by J. J. Howard
“Here,” Tali said, handing me a small towel. “I’m sorry you got drenched picking up my party stuff, Ana,” she added in her thoughtful Tali way.
“It’s okay,” I answered, using the towel to stop my hair from dripping onto the floor. “The drenching part actually happened while I was walking Osito.”
Mom tsk’ed again. I figured now was probably not the best time to ask to go to the dog shelter today.
“So what’s with your dress?” I asked Talisa, changing the subject. “I thought Mrs. Vega took your measurements?”
Tali shook her head. “Mrs. Vega accidentally swapped the measurements with Alison Ochoa’s,” she said. Her eyes filled with tears, which wasn’t too surprising. Tali was very sensitive, and it didn’t take much to make her cry. Especially, it seemed, when it came to her quinceañera. Right away, I felt bad for being huffy before. “Mami called her and …” Tali trailed off.
“I called her and gave her a piece of my mind is what I did,” Mom proclaimed, hands on hips.
Tali sniffled and I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure Mrs. Vega will fix the dress,” I assured her. “Besides, you look pretty no matter what.”
That was true; Tali was beautiful, with long dark hair and flawless skin. I glanced over at Mom, who was examining the bag from Mr. Levy’s. Mom and Tali could have almost passed for sisters; our Mami looked exactly the same as she did in old photos I’d seen of her from when she’d first moved to New York City from Puerto Rico and married Papi. My dad, on the other hand, already had gray hair (possibly, I’d sometimes think with a smirk, as a result of living with our mother for so many years).
“Oh no!” Mom wailed.
“What?” I asked, a sense of foreboding prickling its way up my spine.
“What is this?” She held up what looked like a giant pink candle that had melted in the sun. Bits of tissue paper were coming unstuck from the goopy mess and traveling down her arm.
“It’s the piñata for Tali’s quince,” I said in a small voice. Here it comes, I thought.
“But what did you do to it?”
“I didn’t do anything!” I said, feeling the heat rise on my neck. “I got caught in a giant storm, remember? I’m lucky I didn’t get struck by lightning!”
Mom plopped the soggy mess back into the big plastic bag with a huff. “I just don’t understand how these things always happen to you.”
“It was rain. It definitely didn’t happen just to me. Anybody who was out there got soaked. And I guess piñatas aren’t waterproof,” I added.
“Well, they’re paper mache,” Tali piped up. “Which is mostly made of flour, so it makes sense that it would … melt.” She added the last part in a weaker voice, as Mom continued to glare at me. “It’s not Ana’s fault!” my sister added loyally. My sister turned to me. “I’m sorry I ever asked for a piñata, Ana. I only thought it would be fun to have one at the party for our little cousins.”
I smiled at my thoughtful sister so she’d know I understood.
Mom was shaking her head. “I’m not blaming you for the rain, Ana. But if you didn’t spend so much time with that dog …”
My heart sank. My plan to ask to go to the shelter for my birthday wish seemed pretty stupid now. Mom would never say yes. She was barely even letting me take care of Osito, and he lived upstairs, not here in our apartment.
Mom must have seen how upset I looked, because she added quickly, “Why don’t you go change out of your wet clothes and then you can have your cupcake?”
“I’ll go change, too,” Tali said. “I can’t wait to get out of this ginormous dress.”
My sister and I left the kitchen and headed into our shared bedroom. Tali took my arm.
“Cheer up, hermanita,” Tali said.
I smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks, T. Do you need help getting out of your dress?”
She grinned and closed our bedroom door. “If it fit, I’d need help with the zipper. But now, nope!” To demonstrate, she shimmied side to side and the whole thing fell right down off her body.
I laughed, and began peeling off my wet sweater. “So, Tali … I just sort of … met someone in the park.”
“Ooh—a boy?” Tali sounded much too excited, and I immediately regretted my impulsive confession. My sister was forever falling in crush with a new boy, and she often pestered me, asking which boys at school I liked, and sometimes I’d tell her about a boy I thought was cute, mostly just to have something to say. I’d never actually had anyone to tell her about. Until today.
Tali put on a T-shirt and jeans and bounded across the room to plop on my bed. “Tell me everything!” she said, bouncing up and down.
