When I woke, it was light, and Jonathan was gently shaking me. “Ally, it’s morning.”
God, my whole body was tired. “Ugh.”
“No really, Ally. You have to wake up.”
I opened my eyes and sat up, propping my head in my hands. “I’m up.”
“I didn’t think you were coming last night,” Jonathan said.
He actually sounded like he’d missed me. “Sorry. Soccer wore me out, and I fell asleep.”
“You’d better get going. I’ll stash the blankets.”
I stood and stretched. “I’ll be on time tonight.”
“Congratulations on soccer,” he said.
“Thanks, Jonathan. I have practice again tonight. I’ll come check on Mojo after dinner.”
“I’ll be here.”
In French class on Tuesday, the principal came and got Mrs. Day. She whispered something to her and she ran out of the room.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Mrs. Moyers said. “You may talk quietly. Mrs. Day has a family emergency.”
Then she walked out and left us alone. As if we weren’t going to cause trouble.
Everyone started talking at once.
I was just grateful that I had someone to talk to.
Katelyn said from the seat behind me, “I hope it’s not anything too bad.”
I turned around. She had the most beautiful skin. Like mocha or something. “Me too. I like Mrs. Day.” Oops. I broke that never like a teacher rule. “So far.”
Katelyn just nodded like I hadn’t committed a huge faux pas. “Me too.”
“You went to St. Luke?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“I went to St. Catherine’s.”
“I like high school much better.”
“Me too.”
“Do you live over by St. Catherine’s?”
“Yes,” I said without thinking. “Usually. Right now I’m living with my dad on the other side of town. Middleton Heights.”
“That’s down the street from my subdivision.”
Five minutes later, the principal came back. By then, Katelyn and I had exchanged cell numbers and agreed to ask our parents about carpooling. She said her mother was dying to find someone to share the driving, and I figured Diane wouldn’t mind getting rid of me half the time.
I’d thought playing soccer with MC and Madison would give us some time together. So far, we were too busy running our guts out to do any talking.
Coach Borkman made us all take a turn in goal. I jogged over to her, trying to catch my breath enough to talk. “Listen, Coach.” Wheeze, wheeze. “I really have to tell you that I can’t catch. Anything. Ever.”
She just looked at me.
“No. Really. Like if someone throws me something, it hits the ground every time.”
“Thanks for the heads up, Ally. You can still give it a try.”
After watching me clap my hands like a seal while the ball bounced off my chest, she pulled me out of goal. “You weren’t kidding,” she said with amazement. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty good on defense.”
I couldn’t believe it. I was pretty good. Me? On defense? I thought back over the practice. There were fifteen of us now, and I was better than at least six of them. Oh my God! I was actually going to be playing in the games. No way.
MC didn’t seem surprised when I shared this later on the phone. “Duh. Of course you will.”
“I guess I just thought I’d be warming the bench.”
“You’ve got way too much competition for the bench. Monique kicked the hell out of my shin today. I’ve already got a giant blue knot. The girl’s a menace.”
“Yeah, she really is.”
“Nice job in goal by the way.”
“Shut up! You know I can’t catch. I warned Coach Borkman.”
MC giggled. “It’s hard to believe until you really see it.”
“Are we really going to go there?” I threatened. I knew all her secrets, but she got cranky when I mentioned them so I gave her one last warning.
She stopped laughing. “No. Sorry. Ma’am.”
The peeing in a cracked bucket incident of seventh grade would stay buried. For now. “I’m glad we could come to an understanding,” I said. “Now tell me what happened in Spanish today.”
I’d really missed out by taking French. MC had some of the school hotties in her Spanish class. Plus a lot of the troublemakers, so she never knew what was going to happen next. Most of them were juniors who’d put off taking a language as long as possible. “What is it,” MC asked, “about bad boys that is so attractive?”
“Beats me.” I didn’t find bad boys appealing at all. Jonathan was way more my speed. A nice guy, who happened to be really cute. Not that I actually had a chance with him, but if I were going to have a crush, it would be on him.
I talked to my mother next. She sounded pretty good.
“The law firm is great, Ally. They had a hard time filling this position, and they are so grateful to have me. Anything I do pleases them. It’s a nice change from Haynes and Hester.”
“Good, Mom. Soccer’s kind of like that for me. Some of the others are so bad, it doesn’t matter that I’m not great. They make me look good.”
“Oh, Ally, I’m so proud of you for trying out.”
She was getting too gushy. “It wasn’t really a try out. We all made it.”
“You know what I mean. I’m proud of you for taking the chance, especially with all the changes you’re having to deal with. Speaking of which, how’s Mojo?”
“He’s okay.” I wasn’t going to tell her I’d been sleeping with him. “He seems to like Buddy and Jonathan.”
“And is Mojo the only one who likes Jonathan?”
“Mo-om,” I said.
“No really, Ally. He seemed like a nice boy. He’d make a good boyfriend for you.”
“Mom, I know you’re wrapped up in your own life and all, but you have met Caroline, right?”
“Sure. Why?”
