“What is it?”
“Well, how would you like to see …”
“Wait …” she cuts me off in midsentence. “My mother is freaking! I have to go. Call you later.”
Then there’s a click and a dial tone.
This is beyond terrible on so many levels. I didn’t get to tell her about Josh, and she didn’t get to help me with my plan!
Suddenly, as if by magic, the phone rings. Thank god!
“Hey!” I say anxiously. “Wow, that was fast! So, like I was saying, how would you like to see …”
“Hannah, what are you talking about?”
“Oh, Dad … it’s you.”
“You were expecting someone else?”
“Yeah, Rachel.”
“Well, never mind about that now,” he says. “Tell your mom I’m bringing home pizza and I’ve got some exciting news.”
Hmmm … pizza … exciting news? What a coincidence! We both have exciting news today. Unless his exciting news and my exciting news are the same exciting news! It must be! I mean what else could it be? I bet Mom felt bad and called him, or maybe he heard it on the radio. Well, one thing is for sure, he wants to surprise me and he’s bringing home pizza to celebrate! My dad is so cool!
“Tell me now! I can’t wait until you get home,” I squeal.
“You’re just going to have to wait, but it will be worth it. I promise!” I can hear the smile in his voice.
Well, that’s proof enough for me; Josh Taylor here I come!
I’m going crazy waiting for Rachel to call, which hopefully will be soon. I mean this is way too exciting to keep to myself!
About fifteen minutes later, Dad arrives home with our “celebration pizza.”
“Hi, honey,” he says, smiling as he puts the box down on the counter.
“Hi, Dad. I can’t wait to hear your news!” I say, beaming. His smile gets even wider and he throws me a wink. A wink! You know what that means …
At the table, even though I’m sure I know what’s coming, I’m still sitting on pins and needles, barely tasting my supper, waiting to hear those words: Sweet Hannah, we’re taking you to the Josh Taylor concert!
And then I’ll say (for Mom’s benefit), But Dad, I can’t go to the concert. I have no money to buy a ticket.
Then Dad will say, Oh darling, you don’t need money. We want to take you because we know you are Josh Taylor’s biggest fan!
And then I’ll look into my mother’s eyes and she’ll see how happy I am, and she’ll look into my father’s eyes and see how happy he is, and then she’ll reach across the table and take our hands in hers, smile, and say, Okay you can go to the concert and we will totally pay.
“Hannah, lift up your glass, your dad is making a toast!” Mom frowns.
“What … now?” I stammer. Oh, here it comes! I can hardly wait! Okay, pretend to look surprised.
I lift my glass of Coke and Dad starts, “Today I learned some very exciting news. I think you’re going to be very …”
Just then the phone rings. Mom gets up.
“Hannah, it’s Rachel.” She gestures for me to make it quick.
“Hi,” Rachel whispers, “tell me what’s going on, but do it fast ’cause if Mom catches me on the phone, I’m dead.”
“Hi,” I say quickly, “I can’t talk now because we’re eating supper! I’ll call you back later!” I slam down the phone and rush back to my seat at the table. “Okay, Dad, as you were saying?”
“Okay,” he says, raising his eyebrow. “This afternoon I got some wonderful news. Actually, it’s great news for all of us! I just found out I’m getting a big promotion at work.”
“But Dad, I can’t go to the concert. I have no money to buy a ticket,” I say with a sigh.
Dad shakes his head. “Hannah, what are you talking about?”
“You just said you were taking us to the Josh Taylor concert, and I said I don’t have money for a ticket.” I glance over at my mom, who is frowning.
“I didn’t say anything about a concert.” He looks confused.
“You didn’t? I’m sure you just said you were taking us to the concert. Didn’t you?”
“No, Hannah, I said I got a big promotion at work.”
“Promotion?” I repeat dumbly.
“Yes, promotion! This is my exciting news! This is what I’ve been trying to tell you!” His face is beaming. “Today I got a promotion.”
