Playing For Love

by Dana Burkey

  “You should go sit down,” Jordan suggested when my coughing came back thanks to the faster dancing.

  “Yeah, probably,” I said with a frown between coughs.

  I figured I would just go and sit down on my own, but Jordan walked with me to grab another glass of water then head back to my table. Along the way, one of his friends called to him to come dance where they were near the stage, but Jordan just kept walking with me and told his friend he would be there soon. It was almost time to announce the homecoming king and queen, and it sounded like Jordan and Ross and everyone else was planning on being right up front to find out who won.

  “Thanks a lot, Jordan,” I said with a big smile when I finally got back to my seat and Jordan set the water he was carrying for me on the table.

  “Of course. Are you going to be okay here?” I could tell he wanted to go be with his friends, which made sense after dancing with me for so long.

  “Yeah, I’ll be good,” I nodded, glad my coughing had settled down.

  “One more thing before I go!” Jordan then picked up my phone and jogged a step over to someone that was sitting at a nearby table. I recognized him as a junior that was in my gym class last year. Henry something, I think. Either way, Jordan handed him the phone before he took my hand to help me stand up. “We need to get a photo together, like last night.”

  Even if I wanted to say something at the moment, I couldn’t. Instead I smiled as Jordan wrapped one arm around me for the photo. Henry took a few, and then handed my phone back to Jordan. Once he took it, Jordan held it out one last time for a selfie. For this one, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in extra tight. I think if he wasn't supporting me like that I could have melted!

  “Make sure you post those,” he said when he finally handed me my phone back and there was a little space between us.

  “I’ll do it right now,” I promised, glad I had a reason to sit out for a little.

  “Well, I should go find Ross,” he explained. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay here?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “I’ll text Beth and Corra and make them come sit with me.”

  “Alright, sounds like a plan. Thanks for the dance.”

  I managed to nod and smile as my face turned warm and no doubt bright red, then watched as Jordan walked across the room to find his friends just in time for the crowning. Emma Clearton and Jack Webbs were announced as the winners of the vote cast by the senior class, although by that time I could care less what was going on across the room. I was looking through the four photos of Jordan and me on my phone, suddenly realizing that we matched! No, really! The lighting in the banquet hall was dark so I assumed his tie had been black. But his tie was actually a blue that was almost the same color as my dress. I didn’t notice it until Henry took the photo of us with the flash.

  I’m not sure, but I think I must have stared at the photos for at least ten minutes before Corra finally came to hang out with me. She had a plate heaping with a snack from the food table and thankfully was willing to share with me. We snacked on the little sandwich rolls while I told her about my time with Jordan before we were joined by Beth. After showing Beth the photos as well, I uploaded them to Facebook, including some of the photos we had taken while getting ready and from when we'd arrived at the dance. I was worried if I only posted the ones of Jordan and I then people would start to catch on that I liked him so much. Although honestly, if people saw us dancing they might already know!

  I saw Ross as we were all heading outside once the dance finally ended. We took a few photos together after he reminded me mom would be super mad if we didn’t get at least one together. So, we took a few which also gave Ross the chance to ask me how I was feeling. It was nice that he was thinking about me, and I was glad he actually though to get the photos even though it was clear he was spending the whole evening with Skyler. I didn’t see Jordan at all as I said goodbye to my brother and his friends, but considering how tired my whole body was starting to feel I was more or less okay with it. In fact, Ross all but told me not to stay at Beth’s house in case I was contagious. I knew he was probably right, but didn’t want to miss the time with my best friends to relive the evening and my time with Jordan over and over and over!

  Once we got to Beth’s, we stayed up pretty late eating junk food and watching old movies until we were all ready to fall asleep on the spot. It was three in the morning by the time we finally got settled down for bed, but it was another hour or so until I could actually fall asleep. This was mostly because I was coughing so much. Thankfully Beth’s mom gave me some cough medicine when she heard me, and that finally put me right to sleep!

  This morning when I woke up my throat and lungs and whole body hurt. I knew I was getting really sick so I had my mom pick me up pretty early and I came home and took a long nap. Ross made me some soup for lunch after my nap was finally over before he left to hang out with Skyler. Oh, and he of course reminded me that he'd suggested I stay home instead of have a sleepover with my friends. I agreed that he was right, but at the same time we both knew that going home and going to bed alone was no fun after a school dance! Even Ross stayed at Trey’s house with a bunch of his other guy friends.

  All of that was about an hour ago, and the nice feeling the soup gave my throat is long gone. I think I might try to take another nap in case it's all I need to feel better. Sure, I’m pretty sick, but I want to be at school to see Jordan tomorrow! Okay, and I want to see Taylor and Beth and Corra too, and even all of my soccer friends. But, mostly, I want to see Jordan and see if everything from yesterday meant as much to him as it did to me! And, for that matter, I want to see if people at school are talking about him and I. Did anyone see our photos and think we are super adorable together? Well, no point in worrying about all of that right now. Time for that nap, and then hopefully I'll start feeling at least a little better.

