Kiss & Sell

by Brittany Geragotelis

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I’m just so excited, that I’m not making any sense. Okay, so I was looking for you, because I was hoping you could help me out with something,” Bree said. “See, I’m on the Homecoming dance committee and we’re in desperate need of a few more members to pull off the greatest party in ronald Henry history. And of course… I thought of you! Please say you’ll do it!”

  What the frack was going on here? This girl I barely knew was practically begging me to join her club. Me. Arielle sawyer. The girl who, up until a few weeks ago, was non-existent. I couldn’t get over the fact that, for some reason, this girl thought I was way cooler than I actually was.

  “No offense, but why did you think of me? I’ve never even been to a dance before, let alone helped plan one,” I said honestly. “I’m not saying no—but what makes you think I’d be any help to you anyway?”

  A look of guilt crossed Bree’s face as she realized that she’d been caught. Caught doing what exactly, I wasn’t sure. Sheepishly, she looked down at the floor and began to explain.

  “Well, I saw you on Snooze and you were really cool and funny…and you were just sitting there, chatting with Ryder Diggs, like he wasn’t the hottest thing since twitter, and I just thought, ‘that’s who we need planning our dance.’”

  I stared at her, stunned by the admission and completely unsure how to react. I had to appreciate her honesty. Bree could’ve easily made up some kind of BS about how she admired my entrepreneurial skills or something, but she’d respected me enough to lay it all out there. There was something refreshing about that.

  Bree stood there in front of me, looking both hopeful and unabashedly grateful at the same time. It dawned on me that this was what it must feel like to be popular. People wanting to be around you just because of who they thought you were. Not because of who you actually were.

  “It’s really nice of you to think of me, Bree, but I might end up doing more damage to your dance than help. See, I’m a little accident-prone,” I admitted, looking over at my friends for support

  “It’s true,” McCartney piped up for the first time since we’d started talking. “Arielle managed to break my iPhone, and its case was supposed to be indestructible.”

  “I told you that wasn’t my fault. That fat guy hit it out of my hands, and there was no way for me to catch it before it hit the escalator. So, technically, it was that fat man and the escalator that broke your phone. Not me.”

  McCartney rolled her eyes and mouthed, “It was her,” to Bree.

  “I’m not blind, McCartney. I can see you.” I was growing irritated.

  I turned back to Bree and tried to bring the conversation to a close. “Anyway, I’m just not sure I’m the right girl for the job. You’d be better off getting someone else to help. Someone who’s more of a party girl, maybe. Why don’t you ask Kristi? She probably lives for that stuff.”

  “Can I be honest with you? I feel like I can tell you anything.” Bree looked around the room as if there might be a spy hiding under a desk just waiting to hear her dirty little secrets. “When Kristi was on the dance committee last year, she was a total control nazi. She pushed for the polka dots theme when she knew they’d make the rest of us look fat. So this year, we black-listed her.” she paused, thinking over what she’d just divulged. “But Kristi doesn’t know that, so please don’t tell her, okay?”

  I was shocked to learn that there were other people at RHHS who weren’t Kristi fans, either. I was even more floored that the list included other popular kids.

  “Besides, if you came, I have a feeling it would be the best turnout for a dance ever. And the money we make fully goes to some orphanage in the city, so I just figured you’d want to help out….”

  “Okay, Bree,” I said, worrying that if I didn’t agree soon, the girl might pass out from lack of oxygen to her brain due to all the talking. And even though I’d just met her, I didn’t want that on my conscious. “I’ll do it.”

  Bree’s face lit up like a 100-watt bulb, and she jumped up and down, clapping her hands like a cheerleader. Then, she scurried over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I was caught off-guard by the act and my arms remained at my side limply as she squeezed me like a stress doll.

  “This is so great! I can’t wait to tell everyone!” she exclaimed. “So, our first meeting is tomorrow after school. We meet at 2:15 in the student lounge. Start thinking of themes!”

  “Great,” I answered.

  I watched as Bree bounced out of the room, wiggling her fingers goodbye as she disappeared.