I probably wouldn’t have said this to her face, but it was easier over the phone. Didn’t she get it? “No boy is going to think twice about me with Caroline around.”
Mom gasped. Actually gasped. “That’s not true, Ally.”
“You’re my mother, you have to say these things. But the truth is that Caroline is beautiful. Jonathan would be crazy to like me with her around.”
Mom didn’t answer for a minute. “I didn’t realize you felt that way. You should have told me. I thought Caroline was nice to you.”
“She is, but that doesn’t change the facts.”
“Ally,” Mom said, “I want you to listen and listen good. You are a pretty girl and any guy would be lucky to go out with you. You may think Caroline is prettier, but that doesn’t mean other people think so.”
“She modeled, Mom!”
“Okay, fine. Are there boys at your school who are cuter than Jonathan?”
“Yeah.” I guess based on looks alone.
“Picture Jonathan standing with a group of these guys. Now be honest with yourself, Ally. Wouldn’t you still be interested in Jonathan?”
I thought for a minute. One of the varsity soccer players looked like a young Brad Pitt. And that Liam guy Caroline liked was almost pretty, he was so handsome. She was actually right. I wouldn’t have believed it. “I would still be more interested in Jonathan than the others,” I admitted. Could it possibly be true? Could he notice me despite Caroline?
“I’ve got to get back to work, Ally,” Mom said. It was after dinner in Charlotte, but she was still at work. This whole time difference thing was messing with me. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Diane loved the idea of carpooling. “And I think it’s great you’ve got an African-American friend now. That was one thing I told Ted about the Catholic schools. They don’t have enough diversity.” She tried so hard to be politically corre
ct that she missed the boat entirely.
I was so sure that Diane didn’t have any ulterior motives for me going to public school. Like a lot more money for art classes on drawing vaginas with charcoal.
She did call Katelyn’s mom, and they arranged to start on Monday.
I thought Katelyn was pretty cool. Avoiding an hour every day in the car with Diane, even cooler.
I went to my room and checked in with Katelyn. She was psyched too. “Now when you meet Diane,” I said, “remember that she’s only my stepmother. She’s not a blood relation or anything.” I hoped she wouldn’t start babbling about diversity again. How embarrassing.
My French homework took some time. I had to listen to the CD and do a computer exercise. Finally, I got everything done. The house was quiet, so I slipped out.
I had just settled in with Mojo and Buddy when my cell rang. Mom. I answered quickly in a whisper.
“Ally, are you still up? I was just going to leave you a message. I’ll be in court tomorrow, and I may not be able to talk.”
Mom runs the power point presentation while the lawyer argues the case. “It’s okay, Mom.”
“How’s everything going?”
“Fine,” I said with a glance at Jonathan. Please don’t let the dogs bark.
“The connection sounds funny,” she said.
Yeah. Because I was outside in frog world. “Sounds fine to me, Mom.”
“Well, it’s late, so I won’t keep you.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, Ally.”
After I ended the call, Jonathan raised a brow. “That was close.”
“Oh, she’d be totally cool with this.” I started laughing before I could finish. She so would not be okay with it.
“How’s she doing?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“And Diane?”
“I guess things aren’t so bad.” I told him about Katelyn and carpooling.
“Maybe you should have just transferred to Plum.”
“No way. I don’t want to change schools. And I wouldn’t want to go to the same school as Caroline.”
“Why not?” he asked.
Because she’s beautiful and I am not. “It would just be weird,” I said.
“I guess it would be crazy to transfer now, when you may have to change schools again in January.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bring that up.”
“Let’s just pretend my mother isn’t going to yank me out of North Carolina in a few months.”
“Maybe she isn’t.”
“Good.”
“No,” he said. “Maybe she really won’t.”
“So how’s b-ball,” I said firmly.
He got the message. “Great. How’s soccer?”
“Better. I’m glad I did it.”
“Do I get to come to a game?”
I had no idea what to say. “Sure. If you want.” I doubted I could even focus on the game with him there. “But nobody can come to the first one. I have enough to worry about.”
“Cool,” he said. “I’ll plan on the second one.”
He wouldn’t really come. Would he? He had better things to do.
Three teachers busted me for daydreaming on Wednesday. I felt like a total idiot. After each class, I went up and apologized. I know, total suck-up move, but I couldn’t have my teachers mad at me the first week of school. When I carefully explained that I’d run out of my prescription antihistamine and had taken one of my Dad’s, they all nodded in sympathy. Allergies were the universal language in the Southeast.
Diane picked me up after she’d already run Caroline home. I started thinking about Jonathan again, and the next thing I knew, we were home. I was starting to think I had a problem. Could I be addicted to the guy? I hated having crushes, but I couldn’t seem to nip this one in the bud.
“Oh, Ally,” Diane said as we walked into the house. “You might be interested in this. I’m doing a project with polymer clay. I taped a few shows on how to do it, and I bought plenty of supplies. Do you want to make something with me?”
