Being Mary Bennet Blows

by Mary Strand

  Josh laughed, but this time he didn’t try to tilt my face back toward him. “I thought you must be a skater.”

  My head swung toward him on its own. “A skater? Me?”

  “Okay, the hiking boots didn’t fit the picture.” Josh shrugged. “But you were smart, too, and I liked that.”

  He liked me for my brains?

  That was a good thing, wasn’t it? Even though my brains had just floated out the window, leaving me here with a thumping heart and a libido I didn’t understand?

  Josh kept staring at my lips. “So am I supposed to admit how much I like you, MB, and you get to just sit there?”

  “Pretty much.” I tried to sound nonchalant, maybe bordering on hip, even as my lips went dry and my mind blank. “Actually, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

  Josh swallowed hard. “Yeah?”

  “I decided I don’t want to be called MB. I’m okay with being Mary.”

  Just not the one Jane Austen wrote about.

  Grinning, I nudged him with my elbow, the way Liz would, even though I remembered too late the last time I’d done it to Josh. He’d driven me straight home without another word. This time he didn’t.

  He kissed me. Wildly.

  Then he broke off and straightened his notebook on his lap. “I’d like to do more of that, but first I really would like to work on the roller coaster. If that’s okay with you.”

  “The roller coaster, or the kissing?”

  His eyebrows danced. “Both, if you don’t mind.”

  I did mind—about Penelope, and not knowing exactly where I stood with Josh—but I knew now that he liked me and wanted to kiss me again, and it wasn’t a bad start.

  Somehow, asking about Penelope right now didn’t seem like something a smart girl would do. And Josh had just told me I was smart. Now, that was something I was confident about.

  I nodded. “Then let’s get going. But are you sure your mom won’t care if we’re up here in your room again?”

  “Not for a while.” Josh grinned. “I should’ve mentioned that my mom is busy tonight until ten o’clock.”

  Ten o’clock? I could get in serious trouble with Josh by then.

  I couldn’t wait!

  I walked into English class a little early Monday morning, with Josh, but not holding hands or grabbing the belt loop on his jeans or anything crazy like that. For one thing, I hadn’t had a lobotomy over the weekend, so it wouldn’t exactly fit my personality, and I didn’t need to have every single kid in class snickering at me.

  For another thing, Penelope was blocking my way.

  “Hey, Josh.” She didn’t even flick a glance in my direction, even though Josh and I were standing as close as we could without actually touching. “You never called this weekend.”

  Despite the kids trickling into class and moving around us right now, Josh grabbed my hand. Casually, like it was no big deal. Everyone stared, and I froze next to Josh. I finally glanced at him, but he was looking at Penelope. At her face, not at her boobs, even though she was wearing the same sort of wispy camisole I’d worn on Friday, with a cardigan on top. Except she’d pulled the cardigan as far back on her shoulders as she could and still claim to be wearing one. We’re talking massive boobs, thrust out for Josh’s inspection.

  I have no idea how he managed to look at her face.

  “Was I s’posed to?” He gave a half shrug, like he hadn’t even thought of calling her. “Mary and I were working on the roller coaster project all weekend.”

  When we weren’t kissing. And talking. And slowly getting to know each other in more ways than one. But we had worked on the roller coaster project. A lot. In fact, we finished the design and started talking about the model—before we started kissing some more.

  From the tight smile on Penelope’s face, she didn’t give a rat’s ass about our roller coaster project. Obviously, Josh must’ve promised to call her and didn’t want me to know. Maybe because he’d never called me in all these weeks.

  All of my old worries about Josh and Penelope bubbled to the surface. I pulled my hand out of Josh’s grasp, although I didn’t move away from him. Maybe I just wanted my hand free in case I felt like punching Penelope in the nose.

  And then Josh.

  “You said you’d call.” She wasn’t giving up, even though any other girl would’ve slinked into the girls’ bathroom by now and tried to drown herself in the sink.

  “Actually, I didn’t.” Josh glanced down at my hand, but he wasn’t stupid enough to grab it again. For one thing, he had to notice it was clenched in a fist. “You kept asking me to call, and I never said yes.”

  Someone in the back of the room gave a low whistle, and a few girls tittered.

  “But . . . you like me.”

  Oh. My. God. Penelope was making a bigger joke out of herself than I had on my worst day ever, which said a lot. My fist unclenched. I couldn’t hit her. She was basically punching herself silly. In front of twenty kids.

  And in front of Mr. Skamser, who’d walked in and was standing right behind Josh.