  “Whoa. That girl’s got a whole lot of spirit, doesn’t she?” Phin asked, letting out a low whistle. “Think she’d go to Homecoming with me?”

  “No,” McCartney answered. “Besides, we’re all going together, remember?”

  “I just figured, now that Arielle’s gonna be Queen of the Party People, she could just find us people to go with.”

  “I’m not going to force people to go with you to the dance, Phin,” I answered, picking my bag up off the floor. “Not that I have that power anyway. Nobody’s gonna care that I’m helping out with the dance. The only reason I said yes in the first place was because I figure it’ll look good on my college apps later on.”

  “You should ask Ryder to go with you,” McCartney blurted out. I turned to look at her and saw that she had her trouble-making face on. Whenever she was planning something devious, she got this grin on her face—sort of like the Grinch who stole Christmas—and her eyebrows shot up into the shape of little tiny devil horns.

  “You’ve officially gone mental,” I said flatly. “You either need to go on some sort of medication or check yourself into the loony bin, because you’re twelve kinds of crazy right now.”

  “You would look great in a straight jacket,” Phin agreed.

  “Just think about it,” McCartney implored as she followed me out the door.

  The scary thing was, I already had.

  THE NEXT DAY, I dragged myself to the student lounge to meet Bree and her crew for our first Dance Committee meeting. I’d been kicking myself ever since I’d agreed to do the thing in the first place. But now that I was actually on my way, it was taking everything I had to keep from turning around and ditching the whole thing.

  It also didn’t help that McCartney and Phin had both given me a hard time about heading to the meeting instead of hanging out with them like usual. They even made up a song about it and sang it to me before first period. And again at lunch. And in between every break. As annoying as the lyrics were, I had to admit that the tune was pretty catchy. And now I couldn’t get it out of my head, which meant that I was effectively torturing myself for them.

  “We’re hanging alone now, our little Arielle is busy dancing around. She’s making the plans now, she’ll pick the color, theme and a hip-hop sound.” I sang the lyrics softly to the tune of Tiffany’s “I think we’re alone now,” as I neared the lounge. Realizing that I was doing it again, I shook my head to clear it. “Damn you McCartney and Phin!” I cursed under my breath.

  I walked into the student lounge, which was everyone’s go-to spot whenever they weren’t in class. It was exactly what you’d think a teachers lounge would be—except way cooler. And only for students. Once two large rooms that had been separated by a flimsy folding wall, the student lounge was now one big open area, filled with couches, bean bags, tables and even a hammock.

  The lounge had been the Class of 97’s gift to the school and every senior class since then had added another accessory to the space. In the last three years, graduating classes had donated a popcorn machine, cappuccino station, flat screen TV, Nintendo Wii and a pool table.

  The area was more impressive than your local arcade and 100% free to students. I had to assume that ours was the only school where the students didn’t actually mind being there. Not in here, at least.

  I spotted Bree right away, and made my way over to the corner where she and about six others were lounging around. There were three othe
r girls with her, all whom I recognized, but didn’t know personally. A bunch of guys sprawled around, looking all different levels of bored. I smiled as I recognized one of the faces.

  Cade Jones.

  The good-looking, brooding, hunk of a hero who’d come to my rescue after I’d given Dan the old chair tip-over. As happy as I was to see him, I was confused by it, too. I wouldn’t have thought this was his scene. Not that it was exactly mine, either.

  “Hey guys,” I said, sitting down on a beanbag breathlessly. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “No problem, A,” Bree chirped happily.

  A? When did we move into nickname territory?

  “Okay, so now that we’re here, I’d like to call our Homecoming meeting to order,” Bree said, taking her role as committee president seriously. “The dance is only three weeks away and we don’t have a theme. In case you weren’t aware, the theme we choose can totally make or break the dance. If the motif sucks, then no one will come, and that means the dance will suck. And I will not throw a sucky Homecoming.”

  “Because that would suck,” Cade whispered just loudly enough for me to hear.

  I glanced over at him and saw that he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I smiled at his comment before forcing myself to focus on Bree as she continued.

  “So, any ideas?” she asked the group, looking from one face to another expectantly.

