Ninja Girl

by Cookie O'Gorman

  I choked on air.

  She grinned at the unseen guy. “And he sucks at martial arts. You’d crush him for sure.”

  Alright, that was it.

  “Glad to see you think so much of me,” I said, gliding into the room.

  “Why, Ash,” she said in mock surprise, “I had no idea you were out there.”

  “Where’s your friend?” I asked, looking around. I couldn’t see the guy, but I knew he had to be here somewhere. “Hiding in your closet or something? I swear if he’s naked, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

  “Naked,” Snow scoffed. “You must be cracked. There’s nobody here.”

  I snorted. “I heard you talking to somebody, Snow. I’d love to meet the douche who you think has better abs than me.”

  “Oh, him,” she said with a tilt of her head. “Bruce, this is the guy I was telling you about. I forgot to mention he’s also kind of an idiot.”

  I followed her gaze and saw the Bruce Lee poster tacked to the other side of her door. Damn. She was right. He did have better abs, and I was an idiot. No wonder I hadn’t seen the guy. He was literally flat as a board.

  “Ah,” I said, deflating.

  “Didn’t like what you heard?” Snow’s eyes were burning, but I couldn’t tell if she wanted to laugh or kick me in the nuts. Probably both. “That’s what you get for being so nosey.”

  “You’re right,” I mumbled. The Bruce in the poster glared back at me, muscles flexed in that eternal badass pose. “You talk to Mr. Lee often?”

  She straightened up. “All the time. Why?”

  “No reason.”

  “What are you even doing here?”

  “Came to see you,” I said, holding up the movies, finally taking in the rest of her room. “We never arranged a day for our marathon.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Well, I’m kind of busy.”

  I nodded. “Stunt reel, Min-Hee told me. She asked me to come up and get you.”

  “Of course, she did,” Snow mumbled.

  “Whoa,” I said, running my eyes over her walls. “That’s a lot of snow globes.”

  “Um, yeah, well…”

  I took another step inside. Out of my peripheral vision I saw her jump up, the blanket falling away. But her room was like stepping into another world. Little glass circles covered every surface, including the maze of shelves against her walls. It was a heck of a collection. She had everything from Christmas globes to Harry Potter to the Eiffel Tower. My personal favorite was the Spiderman I saw hanging out in the back.

  Snow had her own shelf of movies, too. As I’d expected, it looked like she had every Bruce Lee film ever made. Those were on top. But the rest were…

  “Chick flicks,” I grinned, running my fingers over the titles. 10 Things I Hate About You…The Breakfast Club…Clueless...Dirty Dancing. “God, Snow, you are such a girl.”

  “Stop,” she said, sounding a little panicked. “Don’t look at those.”

  “Too late,” I said. My hand stopped on Pride and Prejudice. “I never took you for a Jane Austen fan.”

  She made a strangled noise.

  “Ah, The Princess Bride.” I grabbed the DVD and held it up. “Now, this is a classic. I approve.”

  “Please, don’t touch.”

  Snow reached around me to put the movie back, and I noticed a familiar cd at one end.

  “Ah, ninja girl…Taylor Swift?” I grinned. “The car rides have paid off. I knew I’d make a Swiftie out of you eventually.”

  As I turned, my mind froze. It was the first time I was seeing her sans Hello Kitty blanket. My mouth dried up. It was physically impossible for me to speak.

  “So, I like a few of her songs,” she said. “What’s the big deal?”

  The big deal was the cat woman-ish suit she was wearing. Black and shiny, it fit her like a second skin. Her hands fisted at her sides like she was preparing for a fight. The scene was something straight out of an action movie—or my dreams.

  The really good ones with R-ratings.

  Snow narrowed her eyes. “Well?” she said, hands on hips. “Say something.”

  I had to clear my throat twice. “Nice outfit.”

  “It’s for the reel,” she said. “The director said I needed something dramatic, a real showstopper.”

  “It is that,” I coughed. Shit, I had to get it together. “Made my brain shut down there for a second. You’re like Kate Beckinsale in Underworld.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Yeah, you are—only hotter.”

