Acting Out

by Katrina Abbott

  I nodded, relieved. “I got to sit up front in my parents’ jet and it was really cool. The pilot even let me fly a bit and showed me what a lot of the instruments were.”

  “Really?” she asked, a big smile on her face. “That is cool.”

  “So that’s why I need to work on my marks. Especially math and science. I did some research over the break; I could enlist and become a pilot that way, but...” I scrunched up my face.

  “Enlist?” Emmie scrunched up her face, too, and then shook her head. “I don’t see you as the military type. I don’t care what the ratio of men to women is.”

  I laughed. “Doesn’t mean I don’t like military men, but you’re right. I’m not cut from military cloth.”

  “So what does The Commander say about all this?”

  I swallowed hard, thinking about my father. My brother and I have always called him The Commander because he’s so strict and kind of acts like an army general, but he’s not military. He’s actually a big wig lawyer, the take no crap type. And if I’m being honest, I’ve always been scared of him. Not that he’d ever hurt me, he’s just so stern and unforgiving. He’s the one person who can make me cry with just a look. The one I’d never considered taking a guy home to, not that I had a guy, but still. “I haven’t mentioned it,” I said.

  “He still want you to be a lawyer like him?”

  “Yeah.” Bryce was off the hook thanks to him being a math prodigy, but Seychelles was expected to follow in The Commander’s footsteps. She certainly wasn’t going to follow in her mother’s, that much was obvious.

  “And what does Jackie think?”

  I rolled my eyes. “My trophy wife mother? What does she know about actual careers? She only cares that I’m thin and beautiful, just like her.” Not that I was either of those things.

  Emmie pressed her lips together in a line, making me realize I’d allowed a bit too much realness to seep out. I quickly looked down at the booklet. “So we should probably start on this, huh?”

  She didn’t say anything. After a long moment I looked up and hated that she was staring at me with that look on her face that told me she totally knew what I was thinking. Of course she would; she knew what it was like to have crappy parents. The kind that gave you everything, except the things that really mattered.

  “Emmie?”

  She shook her head like she was shaking off everything I was desperate to not talk about. Which I loved her for.

  “Yeah, sure. Sorry, Chelly. So what do we have to do for this lab?”

  “Thanks,” I said and pushed the booklet toward her so we could both read the instructions.

  ~ ♥ ~

  We got halfway through our assignment before I turned to Emmie.

  “I think I want a boyfriend,” I said. Maybe blurted was a better term.

  She sputtered and coughed a little before looking at me. “How did you go from Newton’s Laws of Motion to needing a boyfriend?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking about it. Maybe it’s time I found one guy to settle down with.”

  “Settle down? Like matrimonially?”

  “Are you high or something? We already talked about this. I’m not the marrying type.”

  “Nonetheless.” She cocked her head at me. “First you’re telling me you need to work on your marks to get into college and now you’re telling me you want a boyfriend.” She leaned close, studying my face. “Who are you and what have you done with my friend?”

  “Take me to your leader,” I said in a Martian voice while doing the robot, making her laugh.

  She looked at me casually, but her eyes were like lasers on me. “Do you have your eye on someone in particular?”

  I thought about it for a second, but came up blank. “No, I don’t think so. I’m going to have to start from scratch to find a guy.”

  “And how does Seychelles Spencer do that?”

  “I have no idea.” I shrugged.

  She snorted and looked up at the wall of the classroom toward a dorky education poster. “You should employ the scientific method.”

  I followed her gaze to the flowchart on the wall, the one outlining the scientific method.

  “Brilliant!” I said.

  “What? I was joking.”

  “No,” I said. “It’s perfect. Look at it.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “You’re going to use the scientific method to find a boyfriend.”

  “I can’t think of any better way, can you?”

  She opened her mouth and then closed it again.

  “Exactly,” I said. “You lucked into your relationship with Danny. Well, I don’t want to wait for something lucky to maybe happen. So...”