“Calm down—there’s not that much to tell!” I said. “I met him in the dog park. His name is Calvin …”
“That’s a great name!”
“It’s pretty good, I guess,” I said, struggling to take my jeans off. There was nothing worse than soaking-wet denim. “He has a pug named Pancake.”
“Now that’s a great name!” Tali exclaimed, and I had to laugh. My sister was always in such a hurry to approve of everyone and everything. I wished for the millionth time that I was more like her. But no amount of wishing would make me different. As Papi always said, like it or no, I took after Mami. I usually saw the flaws first.
A small voice in my head reminded me that I hadn’t seen any flaws in Calvin, though.
“Ana Ramos! You have an actual dreamy look on your face. You like this boy!” Tali was back to bouncing on the edge of the bed. “Meeting in the rain … it’s like a fairy tale.”
I threw one wet sock at her and she laughed and ducked. “I don’t even know him. And we only met because his dog liked Osito. Besides, I’m hardly a princess in a fairy tale.”
Tali ignored my last comment. “I’m so excited for you, Ana! You’re always too busy coming up with new website ideas or cracking codes to pay attention to boys.”
I blew a lock of wet hair out of my face. “So, for the billionth time, it’s writing code.” Tali shared a room with me—she knew better than anyone how much I wanted to be a software engineer, and how many hours I spent on my computer trying to master coding.
Tali laughed. “I know, I know. I just like to tease you. Tell me the rest of the story.”
“Okay, so … he carried that giant piñata bag for me. I didn’t even have to ask.”
“A gentleman. That’s so rare these days,” Tali said, lying back on my bed with a sigh.
I rolled my eyes, even though I’d sort of had the same thought about Calvin myself. “You sound like you just walked out of a Disney cartoon,” I teased Tali. “But that’s nothing new. I won’t be surprised if one day I look over and there’s a ring of cartoon birdies flying in a circle around your head. Actually, maybe you should sing a song to try to summon some. They could fix your dress for you like in Cinderella.”
It was Tali’s turn to throw the wet sock back at me. “Ana, you’re ridiculous.”
I put on my robe. “Don’t blow this Calvin thing out of proportion,” I told my sister. “He was just … different, that’s all. Not like other boys.” Tali was regarding me with her best older-sister smile, and I shook my head. “Besides, I might not even see him again. I know Mom’s one step away from making me tell Mrs. Ramirez that I can’t walk Osito anymore …” I didn’t even bring up the hopes about getting my own dog. They seemed completely out of reach now.
“No!” Tali said. “Mom wouldn’t do that. Mrs. Ramirez—and Osito—need you.”
“Paper mache is not waterproof, though,” I said with a frown. “Just one mark against me on Mom’s very long list.”
“List shmist,” Tali said. “True love is all about overcoming barriers. Now go take a shower before you catch a cold. You don’t want to see Calvin again with a bright red nose with snot coming out of it.”
“Thanks for that image,” I said with a laugh, and left our room. Even as I rolled my eyes at Tali, there was a tiny part of me that got excited
flutters when I did think about meeting Calvin again someday.
My best friend since kindergarten, Phoebe Yamada, met me at my locker Monday morning.
“Happy belated birthday!” she cried, giving me a huge hug.
Normally, Phoebe and I would have hung out on my birthday, but she and her family had been away this weekend, visiting relatives way upstate. She hadn’t been able to get Wi-Fi up there in the woods, so we hadn’t even gotten a chance to text.
“This is for you,” Phoebe added, handing me a small wrapped box.
“Aw, thanks, Phoebe,” I said, carefully opening it. Inside, on a small square of cotton, was a pair of adorable stud earrings in the shape of pugs. I squealed and threw my arms around Phoebe. “They’re perfect!” I exclaimed. I quickly removed the silver studs I’d put in earlier that morning and swapped in the new earrings, grinning the whole time.
Phoebe laughed. “I figured it was a way to celebrate your actually getting your own dog …” She trailed off and peered at me. “Wait. You did ask your parents, right? You went to the dog shelter and everything?”