  SEPTEMBER 29TH-MONDAY

  Annoying life update! I ended up really sick! Like, bronchitis sick! And, as if that's not bad enough Taylor might not be the friend I thought she was at all! I don’t know for sure, but trust me, it’s not looking too good!

  To start with, by yesterday night my coughing was getting kind of worse. When I woke up from my second nap of the day I was coughing a lot more and every time it was hurting in my chest a lot. So we went into the doctor first thing this morning and sure enough I have bronchitis. We got the medicine the doctor prescribed and I came home and took some before deciding it was time I did something besides nap and cough, so I finally went onto Facebook. BIG MISTAKE!

  At first it was fine. I was just looking through my photos and reading all the comments about how nice I looked. I'd only kind of read some of them on my phone, so it was fun to see them and actually reply finally. I also kind of liked the idea that people would see me commenting and know I was sick. Either it would make them wish I was okay, or it would make them bummed that I got to miss a day of school while they were there. Lame I know, but it made me feel a bit of joy...that was quickly destroyed.

  See, I started to look at my pictures, and then kind of clicked over to Jordan’s page, and then before I knew it I was looking at all the photos he was tagged in. That was when I saw a blue dress. At first I thought it was me, but I looked again and it was a brighter blue and a lot shorter. Then, in another photo I could see it was also a lot lower cut and strapless in the front. It was kind of a shock since I hadn't see anyone in a blue dress at all during the dance. And no one else even mentioned the dress to me. So, I was confused by it and kept looking through the photos for more info. The person in the dress had their dark hair up and teased and curled so it was really flashy and they had a lot of jewelry and makeup on. But, I couldn’t make out who it was. At least not until I got to a photo of Jordan and the mystery person. The photo was posted by Lizzy, and it was clear that the girl in the photo was none other than Taylor!

  I was so confused and shocked that I didn’t know what to do! I kept looking through photos
and there were a lot of her with Jordan, and in each one she was practically climbing on him! She was leaning on him, had her hand resting on his arm, and in one was wrapping her arms around him and laughing.

  After seeing some of them I went onto Lizzie’s page and looked through the rest of her photos. Sure enough there were photos of her and Taylor out dress shopping, getting their nails done and getting ready for the dance. And then, of course, there were all the photos at the dance where Taylor was all over Jordan anytime he was around. There were some that he wasn't in, most of which were of Taylor and Lizzy were with different guys that they were also usually all over. There weren't too many photos of them with other girls, as if the whole point of the evening was only to get photos with guys!

  I sent a text to Beth and Corra asking if they had seen the photos, and they were both shocked by the news. Since they'd only had a little time between classes they couldn't check to see the photos themselves before they saw her at lunch. Instead, they decided they would give her a chance to come clean about it during the lunch period. Corra though if they asked her about the party enough she would crack and tell them she was actually at the dance!

  Ever since we came up with that plan, I've felt a little better, but this whole thing is really hard to wrap my head around! Taylor was turning into a good friend and now it looks like she was going behind my back to flirt with Jordan at the dance wearing a blue dress after I told her it was my plan to wear a blue dress to get Jordan to notice me! It’s all just too much right now...

  SEPTEMBER 29TH-MONDAY

  First of all, Taylor told Beth and Corra she wasn't at the dance. She lied to them! We starting texting once they were home from school and they were telling me that she went on and on about the party and never once admitted she was at the dance. So, they looked online after school and were shocked to see Taylor at the dance! Now that they have seen the proof we are going to confront her about it tomorrow when I am also back at lunch.

  That isn't the only reason I am writing again today, though. The real reason was the text I got while I was napping. I fell asleep after I wrote earlier and then actually slept until well after school was over for the day. In fact, it was already around 7 when I woke up from my rather long nap and started to text Beth and Corra. When I checked my phone, however, I saw that I had a missed text from Jordan! And although it was mostly just a “get well soon” kind of text...he ended it with a heart emoji!!!!!!!

  I totally freaked out the second I saw it, and didn’t know what to do! But I read it over and over and sure enough I hadn't read it wrong that first time I saw it! “Hey, Fabulous Fi. Just wanted to say I had a great time hanging out with you at the dance. I hope you feel better soon!” Then it ended with the heart!!

  I had to read it like a billion times before I could believe it was real! Then I started freaking out because I realized it was sent to me pretty early in the day! He sent it right around when school was getting out, so I missed it completely! And then the pressure was on for me to reply. After we talked about the plan to talk to Taylor at lunch tomorrow, I told Beth and Corra about the text from Jordan and they agreed that I needed to reply. So, they gave me some ideas to work with and when we ended our conversation, I typed a reply to Jordan.

  “Hey, Jordan! Thanks so much for thinking of me! I was taking a nap when you text me earlier. But, it seemed to do the trick. I'm feeling better than I was last night, so I should be at school tomorrow. So hopefully I'll see you in the morning.” And then, I did a smiling emoji, and a hospital emoji since I was sick, and then a heart emoji. I wanted it to tell a story that I was happy that I was all better, and that I secretly love him, but he might just take it as me being happy that I was better! He hasn't replied yet, but I’m not going to stress about to too much.

