by Nikki Carter
“I knew it! I knew she didn’t do it.”
“What? You believe her? I think she’s lying. How do you know she didn’t do it?”
“Because if Valerie had done it, she wouldn’t be calling you to find out who hacked her page. She’d be calling you to figure out a plan on how to get out of trouble.”
“Gia, nobody hates Susan more than Valerie.”
I tap my chin, in thinking mode again. “You’re right. And everyone knows this. But I think we should be thinking deeper here. What does Valerie really have to gain by posting those pictures of Susan?”
Candy pauses for a moment before replying. “I don’t know. Revenge, maybe?”
“But this is going to ruin her entire senior year. Whoever did this either hates Valerie or didn’t think about prom, graduation, and everything else.”
Candy laughs. “Well, half of Longfellow High hates Valerie.”
“I know, right. But when we figure out who hates Susan enough to ruin Valerie’s senior year, then we’ll know who posted those pictures.”
Candy rolls her eyes at me. “So you’re about to go Nancy Drew on us, huh?”
“Nancy Drew? Um ... no, ma’am. Try Chloe off of Smallville. She’s fly and she always gets the scoop.”
“Smallville? You are such a geek, Gia.”
“I love you more,” I reply as I exit the room.
11
“I’ve got a list of three suspects,” I announce to
Ricky and Kevin the next day at lunch.
Ricky laughs. “Suspects for what?”
“Suspects for who posted those pictures of Susan Chiang on the Internet.”
Kevin looks confused. “I thought we’d already convicted Valerie of the crime.”
“You have, but not me. Until I see Valerie gloating, I won’t believe it. I think she’s innocent. And I don’t believe we should just say that someone is guilty without any proof.”
“The proof is that the pictures were posted from Valerie’s Facebook account,” Kevin states.
“Purely circumstantial. Her page could’ve been hacked.”
Ricky rolls his eyes and pops a ketchup-covered Tater Tot in his mouth. “Wow, Gia. You’re going all power-to-the-people on us.”
“Ew, don’t talk with your mouth full. That was just gross. But yeah, I’m team Valerie on this one, until someone proves otherwise.”
“But the burden of proof is on Valerie,” Kevin retorts. “All the evidence so far points to Valerie. So there.”
“Boy, don’t you ‘burden of proof’ me. This is not Law & Order. I know she didn’t do it, and that’s all I have to say,” I fuss while Ricky giggles.
“Kevin, it looks like you’ve got her ruffled. You might make a good lawyer one day.”
I give them both the hand. “I am soooo not ruffled. Both of y’all can kick rocks as far as I’m concerned.”
Ricky’s eyebrows lift, nearly touching his hairline. “Really? We can kick rocks? Well, who’s gonna plan your little sweet-seventeen birthday party if we do?”
“Umm ... sweet seventeen? Since when did it get that title?”
Kevin answers, “Since you didn’t have a sweet sixteen.”
“But I don’t want a sweet anything. I just want a slamming get-together with my peeps. Don’t plan nothing that’s gonna get you hurt!”
“So that means no pink streamers?” Kevin asks.
I reply in a low growl. “No, Kevin.”
“No Tweety balloons?” Ricky can barely control his giggle as he asks this question.
“Don’t play, Ricky. I’m serious!”
“She’s awful mean and bossy to her two best friends who are planning her birthday party,” Ricky says.
“Whatev, y’all know what it is.”
Hope plops her lunch tray on the table and says, “Oh, my goodness!”
Her face is completely flushed, like she’s just run from somewhere or just heard some juicy gossip. Knowing Hope and her non-athletic self, it’s definitely some good gossip.
“What’s up, Hope?” Ricky asks.
“Valerie’s mom and Susan’s mom were about to fight in the office!”
I grab Hope’s arm and turn her toward me. “Are you kidding me? Dish!”
“Well, they were having a conference and next thing you know, Valerie’s mom started screaming something in Spanish. Then I heard she slapped Susan’s mother, and Susan’s dad had to hold his wife back.”
I press my lips together. “I don’t believe that. Who is your source?”
“Regina, the office monitor.”
