Rachel's Valentine Crush

by Angela Darling

  “Don’t forget your dinner!” she said proudly as she handed her dad the bag.

  He looked surprised. “What’s this?” he asked.

  “I wanted to make sure you had something good to eat tonight,” Rachel explained. “There’s soup and sandwiches, some fruit, a brownie . . . and coffee. With sugar.”

  Mr. Wilson pulled Rachel into a hug. “Thanks a lot, kiddo,” he said. “That was very considerate of you.” He glanced out the window, where large fluffy flakes were swirling wildly. “Gonna be a long night, I think. We might get two feet—or more. But this great dinner will make it easier to handle.”

  “Drive safely, Dad,” Rachel said as she stepped up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I love you!”

  “Love you, too,” he replied with a big smile.

  Rachel watched her dad walk into the storm. She wished that he didn’t have to go, but at least he’d have something warm to eat and drink for the long night ahead.

  Rachel woke up the next morning to a great surprise: a snow day! She cheered—quietly, of course, so that she wouldn’t wake her dad—and got dressed as fast as she could. After she finished eating breakfast, Rachel decided to tackle the dishes. Then maybe she and Taylor could take Robbie sledding.

  Rachel blitzed through the dishes and loaded the dishwasher in just a few minutes. There were only a few things she had to wash by hand—the oatmeal pot and the two thermoses she had packed for her dad. But to Rachel’s surprise, the soup one was still full.

  Why didn’t Dad eat the soup I made him? she wondered. Rachel sniffed it. The soup smelled fine. It was still warm, even. Chicken noodle was her dad’s favorite. She had made the right flavor, right? She dug one of the empty cans out of the recycle bin and saw that the label read CONDENSED. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed it the night before.

  “Grandma Nellie?” Rachel asked as she wandered into the living room. “What does ‘condensed’ mean? On a can of soup?”

  Grandma Nellie glanced up from her scrapbook page. “Oh, that just means it’s concentrated. You have to add water before you eat it.”

  “You do?” Rachel asked with a sinking feeling.

  Grandma Nellie nodded. “Otherwise, it’s too salty and thick to eat.”

  “Oh,” Rachel said. “Okay. Thanks.”

  But as she walked back into the kitchen, Rachel was so mad at herself that she felt like kicking the empty can across the floor. That was so dumb, she thought. Why didn’t I read the directions on the label? I’m sure Dad really loved having a big thermos full of nasty salty soup that was too goopy to eat! So much for acting like a responsible adult!

  Rachel tried to forget about her mistake while she and Taylor played in the snow with Robbie for most of the afternoon. When they went inside to warm up, Rachel decided to check her LifeChat page to see how her other friends were spending the snow day. The posts were flying across the screen so fast that Rachel knew something big must’ve happened.

  Grace Everett: Not a rumor!!!

  Nevaeh Fry: but who told u?

  Amber Jones: I heard it 2

  Charlotte Chang: I heard it from Jessie so u know it’s true

  “T, you better check this out,” Rachel called as she stared at her computer.

  Taylor leaned over Rachel’s shoulder and read all the posts. “What’s going on?” she asked excitedly.

  “Don’t know yet,” Rachel replied as her fingers flew across the keyboard. “Let’s find out!”

  Rachel Wilson: just logged on. What’s up??

  Charlotte Chang: OMG, rach, BIG BIG BIG news

  Rachel Wilson: spill!

  Becca Morrison: there is going 2 be a dance after brody’s concert!

  Nevaeh Fry: maybe. we don’t know 4 sure

  Amber Jones: i heard it from madison. she should know, she is bff with student council pres

  Giada Lough: me too. there was a student council mtg after school yesterday

  Giada Lough: it was supposed to be announced today but school got canceled

  Giada Lough: they will tell us tmrw

  Amber Jones: this is the best part—madison said that jessie emailed brody to invite him & his secret crush!

  Grace Everett: TO THE DANCE?!?!?!

  Amber Jones: YES!!!

  Taylor gasped. “Rachel! Brody is going to be at the Valentine’s dance! Are you freaking out?”

  “No.” Rachel laughed. “I mean, he might be at the dance. If there’s even going to be a dance. I’ll believe it when I hear Ms. Gutierrez say it in homeroom announcements.”