I looked down at my shoes. “Well …”
“You didn’t even ask, did you? Ana, I thought you were going to go for it this time!”
“I was … but then there was a storm, and the piñata for Tali’s party got ruined, and I just …”
“You chickened out.”
“I … yes.” Phoebe’s disappointed face made it all so much worse. I knew she would never have chickened out. This was what always happened. Phoebe was the bold one in our friendship. So she’d build me up and make me think I could be brave enough … but then when it was just me, a lot of the time, I wasn’t.
Phoebe sighed. “You’ll find the right time to ask, I know it.” I gave my best friend a grateful smile. “So where did you go for your birthday?” she asked.
“Just to Hi Thai for dinner.”
“Aw, A, I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted a dog.”
I nodded, feeling a small pang. In the end, my birthday hadn’t been all that bad. It was always fun going out to dinner with my family, and we hadn’t even talked about Tali’s quince that much over our pad thai and chicken curries. Plus, I had gotten really nice gifts: a new phone case from my parents, and sunglasses from Tali. I was grateful … but I couldn’t stop dreaming of a puppy all my own.
The bell rang then, and it was time for our first class, US History with Mr. Bowen.
“So did you hear the latest?” Phoebe asked as we walked down the hall. Phoebe was somehow always up to date on school gossip, even when she’d been away for the weekend. “Mrs. Bahar is finally having her baby, so we’re going to have a sub for English for the rest of the year, but I don’t know who it’ll be.”
“I hope the sub is nice,” I said. Mrs. Bahar could be strict.
Phoebe nodded. “Oh, and there’s a new kid in our grade! He starts today.”
“Really?” I said as we turned the corner, moving past the crowds of kids streaming through our middle school. A new kid? Hmm …
“He’s from Florida, somebody said—man, is he going to freeze if he’s never lived anywhere cold,” Phoebe remarked. “I visited my grandma in Vero Beach last winter break—remember? And it was sooo warm, I almost couldn’t believe it, I mean, it was February and I’m pretty sure it got to at least eighty-five …”
“Phoebe!” I broke in, curious to hear about the new boy, not Phoebe’s grandmother in Vero Beach. “What else did you hear about the new kid?”
“Oh, just that he has blond hair and Lucy Alvarez said he was cute. Of course, she thinks every other boy in America is cute. That girl has very lax standards, if you ask me.”
I smiled. Phoebe had never been a fan of Lucy Alvarez, who was one of the prettiest girls in our grade, and one of the most popular.
“Blond hair, huh?” I said. I let out a sigh, though I wasn’t sure if I felt relief or disappointment.
Calvin’s hair had been brown.
Phoebe and I walked into history class. Math and science were my favorite subjects, but Mr. Bowen was such a good teacher that I’d started loving history this year. I liked how Mr. Bowen seemed to know absolutely everything about American history, and he had high standards. Some of our other teachers, in my humble opinion, let us middle schoolers off way too easy. But not Mr. Bowen.
Phoebe and I took our seats, which were at the front of the class. Even though Phoebe liked the back better, I’d stood firm on this one. I was reaching into my backpack for my notebook and pen when I heard Mr. Bowen say, “We have a new student today, class.”
I looked up, expecting to see the unknown blond boy that apparently Lucy Alvarez had found cute.
But then I saw the boy I had found cute at the dog park on Saturday. It was Calvin.
“Hair looks darker when it’s wet,” I said aloud, luckily under my breath.
“What?” Phoebe gave me a look like she thought I was going crazy.
But I wasn’t paying any attention to her. I was staring at Calvin. He didn’t seem to have noticed me yet.
“Please join me in welcoming Calvin Palmer to our class,” Mr. Bowen went on. “He’s moved here all the way from Florida.”
“Hi, Calvin,” everyone said in chorus.
Mr. Bowen pointed to the open seat on the other side of the room, and Calvin headed for it. I tensed up. He still hadn’t seen me. Would he even recognize me? I wondered. My dark brown hair couldn’t have looked much darker even when soaking wet, but maybe I looked different now that I was all dried off.
“We’ve just finished World War II,” Mr. Bowen told Calvin. “So we’re about to start our study of …”
“The Cold War and Korea?” Calvin jumped in to ask.
