I do not think he’s cute. I do not think he’s cute, Jenna said to herself over and over.
“Hey,” she said casually, even though she knew her face was turning red. Hopefully he’d think it was just a sunburn.
“You ready to win this thing?” he asked, slapping her on the back.
Jenna’s heart thumped again. “Totally,” she said.
Down by the starting line, Alex and Adam stood a few feet away from each other looking awkward. Every time Adam looked at Alex, Alex looked away. They both stretched their arms over their head and tried not to notice each other. What was going on with those two? One second they were all buddy-buddy and ooey-gooey, and the next it was like they were sworn enemies. Jenna could not imagine ever being part of a couple. It just seemed too complicated.
The same announcer from the day before grabbed a microphone near the finish line. Today, for some reason, he was wearing a big black top hat with a red flower on it.
“Okay, competitors!” he said into the mic. “Everyone get ready! We’re about to start.”
“How about I hold your ankles first?” David asked.
Jenna nodded. There was a lump of nervousness in her throat and another in her stomach. “Sure.”
She stepped in front of David and crouched on the ground, putting her hands in the grass and her feet behind her. Glancing to her left she saw that Adam was doing the same. Alex stood behind him, looking almost grim. Jenna wondered if her friend’s pulse was racing as fast as Jenna’s was. It sure didn’t seem like it. Alex didn’t look excited at all. About the race or about Adam.
“Okay, on your marks! Get set!” the announcer shouted.
Please, please, please let us win! Jenna thought.
“Go!”
The starter pistol went off and David grabbed Jenna’s ankles. Her stomach swooped as her legs were lifted into the air and instantly she started to run—with her hands. Never in her life had she felt so strong and coordinated. Her hands shot out one after the other and soon they were far ahead of the couple next to them, gunning for the switch line. Once they got there, Jenna would have to get up and hold David’s ankles.
“Go, Jenna!” her friends shouted from the sideline. “You can do it!”
“Switch!” David shouted. The moment Jenna’s hands crossed the white line, David dropped her ankles. Hard. Her toes hit the ground with a slam.
“Ow!” Jenna shouted.
“Oops! Sorry,” David said.
He dropped on the ground and shoved out his long legs. Jenna limped around to grab them, but when she tried to hoist them, the right leg slipped out of her grasp. A few pairs zoomed by them, including Alex and Adam.
“Ouch! Hey! Was that payback?” David joked, glancing over his shoulder.
Jenna rolled her eyes and picked up his legs, using all her strength. “Okay. Go! Go! Go!” she shouted at him.
David jolted forward and started to “run.” Jenna struggled to keep control of his crazy-long and heavy legs. They passed one couple, then another. A third completely lost it and fell into the dirt. On the sidelines, Jenna could hear her friends screaming themselves hoarse.
“Go, Jenna! Go, Alex!”
Right before the finish line, David picked up the pace and shot ahead of another couple. Everyone in the crowd cheered and shouted and jumped around. David crossed over the line and collapsed his elbows, tumbling over into the grass. His chest heaved up and down. Surprised, Jenna tripped over him, but righted herself before she could crash into the ground. She had no idea if they had placed in the race. She was just glad they had finished at all.
“Congratulations to our winners!” the announcer called out, handing a pair of blue ribbons to Adam and Alex.
The two of them jumped up and down and hugged, smiling like crazy. Whatever ice wall had gone up between them, winning the race had smashed it down. Jenna and Alex’s friends rushed over to Alex to congratulate her on her win. Jenna was green with envy. Adam and Alex had beaten her and David!
“And to our second-place winners!” the announcer said, making his way over to Jenna. He handed her two red ribbons.
“We came in second?” she asked, shocked.
“Don’t be so surprised!” the announcer said. “That was a fine race!”
Jenna looked down at David and laughed as the man moved away. “Second place!” she cheered, throwing both her hands up with the ribbons. “We can still win the whole thing if we do well in the balloon toss tomorrow.”