  “Don’t be like that,” Taylor replied. “Come on, aren’t you excited? Just a little?”

  “But what’s the point of getting excited if it might not even happen?” Rachel asked. She remembered how thrilled she was to listen to “Secret Crush”—and how terrible she’d felt when she realized that practically every single girl at school wanted to be Brody’s crush too. “You’ll just feel more disappointed later.”

  “But Archer is the most boring place in the world. Nothing exciting ever happens here . . . until now . . . and I want to enjoy it! And you should too!” Taylor replied. “Here, let me play with your hair. It would look so awesome with a purple streak in the front, especially if you pull it back. We could use that temporary hair spray stuff. But would your dad let you do that? Or I guess maybe we should figure out what to wear first? I think we should both wear red for Valentine’s Day. You have a red tunic in your closet somewhere, right . . . ?”

  Rachel grinned in spite of herself and watched as her best friend started rummaging through her closet. Taylor’s enthusiasm was contagious, as usual. Rachel knew that convincing her dad to let her go to the dance—if it actually happened—wasn’t going to be easy. But she vowed to herself right then and there that, no matter what, she’d figure out a way to make her dad let her go.

  chapter 5

  TAYLOR HAD AN ORTHODONTIST APPOINTMENT the next morning, so Rachel didn’t see her best friend until lunchtime.

  “Told you so! Told you so! Told you so!” Taylor cried as she patted the chair next to her. She always sounded a little different after she got her braces tightened. “Here, I saved you a seat. So? Are you excited now?”

  “Excited?” Rachel repeated. She pretended to look confused. “About what? Oh, the dance?”

  Taylor’s eyes grew wide. “Of course about the dance!” she said. “Don’t tell me that you forgot about it. I was sure you’d be flipping out—”

  “I’m just messing with you,” Rachel interrupted, grinning at Taylor.

  “So the craziest thing happened in science today,” Taylor said. “Brian asked Emily to go to the dance with him! I thought I was going to fall off my chair! And then, like, ten minutes later, Colin asked Samantha.”

  “In my English class, Lauren asked Henry,” Rachel said.

  Taylor’s mouth dropped open. “Lauren and Henry!” she exclaimed. “I never would have guessed. That’s crazy.”

  “It’s kind of weird, huh?” Rachel asked. “I mean, usually nobody even goes to the dances at school. And now, all of a sudden, everybody wants to go. And with a date, too! That never happens.”

  “What never happens?” the girls’ friend Shane Allen asked as he sat down across from them.

  “Hey, Shane,” Taylor said. “We were just talking about the Valentine’s dance.”

  Shane rolled his eyes a little. “Yeah, you and the rest of the school,” he said.

  “I know, right?” Rachel exclaimed. “It’s weird, huh? And now all these people are going together—like as a date!”

  “Yup,” Shane said through a mouthful of spaghetti. He paused for a minute to finish chewing. “Totally weird. I don’t know—I hope some people go by themselves. It would be really awkward to be the only person there without a date.”

  “Totally awkward,” Rachel repeated emphatically. She started wondering (again) if anyone would ask her to the dance. She kind of hoped not. After all, if Brody was going to be there—and if, by some
crazy long shot, he actually liked her—then Rachel didn’t want to be stuck with a date. Just since homeroom, she had imagined the dance about a hundred times. The gym will be dim, with little twinkly lights everywhere. Maybe I’ll be standing off to the side with Taylor, and then suddenly I’ll see Brody walking toward me. But I won’t be sure, and I won’t want to stare at him, but every time I glance that way—there he is. With that smile that reaches all the way to his eyes, and he’s going to be looking right at me, and then he’ll say, “Rachel, do you want to dance?” And instead of being all nervous, I’ll just smile and say, “Sure,” like it’s no big deal, and follow him onto the dance floor and—

  Suddenly Rachel realized that Shane and Taylor had stopped talking. They were both staring at her. “Um, what?” she said, biting her lip. “Sorry, I—did you say something?”

  Shane fidgeted with his fork. “Yeah, I just—no big deal, but I asked if you wanted to go to the dance with me? As friends. That way we won’t be the only ones without a date.”