“Very good!” Mr. Bowen said. “Today, we’ll be discussing the Korean War. First, let’s see if everyone remembers their reading from last night.”
I had the notes I’d taken last night open and ready to go. I skimmed them briefly while still keeping an ear out for Mr. Bowen’s first question. Phoebe often called me the Hermione Granger of MS 110. But I ignored her teasing—not only did I like being first in our class, it was important for me to keep that standing. I’d been working hard to earn the Crown Point Prize, which went to the top student in each grade, and paid for a prestigious computer summer camp program. Aside from getting a dog, attending that program was my biggest dream.
“From 1910 until the closing days of World War II,” Mr. Bowen was saying, “Korea was ruled by … ?”
I raised my hand high. But so did Calvin. With a look of surprise, Mr. Bowen called on him.
“They were ruled by Japan,” Calvin responded confidently. “Then after World War II, the Soviet Union wanted to establish a communist government in Korea. But the United States wanted to stop the spread of communism. So Korea ended up being split into two separate countries, North and South Korea.”
“That’s very good!” Mr. Bowen said enthusiastically.
“Who is this kid?” Phoebe whispered to me, rolling her eyes.
“You must have been studying this topic at your school in Florida?” Mr. Bowen asked Calvin.
“No, we were still on World War II. I just really like reading about history.”
Seriously? Who was this kid? Then I had another thought, and it was like Phoebe read my mind. My best friend turned to me and whisper-hissed, “I think you have some competition!”
I nodded, trying to ignore the sense of dread I felt stirring in me.
“That’s excellent, Calvin,” Mr. Bowen was saying. “Class, can anyone tell me where Korea was divided?”
“The thirty-eighth parallel!” I burst out, forgetting to wait for Mr. Bowen to even call on me.
At that moment, Calvin noticed me. And he must have recognized me, because he grinned at me.
I smiled back, but a big part of me was thinking that Phoebe was right. Not only was Calvin cute, and nice … he was also really smart—and he was definitely going to be competition for m
y slot at the top of our class.
* * *
“New kid was like Answer Boy today, huh?” Phoebe asked at lunch, biting into her cheese sandwich. “I mean, take a break and let someone else say something.”
“That’s usually me who’s always answering in class,” I said, unwrapping my turkey sandwich. “You realize that, right?”
Phoebe waved a dismissive hand in the air. “You’re overly prepared, sure. But this guy like full-on admitted that he hadn’t even studied this stuff at his school yet. I mean, come on, what kind of nerd …”
“Hi, Calvin,” I said, much too brightly and loudly. Because there he stood beside our lunch table, looking just as cute as he had on Saturday. Maybe even cuter all dried off.
“Hi, Ana,” he said. “I can’t believe we go to the same school—we’re even in the same grade! Small world, huh?”
“The smallest,” I agreed, feeling my heart skip a beat.
“Hi, I’m Phoebe Yamada,” Phoebe said, reaching across the table to shake Calvin’s hand. “So you two already know each other?” she added, with a very pointed look at me.
Oops—that was right. I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Phoebe about my run-in with Calvin over the weekend.
“Ana and I met at the dog park the other day,” Calvin explained.
“Oh, when you were walking Osito?” Phoebe asked me, and I nodded, suddenly worried Phoebe might say something about Mrs. Ramirez before I had a chance to explain. Thankfully, she turned her attention back to Calvin. “So you moved here from Florida?” she asked him.
“Can I sit?” Calvin asked, holding up his lunch bag.
“Sorry,” I said, shooting Phoebe a look now. “Of course you can sit.”
Calvin sat down beside me, which made me a little nervous, but I tried not to show it. I took a sip of my chocolate milk.
“Yeah, we just moved from Tampa,” Calvin said, unwrapping his sandwich.
“You must think it’s so cold here,” Phoebe told him.
“Well, it’s April, so it’s not so bad,” Calvin said, and shot me a small smile. “But maybe ask me in January.”
“Do you have a big family?” Phoebe asked. I thought it was kind of ironic that Phoebe had called Calvin Answer Boy a few minutes ago, since now she was acting like Question Girl.
