Kerri sighs a little. I can’t blame her; he just has that effect on people.
“Mia, thanks again for last night. You were really great. I can’t wait to see Mr. Lawson’s face when I turn that timeline in.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t do that much, Austin. I just helped you get started. You did all the work.”
He shrugs. “Maybe, but I obviously wasn’t ever going to get it done on my own, so, thanks for motivating me. You’re more help than you know.” The way he looks at me, it’s like he’s trying to say something else, but I’m not sure what.
“Did you want some more help tonight?”
He nods and sticks his hands in his back pockets. “Yeah, that’d be great. Hey, why don’t you eat lunch with me today? I can introduce you to some people.”
All of a sudden my stomach drops to my knees and I scrunch my face like I’m trying to keep from barfing. He wants me to hang out with his friends? How am I ever gonna pull that off? They’ll figure out in half a minute that I’m not like them, that I don’t belong with Austin.
“I don’t know…”
“Come on, Mia. It’ll be fun. You want to improve your rep, don’t you? Besides, we need to keep up appearances, right? It would be weird if I told people you were my girlfriend but I didn’t spend as much time with you as I could.” He unleashes that killer grin on me and tugs on a lock of my hair.
I re-swallow the muffin I had for breakfast and nod.
“Cool. I’ll meet you here after 4th period.” He kisses me again and takes off, and I’m left wondering what the heck I’ve gotten myself into.
I glance at Kerri, and her eyes are huge as she glances back and forth between Austin and me. “Holy cow, Mia! Austin Meyers just kissed you in front of everybody! That was the awesomest thing I’ve ever seen. What was it like? Was it good, did he stick his tongue down your throat? How was his breath? Did he close his eyes…”
Kerri pelts me with questions all the way down the hall till I finally shove her into her first period class and promise to rehash every detail later. I would’ve said at lunch time, but if I sit with Austin, I don’t know if I should bring Kerri along. That might be kind of weird, but who else is she gonna sit with? We’ve been sitting together ever since the first day of 9th grade when I was in line behind her in the cafeteria and she started talking to me. She kept talking after we had paid for our food, so I followed her to a table, and we’ve been best friends ever since. I don’t think she’s stopped talking since then, either.
My mind whirls between thoughts of Kerri, Austin, Austin’s kiss, and Austin’s friends all morning, interrupted only by questions from students who never talked to me before but are suddenly desperate to know if it’s true that I’m going out with Austin. The first couple times, I stammer through the answer, and I’m sure they don’t believe me, but after the fourth time, I pretend they’re asking me if Austin is a good kisser, instead, and that puts a dreamy look on my face and makes it a whole lot easier to smile and say yeah.
At lunch time, Austin gets to my locker before Kerri does, and he grabs my hand and leads me down the hall before I have a chance to ask him about Kerri. But she knows I’m eating lunch with him; she was there this morning, making googly eyes at him. She’ll understand, right?
Austin’s hand is warm and tight, and he squeezes mine like he likes the feel of it in his. I know he’s just faking, but my body can’t seem to tell the difference. I just hope my heart doesn’t forget.
I swear, every head turns and watches us when we walk into the cafeteria together. Maybe Austin is used to being the center of attention, but for me it feels bizarre. Is this what my family deals with every time they go out in public, like an elephant on parade? Do they like it? I can’t help but feel like everyone is judging me and finding me lacking, despite Austin’s vote.
They’re serving spaghetti, and I groan. There is literally no way to look cool while you’re eating that. We get our food, and Austin lets go of my hand so he can carry his tray, and I feel lost without it. I follow him over to a table I never would’ve even walked close to before. My eyes get big, and my heart threatens to jump overboard when I see Chloe at one end of it.
“Austin! Chloe is sitting here!” I whisper frantically. Not only that, but she’s surrounded by her posse of mean girls.
He whispers back, turning his mouth towards my ear, and I’m a little stunned by his warm breath on my cheek. “Of course, these are her friends, too. Don’t worry, she’s gonna be totally jealous.”