  “You’re nuts,” Emmie said, but she was smiling.

  “I know. But it’ll work. You watch.”

  She shook her head and then looked at the poster again. “So what’s your question?”

  Ask a question, step one in the scientific method.

  “Who will be my boyfriend?”

  Emmie shrugged. “I guess that’s as good a question as any.”

  Do Your Research

  “Of course I’m in,” I said, looking at Kaylee and Emmie who were standing in my dorm room doorway. I couldn’t believe they thought I might not be on board with their plan to meet a bunch of boys out at the bonfire pit. “Why on earth would you think otherwise?”

  Kaylee shrugged. “Emmie said you were into school now.”

  I snorted and gave Emmie a withering look. “I don’t know if wanting to do well in physics means I’m looking to run for the dean’s list. And anyway, how else am I going to find a boyfriend if I am never around any boys?”

  “Good point,” Emmie said.

  Kaylee looked from me to Emmie and then back at me, obviously a few steps behind.

  “Emmie will fill you in,” I told her. “Let me just change and grab my keys. Text the boys and tell them to meet us at the gate. I’ll meet you behind the pool building in twenty.”

  The girls thanked me and then left me to prepare myself for phase two of my scientific method of dating: Research.

  ~ ♥ ~

  Being part of the grounds keeping staff as part of my CSA normally sucked the big one, but when it meant that I was the keeper of the key that opened the secret gate to the Westwood campus, it was a very good thing. I had to wonder what the dean was thinking when she’d given me that assignment.

  After I put on my coat and boots (we’d gotten a dusting of snow during the day) I met Emmie, Kaylee, Celia and Brooklyn down behind the aquatics building. I led them through the little forest toward the back campus, all of us crunching through the snow and leaves underfoot. The air was brisk and cold, making me kind of wish I’d worn a hat to cover my ears. Too late now, and anyway, the last thing I needed when going to meet a bunch of boys was flattened hair and a dorky hat.

  The hole in the fence had been ‘fixed’ by Brooklyn’s hot brother (who was even hotter now that we knew he was some sort of spy or something, even though I would never forgive him for fixing the hole) so we were forced to use the secret gate. I didn’t love the idea of having to go lift the key for it out of the maintenance shed, which just multiplied our chances of getting caught, but it was our only way of seeing the boys outside of regular school stuff. If I ever saw Rob Prescott (or whatever his name really was) again (and I hoped I did, because rowr) I’d give him a piece of my mind about the fence thing. Still, that didn’t help us now.

  We got to the gate and as directed, the boys were there waiting. It was dark, so I couldn’t see exactly who was there right away as I opened the lock, but once I unlatched it and the gate swung open, I saw Declan (of course), Miles, Hunter, Jenks, and Abe. I’d hoped a few more boys might have come to help with my research, but while I liked to joke about The Westwood Buffet, I guess it was unreasonable to actually expect one. Plus, they were taking a risk being here, so maybe Declan hadn’t told too many guys, worrying about it getting too rowdy.

&n
bsp; I was also surprised for a half a second that Dave wasn’t there, since Abe was and they were roommates, but then remembered that both Emmie and Brooklyn had history with him, so it did make sense. He was sure nice to look at, but I guess now that two of my friends had dated him, he wasn’t eligible for me to consider as potential boyfriend material. That would be way too awkward. And as I looked at the Westwood boys in front of me, there were certainly plenty of other fish in the sea to choose from.

  As a group (with Kaylee and Declan lagging behind, because: kissing) we made our way over to the bonfire pit. It was really cold out, but with the leaves gone from the trees, meaning we had no cover, it was too much of a risk to have anything more than a tiny token campfire. So we pretty much froze as we sat on the logs around the fire pit staring at what may as well have been a couple of tea light candles.

  My strategy was to observe the boys at first, maybe see if any showed interest and/or stood out from the rest. I never had trouble attracting the boys, but this was different. I didn’t just want attention, I wanted focus.