Kevin says, “I wonder what was said to make all that go down. I mean, aren’t parents supposed to be the example for us?”
“Now we see where Valerie gets it,” Ricky comments.
“Oh, and guess what else—Sascha and Chase are breaking up.”
“I heard,” I reply, totally forgetting until after I open my mouth that Candy told me not to say anything.
Hope frowns. “What do you mean, you heard? How did you hear and I didn’t hear? You been holding out on the scoop?”
“Nah, it just slipped out of my mind until you brought it up.”
“Well, anyhoo,” Hope continues, “I hear Chase is mad that Sascha is in our PGP group and he doesn’t want a girlfriend who’s a virgin.”
Hmmm ... This doesn’t quite add up. Why would he break up with Sascha for being in the purity group, but then ask Candy out? Maybe he thinks Candy’s an easier target. This is messed up.
“I saw Sascha earlier,” Ricky says, “and she looked like she was about to cry. If y’all are her girls, y’all need to have her back.”
“I’ve got enough projects going on right now,” I say. “When I get done with the Valerie dilemma, then I might have time to focus on other stuff.”
“What Valerie dilemma?” Hope asks.
Kevin replies for me. “She doesn’t think Valerie did the whole Facebook thing.”
“It’s funny you say that, because Regina said Valerie just kept denying the entire thing. She said Valerie was crying and everything!”
“See! I told y’all she didn’t do it.”
Ricky says, “Well, that doesn’t prove she didn’t do it, that just proves she doesn’t want to get in trouble for it.”
“Well, her mom took her home for the day,” Hope continues. “And she told Principal Welborn that if he doesn’t let Valerie go to the prom that she’s suing the school.”
“We’ll be so over this by prom time! The pictures didn’t even really show anything,” Kevin says.
We all stop, take a moment of silence, and stare at Kevin. I know we’re all thinking the same thing, like how long did Kevin actually spend gazing at those pictures on his computer screen. E www ... Double e www ... E www to infinity.
“What?” Kevin asks. “I’m just saying, it wasn’t that serious.”
Hope says, “We might be over it by prom time, but Susan’s mother is definitely not over it. She’s threatening to have criminal charges filed against Valerie. She said something about it being a hate crime.”
“Why, because she’s Asian?” Ricky asks.
Hope replies, “I guess.”
Kevin says, “That would be foul if Valerie did that because Susan is Asian!”
I shake my head in disgust. “Valerie didn’t do it.”
“You might be the only one who believes that,” Hope replies.
“And when did you get to be such a Valerie cheerleader?” Ricky asks. “She hasn’t been a friend to you, so I don’t get it.”
“This has nothing to do with being Valerie’s friend. This has to do with right and wrong, and it’s wrong to accuse someone of something they didn’t do.”
“Okay,” Kevin says, “who are your suspects?”
“Well, at the top of my list is Kelani. She’s pretty heated with Valerie right now, over her boyfriend, Chris,” I explain. “Plus, she’s always on her Sidekick posting stuff on Facebook.”
Hope shrugs. “So
what! I’m on my Sidekick all the time posting on Facebook, too. Does that make me a suspect?”
“That and the fact that Valerie had you benched on the Hi-Steppers squad and put salt all up in your game when you tried to holler at Ricky.”
Ricky winces and Hope’s eyes go straight to the floor. I hated to bring that up, but this is an official investigation. What do you mean, who made it official? I did! So all skeletons are out of the closet and all crushes are fair game.
“Hope is one of your suspects?” Kevin asks.
“Well, she is, but she’s lowest on the list. Romeo is next.”
“Why would Romeo do something like this? Girls do that type of thing!” Ricky says.
“Two words—50 Cent!” I say with much enthusiasm.
After a pause to think about it, my friends nod, because they could soooo see 50 posting some pictures on the Internet. When he’s got beef, he’s just grimy with his! The gloves come all the way off. And who couldn’t see Romeo, with all his referring to himself in the third person, not getting revenge.
Hope says, “Since I’m a suspect, I don’t know if I should be contributing to the investigation, but Romeo doesn’t seem to have enough motive. Kelani, and even I, have way more things to hate Valerie for.”