Like that’s a good thing? I’m not in this to tick off Chloe, in fact, I think that would be an epically bad thing. Of course, it’s probably already too late. The minute Austin dumped her and kissed me in the hall was probably the exact same moment she learned of my existence and started hating me.
“Hey, you all know Mia, right?” Austin says casually, like they actually do, and slides into a seat at the end of the table.
I give a little wave and sit down next to him. Technically, I know all their names — I’m a loner not a hermit, and these are the most popular kids in school, so I don’t need to ask. And the others act like they’ve known who I was all along, even though I’m positive they wouldn’t have recognized me on the street before yesterday.
I realize they’re all playing a game, trying to maintain their reputations. Maybe we have more in common that I thought.
“Hey, Princess Jasmine. I thought you had a thing for Aladdin?” Dylan says, leaning over Austin to smile at me. He’s almost as cute, but in an evil villain kind of way. No wonder they chose him to play Jafar.
“Yeah, Mia, I saw you in the play the other day. You were great. When are we gonna see you on the big screen?” a boy named Conner asks, and a couple of the others chime in.
“Mia doesn’t really like the spotlight. Right, babe?” Austin wraps his arm around me, and I feel like he’s protecting me from them. It’s really nice. Nicer than I expected. He’s starting to make me think his jerkiness is just an act.
I’m pretty sure I heard Chloe say something about stealing the spotlight, but I keep my gaze turned away, hoping she’ll go away if I pretend I can’t see her.
“So, what’s up with you and the basketball team, man? You gonna be there this Friday to help us win the game or not?” one of Austin’s teammates asks.
Austin waves a hand at him then runs it through his hair. “Yeah, of course. I can’t let you guys down. I just had some work I needed to catch up on, but I’m good.” His confident smile must convince them, because nobody pushes the issue.
The conversation shifts to talk of the upcoming basketball game, and I stay quiet and cut up my spaghetti into tiny bites and try not to get any on me or do anything stupid. I scan the cafeteria and notice Kerri sitting with some of her teammates from the girls’ basketball team, and I feel a little better about that. Maybe they’re not really her friends, but at least she knows them, and she’s not sitting alone. When she looks my way, she gives me a weak smile and a tiny wave. I smile back at her but don’t return the wave. Will it hurt my reputation to be seen with Kerri? I guess I’ll have to ask Austin about that. I miss her already, though.
I text her and ask if she wants to hang out for a while after school while I wait for Austin to finish basketball practice. She grins and bobs her head when her phone dings and she reads my text.
* * *
❤️❤️❤️
* * *
“So tell me what it was like to sit at Austin’s table!” Kerri demands as we’re walking to her house after school. She doesn’t have basketball practice today, but Austin does, so I’m gonna hang out with her while I wait for him to get done. “What are they like? What did they talk about?”
“Oh, you know. Drugs, alcohol, parties, hookups — that kind of thing,” I say casually, sticking my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.
“Really?!” Kerri stops walking and turns to gawk at me.
I roll my eyes at her and knock into her with my elbow. “Kiddi
ng, Kerri. Besides the fact that they’re all gorgeous and popular, they aren’t that different from anybody else.” Just like most celebrities I’ve met, I realize.
“Did they like you? Did you fit in okay? Or was it totally weird?”
I laugh. “Well, I was too busy trying not to drop spaghetti on my shirt to notice, but no one called me out for being a faker, or anything.”
“That’s because you’re one of them, Mia. Your family is rich and famous; you should definitely be sitting at the cool table.”
“They only accepted me because Austin had his arm around me half the time.”
Kerri’s eyes got big. “I noticed that. He acted like he was really into you. Are you sure he’s faking?”
“Of course. Why would he want to go out with me? Did you see the other girls at that table? They were all prettier than me, and I bet any one of them would go out with him in a heartbeat if he asked.”
