Just do it, I commanded myself. “Five golden rings,” I sang way too loudly, my voice cracking in the middle of golden. I could hear people laughing, both the group I was with and the people watching.

  J.D. was smiling while he did his line. “See,” he said afterward, “isn’t that better?”

  Sometimes I seriously wondered if he was from another planet. “No, that was not better. Didn’t you hear everyone’s reaction?”

  “Because you went all in. They weren’t laughing at you, they were laughing with you. You have fun, they’ll have fun. Trust me.”

  I wasn’t so sure. But it wasn’t like I had time to weigh the pros and cons. It was my turn again. “Five golden rings,” I sang out, attempting to take J.D’s advice. I wanted to seem like I was proud of my off-key voice, but it was hard. I felt so self-conscious. But what if J.D. was right? Maybe this was like one of those sketch comedy shows where the actors break character and start laughing, and everyone laughs with them.

  “That’s better,” J.D. said. “But really go for it next time. Don’t you see? You’re giving people the ability to just enjoy themselves. Not everyone in this audience can sing. They’re like you.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “What I mean is, they love carols and they love singing, and they want to see someone up here doing that, too. Not everything has to be by-the-letter perfect. Seriously, just let yourself have fun with it.”

  Well, it was either that or suffer. So fun it was. When it came around to my turn again, not only did I sing my line loudly, horribly, and off-key, but I threw in hand gestures. I raised my hands in the air and shook them with each word.

  This time I got more laughs. Even Teo was smiling.

  “See, was that so bad?” J.D. asked.

  I waved my hand in a so-so motion.

  When my turn came around again, J.D. joined me in the hand motions, and the next time, Teo did, too. By the time we reached the last verse—the twelfth day of Christmas—not only were all of the carolers doing it, but so was the audience, who also joined me in belting out my thoroughly off-key line.

  It really did feel like they had my back. And when the applause came, I felt like some of it was meant for me, too.

  J.D. caught me smiling. “I told you it was about more than having a good voice,” he said. “See, you really are bringing out the Christmas spirit after all. I picked the right costume for you.”

  “Don’t even start with that,” I said.

  “Sorry, I thought dressing up would be funny, and,” he said, patting his Santa belly, “it wasn’t like I made you do it alone.”

  “You should have told me we’d be the only ones.”

  “Then you never would have done it.”

  “No kidding,” I said.

  “Admit it, you are having fun, costume and all,” he said. When I didn’t answer, he said, “Okay, well then this is for you. I’ll be right back, and you’d better sing this time.”

  He went up to the front of the group before they could start their next song.

  Oh no. What was he doing? If he was asking them to give me a solo, I didn’t care if he was dressed as Santa, Mrs. Claus was going to have to start shopping for a new husband.

  “Go with me,” he told them and then turned to the crowd. “We’re going to go a little off schedule right now, because we want all of you to get involved. So get your voices ready, we need you to join in. We’re going to do ‘Here Comes Santa Claus,’ and I want to hear all of you!” With that, he gestured for all of us carolers to mingle with the crowd, and then he started singing. Pretty soon everyone was. I had never seen anything like it. Household after household coming together, having fun, laughing, smiling, caroling.

  J.D. was back by my side. He picked up my arm and shook it so the bells would ring. “I don’t hear you,” he whispered.

  I figured maybe just this once he was right. Maybe scrapping the plan was the way to go. So I projected my voice and let it join the others. I even let Santa guide me around to all the little kids outside, with him shaking his belly and me letting my jingle bells chime. I might not have had the best voice, but I did have the Christmas spirit after all.

  Twenty-Four

  “All right, all right, all right, I admit it, it was fun. There, are you happy?” I asked.

  The whole walk back to Teo’s, J.D. had been gloating about how, despite my utter humiliation, he turned it into a great evening.

  “That doesn’t mean you are off the hook,” I warned him. “But I did manage to have a couple of moments with Teo even in this getup … so I don’t entirely hate you anymore.”

  “Good to know,” he said.

  “Seriously, though.” I nudged him lightly with my elbow. “Thank you. This was a fun night.” It really was. I hadn’t been feeling especially Christmasy this year, and this gave me the boost I needed.

  “Well, you know,” he said, “I hear the Aca-mazings need a new member. Should I tell them you’re in?”

  “Only if they want to lose every competition.”

  “They may be able to deal with that—but you?” He shook his head at me. “Don’t think so.”

  That was more than a little true. “Okay, but it’s not my fault. I was born this way.”

  “What way?”

  “Liking to win. You know, I was even Baby New Year. Coming in first from day one.” I was delivered right at the stroke of midnight.

  “This explains a lot,” he said, laughing. “January first, huh?”

  “Yep, right when everyone is tired out from partying the night before, not to mention Christmas.”

  “That kind of sucks.”

  I shrugged. “It kind of does. It’s like I don’t have a day of my own. The second or the third would have been preferable, but there’s not much I can do about it now.”

  “Wait, something you can’t control?” He put on an expression of mock horror. “How do you handle it?”