David lifted his head from the ground. “That’s great,” he said, lifting a hand toward her. “Think you can help me up now?”
Jenna snorted, but grabbed his arm. She yanked him up so hard he almost fell into her. Jenna ignored the embarrassed blush that came over her. She was too psyched to worry about it. She handed David one of the red ribbons and he looked down at it with pride.
“We make a good team,” he said.
Jenna grinned. “Sure do.”
David looked at her and something in his eyes changed. They softened somehow. “You’re really cool, Jenna,” he said.
Jenna’s still-pounding heart slowed. Suddenly she had butterflies dancing like crazy all through her stomach. She felt very, very warm.
“Uh . . . thanks,” she said.
“You’re, like, really cool,” David said.
He was staring at her with this very serious expression. The kind of expression the guys on those teen soaps always had on before they kissed someone.
Oh, no. He doesn’t want to kiss me, does he? Jenna thought, panicking.
Then, over his shoulder, Jenna saw her friends jogging toward her to congratulate her. They could not catch her and David right now. She didn’t know why she felt that, but she just did.
“I gotta go!” she blurted.
Then, before she could even think about how quickly his face had fallen, she ran right around him and into Brynn’s waiting arms.
“Second place! Congrats!” Brynn shouted.
“Yeah! Nice work!” Grace cheered, patting Jenna on the back.
“Thanks, guys,” Jenna said.
“Not as good as first, though,” Alex teased, holding up her ribbon.
“Ha-ha,” Jenna said. “Just wait until tomorrow! You guys are going down!”
“Come on. Let’s get something to eat before these two really start trash talking,” Tori said, slinging her arm over Natalie’s shoulder.
“Food! Food good!” Jenna said with a caveman growl, rubbing her red ribbon on her stomach.
Everyone laughed and Jenna walked off with all her friends around her. She glanced back once to see David chatting with Adam like nothing had happened. And maybe nothing had. Maybe she had imagined the whole thing.
A girl could hope.
chapter EIGHT
“Okay, everyone! Line up!” Valerie called out.
Grace scrambled into place between Alex and Jenna. The sun shone down on her face and a few fluffy clouds chased one another across the sky. Down at the lake, kids shouted and splashed and chased each other along the water’s edge, the still frigid lake licking at their toes. Unlike this morning, Grace was now loving every minute of this vacation. Alyssa’s plan was genius.
“Ready?” Tori asked.
“Ready!” everyone chorused.
Tori hit the play button on the CD player and jumped into position near the front of the group. Grace smiled as the music started up.
“Five, six, seven, eight!” Val called out.
Grace and her friends launched into the dance. A twirl here, some funky footwork there. But they weren’t just dancing. They were also singing.
“The Confederate Constitution signed in 1861! Just a few days after Lincoln was sworn in!” they sang. “In April of that very same year, the South took Fort Sumter, which the president held dear!”
Grace caught Alyssa’s eye as they slid past each other, switching formation, and they both grinned. Alyssa, Grace, and Val had spent half the morning changing all the words to th
e song to include facts about the Civil War. Now, suddenly, Grace could remember everything. Straight memorization hadn’t stuck, but this was really working. Alyssa had made a bunch of boring dates and names into a fun song. And now, all the girls knew all the words.
Plus it meant that Grace could go over everything over and over and over again, while learning Val’s dance at the same time. Alyssa really had found a way for both Grace and Val to be happy.
“The South held the fort till 1865,” Grace sang with her friends, clapping and then waving her arms in the air. “The brave soldiers of the South there kept the Confederates’ hopes alive!”
Grace laughed and jumped into her next move. This had to be the best studying session she’d ever had in her life. And it was a lot more fun than ever before, too.
Alex linked arms with Brynn as she and her friends tromped across the picnic grounds toward the gazebo that night. Everyone was in high spirits, singing the words to their Civil War song, skipping and twirling one another around. Up ahead, the large white gazebo was strung with colorful paper lanterns that bobbed in the light breeze. Alex could hear a slow, romantic song being played by the five-piece band on the raised stage. All around the gazebo people milled about, all dressed up for the dance. The women wore sundresses and some had flowers in their hair. The men had mostly worn slacks and short-sleeved shirts, but some had on jackets and there were even a few ties. A man in a striped jacket sold lemonade and a couple of little kids ran by, chasing one another with sparklers.