  So instead of sitting with the boys right off, I’d nudged my way in between Celia and Emmie. We huddled together for warmth as the boys sat on the other logs across from us.

  Like a god with some sort of trophy, Hunter held up a huge thermos.

  “We brought coffee,” he said, which was of course the exact right thing to say. And scored him a point in my virtual potential boyfriend tally for being so thoughtful and resourceful. You have to appreciate those things in potential boyfriends.

  Celia moaned and Emmie said, “Thank God.”

  “We’d love some!” I said, answering for all the girls, suddenly more excited about a hot cup of coffee than I’d ever been in my life.

  “I’ll grab you one,” I said to Celia who had pulled her legs up inside her coat, making her look like SpongeBob.

  “Thanks,” she said with a nod.

  Just before I got up to get a cup, I glanced down at my done-up jacket and pulled the zipper down a bit, showing off some asset, cursing silently at how the wind seemed to get right down there, but whatever.

  As I looked up, I caught Abe watching me and gave him a wink. He lifted an eyebrow in return. I made my way over to Hunter, but was halfway there when I heard a little squeal behind me.

  Crap, I thought instantly, figuring we were getting busted. But as I did a slow turn, I saw Emmie getting folded into her hot felon’s arms and then pulled in for a kiss. I smirked, thinking about the lack of security at this super-high-end boarding school that gave girls keys to secret gates and easy access for some guy who wasn’t even a Westwood student.

  When Emmie and Danny came up for air, I asked him how he got on campus.

  He sat down on the log, tugging Emmie down into his lap before he shrugged. “I was doing some work for the dean anyway.”

  Okay, so he didn’t exactly break onto campus. Still, my parents would blow a gasket if they knew what we could get away with at this school. Well, my dad would. Jackie would probably see it as an opportunity to snag me a rich guy to marry. Speaking of rich guys...

  “I’ll take a cup, please,” I said to Hunter as I turned back toward him.

  He smiled up at me. “Of course. How do you take it?”

  “Hot and sweet,” I purred. “One for Celia, too.”

  His smile got broader as he handed me a cup. “I’ll come sit with you in a minute,” he said.

  I nodded and gave him a lingering look through my lashes before I turned around and headed back toward Celia. But as I did, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Abe. And he was shaking his head at me.

  What’s that supposed to mean? And why was he always watching me? I stuck my tongue out at him, which just made him laugh. But reminded me he was a nice guy. So nice that Brooklyn had recently friend-zoned him. It made me feel kind of bad for him because he was a sweet guy, but if Brooklyn wasn’t into him that way, I couldn’t exactly blame her. He was definitely cute though, in a big, swarthy, masculine way. You know, if you’re into guys like that, who also happen to be funny. Oh and had such a horrible childhood that you figure they probably spend most nights rolled up in the fetal position inside their closet, and who could blame them?

  Pushing those thoughts out of my head, because I wasn’t here to think about Abe and his crappy past, but instead my future boyfriend, I sat down between Brooklyn and Celia. I had to wait for Celia to shove an arm out of her coat so she could take the coffee from me.

  I fought the urge to ask Brooklyn more about why she’d dumped Abe, because I couldn’t exactly do it with him right there. Anyway, I didn’t get the chance before Celia spoke up, though quietly from inside her coat.

  “So Hunter?” she asked.

  I took a sip of the coffee, wishing it was a bit hotter. “Maybe. What do you think?”

  “He’s definitely cute,” she said.

  “But?” I said, “I hear a but.”

  She shrugged. “You could do better.”

  I turned and looked at her straight on. “What do you mean?”

  She screwed up her face. “I don’t know. He’s just not Chelly material.”

  I turned to Brooklyn. “What do you think?”

  “No idea. I don’t even know him.”

  Suddenly, Celia chugged the last of her lukewarm coffee and shot her legs out the bottom of her coat before jumping up.

  The movement almost made me spit out my coffee. “What are you doing?”