No, Austin Meyers is just a very good actor with a ton of charm, I remind myself, because the way he was touching me, it did feel kind of real. He needs me to help him get his grades up, and as soon as he does, he’ll be on to the next girl who’s blessed with a better face than mine. I can’t let myself forget that, or it will be way too easy to fall for him.
Kerri’s house is surprisingly empty when we get there, except for her giant Irish Setter, Lucky, who meets us at the back door, tail thumping, ready for some attention. I scratch his head, flapping his big, furry ears, and run a hand down his silky red coat.
We take off our shoes (Kerri thinks it’s bad luck to wear them inside) and we head to her bedroom and flop on her bed — a twin size with a green and white striped comforter that matches the shamrock decals she has stuck to the wall. It’s tacky, but it’s totally Kerri, and I envy the fact that her dad doesn’t care how she decorates her room. My mother insists that every room in our house coordinates, and I’m not even allowed to hang posters on the walls.
“So, what are we doing for your birthday this weekend?” She turns on the radio and immediately turns it down when I cover my ears against the blaring music.
“The usual, I guess. Pizza and movies?”
“Mia, you have all these cool friends now, and it’s your sixteenth! Don’t you want to have a party or something? I’m sure your parents would let you. You have that huge, awesome house, you should take advantage of it.”
I never really thought about having a big party before. I mean, sure, my parents had them for me when I was a little kid, but I haven’t had more than a handful of friends since elementary school. It didn’t help anything that I skipped 4th grade and was no longer in the same classes as any of the kids I knew.
“Now that they know who your parents are, you might as well take advantage of it. They’re gonna totally flip when they see your place.” Kerri grabs the box of Lucky Charms she keeps tucked between her nightstand and her bed and digs out a handful, tossing them in her mouth. Lucky pushes his was into the room and sits beside her, waiting to catch the pieces that fall.
I grab my own handful and lay down, dropping them in my mouth one at a time as I contemplate her idea.
Chapter Eleven
Austin
I’m way more nervous than I should be as I walk to Mr. Lawson’s desk and hand him a roll of paper. He looks at me over the top of his ugly, gold glasses and his mustache twitches. The tension in my gut gets tighter as he starts to unroll the paper, and his face gets more and more surprised.
“Austin, this timeline is excellent. I’ve never seen you do such good work. I’m very impressed.” He lets the paper snap back into a roll, and my stomach springs back at the same time.
“Thanks.” I look around the room to make sure no one is close enough to hear me. “I got a tutor, and she helped me figure it out.”
“Well, I’ll make sure that Vice Principal Dillard knows you’ve done as asked, and this project should bring your grade up above passing.”
“Awesome.” I give him a salute and hurry on to my next class.
When I hand in my biology homework, I get a similar reaction, and I’m starting to know what it feels like to be a good student. It’s almost the same feeling I get when I score a point in a basketball game. Huh. I never expected that.
I took Mia’s folder full of tests and papers out of my bag last night and thought about reading them, but I didn’t. Maybe I don’t need to; maybe I can do this without cheating. The research paper is tempting, but I decide to give writing my own a try first. I’ll keep Mia’s paper as a backup plan, just in case.
After basketball practice, I take a shower so I won’t smell like sweat all evening, and I drive to Kerri’s house to pick Mia up. I’m looking forward to doing my homework with her. She’s a good teacher; she makes everything seem a lot easier than it looks, and she doesn’t look down on me when I don’t get something.
I feel a little awkward when we start the long drive to her house. Since my attempts at small talk yesterday didn’t go over very well, but Mia takes the lead before I have a chance to worry about it.
“Hey Austin, do you think if I threw a party anybody would come?”
When I glance over at her, she looks nervous, and I put a hand on her knee to comfort her. She stiffens up as soon as I touch her, though, so I pull my hand away.
“You want to have a party? At your house?”
She shrugs. “Maybe. I’ve never had one before. I usually just hang out with Kerri on my birthday and watch movies and stuff.”
“It’s your birthday? When? Are you turning 17?”