“This is amazing, Jenna,” Tori said. “I feel like I just stepped onto a movie set.”
“But it’s all real,” Brynn put in. “Freakishly, time-warpily real.”
“Time-warpily?” Alyssa said, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s vacation. I can make up words,” Brynn joked.
Alex felt the denim skirt she had borrowed from Natalie start to ride up and she yanked down on the hem. Everyone had decided to wear their most stylish outfits for the dance, but Alex hadn’t brought along anything appropriate. No one had told her there was going to be a dance. Luckily, Natalie always overpacked and always had nothing but the latest fashions on hand. Unluckily, Alex had never been fully comfortable in skirts and tank tops.
“You okay?” Brynn asked as Alex fiddled with the strap on her tank.
“Yeah,” Alex said, making herself smile. “Just adjusting to high fashion.”
“Well, it looks amazing on you, if that helps,” Natalie said. “Adam is going to drool when he sees you.”
Alex brightened a bit. “You think?”
“Are you kidding? The kid would have to be sleeping not to,” Tori said.
“Or blind,” Val put in.
“Or just really really stupid,” Alyssa joked.
“That’s the one!” Jenna announced. “That’s my brother! Really really stupid.”
Everyone laughed. Everyone but Alex. She knew that teasing Adam was one of Jenna’s favorite pastimes, but it was weird for her now. She really liked Adam, so it was hard to listen to someone mocking him. At least she knew that Jenna didn’t always mean it. Jenna loved her brother, she just didn’t like her friends to know it.
“Oh, it’s so pretty,” Alyssa said as they arrived near the steps to the gazebo. On the wood floor, dozens of couples swirled and swayed to the music. “I love all the lanterns. And look! These are real roses!”
She reached up to finger the petals on one of the vines that had been wound around the gazebo’s pillars. That was Alyssa. Always appreciating the beauty around her. All Alex could do was look around at the crowd and wonder if Adam was there anywhere. She didn’t see him.
“Do you think the guys are really coming to this?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
“Are you kidding? Boys avoid dances like I avoid vegetables,” Jenna said.
“Uh, Jenna. Might want to take that one back,” Val said, pointing. “Check it out.”
Sure enough, Adam, David, and Mr. Bloom were slowly making their way around the gazebo. They each had a cup of lemonade, and were laughing and chatting as they walked. Adam was wearing a striped button-down short-sleeved shirt unlike anything Alex had ever seen him wear. His normally messy brown hair was combed neatly and he looked . . . adorable.
“Wow. Those boys clean up well,” Tori said, impressed.
David had worn a nice sweater over shorts, and Jenna’s dad had on a tie and jacket.
“Good evening, everyone!” Mr. Bloom said as the guys joined them. “Don’t we all look nice tonight?”
“Oh, Mr. Bloom. These old getups?” Brynn joked, looking down at her brand-new blue sundress.
Alex looked hopefully at Adam, waiting for the reaction that all the girls had said he would have. He glanced at her, blushed, and quickly looked away. No drool whatsoever. Not that she had actually been expecting drool. But a smile or a compliment might have been nice.
Ask me to dance, Alex willed him. Look how romantic it all is!
Adam cleared his throat and looked at her again. Alex’s heart skipped a beat. Here it comes!
“You okay, son?” his father said, slapping him on the back. “Not getting a cold, I hope.”
Adam reddened even further. “Uh, no. I’m fine,” he said. And suddenly he was staring at his feet. Where was Alex’s invitation to dance?
“So . . . Jenna,” David said out of nowhere. “Wanna dance?”
Alex gaped at David. For that matter, so did all the other girls. The eight of them, who had been twittering and whispering and giggling moments ago, were now completely silent. Jenna’s face went white.
