Double Time (Double Threat series)

by Prestsater, Julie

  “I’m fine. It’s already too late to go to sixth period, so I can drop you off at home if you want.” Her tears have dried and her nose is a lighter shade of pink.

  “Okay.” I stare at my fingernails, push back on a few cuticles, wondering what comes next. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need me to do something?”

  “I said I’m fine, okay? Just leave it alone!”

  “Why are you yelling at me? You asked me to come with you and I did. This can’t be easy for you. I wanna help you.” I search her face for some sort of feeling, emotion. Only now, she seems like a blank slate.

  “Gosh, Meg. I’m sorry I brought you here. Obviously, I made a mistake.”

  More than once, I almost point out, but stop myself, that it’s not like I asked to tag along. Going with my ex-best friend, who screwed my boyfriend, to get an abortion was not high on my list of things to do before I graduate. But here I am, willing to be a good friend when I sure as heck don’t have to be.

  When Amy pulls up to my house, I try to think of the right words to say to her but I can’t think of a damn thing.

  “Hey,” she says, “thanks for coming with me. I appreciate it. But I’m good now, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

  “So, in other words, we’re back to the way things were before.” The nerve of this girl is unbelievable. On second thought, this is Amy I’m talking about. Not unbelievable at all.

  “Exactly. I want my life to go back to normal. In every way possible.” That includes us going back to hating each other. Her message is heard loud and clear.

  “You’re a bitch. How’s that for normal?” I mutter as I get out of the car and slam the door.

  She pulls away from the curb and speeds down the street just as Alex drives up. Oh shit.

  I walk over to the passenger side and open the door.

  “Am I crazy or was that Amy dropping you off?” He looks about as confused as I feel.

  “Both,” I say, teasing him. “Mrs. Flores has us working on our issues and one of them included her giving me a ride home today.”

  He looks amused. Great, at least someone is. “Is it working?”

  “What do you think?”

  He smiles, and my day gets a little bit better. “Wanna go for a ride? Take your mind off things?”

  Perfect. Just what I needed. Not to mention, he leaves tomorrow night and I planned on seeing him tonight anyway. Now we just get more time together. I open the door, toss my bag on the floorboard, and slide in.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “Somewhere peaceful.”

  About thirty minutes later, we’re in the mountains, getting out of the car and beginning a hike.

  “Just so you know, I’m not interested in playing strip Twister.” The last time I was here with Alex, he was a total dick, and Travis ended up punching him in the face. This trail looks so different during the day.

  “This way,” he tells me, leading me in a different direction from where we played the game that night. “We’re going near the water. And not to get naked either.”

  “Bummer,” I tell him. “I’ve been wondering when I’m going to see your hot bod again.” He whips his head around quickly, meeting my stare with a stunned look. “Hey, if we can’t talk about seeing each other in our birthday suits, we probably shouldn’t be getting freaky like that.”

  He winks at me. “Babe, I can talk about it just fine. You just surprised me.” He turns around and keeps moving until we reach a small stream. The sound of the moving water is relaxing. He takes off his hoodie and tosses it on a giant boulder. The flat surface makes for a great place to lounge and take in the sun.

  Alex sits first and pats the space next to him. “Sit with me, babe. This is somewhere peaceful. Enjoy it.”

  I climb onto the rock, grab his hoodie, and ball it up on his thigh. Then I get cozy as I lie down with my head in his lap. He looks down at me, smiling. I close my eyes and try to imagine I was here with him all day, not at some sterile clinic where kids my age are forced to make decisions they don’t want to and should never have to.

  “You okay, Megan?” he asks, swiping my hair away from my eyes with his fingertips.

  “Sure am. This is perfect. How are you? You ready to go back to school?”

  “Yes and no.” Our eyes meet while he runs his hands through my hair, making me feel so at ease. “I hate leaving you. But I know the sooner I get there and the better I do in my classes, the quicker I’ll be back for good.”

