Jimmy smiles his half smile again, tucks a stray lock of brown hair behind his ear, and taps your knee with his. “I’m glad.”
You’re not sure what got into Mona, but you’re glad too.
Soon the Rockettes storm the stage in their red and white outfits, kicking their legs in perfect unison across the floor while enormous Christmas ornaments descend from the ceiling. Each number they perform is bigger and better and more dazzling than the last.
But the truth? You would have been just as happy if you’d been watching a donkey pull a broken wagon across an empty stage, or if your principal got up there and read your school’s conduct manual from cover to cover. You wouldn’t even mind if Mark got up there and sang every Green Day song he knows for two hours straight. The only thing you needed to end this crazy day on a sweet note is sitting right next to you.
THE END
You’re a giver. Generous to a fault, you are one of those people who would literally give someone the shirt off your back if they needed it, without a second thought. And you understand that giving your time and attention is even more important than giving things. Just be on the lookout for people who like to take advantage of kind souls like you. Give till it hurts, but not till you’re unconscious!
Was that you actually refusing to help Jimmy? That didn’t even seem like you. True, you turned him down for what felt like a good reason (if Jessie were here, she would say the chance to meet Nick Jonas and score backstage passes was a very, very good reason), but still … Even though he was asking you to help Mona, who seems to have made it her mission to drain all the joy out of your life, you know in your gut that lending a hand would have been the kinder thing to do. Mona might not deserve your help, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it to her anyway.
The worst part is that Jimmy was a witness to your temporary lapse in judgment. No use waiting. You need to get back there and check on Mona.
You glide off the ice and scan through the crowds of kids from your school until you spot Mona sitting on a bench between Jimmy and a staff member, who has brought over a chair so that Mona can elevate her ankle. If you had to guess, you’d say she’s milking this a little bit, but when the staff member takes off her skate and pulls out an ice pack, Mona winces and you see that her ankle does look kind of swollen. And either your eyes are playing tricks on you, or Mona is shedding real tears—from pain or from embarrassment, you aren’t sure. Great. Now you feel even worse for the way you acted earlier. If you had any doubts about what you are about to do, the pitiful sight of Mona dabbing at her eyes and scanning the room for Paul erases them.
You’re walking purposefully toward Mona when Lizette blocks your path. “Hey, chica, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you. I need to interview you for the blog. Lena will kill me if I don’t nail down some student perspectives on our trip so far.” She pulls out a small notebook, filled with notes for Charlie to type in later.
“Sorry, Lizette. I can’t right now. There’s something I have to take care of first.” Lena’s nose for reporting must have rubbed off on Lizette, because she follows you over to Mona’s bench, staying a few feet away with her pencil poised over the notebook.
“Hi, Mona,” you say, pretending not to notice the fact that Jimmy is studiously ignoring you. “Are you all right? How’s the ankle?”
“How does it look?” Mona snaps. “I think I may have sprained it, not that you care.”
You knew that was coming. But you don’t let Mona’s acid tongue derail you. “I’m sorry I didn’t help,” you tell Mona honestly. “But I think I might have something that’ll make you feel better.”
“A new leg?” Mona asks.
“Better.” You hand her the envelope with the four backstage passes inside.
She pulls them out and stares up at you. “Are these for real?”
“Yes. A publicist gave them to me on the ice-skating rink. Nick Jonas is going to be here in a minute and he’s going to call for the girl who has those passes to join him in front of the news cameras.”
“And you’re giving them to me?” she asks.
“Yeah!” Lizette says now, unable to maintain the journalistic distance Lena always insists is rule number one. “You’re giving them to her?”
“Yes,” you say simply. Right now, you know Mona would not want to hear that you’re taking pity on her and that you think she needs them more than you do. So you come up with something she’ll accept. “I know that since you’re a model and all, you’re comfortable in front of cameras, whereas I would be a deer in the headlights. You would really be the better choice.”