“What?” she said.
“It’s a dance, right?” David said, gesturing at the gazebo. “So do you want to?”
Jenna looked like she was about to be sick. “Uh, no thanks,” she said quickly.
David’s face fell and Mr. Bloom stepped in. “Jenna. If a nice young gentleman asks you for a dance, it’s rude to turn him down,” he said. “Besides, you should all be having fun. So get out there!”
Jenna stared at her father as if he had just turned her over to the enemy in the middle of Capture the Flag. Finally she just ducked her head and muttered, “Fine.”
“Great!” David said brightly. He handed his half-empty cup of lemonade to Adam and grabbed Jenna’s hand. “Let’s go,” he said, hauling her off.
“This could be trouble,” Brynn sang quietly.
Mr. Bloom was totally clueless that anything odd was going on. “Well, I’m going to go get some ice cream,” he said. “Any of you girls want anything?”
“No. No thanks!” the girls chorused.
Alex stared at Adam, wondering if she’d somehow become invisible. He looked at her one last time, but she had no idea what he was thinking.
“I’ll come with you, Dad,” he said.
The two of them turned and walked off together, weaving their way through the crowd. Adam dumped both his lemonade and David’s in the trash and never looked back.
“Sorry, Alex,” Grace said the moment they were gone. “I really thought he was going to ask you to dance.”
“I don’t get it,” Alex said. She got a sudden chill and wrapped her hands around her bare arms. “Isn’t he happy to see me?”
“Of course he is!” Brynn said. “He asked you to play volleyball yesterday, right?”
“And you guys have looked totally chummy at all the olde-tyme events,” Tori pointed out.
“Yeah, but every other time I see him, he totally ignores me,” Alex said. “It’s like I’m not even there, and I’m supposed to be his girlfriend!”
“I don’t get it,” Val said. “I mean, you either like a person or you don’t like a person. And if you like a person you should be nice to them all the time.”
Alex’s heart squeezed in her chest. Valerie had just said exactly what Alex had been thinking all weekend long.
“Maybe he only likes me because I’m a good athlete,” Alex said. “Like I’m a good person to join races with and do sp
orts with, but not to be boyfriend-and-girlfriend with. Maybe I’m just one of the guys to him.”
Natalie slipped her arm over Alex’s shoulders. “I’m sure that’s not it. I mean, how could anyone look at a girl as pretty as you and think ‘just one of the guys’?”
“Seriously, Alex,” Alyssa said. “Adam is just new to this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing. Like you are. He’s just figuring it all out.”
“I hope so,” Alex said with a sigh.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Valerie had said. It should be that simple. If you like someone, you’re nice to them. If you don’t like someone, you’re not nice to them. All these mixed signals Adam was giving her were going to drive her nuts.
Suddenly Alex realized that everyone was looking at her with hopeful pity and it made her want to squirm. She hated being the center of attention unless it was out on the soccer field. So she decided to change the subject.
“Know what I can’t figure out? Jenna and David,” Alex said, looking past Tori at the gazebo.
Everyone turned around and Alex felt relieved to be out from under their stares. Instead, they were all looking at Jenna now. Her arms were around David’s neck and his arms were around her waist. They stepped from side to side in the center of the gazebo. David was looking down at Jenna, but Jenna was pointedly gazing off over his shoulder.
“I can’t believe he asked Jenna to dance,” Val said. “What about Sarah?”
“I’m starting to think that David doesn’t like Sarah anymore,” Alyssa said. “I think he likes Jenna now.”
“You’re right,” Natalie said. “Look at the way he’s looking at her!”
“He’s a goner,” Tori said with a nod. “Poor Sarah.”
“Do you think we should call Sarah and tell her what’s going on?” Alex asked.
“And tattle on Jenna? No way!” Grace said.
“But it wouldn’t be tattling on Jenna because Jenna hasn’t done anything wrong,” Val said.
“Unless she does like him back,” Natalie pointed out.
“Do you really think she does?” Brynn asked.
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