“Valerie’s been holding the fact that Romeo cheated on his English papers over his head for a while. How do we know he wasn’t just biding his time and waiting to get her back?” I ask.
Ricky shakes his head. “Who else?”
“Candy is next on the list.”
Hope laughs out loud. “Are you kidding? Candy totally idolizes Valerie.”
“Not so much. And to nuke the meanest girl in the school would make Candy notorious! And during freshman year, too.”
“That’s a little far-fetched,” Ricky says.
Kevin asks, “Is that your whole list?”
“So far. Jewel almost made the list, but I don’t think she’s sophisticated enough to pull something like this off.”
And by “not sophisticated” I mean ... ummm ... intellectually challenged. Let’s just say that Jewel won’t be landing any academic scholarships.
“What about you?” Hope asks. “Why didn’t you make your list of suspects?”
“Duh! Because I know I didn’t do it!”
“Well, if you ask me,” Hope says, “you are a huge suspect. Valerie spent all of last year pursuing Ricky, and you know you weren’t feeling that. Plus you had to spend the entire Hi-Steppers season being cocaptain with her. Who knows what kind of torture she put you through!”
Now it’s Hope’s turn to get the hand. “First of all, I don’t care who tries to hook up with Ricky. That’s his business. Second, Valerie is graduating and I’m going to be captain of the Hi-Steppers all by myself next year. You’ve got nothing! Zero motive!”
Kevin, Ricky, and Hope all burst into laughter. See, while they’re tee-hee-heeing instead of helping me solve the crime, some random Facebook poster is terrorizing the Internet with scandalous pictures.
“I can’t stand y’all,” I say.
Kevin winks. “We love you more, birthday girl.”
12
As promised, Kevin shows up at my house at eight forty-five on Saturday morning for our SAT prep class. The entire family is awake, but we’re chilling and having breakfast. Well, we’re chilling at least. Gwen has bombarded us with a new creation called corn cakes. They taste like a burnt cornbread with syrup poured all over it.
Yeah, the taste is so much worse than your imagination could ever dream up.
“Who in the world is ringing our doorbell this early?” LeRon asks.
“It’s Kevin,” I sigh. “He warned me that he’d be here this early, but I told him not to come.”
Gwen says, “Well, get up and let the boy in. It’s cold outside.”
Candy excuses herself to answer the door when I make absolutely no move to do so. I told him not to get here this early. It is a clear violation of the terms of friendship, plus I’m still mad at him, Ricky, and Hope for trying to clown me in the cafeteria. Especially Hope. She went extra low by almost bringing up my crush on Ricky. She knows that is a “no discuss” topic.
“So where are you two off to?” LeRon asks.
“Kevin and I have an SAT prep class this morning. It’s actually every Saturday for the next six weeks. He’s taking me over to Mr. Cranford’s house later.”
LeRon raises an eyebrow. “It’s just the two of you? No Hope or Ricky?”
“Nope, just us geeks.”
Why is LeRon looking like he’s considering not letting me go? That would be an insult beyond insults. Number one—the complete lack of trust, and number two—eww!!! How could he think that anything could be going on with Kevin other than schoolwork? I mean, Kev’s made some upgrades of a serious nature, but not enough to erase the vision of Kevin’s past from my brain.
“Good morning, Ferguson and Stokes family!” Kevin beams. “What are y’all eating? Corn cakes?”
Gwen smiles. “We sure are! Would you like one?”
“Sure!”
I’m shocked that Kevin has recognized the hard, yellow frisbees as corn cakes, and doubly shocked that he asked to eat one when he knows about Gwen’s lack of cooking skills. He better not be trying to sue someone when he gets a food-borne illness.
Kevin sits down at the table and forks a whole stack of Gwen’s corn cakes. He must be feeling hungry!
“Did Mother Witherspoon feed you this morning?” Candy asks.
“Yes, but she made oatmeal. I love corn cakes!”
“Well, then eat up while they’re still hot,” Gwen says.