  A feeling of dread settled over Rachel. How could she say no? Shane was such a nice guy. She really didn’t want to hurt his feelings. But Brody’s face flashed through her mind, and she started to stammer, “Um—I don’t—”

  “Actually, I’d love to go with you,” Taylor said to Shane, rescuing Rachel just in time. “You know, Rachel might not even be allowed to go to the dance, and I was worried that I wouldn’t have anyone to hang out with. I think we’ll have an awesome time!”

  Rachel flashed Taylor a grateful smile.

  “Okay, Taylor,” Shane said. “Sounds great.”

  But Shane’s smile didn’t seem quite genuine, and Rachel knew that he could tell that she was going to say no. She didn’t want Shane to feel totally rejected.

  “Shane, ordinarily I would definitely go with you,” Rachel said quickly. “It’s just that—well, this is top secret so don’t tell anyone, but . . . I’m kind of hoping to go to the dance with Brody.”

  Shane looked shocked. “Brody?” he repeated. “You and Brody?”

  Rachel was stung. She didn’t know what to say. Is it really that hard to believe? she thought.

  But Shane quickly corrected himself. “I’m just surprised because I had no idea that you even knew Brody,” he continued.

  Rachel nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been in our church choir for years. I mean, we were in it—before Brody moved to California.”

  “You sing?” Now Shane looked even more surprised. “I didn’t know that. How come you’re not in glee club?”

  “Because—actually, never mind. It’s not important. Besides, I get to sing a lot at church,” Rachel replied.

  “And you and Brody are . . . friends?” Shane asked.

  Rachel shrugged. “I guess. I mean, we were friendly. But just between us—” she leaned forward and lowered her voice—“I’ve had a crush on him forever. I know it’s probably not going to matter—”

  “Wait a minute,” Shane said. “Do you think that you’re Brody’s secret crush?”

  Rachel didn’t say anything, but the pink blush creeping over her face answered Shane’s question.

  “Wow, Rach, I honestly had no idea that you like Brody. That’s so . . . you know what? I really hope that Brody likes you, too. Maybe you are his secret crush!” Shane said genuinely—and loudly. At least ten people nearby turned to stare at them! Rachel wished that she could dive under the cafeteria table and never be seen again. She bent down and rummaged around in her backpack like there was a secret treasure hidden there.

  “Shane!” Taylor hissed. “Shut up!”

  Shane’s eyes grew wide. “Oops, sorry, that was kind of loud,” he said in a quieter voice.

  “I want to die,” Rachel moaned in a half whisper from under the table. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Rach, don’t even worry about it,” Taylor said. “Come up. Nobody’s even looking over here anymore. Honestly, I don’t think that anyone was even paying attention.”

  “Then why were they all staring at me?” Rachel demanded.

  “Nobody was staring. They just kind of . . . looked in this direction for a second,” Taylor replied, but Rachel didn’t completely believe her. She wanted to, though.

  “You really think so?” Rachel asked.

  “Definitely,” Taylor said firmly.

  She must have kicked Shane under the table, because he jumped and quickly said, “Yeah, I mean, I wasn’t that loud. Besides, practically every girl in this school is in love with Brody. Nobody’s going to care about your crush, you know? It would probably be a bigger deal if you didn’t like him!”

  “I hope you’re right,” Rachel said as the bell rang, feeling a little better. She had never been so glad about the end of lunch period before. As Rachel threw away her trash, she thought about what Shane had said. It was true that all the girls were acting kind of crazy about Brody right now. If anything, Rachel figured, Shane’s big announcement would make her fit right in.

  Then, as she and Taylor walked into the hallway, Colin Mercer looked right at Rachel, grinned, and belted out a line from “Secret Crush.” Everyone around them cracked up, like they usually did when Colin started messing around. Stunned, Rachel blinked back tears of embarrassment.

  “Aw, Rach, don’t,” Taylor said softly. “Everybody’s laughing at Colin, not you. I really don’t think anyone will care about your crush. Shane’s right. A year ago, it might have been gossip-worthy, but not when so many other girls are crushing on Brody too.”

  “I just—I didn’t want anybody to know,” Rachel replied. “And now the whole school does. What if somebody tells Brody?”