  “Well,” I said, feigning complete seriousness. “By taking it out on the school paper’s photo editor, of course.”

  “Now that I believe.”

  Just then a few flakes hit my arms. “Oh. My. God! J.D.,” I practically shrieked. “It’s snowing!”

  He put out his arms. “You’re right.”

  It was only a few flakes at first, but then it picked up. The first snow of the season. “I love this,” I said and started spinning as J.D. stuck out his tongue trying to catch some snowflakes.

  The two of us had to have made the most absurd sight. Santa and Christmas spirit getting excited by the snow, but the thought just made me smile. It felt right. I couldn’t picture it any other way.

  This capped the night perfectly. It was making me visibly giddy. I was spinning so fast, I knocked into J.D. We both started laughing. Then he took my hands and started twirling with me. If one of us had let go, we would have wound up flying into the hedges. I let out a squeal as we spun at warp speed.

  Teo turned around. “What is going on back there?” he asked.

  J.D. and I stopped circling as Teo looked from his cousin to me.

  “Just taking in the snow,” I said. The way he was staring at us … NO! Did he think I liked his cousin? I was so stupid. I should have been paying attention to Teo. I
moved to his side. “It’s so beautiful, right?”

  “It is.” Heather butted in from Teo’s other side. Then she wiped some snow out of his hair, and the lightheartedness I felt just seconds earlier floated away.

  When we got to his house, we all kind of stood there. I was waiting for Heather to leave before I budged, but she didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

  It was getting awkward, and I didn’t want to look like I was a hanger-on-er. That did not bode well for my mission to get Teo to take me to Noelle’s party, so I said my good-byes. Operation Secret Santa would have to pick up another day. “Do you guys need a ride?” I asked J.D. and Heather.

  Unfortunately, only J.D. took me up on it. Heather was hanging back.

  “Hey,” Teo called out to his cousin as we headed to the car. “My mom wants me to ask you if I should bring anything tomorrow.”

  “What’s tomorrow?” Heather asked.

  “My parents are gone for the weekend, and Teo and I are going to hang out,” J.D. told her.

  Her mouth opened. “You’re having a party and didn’t invite me?”

  “It’s not a party,” he said.

  “It could be,” Teo volunteered. “Your parents aren’t home.”

  Heather clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “Party at J.D.’s house, party at J.D.’s house!”

  “Shh,” he warned her. “There is no party. My mom will kill me.”

  “Not if she doesn’t find out,” Teo said.

  “Can we all keep our voices down, please? Come on, Teo,” J.D. warned him. “I do not need your parents hearing this. And you know my mom finds out everything.”

  “What if we kept it small?” Teo pressed. “What do you think, Charlie? Aren’t you up for a party?”

  I saw the panic in J.D.’s eyes. I knew he really didn’t want anything at his house, but I also saw the pleading look in Teo’s. He wanted me to help convince his cousin.

  I knew the right thing was to defend J.D., but I really wanted another night where I could hang out with Teo. One where we could actually talk. “Something small could be nice.”

  “Charlie!” J.D. bemoaned.

  “Sorry,” I mouthed to him so Teo couldn’t see. But he knew I was striving for more Teo time, and this was the opportunity I needed. “We can all bring stuff,” I said, trying to ease some of his fears. “You won’t have to do anything.”

  “I’ve got just the thing,” Teo said, his smile widening.

  Meantime, J.D. looked tense. “If we do this, it’s just going to be us and a few others, so don’t invite anyone, Teo.”

  “Just a couple,” he said. “Maybe a few people from the team. Plus, Cecilia, Polly—”

  “No,” J.D. said. “No one. Seriously. This will be the four of us.” He looked at me and sighed. “And my neighbor and her boyfriend. That’s it. Okay?”

  “Okay, okay,” Teo said.

  “And just so you all know, this will be the lamest party ever,” J.D. warned us.

  He really didn’t want this, but he had caved. And it was just six people. It wasn’t even truly a party; it was more like a tiny gathering.

  “I think something low-key sounds good,” I said.

  “And,” J.D. said, finally starting to smile. “Since it’s my party, I say we all dress up. Ugly. Holiday. Sweaters. If you’re not wearing one, you don’t get to come in.”

  This was his revenge on me for siding with his cousin. He knew I’d want to wear something cute. Whatever, I could make it work.

  “I have the perfect thing,” Heather said. Of course she did.

  When we finally got in the car, I turned to J.D. “Ugly Christmas sweaters? Really?”

  “If I’m stuck doing this, my rules.” His dimple was on full display.

  “Your rules. Then can we uninvite Heather?” I didn’t want to compete for Teo’s attention.

  “I want to uninvite everyone. My parents will freak out if they know I’m having people over while they’re gone.”

  “I’m sorry.” I felt guilty. “But it’s just six of us—including you. And I’m going to help you with everything. Food, supplies, on me. I’ll even get there early to set up. Whatever you want. Your parents won’t even know I was there.”