Kevin takes a bite and chews slowly. Very slowly. I cover my mouth to keep the laugh from escaping. That’s what he gets for coming up in other people’s houses acting all greedy. He closes his eyes to swallow, and I almost completely lose it.
“Is it okay, Kevin?” my mom asks. “Some of them didn’t get cooked in the middle, but they were burned on the edges, so I took them out of the pan.”
“They’re fine, Sister Ferguson,” Kevin replies after one last swallow.
“So, Kevin, do I have to worry about you trying anything fresh with Gia on the way to the SAT class?” LeRon asks all nonchalantly, like he didn’t just say the most ridiculous thing on the planet.
“Excuse me, sir?” Kevin asks, his eyes blinking rapidly.
“Well, Sister Gwen and I have a rule that there is no one-on-one dating allowed, and I don’t know if we should bend the rules this one time.”
My mom, Candy, and I are all staring at LeRon, trying to figure out if he’s serious. He’s sitting there with a serious, fatherly look on his face. And dang if Kevin doesn’t look scared out of his mind!
“LeRon ...” Gwen says.
Then LeRon bursts into laughter. “Sorry, Kevin. I was practicing. Was I menacing enough?”
“Yes, sir,” Kevin says.
If I do say so myself, I think that was kind of rude to Kevin. I mean, in all honesty, we could’ve been sneaking on a date. If hell was frozen and pigs were flying. I’m just saying.
“Did Kevin tell you that he and Ricky are planning a birthday party for Gia?” Candy asks.
I know she wants to steer the topic away from dating, especially since she’s got greasy Chase ... well, giving chase. Whatever! I don’t care if it was a bad pun. I have this sickness where I have to use puns if available.
“That’s nice of you guys,” Gwen says, “but why didn’t you ask us to throw your party, Gia? I’ve never gotten to give you a teenage party.”
“It wasn’t my idea at all,” I reply. “Kevin was trying to give me some kind of crazy sweet-seventeen thing, and I almost had to end his life.”
“Well, it sounds like fun. Where’s it going to be?”
“Ricky’s parents said we could use their basement. They’ve got a pool table down there and everything,” Kevin boasts.
LeRon asks, “Will there be dancing?”
“
Sure,” Kevin says. “But you and Sister Gwen are welcome to come. There won’t be any funny business at a party I’m throwing.”
Boo to Kevin on his random usage of “funny business.”
“I think we will come,” Gwen replies. “Maybe your aunt and uncle will come, too. What do you think, Gia?”
“I don’t care.”
And that is the absolute truth. I really don’t care. Maybe if there was some boy I was trying to sneak off with, I’d care. But currently there is no reason why Gwen can’t come to my party and boogie with me on the dance floor. As long as she doesn’t start breaking out old-school dances like the Charlie Brown or the Roger Rabbit. And I’m gonna need both of them to say no to the Robot.
“Ooh, LeRon. We’re invited to the party. We must be cool!” Gwen squeals with fake enthusiasm.
“I know, right!” LeRon says, joining in on the fun.
Tee-hee. Whatever.
“Kevin, let’s go before they start practicing their dance moves.”
And at that, LeRon and Gwen jump up from the table and proceed to do the Bump. They get the tight-lipped side eye.
Parents just don’t understand.
Later on in the evening, after my fun-filled SAT prep class—yeah, totally being sarcastic—I’m chillaxin’ in my bedroom. My down-filled Tweety comforter is feeling extra nice because it’s December already!
Yes, I have one of those almost-Christmas birthdays that makes it almost impossible to get decent gifts. But this year, I’m having a par-tay! Two weeks and counting. Woo hoo!
Okay, so it probably won’t be that much fun, but I’m gonna get pumped just the same.
I hear the faint knock on my door that signals Candy’s presence. She has a talent for knocking just loud enough that you can hear her and it is annoying at the same time.
“What?” I ask, not wanting to exit my chillaxed mode.
“Can I come in? I want to tell you something.”
I sigh. “Come in, but make it quick.”
She sits down on my bed, like she’s cozying up for a long talk. What part of “make it quick” didn’t get to her ears?
“So, I saw something tripped out this afternoon.”