“Can’t argue with you there,” Mona replies haughtily, smoothing down her luscious black hair and batting her baby blue eyes. She has her Mona mojo back just in time too, since Paul comes sauntering over right then.
“Hey, Mona, I saw you take a spill out there. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now,” Mona answers, full of bravado again. “But I might need your help in a second.”
“Yeah? What for?”
Before she has a chance to answer, you all hear an announcement come over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and gentle men, please clear the ice for our special surprise guest … Nick Jonas!”
There are gasps of shock all over the rink and a pack of security guards materializes, seemingly out of nowhere, to hold back the suddenly screaming fans. You note with amusement that even Holly Happy-Go-Lucky and Mary Sunshine, the two girls in school you would vote most likely to play Wednesday in The Addams Family, are among the horde of kids struggling to get past the guards.
Nick Jonas steps up to the microphone at the far end of the rink, where they have set up a simple platform covered in green felt. “Hello, New York!” More screams. “Can I please have the girl with the backstage passes to my concert up here for a minute? These nice photographers would like to take our picture!” Whereas before you saw only one TV camera, the news seems to have spread like wildfire: TMZ, FOX News, MTV … Amy Choi must be in heaven right now, you think, seeing so many of her gossip-spreading idols in one place.
“That’s our cue,” Mona says to Paul, reaching for his hand. He pulls her up onto her good leg, lets her throw an arm around his shoulder, and leads her through the wall of guards to the platform.
The woman who gave you the passes blinks with confusion when Mona comes into view. But you guess she figures it’s better not to cause a scene with all the cameras watching. Besides, Mona may be a nightmare, but she’s also a knockout. She looks pretty great next to Nick as the paparazzi go crazy snapping pictures of the two of them.
Lizette just stares at you with her jaw unhinged. “Have you lost your mind—you gave up Jonas tickets! Tú eres loca!”
“I’m not crazy,” you assure your friend. “It was just … the right thing to do.”
“Oh yeah? Tell that to Jessie when you see her. She’s going to say it was the dumb thing to do.”
Jimmy, who had been silent all this time, stands up and looks toward the news crews, seemingly taking note of how happy Mona looks up there. “I think it was kind of awesome,” he says.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” you say, hoping for a little eye contact. But no dice. Instead he walks away, leaving you to stare sadly after him.
Wow, that was a pretty big sacrifice you just made. Backstage passes to a concert is a huge score in anyone’s book, and not only did you give them up, you gave them to your nemesis, a girl you spent half the day mentally sparring with. You’re only human and you may not always take the highest moral ground where she’s concerned, but when push came to shove (or in this case, when Mona’s behind hit the ice), you came through in a big way as only you could. Lizette thinks you need professional help and Jessie will surely think you’ve gone mad, but at least you feel better. And obviously, so does Mona. You did a good thing, letting her have the spotlight she seems to need, but you can tell that Jimmy is still a little hurt about the way you treated him. You can’t blame him. You just hope he can comp
letely forgive you before you head home.
QUIZ TIME!
There’s only one place to go from here. Head to this page to see if your last bite of the big apple is sweet—or if it has a big ol’ worm in it.
It may not be politically correct to admit this, but when you have to choose between giving and receiving, you pick receiving every time. Whether it’s birthday presents or just loads of attention, you love it all, and it doesn’t usually occur to you to reciprocate. The truth is, everybody likes to be the receiver of good things sometimes. They’d be lying if they said they didn’t. (Why do you think celebs go to so many events? Swag!) But what you don’t seem to be familiar with is how good it can feel to give. The people who receive houses on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are thrilled to get a new home, but it’s the hundreds of volunteers who build them that home who end up shedding tears of joy.
Normally you would jump at the chance to go just about anywhere with Jimmy. The tip of Antarctica during a hailstorm? Sure! Could be fun. Swimming in shark-infested waters in the middle of the ocean? Why not? At least one of the sharks in Finding Nemo was nice. But leave the ice-skating rink to help Mona, thus passing up a photo op with a Jonas brother? Puh-lease! You’re not that into Jimmy.