  Josh glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Skamser, who frowned even though the final bell hadn’t rung yet, then looked back at Penelope. Who was bright red.

  He grabbed my hand again as he kept meeting Penelope’s fierce gaze. “Sure, I like you.” He held on tight when I tried to snatch my hand away. “I like a lot of people. But I’m dating Mary.”

  He was? Even though we hadn’t even gone to a movie yet? I blinked, feeling warm and toasty inside. And totally weird. I mean, Josh had just made a Major Statement in front of the whole class, even Mr. Skamser, and he didn’t look at all embarrassed. I wanted to run screaming from the room.

  But I didn’t.

  Penelope’s lower lip stuck out, nearly as far as her boobs. “I thought you wanted to—”

  The final bell rang, and Mr. Skamser held up a hand. “That’s enough. Take your seats, class.” When Penelope didn’t move, and didn’t let Josh or me get past her, Mr. Skamser clapped his hands. “This isn’t one of those teenage reality shows. This is English class. Please sit down.”

  “But I really like you, Josh.”

  The whole class, except Josh and me and of course Penelope, who’d gushed out the words, erupted in laughter.

  Josh touched the small of my back, as if to help me past Penelope. I didn’t stumble. Thank God.

  As I stepped to one side to get as far away from her as possible, Josh dropped his voice to a low whisper, but it was still loud enough for me to hear. “Sorry, Penelope. It was never like that. Not for me.”

  I frowned, thinking it had been like that for a while. I’d seen the way Josh noticed Penelope’s boobs or the sway of her hips cruising down the hall, and I couldn’t help wondering if he’d notice her again. When he got tired of kissing me. When we finished the roller coaster.

  “But . . . I even dressed like her. For you!”

  I’d reached my seat by now, and turned back to see Mr. Skamser frantically trying to shush Penelope and save her from herself. The laughter in the room was a dull roar. But Josh just stood next to Penelope, his hand on her arm, making me feel nauseated.

  When he opened his mouth to speak, I felt a tear in the corner of my eye.

  “You can dress like her, and try to act like her, but you’re not her. You’re not Mary.” He gave Penelope one last shrug. “Like I said. Sorry.”

  Someone clapped. Then a couple more joined in, puzzling me to the extreme. Would kids really be mean enough to clap at what had to be the most embarrassing moment in Penelope’s life?

  I glanced around as the clapping got louder, then finally realized that the whole room—except Penelope and Josh and Mr. Skamser—was clapping, and grinning, at me.

  And, for the first time in my life, not as a joke.

  Unbelievable.

  Wow.

  Chapter 18

  Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood.


  — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Volume I, Chapter Three

  “Mary and Josh? Could I see you both in my classroom after school, please?”

  The Monday before Thanksgiving, Mr. Gilbertson frowned as he stopped by our lunch table. Josh and I glanced at each other before silently nodding at Mr. Gilbertson.

  He kept walking through the cafeteria, not stopping to harass anyone else, so he wasn’t just in a cranky mood.

  But it didn’t make sense. “Do you think he’s pissed that we didn’t sign up for Honors Physics next term?”

  Josh popped a French fry in his mouth. “Maybe, but he did tell us we aced the roller coaster.”

  “Ha.” I reached over and grabbed a few of his fries. My own lunches had improved greatly in the last month, thanks to both Kowalski’s and the fact that Mom had gone off Atkins again, but today’s salad couldn’t compete with Josh’s fries. “Even though Mr. Gilbertson kept acting like he thought my sister Liz built it.”

  I’d even gotten Liz to stop by after school one day to see Mr. Gilbertson and deny it herself.

  “Yeah, well, it might be good news.”

  As Josh took a bite of his hamburger, I watched his hands. Nice hands, and all mine. Penelope had moved on to Kyle, weirdly enough, and was sitting across the cafeteria right now, holding hands with him. And wearing a copycat of the outfit I’d worn yesterday.

  Right after the last bell rang, we went together to the drinking fountain, because I was so nervous about why we had to see Mr. Gilbertson that my throat had gone dry. Finally, and as slowly as I could get away with, we returned to Mr. Gilbertson's classroom. The instant we stepped inside, my jaw dropped. Mr. Gilbertson was there, waiting for us. But so were Mom and Dad, Josh’s mom, Ms. Kieran, Mr. Paymar, a woman I didn’t know, and even Liz and Jane. But no Cat.