Okay, polymer clay is bright and happy. MC’s oldest sister makes jewelry for her all the time that I love. Polymer clay actually sounded like something I would be willing to spend time with Diane to do.
“Look in the bag,” she said, on her way down the hall. “I got forty different colors.”
I walked over to the counter, and saw the receipt at the top of the bag. She’d spent two hundred and twenty-seven dollars on clay. I was going to end up in plumbing school if she kept this up.
Diane came back in. “So what do you think?”
“It looks like fun,” I told her, careful to keep the bitterness from my tone. “But I’ve got loads of homework. Maybe next time.”
“Okay,” Diane said, barely sparing me a glance as she walked over to the counter and started sorting through her purchases.
Caroline and I settled in on the sofas downstairs and cranked through our homework. We had the television on in the background, reruns of That Seventies Show. If those guys weren’t a reason to study and go to college, I don’t know what was.
We watched prime time TV together and then both crawled off to bed. Caroline said her thighs were burning from all the cheering. I told her no way were they worse than mine.
When I got over to Jonathan’s at midnight, he wasn’t out yet. I petted the dogs and climbed onto the swing. By now, I had the hand of steadying it so it wouldn’t creak so much.
He finally slipped out the door thirty minutes later. “Sorry,” he said in a low voice. “I had a paper that was kicking my butt.”
“That sucks,” I said. I’d always thought of public school as lightweight. “What was it in?”
“AP American Government.”
“You’re taking an Advanced Placement class as a freshman?”
“Yeah. Just that one. It’s a long story, but my dad found out about this internship thing at the courthouse next summer. To qualify, I’d have to have this class.”
“What would you do at the courthouse?”
“I’m not really sure.” He handed me a blanket and rushed off to get the cot.
When he got back, he said, “Dad’s just real psyched about it. And it does sound interesting.”
“Is the class hard?”
“Nah. It’s just going to be a lot of work.”
I didn’t think I’d want to go into politics or anything. I tried to picture myself as a lawyer or a judge, and the image just didn’t come.
“Do you get credit for the internship?” I asked.
He didn’t answer and when I leaned up to get a good look at him, he was sound asleep.
He looked even more like his little brother when he was sleeping peacefully. I brought my head back down on my pillow and stared up at the stars until I drifted off.
Thursday night, my whole body ached. Four straight days of soccer practice had almost done me in. To be honest, sleeping on that crappy swing probably wasn’t helping either. But I wasn’t trading that for anything.
Jonathan and I were actually friends. We talked to each other. About important stuff. This morning, we’d been finishing each other’s sentences as we scrambled to put away the cot and blankets. I had high hopes that he saw me as more than a friend. I had caught him looking at me kind of funny. Besides, Liam and Caroline were a hot item now, so if he’d been interested in her…Just maybe he wasn’t anymore.
Despite the fact that my legs hurt with every step I took, I made my way over to Jonathan’s when everyone had gone to sleep.
I caught myself grinning whenever I thought about him. Basically, I had it bad. If he didn’t like me back, I was going to be devastated.
I crossed the dark yard to see my three boys, well the two dogs and Jonathan, chilling on the swing. As usual, he’d set up the cot.
“Hey,” he whispered.
“Hey,” I whispered back. Tonight felt different f
or some reason. Special.
He got up and I sat on the swing. We’d long ago stopped arguing over it. He sat on the cot which was pulled so close to the swing, it was practically one big bed. “I missed you today,” he said so softly I had to strain to hear it.
“You did?”
“Yes.” Then, he did something unbelievable. He reached out and touched my cheek. Then, he leaned in and touched his lips to mine.
Oh God! I had been waiting for this for fourteen years, and it was finally here. My first real kiss. And it was wonderful. I put my hands on his shoulders and tried to kiss him back, but a loud squeak pierced the air.
We both froze.
“The swing,” he whispered.
We sat there for a moment with our arms around each other waiting for his parents.
They didn’t come.
“Try getting up really slowly,” he suggested, “and sitting on the cot with me.”
“Okay.”
I climbed off the swing without any more trouble. Except that when I stood up, so did Mojo and Buddy. They started jumping around and bumping into the cot and getting all excited.
“No, Mojo.”
“Sit,” Jonathan ordered.
The dogs ignored us. They decided it was time to play and headed across the yard. Then they started barking.
Crap!
Jonathan blanched. “Get back on the swing.”
I scrambled to obey. I didn’t see any alternative.
Jonathan climbed on the cot and stretched out. “Buddy,” he whispered. “Here boy.”
The dogs, seeing that we’d returned to bed, decided to call it a night. They piled in with me, the swing creaking as they did so.
“Stupid dogs,” Jonathan muttered.
“They’re like chaperones or something,” I said trying not to laugh.
Jonathan reached out and took my hand in his. “Tomorrow morning,” he said. “I’m kissing you.”
Elated, I answered, “You’d better.”
We fell asleep holding hands.
When I woke up, the dogs were going ballistic, and Jonathan was muttering something about, “Leave the joggers alone, Buddy.”
My Life as the Ugly Stepsister Page 10