You do feel kind of bad, though, as you watch him amble his way over to Mona and help her to her feet. He can barely maneuver himself on skates, so you know that helping a now-limping Mona must be a struggle. And you can’t deny the sharp stab of jealousy that sticks in your gut as you watch Jimmy wrap an arm around Mona’s waist. (He was awfully quick to run to her aid. Could he maybe be interested in her? Nah, that’s crazy talk … right?)
But if Jessie were here, she’d back you up. Part of the reason you were so excited to come to New York in the first place is that you heard things like this—random celebrity sightings and unexpected winnings—happened all the time. And now it’s happened to you! So you’re not budging until you get your five minutes of fame while standing next to (IYHO) the cutest of the Jonas Brothers.
Still, that disappointed look in Jimmy’s eyes stays in your mind like a bad movie. Could it be that you were wrong? Maybe you ought to go catch up with him and—
Before you even get to finish that thought, you hear an announcement come over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, please clear the ice for our special surprise guest … Nick Jonas!”
There are gasps of shock all over the rink and a pack of security guards materializes, seemingly out of nowhere, to hold back the suddenly screaming fans. One of the guards guides you back toward one of the rink exits with everyone else. You note with amusement that even Holly Happy-Go-Lucky and Mary Sunshine are among the horde of kids struggling to get past the guards.
Nick Jonas steps up to the microphone at the far end of the rink, where they have set up a simple platform covered in green felt. “Hello, New York!” More screams. “Can I please have the girl with backstage passes to my concert up here for a minute? These nice photographers would like to take our picture!” Whereas before you saw only one TV camera, the news seems to have spread like wildfire: TMZ, FOX News, MTV … Amy Choi must be in heaven right now, you think, seeing so many of her gossip-spreading idols in one place. Just wait until she gets a load of this!
You tap the shoulder of a large guard with a Bluetooth hanging over his ear. “Excuse me,” you say politely. “He’s talking about me.”
The guard, extending his arms to hold back the tide, looks at you over his shoulder and smirks. “Yeah, sure, you and every other girl in here,” he says, dismissing you and turning back around again.
“Weak,” Holly says to you.
“Yeah,” Mary adds. “If you’re going to lie, at least try to be convincing.”
The nerve of them, thinking that you’re lying! You’ll show them convincing. You tap the guard’s shoulder again.
He turns around with an exaggerated sigh, clearly ready to shoot you down once more. But this time you hold up the envelope you were handed earlier, waving it back and forth like a fan.
“Oh,” the guard says, looking from the envelope to you, a touch of color flooding his face. “Come with me.”
You follow him onto the ice, turning quickly to stick your tongue out at Holly and Mary. Ha!
The rest is a blur of camera flashes and excitement. It doesn’t last long since Nick Jonas has other stops on his whirlwind publicity tour, but you’re standing next to him (flashing your coveted backstage passes, of course) long enough to see that he looks even better in person than he does in the magazines. The rest of your classmates look sick with envy. (Eat your heart out, Mary!) And Jimmy looks … Well, Jimmy is nowhere to be found. It seems he is working hard to ignore you—a fact that becomes even more obvious as you file into your seats at Radio City Music Hall about a half hour later.
It’s bad enough that you don’t have either Lena or Jessie here with you to celebrate with (you texted them, but they must be having too much fun with Amanda to text back), but now Jimmy won’t even look at you. You spot him sitting a few rows behind you, between Charlie and Kevin Minks. As you listen to the orchestra tune up from somewhere below the stage, you turn in your seat and wave frantically, trying to get his attention. Charlie waves back and smiles, but Jimmy is pretending to be engrossed in his program. When you finally give up, you see the one person you least want to see right now: Mona Winston. She is hobbling toward you with brown ACE bandages wrapped around one ankle. Everyone in the aisle is heaping sympathy on her, offering to help carry her bag until she gets to her seat, or asking if she wants to sit closer to the aisle so that she won’t have to hop so far.