  “You’re sure you’re coming back home? What if you get a job up there or want to keep going to school?”

  “I can get a job here. And I’m not sure about going to grad school. Maybe later. Not right away.” The feeling of his fingers combing through my hair soothes my thoughts.

  “What if I go away to school? What then? We’ll keep missing each other.”

  “Meg, whatever happens, happens. Our someday will come. It may not be after I graduate. It might not even be until you finish college. I don’t know. But our someday will come.”

  Twenty Nine

  Finally, AP exams are complete and the school year is almost over. Prom is just around the corner and this year we can go, legitimately. No pity passes because ticket sales are down. We’re the juniors in the event called the Junior/Senior Prom.

  Now, I just need to find a pity date.

  “Hey, I need your help with something,” Travis says during history. We’re all just chilling now that the exam is over. Class is supposed to be really easy from this point forward. We’ve already watched a few movies, and right now our assignment is to talk to our partner about our favorite event in history of the United States. But I don’t hear anyone talking about the topic.

  “What do you need?” I ask.

  “Prom tickets go on sale soon.” He must notice my eyes go wide. “No, no, Meggie. I’m not asking you to prom.” We both release a sigh of relief. “It’s not that I wouldn’t want to go with you. I mean, we’re all going to be together the whole night anyway so maybe dates are just stupid…”

  I stop him mid-ramble. “Are you gonna ask Andi, or what?”

  He releases another long sigh. “Yes. I want to. But I’ve been hearing all kinds of stuff about how guys are trying to get creative. I just thought I’d come out and ask her. I didn’t know I had to fuckin’ doing handstands and create origami cards out of recycled paper to ask her.”

  I crack up so loud Mr. Erickson gives us the evil eye. When I can finally breathe, I tell him, “Just ask her. She’d go with you even if burped out the invite.” His eyes perk up, like a dog wagging his tail. “Don’t even think about it. It was a joke.”

  The next day in chemistry class, Brody is stressed out. “Meg, you have to help me.” He doesn’t even say hello when I walk in. This is how I’m greeted. It doesn’t take a talk show psychic to know what he wants. Somehow I’ve become his go-to person when it comes to girls. Caitlyn is out. Misty is in. And there have been several others in between. He’s been changing women like lead in his mechanical pencil.

  “What did you do now?” I ask him. The guy has turned into a chick magnet but he’s constantly doing things to mess it up. Girls want to go out with him at first and then he does something to make them question his cool factor. I don’t get why he needs a cool factor to begin with. If they just got to know him, they’d like him just the same. He’s funny and he’s cute. What the hell more do they want?

  “I showed Misty my collection of Harry Potter wands,” he confesses. “She said she really liked the movies, so I thought maybe she’d think it was cool.”

  “Brody, you’re killing me. Every time we start to make progress, you have to kill it. What the heck? Do you really think little miss cleavage and hot pants cares about your collection? The only wand she’s interested in isn’t Harry Potter’s, if you know what I mean.” I fight the urge to shake him.

  “You liked all my wands.” His tone gets defensive. Oh goodness. He didn’t even catch my joke
.

  “Yeah, I liked the HP stuff, but the only wand Misty is interested in is the one in your pants.” I eyeball his lap and raise a brow at him.

  He looks at me in complete confusion for a second, and then says, “Oh.” His smile perks up. “So, what do I do now?”

  “Well, that’s up to you. Do you still like her or are you ready to move on to the next one?”

  He scratches his head in thought. “I really like her. I want to take her to prom.”

  “Then think of a special way to ask her. Make it big. A girl like her would want everyone to know about it.”

  Tickets go on sale Monday and by the end of the week, the school has gone nuts. You hear the occasional high pitched squeal throughout the quad when a girl gets asked. I’ve never seen so many giant cookies in my life. After about the tenth cookie iced with “Will you go to prom with me?” it just wasn’t even cute anymore.