  The brunette closest to me raised her hand and then lowered it back down when she realized we weren’t in class. She covered this up with a blinding smile and pushed forward. “How about ‘Star-Crossed Lovers?’ People can dress like their favorite doomed couples. Romeo & Juliet. Bonnie & Clyde. Brad & Jen.”

  “Sounds a little…depressing. I don’t want anyone going home after the dance and offing themselves,” Bree said. “Think more upbeat.”

  “Depending on who it is, that could be upbeat,” Kyle Gambit joked. He erupted into laughter and leaned over to hi-five his friend whose name I couldn’t place.

  Ugh. Boys were so disgusting sometimes.

  “Not funny, Kyle,” Bree said in response. “Next.”

  A bleached-blond with pink streaks in her hair, popped her gum loudly to get our attention. “Rock & Roll,” she said with a devilish smile. “Lots of black, pleather and spikes. It’ll be hot!”

  “Not everyone looks good in skin-tight gear and I don’t want to have to stare at some girl’s jelly-rolls because she thinks it’s her right to wear spandex. Next.” Bree was getting frustrated now.

  “Ooh, ooh, ooh!” Kyle’s hi-fiving friend said as he jumped up and down in his seat.

  “Yes, Jake?”

  Jake Pritchard. For some reason I remembered that he was on the wrestling team. And that he liked to hit the bong on occasion.

  “Let’s do ‘Pimps & Ho’s!’ It’ll be so cool. Guys dress up like pimps—like my man snoop Dogg—and chicks dress up in tiny, little…”

  “Absolutely not,” Bree said cutting him off. “As much as I’d like to channel my inner Britney, Principal Howard has already made it clear that the theme can’t be clothing optional. Anyone else?”

  “Heaven on Earth?”

  “Been done.”

  “Under the Sea?”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Secret Lovers?”

  “Come on, guys! We have to come up with something that’s actually good and won’t get us kicked out of school. It shouldn’t be this hard,” Bree said, gripping the bridge of her nose like she was getting a headache. “Think, people! We just need one good idea.”

  “Opposites Attract?” I said, surprising myself when it rolled past my lips.

  Bree looked like she was thinking this over. I waited for her to shoot down my idea just like she had all the others. Instead, after about thirty seconds, she reached over and gave me a squeeze.

  “Opposites Attract…it’s brilliant, A!” Bree squealed. “Thank God you’re here, otherwise we’d have absolutely nothing.”

  I saw the others roll their eyes as Bree threw out the backhanded comment. If this had been class, they’d all be calling me Teacher’s Pet right about now. And from the looks of it, they wouldn’t be wrong.

  “Okay, so now that we’ve got the perfect theme,” Bree announced, turning to me and winking, “We need to assign people to teams to make this dance happen. Let’s see…we’ll need a group on decorations, someone to book the music, another person to figure out refreshments and a few to get the word out to the student body.”

  “I’ll handle the music!” Kyle shot up out of his seat excitedly. “My cousin has a sweet music collection and he can do this thing with his computer that will blow your mind—”

  “Fine. Kyle, you’re on music,” Bree said. “But no country or rave.”

  “No problem,” he answered, a smirk on his face. “What kind of loser listens to that stuff anyway?”

  I frowned. I loved country. Well, okay, so maybe I mostly liked pop-country, like Carrie Underwood, Jessica simpson and Taylor Swift, but still. What was so wrong about that?

  “I’ll take refreshments,” the pink-streaked girl said.

  “And since I do the morning announcements, I guess I could spread the word,” Jake chimed in.

  “Good. And since I’m out there talking to the student body anyway, I guess I can make sure everyone knows the details of the dance, too,” Bree said. Then she turned to look in my direction. “I guess that just leaves Cade and A to manage the decorations. That cool with you two?”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure,” I answered, surprised to be partnered up with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. “Happy to help out wherever.”

  I looked over and watched Cade shrug easily. “It’s cool with me.”

  “Great!” Bree said, stepping down from the director’s chair she’d been sitting on. “Why don’t we meet again on Friday to touch base about how far we’ve all gotten. Now let’s get going. We’ve got less than three weeks to get this together. And failure is not an option.”