You know when you’re in a soccer game and you’re right beside the net, the ball is speeding toward you, and you’ve got a clear shot to score the winning goal, but instead the ball slams you right in the gut …
No one seems to notice that I’m in a state of shock. Why would they care? They have exciting news to talk about. What’s so exciting about a stupid promotion anyway? I mean a promotion is just … well, a better job and more money and … wait a second … I think I may have possibly found a silver lining to this grey cloud of information.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, flashing a big smile, “congratulations on your promotion. So I guess that means you’re going to be making, like, tons of more money, right?”
He smiles back. “Well Hannah, it means a lot of things, and yes, a nice boost to my salary is one of them. It also means that there’s going to be a few changes around here. I’ll be working a lot and so I won’t be home as much as I am now. Your mother is going to need you to help out more.” He reaches over to give my mom’s hand a squeeze. For some reason she isn’t smiling back. Weird … you’d think she’d be crazy happy about a nice fat paycheque! Instead, she gets up and starts clearing the table.
“So, Dad,” I say in my sweetest voice, “I heard some exciting news today, too. Josh Taylor is coming to Glen Haven. Isn’t that exciting?”
“I’m sure it is for you, Hannah,” he says.
“Yeah, so I really want to go to his concert,” I blurt out.
“That’s nice,” he replies, totally not taking the bait.
“Well, Dad, with your new raise and everything, do you think you’d have enough money to buy me a ticket?” I half whisper.
“Yeah, I think I could manage that,” he whispers back, smiling.
“Really! You could manage it?” I say in a hushed squeal.
He nods. “Yup, I think I can definitely manage it.”
Wow, that was easy! He said yes! It’s totally official! I am going to see Josh Taylor, live in concert, breathing the same air and …
“Manage what?” says my mother from across the kitchen.
I shove a piece of pizza in my mouth.
“Hannah just asked me …” Dad starts.
“Mmmmm,” I say loudly, with my mouth full, “this pizza is so good!”
My mother’s eyes narrow. “Hannah, what did you ask your father?”
“Oh, Mom,” I scold her, “this is Dad’s night, not mine. Let’s not talk about me.”
“Hannah, I know what’s going on here,” she says, frowning, “and it’s not going to happen.”
Great, and just like that another soccer ball slams me right in the gut.
My stomach hurts.
4
Two Plans Are Better Than One
When I arrive at school the next morning, the volume level is louder than usual, especially with the girls; every one of them is wearing an ear-to-ear grin as they chatter away in their little groups. One of them is holding a newspaper. She points to something on the front page, lets out a little squeal, and then clutches it to her heart.
I need to find Rachel!
I scan the hallway. I peek in her classroom for the third time, and then check the hallway again. I’m desperate to find her. When I called her back last night she was still banned from the phone and the Internet. She probably doesn’t even know yet!
I spot her just as the bell rings. She’s actually sticking out like a sore thumb because she appears to be the only girl in the whole school who is frowning. Actually, this is great! She can’t possibly know. I’ll get to tell her myself!
“So, Josh Taylor,” I say breathlessly.
“Yeah I know,” she replies.
“You know?”
Hmmm … honestly, at this point, I am a smidge worried. I mean Josh Taylor is coming! Why is she not jumping for joy over this monumentally amazing news?
“Yeah, your mom called my mom last night.”
“She did?” I gulp.
“Yup, she did.” Rachel purses her lips.
“What did she say?”
“Well, she told my mom about the concert.” She puts her finger to her chin. “Oh, and she might have also mentioned something about us buying our own our own tickets, and how it would be a great opportunity to teach us some responsibility.”
“Responsibility?” I say closing my eyes. “Oh no, don’t tell me …”
“Yeah,” she blurts out, “I have to buy my own ticket, too.”
“Sorry,” I say, secretly relieved that we’re both in the same boat. “My mother … you know how she is. Sometimes she can be so … motherly.”
“That’s okay,” Rachel says, hunching her shoulders. “We’ll figure something out.”
Suddenly, we hear the familiar cackle of Scarlett Hastings. She’s coming down the hall with Anika and Missy, who are her “yes-girls.” They trail behind her everywhere she goes and agree with everything she says. She pushes them around constantly, but they never seem to notice.