  Finally, something to get excited about. Josh bribed someone in the student store to change the message on the electronic jumbo sign that hangs in the quad. Usually, the sign scrolls with messages about upcoming events or sports scores. But today, something special is going to happen during lunch.

  “Hey, the sun is in my eyes,” Keesh says, “let’s turn this way.” Good one.

  “Mine too,” Steph says, as we all scoot around.

  “Dude, you guys should get some sunglasses. I totally felt like a dork when I started wearing them, but it’s just so much easier on your eyes.” Andi is adorable. Her glasses are bigger than her face, but she doesn’t care and neither do we.

  “Where’s Travis?” Josh asks, right on cue.

  Andi’s phone sounds, “Batter up,” alerting her she has a text. She’s such a baseball fanatic. Hazard of growing up in Boston, I suppose.

  “It’s Travis,” she says, “He said to look south. Huh, which way is south?”

  “That way,” I tell her. I point toward Travis, standing below the message board. “There he is.”

  Her phone rings. “Yeah, I see you. Huh, look up. What?”

  “Andi, look at the message on the big board!” Josh yells at her.

  Her hand covers her mouth, and her skin turns bright pink. “Dude, will you go to prom with me?” she mutters.

  “That’s what it says,” I tell her. “Look at that nerd. He’s still standing under the sign waiting for an answer.”

  Andi drops her phone and her drink and runs toward him. When she reaches him, she flings her arms around his neck. He picks her up and spins her around. And finally, they kiss.

  “I guess she said yes,” Josh says, with a chuckle.

  In fifth period, Ms. Gelson, or Mrs. Fuller, starts pumping me with prom questions as soon as I walk through the door.

  “Hey, did you hear about the guy who asked a girl to prom using the school’s drumline?” she asks.

  “Yeah, it was my friend Brody.” I flop down in my chair and swivel around while I tell her the story. “They did this cool routine right in front of her and when it was over, they turned their drums over and they said ‘Prom’ with a question mark at the end. It was cute.”

  “Oh, I love it. So, who are you and the crew going with?”

  “Andi and Travis are going together.” I go on to tell her about how he asked while she ooohs and ahhhs the whole time. “Steph and Dominic are back together, kind of, so she asked him. Keesh, Josh, and I are dateless.”

  “Why don’t the three of you go together? I doubt Josh would mind at all.”

  “That’s not a bad idea, Ms. G.” And she’s right. Josh would be calling himself a pimp if he walked in with two girls.

  “One more thing,” she says, and I nod. “It’s nothing to do with prom. And I really shouldn’t be saying anything, so please keep this to yourself.”

  “Okay,” I tell her, nervously.

  “Do you know what’s up with Amy? Her grades are slipping badly. She’s not able to cheer, and her coach thinks something is wrong. But you know her. She won’t say anything and her parents aren’t the type of people you call unless you have proof.”

  Eeep. Sure, I know what’s wrong, but it’s not like I can tell her. And what would it help anyway? “Sorry, I don’t talk to her anymore. We steer clear of each other as much as we can.”

  “No worries. Just thought I’d ask.”

  Throughout sixth period, I can’t get my mind off Amy. Obviously, the counseling sessions she had at the clinic didn’t work. She can’t cheer. That’s not good. She lives to be a cheerleader and now that’s been taken away from her. So much has been stripped from her already, her childhood, her own child, and now this. She needs help. And I know I can’t do it on my own.

  “Megster, want a ride home today?” Travis asks on our way out of class.

  “Nah. Thank you. I have to see Mrs. Flores right now,” I tell him.

  Keesh nudges me. “Again? You just went yesterday.”

  I shrug. “I guess she wasn’t happy about my answers, so I have to go back.”

  “Good luck,” Keesh tells me as we part ways at the bottom of the stairs.

  Mrs. Flores isn’t in her office when I arrive. Her door is open so I wait. I scan the wall to find more college flags have been posted. Santa Cruz, Banana Slugs. Princeton? Wow. Someone from my school got accepted to Princeton. That’s going to be Brody next year, unless he lets his girl-crazed mind take over all his senses.