  “It’s not you I’m worried about. When Teo is in a group, he likes to make things interesting.”

  “Interesting isn’t bad. And he was fine tonight.”

  “Yeah,” he said, “you’re right. It’s probably nothing.”

  “Thank you so much for doing this.”

  “We are even now,” he said, tapping my wreath. “You can’t hold this against me.”

  “Absolutely,” I assured him. If dressing up like the Ghost of Embarrassing Christmases Past ensured me a night with Teo, then it was all worth it.

  Twenty-Five

  After school, Morgan and I stopped by the Super Shop Now. It was one of those giant stores that had everything from food and everyday household items to books, electronics, toys, and clothes. As I picked up supplies for the party, Morgan checked out the sweaters.

  We met at the checkout line. “Got it,” she said, holding up a giant blue sweater.

  “That is way too big for you.”

  “That’s the point,” she said. “Ira and I are going to wear it together. If I rip the collar open, both of our heads will fit.”

  “You will be attached to him all night,” I reminded her.

  “I don’t mind.”

  “Remember that when you have to go to the bathroom,” I warned her.

  “It’s a sweater,” she said. “We’ll have shirts on underneath. We don’t have to wear it the entire evening. J.D. is not going to kick us out if we take it off.”

  “Maybe not you.” I wasn’t so sure that was the case for me. I took the sweater from her and put it in the cart. “A two-person sweater is odd, for sure, but I don’t know if it classifies as ugly.”

  “And that’s why I was up late last night making felt cutouts of a menorah, dreidel, and the Star of David.” They were all symbols of Hanukkah.

  “You’re going to sew them on?” I asked.

  “As soon as I get home,” she said.

  “Maybe I should have asked you to make me one, too. You remember what my ugly Christmas sweater looks like?”

  I grimaced, and Morgan laughed. “It’s funny,” she said as we moved up in line.

  “Well, it’s not like J.D. gave me much time to find anything better. I looked at the ones here, but they’re not ugly enough, so I don’t have any other options. So much for being sexy.”

  “Hey, the Christmas spirit costume ended up winning over Teo, so this will, too.” She started laughing. “That still cracks me up every time I think of it. When you texted me you needed to dress up for the caroling, I thought you meant a nice skirt or a dress. I can’t believe you actually got in a costume. I can’t even get you to try on anything on Halloween.”

  “Tell me about it, and now I’m basically doing it twice in one week.”

  “But for a good reason,” she said.

  “Yes,” I agreed, “and don’t forget your job tonight.”

  “I know, I know, Ira and I have to make sure you get plenty of alone time with Teo and we have to distract Heather if she tries to—” She stopped talking and her posture went rigid. “Do not look to your right,” she whispered.

  I know she warned me not to, but I looked anyway and wound up making direct eye contact with, of all people, Zakiyah. Why hadn’t I listened to Morgan?

  “Trolling the store to find someone to pretend to be your date for Noelle’s party?” Zakiyah called out to me. The two girls with her laughed.

  “I have a date.”

  “Right, the most ‘perfect’ date,” she said, making air quotes. “Maybe you can try and create one for your next science project, because that’s the only way you’ll land that kind of guy.”

  Morgan sneered at Zakiyah and then ushered me to the cashier. “Ignore her,” she said. “Let’s just pay and get out
of here.”

  I nodded. Morgan was right; I was not going to let Zakiyah goad me. I was going to use it as extra motivation. Pretty soon Teo would be mine, and I’d be the one laughing.

  I opened the car trunk so we could put the party stuff in.

  “What’s this?” Morgan asked, pulling out a small wrapped package.

  “The Donkey Kong key chain for Teo.” I threw it in there so I wouldn’t forget it next week.

  “You didn’t give that to him today?”

  “Nope, I have that scheduled for Monday,” I told her.

  “Oh.” She ever so slightly scrunched her eyebrows, but I caught it.

  “What? What’s wrong?” I specifically chose Monday so he’d get a gift then, one on Wednesday, and then the big reveal gift on Friday. It was spaced perfectly.

  “There’s nothing wrong, but it would give him something to think about over the weekend,” she said, placing the final bag in the trunk. “Plus, you’re seeing him tonight, so you could have dropped more hints about how someone who got him such personal gifts must really be incredible.”

  I hadn’t considered that. The more Teo’s Secret Santa was on his mind, the better.

  The whole ride back to Morgan’s, I couldn’t drop the thought. I should have given him the present today. Then when he saw me at the party, it would be another thing to talk about. I kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner.

  It wasn’t like the day was exactly over, I still had plenty of time. I could drop it off at his house on my way back home. It would only take a few minutes, and I still had three hours until I needed to be at J.D.’s—and that was with me arriving super early to set up. It was a no-brainer.

  I was going to do it! Zakiyah was going to be eating her words soon.

  I dropped Morgan off and then headed for Teo’s. I was all set, but as I got closer to his house, I began second-guessing my decision to go at all. Maybe my original plan had been better. Maybe waiting until Monday at school was the way to go.