Strutting towards us, the three of them look like they’re auditioning for America’s Next Top Model.
“The bell rang you know,” Scarlett snarls, flicking her long, glistening, black hair over her shoulder. On cue, Anika and Missy follow suit with the stupid hair flick. As usual, they are on either side of Scarlett; they look like a couple of hair-flicking bookends.
“After school. My house. Planning session,” Rachel says with a quick nod, as she turns toward her classroom.
“Planning session? Ewwww, sounds serious!” Scarlett says, rolling her eyes. “Spill,” she demands, flashing the fakest smile ever.
We both know better than to tell Scarlett anything, especially this.
“It’s none of your business Scarlett,” Rachel replies.
“None of my business?” Scarlett raises an eyebrow. “As if I actually care,” she huffs.
“Well you asked,” I say under my breath.
“Whatever the two of you are up to, I’m sure it’s …” she pauses a second and narrows her eyes, “um … totally lame.”
“Lame,” Anika adds with a nod.
“Yeah, totally,” Missy adds, looking confused.
“Well, it’s been fun, Scarlett, but we have to get back to class,” I say.
“Whatever …” Scarlett yawns, walking away, motioning for the bookends to follow.
* * *
After school we head over to Rachel’s house to devise our plan.
“Hey, would you girls like a snack?” her mom asks as we come in the kitchen. “I just got back from the grocery store so there are lots of goodies in the fridge.” She points to their massive refrigerator.
“Goodies?” I whisper to Rachel.
“They’re goodies to her,” she whispers back, grimacing.
So, we fix ourselves a snack of fat-free, organic brown rice cakes smothered in 100 percent natural, unsweetened, sodium-reduced, organic peanut butter. Then we pour ourselves two tall glasses of low-fat, organic chocolate soy milk — all of this as close to junk food as Rachel’s mom will probably ever get.
Upstairs in her room, Rachel has a big easel with a roll of paper attached. She tears off her most recent Josh Taylor original, and pulls down the torn edge of the paper to reveal a clean, new page. She takes the cap off a purple Sharpie and writes OPERATION JOSH TAYLOR across the top.
“What do you think?” she asks.
“Perfect!” I say, beaming. I can’t believe how easy this is going to be! I mean it’s only been like a minute and we already have the perfect name for our plan. This is going to be a breeze!
Rachel turns on her radio. “What next?”
“What next?” I ask, confused.
“Any ideas?”
“Well, my idea was to call you. Now it’s your turn.”
“Well, I thought of the name!” she says.
“Okay, but, hello … I tried to come up with a plan already and the only one I could think of was to call you.”
“Well, what about a hunger strike?” she says, jokingly.
“Are you serious … a hunger strike? Do you even know me at all?” I ask, shoving the last bite of peanut-butter-smeared rice cake into my mouth.
“Oh yeah,” Rachel replies. “Hey, what about grandparents?”
“Nope, already warned not to go there.”
“I know — we could start a lawn-mowing service!” she says, pushing an imaginary lawn mower around her room.
“Lawn-mowing?” I look at her in horror. I can’t believe that she, of all people, could even consider such a thing. She knows the last time I tried to mow a lawn was a disaster!
Let me explain. Earlier this month, after probably an hour’s worth of very lengthy safety instructions on how to properly operate a lawn mower, my dad finally let me try it out. I started the mower perfectly, and went on to mow a nice straight line. I must say, I was pretty proud of myself. All that changed, though, when Rachel’s mom drove by and Rachel stuck her head out of the car window. I just let go of the mower for a split second to wave to her when the thing went crazy and took off across the lawn, kind of zigzagging right toward my mother’s brand-new car. I tore off across the yard after it like a maniac. Lunging forward, I almost had it in my grasp when suddenly I felt my foot roll over my soccer ball. As I flew through the air, it felt like everything was going in slow motion. Then, with a sudden smack, I landed face-first into my mother’s flower garden, which was planted a long the edge of the driveway. As I pried my face from the dirt, the sound of the slicing mower blades and the roaring motor became almost deafening. I whipped my head around, horrified, to see that out-of-control-beast-of-a-mower heading straight for me. If you ever had a moment when you saw your life flashing before your eyes, I’m sure you can relate, because, this was my moment. Suddenly, I felt two arms locking under mine, pulling me out of the flower patch. Just as I managed to twist my head around to see that it was Rachel who was rescuing me from certain death, the sound of high-pitched, ear-splitting screams drew my attention back to the garden, and to my mother, who, at that very moment, had returned home from her run just in time to see the charging-beast-of-a-mower, which was obviously possessed, smash viciously into her brand-new, gleaming, candy-apple-red Toyota Prius.