Mia blushes. “It’s Saturday, and no, 16. I skipped a grade in elementary school, so I’m a year younger than everybody else.”
Holy crap. She’s taking senior level classes already and she’s only fifteen? She must think I’m a total idiot.
“Mia, you definitely need to have a party for your sixteenth birthday! Do you want me to help you plan it?”
She nods, biting her lip, and her chocolate eyes beg me to help her.
“Don’t worry, Mia. It’ll be the coolest birthday party ever. You’ll see.”
Berta doesn’t come out to see who’s there when we get to Mia’s house, so Mia must have told her I was coming over again, but I do get to meet Chef Cummings. Mia leads me to the kitchen for a snack before we head to her room, and once again the place smells incredible, this time like roast beef and baked potatoes and apple pie.
A middle-aged man with a round, red face, wispy hair, and a chef’s coat stretched across a large belly is bent over the lower oven, and he pulls out something that looks like an apple pie but with more apples and less crust.
“Hey Chef Jeff, this is my friend Austin.” Mia waves towards me, and the man puts the pie on the counter. The apples are sliced thin and arranged in a perfect spiral, and it’s the fanciest apple pie I’ve ever seen. It’s steaming and bubbling, and the scent makes my stomach growl.
“Well, hello, Austin, friend of Mia.” He smiles at me then glances at her and raises an eyebrow.
“We’re doing some homework together,” she explains, and Chef nods his head with a curious look.
“Shall I set an extra place at the table?”
I’m starving after a long, hard basketball practice, and the food smells amazing, but I’m still a little nervous about meeting Mia’s family, and I’m not sure how she feels about it, either. She made it a point to mention we were just doing schoolwork. I’ve always been popular, but I’m no celebrity. Would her family be disappointed if they thought there was more to the relationship? Not that there is, but still. I’m not used to feeling so out of place. But everyone in her family is famous; how can I pass up the opportunity to meet them?
I look at Mia, and she doesn’t give off any negative vibes. “Um, sure, I can stay, if that’s okay.”
“Fabulous! Dinner for six at eight, then.” Chef smacks his hands together.
“Six? Who else is gonna be here?” Mia asks.
“Evan is home for the night, so maybe
I should say dinner for seven? The boy eats twice as much as anyone else.”
Oh wow, I didn’t expect to meet Mia’s brother. He’s living my dream, playing pro-ball for the Lakers. I’m glad I decided to stay.
Mia grabs some snacks from the pantry for us, and we head up to her room. Once again, I’m surprised how it looks — almost like Mia doesn’t even live here. Where are the band posters, and stuffed animals, and silly knickknacks that girls like to collect? There aren’t even any awards, and I’m sure a girl as smart as Mia has won a few of those. I’d kind of like to get to know the real Mia a little better, but this room is absolutely no help.
“So, what do you need to work on tonight?” She flops on the bed and kicks off her shoes. I smile when I notice she’s wearing sneakers today instead of the boots that hurt her feet.
I really should start on the research paper, but I’ve also got a test tomorrow that I should study for, and I want to help Mia plan her party, too.
“Can you help me study for my history test? I never have any idea what questions Mr. Lawson is going to ask.”
“Sure.” She jumps up and heads for her desk, her eyes on the drawer where she keeps her folders full of old tests, and I tense and suck in a deep breath. What if she wants to use her old tests to quiz me?
She reaches in, and I swear my heart stops beating for a minute. I know I stop breathing. But she pulls out a stack of notecards, instead, and the air rushes out of me in one big breath.
“We’ll make some flash cards so you can review again later. Where’s your book?”
I pull it out of my backpack and hand it to her, and she climbs up on the bed, tossing a few throw pillows out of the way and propping her back against the big, padded headboard.
“I think we should look at the book together. I’ll help you figure out what’s important, and then we can make the cards.” She pats the spot on the bed next to her, and I sit down, my shoulder pressed against hers. The comforter is satin, sexy, and I run my hands over it and imagine what it would feel like against bare skin.
My Fake Valentine Page 7