  “Wh-what—”

  Suddenly nervous, I started to push my glasses up higher on my nose, totally forgetting that I wore contacts now. I poked myself in the eye. Josh grabbed my hand and held on, in front of everyone. Dad winked at me, Liz started whistling, and Mr. Gilbertson smiled, shocking me. Tears were flowing down Mom’s face.

  Leave it to Mom to have a totally different reaction from everyone else in the room.

  Mr. Gilbertson stepped toward us, accompanied by the woman I didn’t know. She was tall and rail thin, but when she looked at us over the tops of her cat-eye reading glasses, her bright smile took the pinched look off her face.

  “Mary and Josh, this is Dr. Stein. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”

  MIT?

  I suddenly felt as tongue-tied as I had around Josh at the beginning of the school year. If I said anything, I might start stammering.

  Dr. Stein held out her hand to shake first mine, then Josh’s. “I think you both know that Mr. Gilbertson entered your roller coaster project in our annual science contest for high school students?”

  I nodded dumbly and had no idea what Josh was doing, because if I looked at him, I might either crumble or burst out laughing hysterically. Seriously, it could go either way.

  Dr. Stein smiled. “Congratulations. You won. The panel that judged the final-round entries said it was the best design they’d ever seen from high school students.”

  Mr. Gilbertson was glowing as if he’d built the roller coaster. “So good, in fact, that I had to assure the panel that you hadn’t received help from your father or sister, Mary.” His cheeks went slightly pink. “Sorry, but with so many engineers in your family . . .”

  The words flooded past me as my jaw dropped. “We won?”

  Liz walked up and threw an arm around me. “Yeah. Even though you never even asked for help, you little ingrate.”

  Dad shook his head. “She certainly didn’t ask me. She thinks all I know these days is yoga.” He drew his hands together in Namaste position, and everyone laughed.

  Dr. Stein looked at Josh and me in turn. “We haven’t given you the best news. Along with the award, you get—”

  “—a trip to visit MIT?” I blurted it out before she could finish, too excited to think of anything except what Liz had told me all those weeks ago.

  Dr. Stein smiled. “Not exactly.”

  Josh glanced at me, then back at Dr. Stein, but his hand kept squeezing mine. “Worse?”

  “I understand you’ve both applied to MIT through our scholarship program. On the strength of your winning design and your other academics, you’ve both been admitted to MIT and awarded a full scholarship.”

  My head whipped toward Josh. “I thought you wanted to skateboard. In California!”

  Dr. Stein laughed. “He’ll just have to build a skateboard park at MIT. Based on your roller coaster design, a mere skateboard park should be a snap.” She snapped her fingers, emphasizing her words.

  I just kept staring at Josh.

  Okay, I admit it. My eyes kept flickering to his lips.

  He pulled me into his arms, prompting a loud groan from Liz’s direction. “I didn’t want to tell you until we both heard. I didn’t want to jinx it.”

  He dropped a light kiss on my lips, even though he undoubtedly knew I’d punish him later for doing that in front of Mr. Gilbertson. Like, by kissing Josh senseless.

  But we were going to MIT next year.

  On a full scholarship.

  Together.

  I couldn’t wait for next fall, but right this moment was looking pretty good, too. I threw my arms around Josh’s neck and kissed him. Wildly. In front of Mom and Dad and Jane Austen and everyone.

  About the Author

  Mary Strand practiced corporate law in a large Minneapolis law firm for sixteen years until the day she set aside her pointy-toed shoes (or most of them) and escaped the land of mergers and acquisitions to write novels. The first novel she wrote, Cooper’s Folly, won Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award and was her debut novel.

  Mary lives on a lake in Minneapolis with her husband, two cute kidlets, and a stuffed monkey named Philip. When not writing, she lives for sports, travel, guitar, dancing (badly), Cosmos, Hugh Jackman, and ill-advised adventures that offer a high probability of injury to herself and others. She writes YA, romantic comedy, and women’s fiction novels. Being Mary Bennet Blows is the second in her four-book YA series, The Bennet Sisters. Sign up for her newsletter to find out when the next books are coming out!

  You can find Mary at www.marystrand.com, follow her on Twitter or Instagram (@Mary_Strand), or “like” her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marystrandauthor).

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  Links:

  Website: www.marystrand.com

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  ALSO BY MARY STRAND

  The Bennet Sisters Series

  Book 1: Pride, Prejudice, & Push-Up Bras

  Book 2: Being Mary Bennet Blows

  Book 3: Cat Bennet, Queen of Nothing

  Book 4: Livin' La Vida Bennet

  The Bennet Sisters Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4)

  Cooper’s Folly, Bell Bridge Books