  She shook her head, but I could still see the pink in her cheeks. “You really shouldn’t be up here. Friends don’t say that kind of stuff to each other.”

  “‘Course they do,” I said, forcing myself to turn away. I didn’t want her throwing me out just yet. “Besides, me and my guys over at Chariot would’ve looked ridiculous in that outfit. But you pull it off.”

  “And the girls?”

  I shrugged, going over to her nightstand. “Can’t say I’ve had a lot of those.”

  “Yeah, like I believe that.”

  I threw a smile over my shoulder. “Most girls don’t want to be my friend.”

  “Hmm,” she said noncommittally.

  “Girlfriend, yes,” I said. “Girl-who-is-just-a-friend, not so much. You’re pretty much on your own in that category.”

  She stayed silent while I examined each of the frames beside her bed. There were only three, but I took my time. The first photo was of her and her mom. Snow was just a baby, and Mrs. Lee looked much younger. There was a brightness in her eyes that I’d never seen before.

  “With all the action downstairs,” I asked, “why are you hiding up here?”

  “I’m not hiding,” she said.

  “Sure looks that way.”

  “I was talking to Bruce.”

  “Yeah, I heard. Sounded like you were hiding.”

  “Well, I’m not,” she said defensively.

  “Alright,” I said, pointing to the frame closest to her bed. “Is this your dad?”

  Snow nodded. “It was the last photo taken before he started treatments. He died when I was eight, pancreatic cancer.”

  I knew that from Smith’s research. She’d recited the words quickly like it still hurt to say them. But the man in the photo was the picture of health. He had black hair, tan skin, and a smile on his face that looked a lot like Snow’s. The final photo was a candid shot of her, her mom and the other Academy members. Mrs. Lee’s eyes didn’t sparkle quite so bright in that picture.

  “He looks like you,” I said.

  “Really?” she asked. “Everyone says I look like Omma.”

  “You do, but you look like him, too.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Did he write that?” I asked, noticing the words in the corner. In tight but readable cursive, it said: Live your life like Bruce.

  “He did.” She smiled, gazing at the photo. “It was something he always said. You want to be happy in life, Snow? Live like Bruce. Defy the rules, and don’t let anything hold you back. We used to watch Bruce Lee movies every Sunday. Every single one until…”

  “Sounds like a great guy,” I said after a moment. I couldn’t believe she’d just shared all that with me. She blinked, looking like she couldn’t believe it either. “I’d have loved to meet him.”

  “Hey,” she said, “we should probably go.”

  “Sure.”

  We were silent on the walk down. In the lobby, Smith joined us, falling in behind me and Snow. The air in the gym was charged with excited energy. Every head turned when Snow entered. There was a moment of silence. Then Koi wolf-whistled, and Snow flipped him off.

  “So,” I said, facing her, “when’s a good time to do the marathon? What about Monday after school?”

  Snow shook her head. “Can’t. I teach classes from four to nine.”

  “Okay, Tuesday?”

  “I teach then, too. How about Wednesday?”

  “I train Wednesday,
Thursday, and Saturday nights at Finley’s,” I said. “I usually do Mondays, too, but I figured if you were free…”

  She bit her lip. “Doing anything tomorrow?”

  “Picking up Veronica from the shop—but then I promised Mom I’d go to this play she’s been talking about for months.”

  “It’s alright,” Snow said. “We don’t have to do it.”

  “No backing out now, ninja girl. You already agreed.”

  “But—”

  “We’ll figure something out,” I cut in.

  No way was I giving up that easy. Spending time with Snow was integral to my plan, the Get Snow to Realize How Freakin’ Awesome We Could Be plan. I had to make her see how stupid this whole “just friends” thing was. How else was I supposed to get her to admit how she felt?

  “Snow, could you tell your mom to stop giving my crew the evil eye?” a voice said from behind me. “She’s scaring Big Tim, and I think Little Tim is hiding in the bathroom. He’s been in there a while.”

  Snow groaned. “Not again.”

  “And holy smokes! I knew you’d look great, but wow. You are rocking the cat suit.”