  The group broke up then and I gathered my stuff slowly, trying to time my exit with Cade’s. I was secretly hoping for a chance to talk to him. As I watched the last of our group leave, I fell into step beside my new dance partner.

  “So, guess it’s just you and me,” Cade said softly as we exited the student lounge and started making our way down the nearly-empty hallway.

  “Looks like it,” I said, hoping I was coming across as somewhat cool.

  “So…can I get your number?” he asked me.

  I nearly tripped over my own feet as he said it. Was it possible that he was feeling the same butterflies I was?

  I must have looked as surprised as I felt, because Cade broke out into a sheepish grin before turning forward again. “I mean, we should exchange numbers so we can set up a time to meet to talk decorations.”

  “Oh. Right…yeah, okay,” I said, embarrassed. Somehow I managed to give him my number and programmed his into my phone, too.

  “So, I’ll call you,” he said as we arrived at a crossroads in the hallway.

  I nodded and studied him as he walked away. When I was sure he was gone, I let out a shaky breath. “God, I hope so.”

  When my cell phone went off a few nights later, I raced across my room before my mom could hear it. We had a phone curfew in our house, one of the few things my mom was strict about. She claimed that electronics led to restless sleep at night. I was supposed to turn mine off after 8pm. It was totally weird, but you have to pick your battles.

  I put the phone to my ear as I looked over at the door for any sign that my mom had heard it ring. I hadn’t even bothered to look at the caller ID to see who was on the other line before picking it up. Which meant I was answering blind.

  “Hello?” I whispered.

  “Is this Arielle?” a guy’s voice asked.

  I blinked. The voice wasn’t Phin’s. So who was calling me this late at night?

  “Yeah,” I answered curiously. “Who’s this?”

  There was a
pause on the line.

  “Hey…it’s Ryder. Ryder Diggs? We met on Snooze back in—”

  I rolled my eyes. This had to be Phin playing a prank on me. He’d imitated others before. Well, fool me once, shame on you, Phin. Fool me twice, shame on me.

  “Yeah, Right. You’re such a butt-munch, dude. Why don’t you call McCartney and bug her? Maybe she’ll fall for your crap.”

  Silence fell over the phone line again, as I waited for Phin to fess up. I was just about to hang up, when I heard a voice chuckle on the other end.

  “Um, I’m not sure who you think this is, but I actually am Ryder. You gave me your number, told me I could call you to get an update on your Plan de Smooch?”

  Frack. Frack. Frack.

  I couldn’t believe I didn’t recognize his voice before. And now I was going to have to kill myself because I’d just called Ryder Diggs a butt-munch. Holding the phone away from my face, I screamed loudly into my pillow. It didn’t change what had happened, but it did make me feel better. Brushing my hair out of my eyes, I placed my cell back up to my ear.

  “Oh, hey, Ryder,” I said as breezily as I could. “Sorry about that. My friend’s been pranking me all night. It’s this whole silly thing he does. Kind of childish if you think about it…anyway, it’s so good to hear from you!”

  He let out a chuckle that vibrated through the phone, and I silently thanked the universe that he hadn’t hung up on me yet. Because I would’ve understood if he had.

  It would’ve broken my heart, but I would’ve understood.

  “I just thought I’d give you a call, say hi, see how the whole eBay thing’s going,” he said. His voice was low and soft, and I imagined he was serenading me as he spoke. I couldn’t believe I’d thought for even a second that it was Phin I’d been talking to before.

  “Well, ‘hi’ to you, too,” I said, grinning. I began to pace around the room to try and get rid of some of the nervous energy I was feeling. Walking over to the window, I glanced out at the street below, and then turned around and walked back toward the other side of my room. “To be honest, I haven’t even checked my account lately. I’ve been so busy at school. Suddenly everyone knows who I am, and wants to hang around me all the time. And there’s this girl, Kristi, who’s pretty much the Devil incarnate and thinks it’s her job to humiliate me as much as humanly possible. Oh, and I was talked into being on the Homecoming dance committee, which is ironic because I’ve never been to a school dance before.”