  “What would they say?” Taylor asked. “ ‘Hey, Brody, every single girl at school is crazy about you, especially that Rachel Wilson!’ ” Taylor shook her head. “Not gonna happen. Besides, it seems like Brody’s not really in touch with anybody these days. He’s too busy. So it could be worse.”

  Rachel nodded slowly. “You’re right. Thanks, Taylor,” she said.

  “No problem,” said Taylor. “Trust me, by seventh period no one is even going to care—or remember.”

  For a few hours, Rachel almost believed her. But when she went to her locker after school, Rachel found a huge surprise.

  Tammy Hemmings was waiting for her.

  Oh man, Rachel thought as she automatically slowed down. Why is Tammy standing at my locker?

  Even as the question formed in Rachel’s mind, she figured out the answer. Tammy must have heard about her crush, just like everybody else at school. What am I even going to say to her? Rachel wondered wildly. She’s probably going to tell me to stay away from Brody or—

  “Hey,” Tammy said. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. “You’re Rachel, right?”

  Rachel hesitated for a moment before she spoke. “Yeah,” she finally replied. “Um, hi.”

  “Hey,” Tammy said again. She smiled a little and glanced, briefly, at the floor. Suddenly, Rachel realized that Tammy felt about as awkward as she did. “So . . . about Brody . . .”

  “So you heard about that,” Rachel said.

  Tammy nodded. “Listen, I don’t blame you. He is so cute. But there was—well—there was something I was kind of curious about. Can I ask you a question?”

  “I guess,” Rachel replied. “I mean, sure.”

  “I was just wondering . . . what makes you think that ‘Secret Crush’ is about you?” Tammy asked.

  “Oh,” Rachel said. “Well, it was that line about making music together. You know the one?”

  Tammy nodded.

  “Brody and I sang together in our church choir,” Rachel explained. She shrugged. “That’s all. It probably doesn’t mean anything.”

  “I didn’t know that Brody was in a church choir, too,” Tammy said. “I thought he was just in glee club. Maybe you’re right. Maybe that line is about choir and not glee.”

  Rachel felt a little hope stirring inside her heart, but tried to ignore it.

 
“So, what do you think about the L-O-L line?” Tammy continued. “Did you and Brody joke around a lot in choir?”

  “No,” Rachel admitted. “Like, never. Did you guys? In glee club?”

  “Yeah,” Tammy said. “Practically after every rehearsal.”

  “Oh,” Rachel said. “So . . . that’s probably it, then. That’s probably the clue.” She tried to act like it was no big deal, but the smile she forced across her face was hardly convincing.

  “Who knows,” Tammy said with a shrug. “Whatever the clue is, it’s definitely not easy to figure out. But good luck, Rachel. If I’m not Brody’s crush . . . then I hope it’s you.”

  “Me too,” Rachel said. “Wait, that didn’t sound right.”

  Tammy’s laugh, as beautiful as her singing voice, rang through the hallway. “No worries,” she assured Rachel. “I know what you meant. See ya.”

  “See ya,” Rachel repeated. She opened her locker and started loading her backpack, oblivious to everyone else in the hallway. Tammy was just trying to be nice, Rachel thought, forcing herself to face the truth. Because, sure, the music line could be about choir or glee club. But the LOL part—that’s got to be all about her.

  And not me.

  chapter 6

  WHEN RACHEL GOT HOME, SHE went straight to Grandma Nellie’s scrapbooking cupboard. “Grandma Nellie?” she called. “Can I take some more of your supplies?”

  “Of course, honey,” Grandma Nellie replied. “Anything you want. Did you decide to give scrapbooking a try?”

  “Yep,” Rachel said as she loaded up on paper, glue, and ribbon. “I worked on it a little bit already the other night. Now I have some more pages I want to add.”

  “Good for you, Rachel! I bet it will look great,” Grandma Nellie said. “Have fun!”

  In her room Rachel started playing Songs from My Heart as she arranged the supplies on her desk. Then she used her hole punch to make a series of holes around the edge of a new scrapbook page. After weaving a pretty piece of crimson ribbon through the holes, Rachel pulled out a sheet of the lined pink paper and was ready to start writing.