  Holy smokes? There was only one person I knew who still used that phrase, and I hadn’t seen her in months. Not since I’d switched schools. For that matter, my back was to her, so I wasn’t seeing her now.

  “Thanks, Sadie.”

  “Who’s your friend?”

  Before Snow could answer, I shook my head.

  “Now, Sadie Elizabeth, is that any way to greet your first love?” I said.

  I pivoted and came face-to-face with the one girl I’d known since birth. Sadie was like a baby sister: slightly annoying, too smart for her own good. She loved to tease me, too, but right then her mouth fell open in shock. That wild blonde hair of hers seemed to float around her head.

  I lifted a brow. “I’m crushed you didn’t recognize me.”

  “Ash Cornelius Stryker,” Sadie said and flew into my arms. “Jeez, I haven’t seen you in forever.”

  Spinning her around, I laughed. “You could’ve asked Mom to come over.”

  “So could you.” As I set her down, she punched me in the shoulder. It felt like nothing. “But I guess you were too busy becoming a private school prep.”

  “How do you know Snow?” I asked.

  “She saved me—or I should say saved my purse—when this guy tried to mug me at the Sonic last year. My goodness, you should’ve seen her, Ash. Snow knocked the guy out with two hits. Right, left, and pow! Down for the count. Can you imagine?”

  I could.

  “I’ve been working on her reel ever since, pro-bono mostly. Plus, she’s helping me with a new project—but that’s classified.” Sadie raised a brow. “And how do you know Snow?”

  “Well,” I said, glancing over, “it’s a long story. You want to tell it ninja girl, or should I?”

  Snow shrugged, an odd look on her face. “I’m his bodyguard,” she said.

  “Bodyguard?” Sadie gasped. “Is your dad still getting those letters?”

  I nodded. “More every day.”

  “Oh,” she said with a frown. “Evil political extremists. Well, tell him I said hi and to keep his head up.”

  “I will.”

  She nudged me in the ribs. “Bodyguard, huh? You weren’t looking at her like that a second ago.” Sadie laughed her loud, full-bodied laugh. “Snow, I’d be careful if I were you. This boy is a heck of a charmer.”

  “I read somewhere that you never truly get over your first crush,” I said.

  “What a load of crap.”

  I chuckled at that, and caught Sadie’s arm when she went to punch me again. The girl just never learned. Using the hold Snow’d taught me, I locked her arm behind her back, preventing escape.

  “Did you see that, Snow?” I said and gestured to the hold. “I am learning. A few more lessons, and I might graduate to non-suck status.”

  “Yeah,” Snow muttered, mouth thinning as she looked between Sadie and me. “If you’re done flirting, can we get started already?”

  Snow stomped over to Bae Bae and the others, her body stiff. She gave me a nice shoulder check as she passed, and I released Sadie in surprise. She couldn’t seem to stop sneaking glances at us every few seconds.

  “Well, alright,” I said with a shit-eating grin.

  “What’s up with her?” Sadie asked.

  I shook my head. The look that’d flashed across Snow’s face was pretty clear. My ninja girl was jealous. A little jealousy never hurt anyone, I thought, looking at Sadie again. Hell, this might be just what I needed to make Snow see the light.

  CHAPTER 13: SNOW

  “You’re avoiding me,” Ash said as I got into the car that Wednesday.

  I totally was.

  “No, I’m not,” I said back.

  Ash snorted, put the car in drive and peeled out. Veronica’s seats were already heated to the perfect temperature. I picked up his iPod and switched it to the Patsy Cline playlist. Turning to the window, I hummed along. Crazy…I’m crazy for feeling so lonely. That lady sure knew what she was talking about.

  “So, you’re not avoiding me?”

  I shook my head but didn’t look at him.

  “But you never talk to me at school,” Ash accused.

  “Nothing to talk about.”

  “Yeah, okay.” A beat, then, “Patsy Cline, huh? Thought you said you didn’t like country.”

  Another shrug. I didn’t like Patsy. I loved Patsy. The woman had a way of channeling everything she felt into her voice. Singing your heart out wasn’t just a phrase for her, but a battle cry. I’d been listening to her compulsively ever since the Sadie Incident.