So to recap, the last time I attempted to use a lawn mower I:
Mowed down a freshly planted flower garden,
Caused $750.00 damage to my mother’s new car,
Nearly got killed, and
Lost all electronics for two weeks, including the computer, the TV, my Xbox, and my brand-new iPod.
So, I’m sure you can understand why I can’t believe that Rachel, who witnessed this entire horrific event, could even say the word lawn mower in my presence, let alone suggest that we start a lawn-mowing service!
“Oh, yeah …” she says, biting her lip, “Sorry … how could I forget?”
“A lawn-mowing service, I mean, seriously?” I roll my eyes.
“I think we need some fresh air,” Rachel says, looking out the window. “Hey, Mom is teaching a yoga class in the backyard. Maybe we should join in. Might help us clear our minds.”
I look out the window at all the ladies dressed in their lululemon yoga gear, all perfectly positioned in neat rows, doing their best attempts at downward-facing dog. I have a lululemon hoodie, which I totally love. I got it at a yard sale last September for five bucks. What a deal!
“Hannah, listen!” Rachel demands, pointing at her radio. “Turn it up!”
“That’s right!” the announcer booms. “I’m lookin
g at a big pile of front-row tickets to see Josh Taylor live in concert! Every day from now until December we’ll be giving them away. Just listen for Josh’s latest number one hit, ‘Heart Attack.’ When you hear it, start dialling. The tenth caller on the line who can correctly answer the daily Josh Taylor trivia question will win two front-row tickets to see Josh live in concert right here in Glen Haven! So fans, start brushing up on your Josh trivia!”
“Josh trivia! We know Josh trivia. We know everything about Josh Taylor!” I squeal.
“We do, we’re his biggest fans!” Rachel adds excitedly.
“Yeah, we don’t need a plan! We can win the tickets!” I yell, jumping in the air.
“Operation Win Tickets!” she yells back, jumping beside me.
Just then, Rachel’s older brother, Nate, pokes his head in the door.
“Hey losers!” he says, in his surfer-dude accent. “Wanna turn that down?”
“Wanna get out of my room?” Rachel yells above the blaring radio that’s now playing our newest favorite Josh Taylor song, “Lovin’ You.”
“What’s with you two, anyway?” He smirks.
“We’re gonna win tickets to the Josh Taylor concert,” I say, matter-of-factly.
“You think you’re going to win tickets?” He raises his eyebrow. “You mean from that radio contest?”
“Well, yeah,” Rachel barks, “we are! Definitely! Well, probably, er … hopefully!”
Rachel’s brother shakes his head. “You realize there’s like hundreds, maybe thousands, of teenage girls trying to get those tickets. Right?”
“Hundreds … maybe thousands?” I gasp.
Nate chuckles. “Yeah, you’re not gettin’ tickets.”
“Thanks for your help, Nate. Now get out of my room!” Rachel demands, chucking her pillow at him.
Reality check: Nate is right. The chances of us actually winning tickets are pretty slim.
Looking out the window again, I see that all the yoga ladies are now on their tiptoes with their arms stretching up to the clouds. It looks like they bought out the entire lululemon store. For a second, I forget all about the plan and let thoughts of my own lovely lululemon sweater float around in my brain. It was so sweet finding it on that table in my neighbour’s driveway. And the look on Scarlett’s face when she saw me wearing it at school the next day was, like, priceless. She thought she was the only kid in our school with lulu stuff. Ha! I’m so glad I went to that sale!
Hannah Smart, Operation Josh Taylor Page 2