  “Hey, Megan.” Mrs. Flores startles me. “Why are you so jumpy?”

  “You scared me.” The air gets cold all of a sudden and I start to question why I’m here. It seemed like the only possible solution, but now I’m not so convinced.

  “Take a seat,” she says. She scoots around to the sit down at her desk, stacking some papers to one side, placing some folders on the other.

  “Do you mind if I close the door?” I ask.

  Her eyes widen. “One of those days, huh? Sure. Please do.”

  I close the door softly, then turn around to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “I really need someone to talk to.”

  “Well, you came to the right place. You know I’m always here for you.”

  Her eyes soften, and I know I made the right decision. “Good. But I need to make sure this stays between you and me. I know teenagers have some rights. Ones that you can’t tell our parents what we talk about without our permission.”

  She studies me for a second or two before saying, “Well, that depends on the situation.”

  “I know. This isn’t like getting into a fight. Like when you told my parents when you said you weren’t. This is different. It has to be confidential. And if it isn’t, I’ll sue you and win. I know the laws. I read a pamphlet.”

  “Megan, are you trying to tell me you’re pregnant?” she asks, leaning forward in her seat.

  “No, I’m not pregnant. Are you crazy?”

  “What then? You got an STD?”

  “No,” I answer, disgusted.

  “What could it be then?” Her face drains of color. “You haven’t been hurt or assaulted, have you? If you have, I’m here for you. I can help you.”

  “No, Mrs. Flores. I’m fine,” I assure her.

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “Calm down, will you? I’ll tell you as soon as you’re not freaking out.” The lady looks nuts.

  “I’m sorry. You just scared me a little. Took me by surprise.”

  “I’d say you need to work on your bedside manner. Some kids would’ve bolted already when you started getting all spooked.” I know I was about to.

  “I know. I have to stop myself from responding like a mother. I’m only human. I do the best I can.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m completely aware of the laws, and I do everything I can to uphold them. So, please, tell me how I can help.”

  “My friend.” I stop suddenly. “I mean, this girl I know got pregnant. She had an abortion. She didn’t tell anyone but me. I wish she wouldn’t have because now it’s all I can think about. Plus, she’s doing bad in
school now and can’t participate in any activities. People are worried about her and she’s all alone. She told me, I went with her, but she won’t talk to me now. I think it might help if you were to talk to her. You know, since you can’t tell her parents. She might be okay with it.”

  “Does she know you’re here?” she asks, after a long silence.

  “No. She won’t talk to me. I’ve sent her a few text messages to see if she’s okay, but that’s it.”

  “Does she respond to your texts?”

  I nod. “Just a word or two to say she’s fine.”

  Mrs. Flores comes around her desk and sits next to me. “Do you think your friend is in any danger?”

  “What do you mean? Like, is someone gonna hurt her?”

  “No. That’s not what I meant, but is that what you’re thinking?”

  “I don’t think anyone would hurt her. Not physically or anything. Her parents would kill her with words though. It wouldn’t be pretty.”

  “How about Amy? Would she harm herself?”

  My eyes just about shoot out of my head like a cannon. “What? Who said anything about Amy? I didn’t say it was her.”

  “Megan, I catch on quickly. Would she harm herself?”

  I shake my head. “No, she wouldn’t.”

  She places her hand on my arm. “This is important, Meg. Especially since we’re going into a weekend. You don’t think we should be concerned she might hurt herself?”

  “No, not at all. I’m completely sure. That’s not her style. She’d just rather be bitchy and make it miserable for everyone around her.”

  Mrs. Flores stands. “Okay. This is what I’m thinking. On Monday, I’m going to call her in and chat with her. If she doesn’t want to talk, would you be interested in coming in with her?”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes. We may not be friends, but I’d never want this pain for her. It’s not fair.”