  “Well, Miss Cline was pure country.” I could hear the grin in his voice. “I like this one better, though.”

  The song suddenly switched to I Fall to Pieces, and I glared over my shoulder.

  “Much more relevant, don’t you think?” he said. “All that talk about forgetting and how you pretend like we never kissed. Did I mention Sadie loves her songs, too?”

  I shook my head. It was probably the only thing I didn’t know about Director Sadie at this point. Ash talked about her all the time. Apparently, today was no exception. Shoot me now.

  “Well, she does. Sadie’s got great taste in music.”

  I raised a brow. According to Ash, Sadie had great everything.

  “I thought it was my day to DJ,” I said and changed the song again. As the first lines of Your Cheatin’ Heart blasted through the speakers, Ash ran a hand through his hair.

  “Subtle,” Ash said and hit the forward button a few times.

  “Hey,” I argued, but shut up when I heard his next song. I Love You So Much It Hurts. “You are just so hilarious.”

  He grinned. “I wasn’t trying to be funny. But if it makes you laugh, hey, I’ll take it.”

  I rolled my eyes and skipped ahead to If You’ve Got Leaving on Your Mind. A little too telling, a little too raw. This song put it all out there, but I wished Ash would stop already with his crap. I’d seen him with Sadie. These last few days I’d listened to him go on and on about her. As inexperienced as I was, I knew they had a connection. We sat silent, listening for a second as Patsy crooned.

  Ash sighed and reached for the iPod.

  “Jeez, Ash, I…oh, I like this one,” I said in surprise.

  “I know,” Ash said. “You put on Emmylou and replay it a second time every morning whether it’s your day or not.”

  “I do?”

  “Yeah, I like it, too. Those girls in First Aid Kit are great. I figured we could agree on this one.”

  “Good choice,” I grumbled.

  “Thanks.” He put both hands back on the wheel, drummed his fingers. “And that is the longest conversation we’ve had in days.”

  I shrugged again and faced the window. Most of our “conversation” had been made playing musical chairs. Thankfully, Ash stayed quiet the rest of the way. We listened to Emmylou three times
before we reached the CCDS parking lot. The song always had a way of soothing my nerves. But then Ash had to go and ruin it.

  “You should come watch me play today,” he said, shutting off the car.

  “Can’t,” I said, but before I could jump out, he locked the doors. I frowned, looked back.

  “Why not?” he asked all smiles. “Got something better to do?”

  Not really, I thought. It was self-preservation. After last Saturday, I tried not to spend any more time with Ash than necessary. Watching him flirt with Sadie in between takes while I sweat like a pig? Yeah, no, I wasn’t into that. I didn’t want to go to his practice. Omma and I hadn’t gone back to his house—though we’d been invited several times. Like he said, I was doing a great job of avoiding him. Or at least, avoiding him as much as you could someone you saw every morning in every class and on every car ride home.

  I lifted my chin. “Actually, Omma needs my help at The Academy.”

  “You know, that’s funny,” he said, eyes narrowing. “Because I talked to Mrs. Lee, and she said you were free tonight.”

  “What? You talked to my mom?”

  He nodded. “Hit me with your next excuse.”

  “It’s not an excuse,” I said. “I just can’t go.”

  “Why?” he asked again. “It’s a simple question, ninja girl.”

  A hundred reasons raced through my mind, but none I could say: Because you’re into Director Sadie. Because since Saturday, you never shut up about her. Because if you’re as awesome as Koi says you are, I might end up liking you even more. And that is unacceptable. Because I already like you too much.

  “I have to—”

  He held up a hand, eyes twinkling. “If you say you have to wash your hair, I’ll just offer to help.”

  “That’s not it,” I said, thinking fast. “I’ve got to work.”

  “But your mom said—”

  “Not there.” The answer came to me so suddenly, the perfect out. “Sometimes I take extra shifts at The Singing Fish. It’s not cheap running a family business, you know.”

  Ash frowned. “Didn’t you get the money my mom sent over?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”