  In a way, the whole texting with Jordan thing made me feel a little better about the whole Taylor situation, although I'm still looking forward to hearing what she has to say to us at lunch tomorrow. I just don’t understand how she'll be able to talk her way out of this one and explain why she felt that she needed to lie at all. Unless she's hiding something, there was no reason for her to go behind our back like that and then lie about it when Beth and Corra asked today. I’m trying not to worry about it too much right now, and instead just try to get some more sleep. There's a soccer game tomorrow and although I don’t think I will be able to play I want to make sure I am there to support the team!

  SEPTEMBER 30TH-TUESDAY

  I woke up this morning to a sweet text from Jordan. “Glad to hear it. See you in the morning.” his text read. It was simple and sweet and ended with a big grin emoji. My mom tried to convince me to skip school again today to rest, but after seeing that text from him I knew I needed to see Jordan. After the photos of Taylor made their not so nice appearance, I've been dying to see Jordan in person again! When I got in the car, though, it became clear we weren't heading towards Jordan's house.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, suddenly worried I wouldn't see Jordan after all.

  “We’re picking up Skyler,” Ross said with a stupid grin.

  “Oh,” I smiled as well. “Are you two officially dating now?”

  “Yep,” he nodded. “I asked her after the dance.”

  I was actually really happy at that point. I was glad to know that first of all Skyler was dating my brother, but also that my brother was willing to so easily let me know the news. I feel like a few months ago he wouldn't really care much about talking to me about these things, so it was a nice change.

  “She said she'll drive you to soccer if you’re going tonight,” Ross explained as we got closer to her house.

  “Perfect,” I replied. “I for sure want to go, but I don’t think playing is a good idea just yet. I don’t think I'd be much help coughing all over the field.”

  “It'd be a funny defensive move,” Ross laughed.

  “Like when you tried tickling me while we were practicing?” I asked.

  “That was a good plan!” Ross said quickly. “One of these days you're going to be glad I taught you my best moves.”

  I just laughed at that one as Skyler got in the car and greeted Ross with a kiss before turning and welcoming me back. She also let me know that she would drive me to soccer, which got us back into the plan for me to basically win the game for our team by coughing all over the opposing team. We continued to laugh and joke about the idea until Jordan got in the car.

  “Glad you’re feeling better Fi,” Jordan smiled at me once he climbed in the backseat of the car.

  “Thanks,” I smiled. “And thanks again for your text yesterday. It was just what I needed.”

  “Absolutely,” he nodded. “I’m sorry you got so sick from the game.”

  “Yeah, it was kind of lame,” I agreed. “But I didn’t have to miss the dance so I can’t complain too much.”

  “You looked great by the way,” Jordan said softly as if to not be heard by Ross and Skyler, who were chatting in the front seat. “I don’t think I said it at the dance.”

  “Thanks, you looked nice too,” I replied, trying not to freak out too much.

  “No,” Jordan said with the shake of his head. “I looked like everyone else. You looked like a superstar. If anyone doubted your nickname before they certainly can’t now Fabulous Fiona.”

  I didn’t know what to say at that point, so I tried to just smile and look down so Jordan wouldn't see how completely bright red my face was turning. Thankfully Ross happened to turn the volume on the radio up so it gave me a reason to keep quiet for a little. It helped me to have another minute to take in all Jordan had just said! It was just too good to be true, so it was nice to have the rest of the ride to school to let it sink in. Sadly, once we got to school, it was time to face the music. Or rather it was time to make Taylor face the music.

  All morning I was worried about what she might say. Or maybe worried isn't the right word to use. But I was trying to figure it out all morning and it was honestly making me pretty
stressed! When Taylor said hello to me at school, I didn’t even say anything! I gave her a smile or whatever, but I was too confused and kind of angry to say anything at all! Thankfully I only saw her once before lunch, and when I walked into the lunch room it was clear the conversation had already started without me.

  “So why did you lie to us yesterday then?” Corra was asking as I took a seat at our lunch table.

  “I didn’t think you needed to know,” Taylor said with a shrug and a flip of her hair. “I wanted to hang out with my sister and I knew if you guys thought I was there you would want to hang out with me instead.”

  “That makes no sense,” Beth commented. “You could have told us that, instead of lying about it before the dance and then again when we asked you yesterday.”

  “Well, I thought you guys would be mad, so I was thought lying would make it better,” Taylor explained. She frowned then for a second, and then went back to eating her lunch like the whole thing was over and done with.

  “Why didn’t you wear the dress you bought when we all went shopping?” I asked, sitting on the edge of my seat, my body stiff and unmoving.

  “I found one I liked better,” she replied without even looking at me.

  “Interesting,” I said flatly. “So instead you picked a dress the same color as mine and then took a whole bunch of photos snuggled up with the guy I like.”

  “And?” Taylor asked, looking at me finally, her eyes squinting at me in what appeared to be anger or almost hate!

  “Tell me the truth,” I insisted, trying to keep my voice even. I really wanted to yell, but knew it wasn't the time or the place.

  “What?” Taylor said with a gasp. “You think I was trying to flirt with Jordan? Yeah right! He’s not even that cute.” Taylor’s voice was this odd high pitch thing when she mentioned Jordan not being cute, making it very clear she was lying.