“No, no, that’s all right,” she says with a syrupy sweet smile. “I’ll get by somehow. Besides, I love my assigned seat.” She locks eyes with you and the angelic innocent act drops for one quick instant, and you see the ruthless Mona you wish you didn’t know so well.
As she settles into her seat, she turns to you and says, “Well, congratulations on those Jonas tickets. That’s great. Of course, I would have been on the sidelines cheering for you, but as you can see”—she indicates her wrapped leg—“I was injured. I understand some people refused to help. Can you believe anyone could be so insensitive? Jimmy was telling me that girls who value things over people really bug him. Thank goodness Jimmy was there with me. He has been so sweet, refusing to leave my side for a moment! He even held the ice pack in place for me until they bandaged me up. He said he’d help me onto the bus on the way home. I told him that wasn’t necessary, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. It’s so nice to know that he cares about me so much.” Mona sighs contentedly, stroking her thick black hair between her porcelain fingers.
There are a million responses you have on the tip of your tongue—most of them not so nice—but before you have a chance to let any of them fly, the houselights begin to dim while the stage lights come to life. Soon you are awash in a sea of brightly colored giant ornaments, fake snow, and what seems like an endless line of Rockettes, kicking in perfect unison and smiling as if not a thing in the world could be wrong.
If only you felt the same way.
“Okay, tell me again,” Jessie urges you, after you and your BFFs have been reunited on the bus heading home. Once you told them what happened, Lena didn’t want to be separated by a bus seat. So the three of you are squished into one row. “Only this time, speak very, very slowly.”
“Jessie!” Lena whispers, trying not to wake your other classmates, most of whom are sleeping. (Mark Bukowski is all the way in the last row, but you can hear him snoring up a storm.) “She has already gone over this story three times! She told you: She was on the ice, she was chosen to win backstage passes, and then she met Nick Jonas. End of story.”
“End of story? End of story?” Jessie says, grabbing her ponytail with both hands. “But I just can’t believe it! And she didn’t tell us what Nick was wearing, what he smelled like … Were his brothers there? Did he touch your hand at any point? If so, which one? And now
we all get to go to the concert? Why aren’t you more excited about this? Ugh, I could kick myself for not staying now!” She looks quickly over at Lena and smiles apologetically. “Not that I didn’t have a superfab time with you and Amanda.”
“Noted,” Lena says with an eye roll. “But have you not noticed how sad and pathetic our friend here looks?” Lena reaches out and pinches your cheeks and feels your forehead with the back of her hand. “I don’t think she’s sick, so something must be wrong.”
Jessie takes another long look at your hangdog expression and tilts her head curiously. “Now that you mention it … What happened?” Her eyes suddenly turn steely—well, as steely as Jessie’s eyes ever get. “Does this have anything to do with M-O-N-A?” she whispers. “Was she up to her old tricks while we were gone?”
You shrug. “Not exactly.” You fill them in on the ugly parts you left out of your story the first time around—your initial plot to steal Paul’s attention away from Mona, your refusal to help Mona off the ice after she fell, and Jimmy giving you the cold shoulder ever since.
Jessie sits back with a huff once you’re done and crosses her arms angrily. “Oh, and I’m sure she was just loving it, that little ferret. And then rubbing it in at Radio City … the nerve of her! I have a good mind to go stick the lollipops we bought at Toys ’R’ Us right in her precious hair!”
“No, no,” you say immediately, shooting her a grateful glance. “Thanks for the thought, but I’m not sure candy warfare is called for here. The truth is, even though Mona is a little ferret, she was also right. I should have helped her off the ice, and I think it really disappointed Jimmy that I wouldn’t. And now I think he might like her again—”
“Again?” Lena interrupts. “According to my notes”—she quickly takes out her BlackBerry and scrolls through her blog’s archives—“the date the two of them had planned for Shawna’s party was one of convenience, not because he actually liked her. See here?” She nudges the screen in your direction.
Your Life, but Sweeter Page 13