  “I need to go break up those two.” She nodded her chin toward Kaylee and Declan, who had basically morphed into one being. Kayclan or maybe Declee. I’m not one to complain about a little PDA, but they were getting gross.

  “Oh yeah,” I said. “Not that I don’t think they’d make cute babies, but...”

  She shot me a look over her shoulder before she went over to play chaperone.

  At least Emmie and Danny had ducked into the woods, but they were back now, Emmie dropping down onto the log beside me, her hair a little mussed and her lips swollen, but likely unimpregnated.

  “Did I hear that there was coffee?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding toward where Hunter was pouring for the guys.

  “I’ll get you some,” Danny said, like a gentleman, which he was, though it seemed not to fit with what he looked like; all tatted up with a shaved head. Though tonight he’d been smart enough to put on a beanie.

  “Thanks,” she said, beaming a smile at him.

  Once he was out of earshot, I turned to her. “Things are going well?”

  Even in the dark, only the side of her face lit by the small campfire, I could see she had googly eyes as she watched him walk away. She blushed, which was so cute I almost died. “Yeah. Good. I mean, really good.”

  “He’s pretty hot,” I said, refraining from commenting on his butt, because while it was right there and definitely worth mentioning if he’d been single, I didn’t want to make it weird. He was taken, after all, and I didn’t want her to think I’d make a move on her guy.

  She nodded. “Yeah, but it’s so much more than that. We have this connection...” she shrugged, like it was explanation enough. But it wasn’t. Maybe for Kaylee—who had cooled it a bit with Declan, I noticed as I glanced over—it would have been, since she was in the same sort of relationship. But no, not for me. I needed more details.

  “What is it like?” I asked.

  She glanced over at him again and then back at me. “I can’t explain it.”

  “Try,” I urged.

  She shrugged. “It’s like a best friend that you want to spend every second with, but more. I don’t just have fun with him; I feel safe with him, no matter what. He’s my anchor.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know how to explain it, but when I feel adrift, he’s there and he grounds me. He knows everything about me, even the crazy stuff and it’s all okay.”

  I looked at her sideways. “He knows everything? Like even your deep,
dark secrets and all your insecurities?”

  I was joking, not thinking she had many secrets. I mean, I’d bunked with her after Brooklyn had gone back to London, so I figured I knew everything about her. But she didn’t smile when she answered. “And I know his.” She glanced over again and leaned toward me. “And I love him anyway and I’m pretty sure he loves me, too.”

  “You haven’t said it yet?”

  She shook her head. “Not yet, but I think we both know. His family relationships were so messed up, so I don’t want to spook him before he’s ready, but...shhhh...” she straightened up as Danny returned with two steaming cups.

  He sat down beside her and then twined his fingers in hers as they turned their googly eyes on each other.

  Yep, I definitely needed a boyfriend. But one I was willing to share all my deep dark secrets and insecurities with? Not a chance.

  More Research

  I have to say there’s something really validating about sitting on a log and having a dude on each side vying for your attention. I should clarify that the dude on my right was Hunter and the one on my left was Miles and actually, the log had nothing to do with it.

  As I sipped my coffee I was flirting with both, making sure to give each the same amount of attention, so neither would think he was winning me over the other. The key to flirting with a bunch of guys at once (a skill I’d honed in my time here at Rosewood where my interactions with boys were few, so had to count for a lot) and not getting in trouble with guys fighting over me and claiming me as theirs and theirs alone, was to be vague and stingy with my attentions. That way everyone felt they had a chance, but no one could stake a claim.

  Frankly, it was exhausting, but obviously necessary if I was going to consider either of them as potential boyfriend material. I wasn’t about to tell them I was looking for someone to be exclusive with. Not yet. Not until I’d decided who I wanted to fill the role.

  It was only a few minutes after Hunter sat down that Emmie suddenly stood in front of me and told me she needed to talk to me. Of course, I jumped up and followed her into the woods, zipping my coat all the way up and then shoving my hands in my pockets for warmth.