It was late afternoon when they finally finished their window shopping and headed away from town. I tagged along after them, feeling tired and discouraged. (And very jealous.) There were so many thoughts crowding in my head at once that it was impossible to think clearly. Why was Travis so interested in this girl? Yes, I know she was great-looking, but it had to be more than that. Travis had told me over and over how beautiful my eyes were, and he had even picked out combs for me to wear in my hair. So that must mean that he thought I was pretty good-looking, didn't it? What did she have that I didn't have?
I was trying to sort everything out when Travis and the girl suddenly entered a small park. I barely had time to duck into a bus shelter when the two of them sat down on a bench just a few feet away. Now what?
I didn't have to wait long. I watched in horror as Travis leaned over and kissed her! I know I gasped out loud, but both of them were too busy to notice. My hand flew up to my mouth, and I felt hot tears stinging my eyelids. How could this be happening?
I don't know how long they would have stayed in the park, but suddenly a group of little kids sat down next to them. I saw Travis frown and then laughingly pull the redhead to her feet. She laid her head against his shoulder, just for a moment, and then the two of them moved off again, arm in arm. I felt like staying right in the bus shelter and crying my eyes out, but I knew I had to keep going.
Half a block later, they stopped at the movie theater and looked at the marquee. The way they were nodding and talking, it was obvious that they were making plans to go to a movie together. That night? That weekend? I had no way of knowing, but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that she would be with Travis, and I wouldn't. Their fingers were laced tightly together, and I saw the look in Travis's eyes when he smiled at her. He should be smiling that way at me.
I had seen enough. It was nearly dusk, and I hurried home* thinking, thinking, thinking. Did Travis like this girl because she was his own age? Was I really "too young" for him, just like Richard had said? Was Travis annoyed with me because I hadn't taken his advice and had that third hole pierced in my ear? Surely he wouldn't get so mad over a little thing like that? No matter how hard I tried to explain things, my mind kept coming back to one point: Travis didn't care about me at all. How could I have been so mistaken about him?
I was still very upset over Travis when we had our next BSC meeting. I had made up my mind not to say anything to my friends, but somehow everything came pouring out.
We were waiting around for phone calls when Kristy mentioned that Sam and Travis were on the track team together. "I don't know how Travis does it," Kristy said admiringly. "He's playing three different sports this season, and he's even talking about trying out for the school play." "He should," Stacey piped up. "Can you imagine how great he'd look onstage? He's gorgeous! He has the dreamiest eyes I've ever seen." Stacey (who happens to be a little boy-crazy) was all set to launch into a long description of Travis's smile, when I cut her off.
"Please, can we change the subject?" I pleaded. I jumped up and grabbed my jacket. "If we're just going to sit around and talk about boys, I'm going home. I've got better things to do." Kristy looked shocked, and Stacey gave me a long look. "Dawn, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," I snapped. I turned around so my friends couldn't see the tears that were threatening to spill down my cheeks. "I've just heard enough about Travis, that's all. In fact, I've heard more than enough!" I stumbled blindly toward the door to Claudia's room, but Mary Anne stopped me.
"Wait Dawn," she said softly. "You might as well tell everyone what's going on." "I don't want to get into it," I said stiffly.
Mary Anne took my hand and pulled me gently onto Claud's bed. "That's what friends are for, you know. We're all here for each other." I hesitated. Everyone was looking at me, and they all seemed worried. Maybe it was better to get things out into the open.
"I saw Travis with someone else," I said slowly. "Probably the captain of the swim team. That's why I'm so upset." Stacey looked puzzled. "Why would that bother you? Unless - " She clapped her hand over her mouth. "Are you going out with him? Oh, wow! When did all this happen?" I shrugged. "We're not really going out together, but I know he cares about me. I mean, I thought he cared about me." I told them about the surprise visit at the house, and the necklace and hair combs. (Also the trip to Burger Bite and the Merry-Go-Round.) I left out the part about Mom and Richard being so angry with me.
"That rat," Stacey said angrily after I told them about Travis kissing the girl in the park. "Why did he lead you on like that?" "He didn't really lead her on," Kristy said. "Don't forget, he never really asked her out. At least, not on a real date." "Oh, Kristy," Claudia said. "You're being much too practical. If somebody visits you at your house and brings you presents, it's like a date. And if they take you shopping after school, that's like a date, too." "It is?" Jessi asked. She and Mallory had been following the whole conversation without saying a word.
Claudia unwrapped a Hershey's Kiss and popped it into her mouth. "Well, sort of. At least I think it is." "I think so, too," Stacey said. "Travis gave Dawn the idea that he liked her, so he's definitely a creep." I sighed. I was glad that my friends were all taking my side, but I didn't feel much better. My chest ached every time I thought about Travis.
"Don't worry, Dawn," Claudia said. "You'll meet someone a million times nicer than Travis. Someone who appreciates you." I sniffled a little. How could there be anybody nicer than Travis?
"In fact," Mary Anne said, "I think I know just the person." "You do?" Kristy asked. "Tell us about him." Mary Anne grinned. "Well, he's fourteen, and he's fantastic-looking. Plus he's got a great sense of humor, and he's supposed to be really nice." "Supposed to be?" Kristy raised her eyebrows. "Don't you know for sure?" "I'm sure," Mary Anne said. "It's just that I haven't met him yet." "Who is he?" Jessi asked. "Does he go to SMS?" "No, he's from out of town." She paused. "He's Logan's cousin. His name is Lewis and he's coming here for a visit soon." She bent down so we were on eye level. "And guess what? He doesn't have a girlfriend." Mary Anne looked quite pleased with herself. I didn't want to sound ungrateful, but I had no desire to meet Lewis. I didn't care how nice he was or how handsome or funny. I wanted Travis. Why couldn't everyone understand that?
"Isn't it wonderful?" Mary Anne went on, all smiles.
I blew my nose and tried to look interested. There was no point in hurting Mary Anne's feelings, and I could always make up some excuse for not seeing Lewis when he got here.
"Wonderful," I said. "Just wonderful." Chapter 12.
"Please, Mary Anne," Mathew and Myriah chanted together. "We want to do the play for a big audience today. It's really ready." "I thought we'd play checkers," Mary Anne said, "and then we'd make brownies together." "Brownies! We can have brownies anytime," said Myriah. "This is important stuff. This is a play!" "Please!" Gabbie squealed. "No brownies! No checkers! Don't you want everyone to see Little Dog Lost?" "Well, sure," Mary Anne replied. "Of course I do." Mary Anne knew the play from reading Kristy's and Jessi's baby-sitting notes. They had seen the play "in rehearsal" and Mary Anne guessed that the kids had been working on it a lot since then.
She glanced at James, who was looking very pleased with himself. "Are you ready to do this?" He nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. Everybody knows their lines, and if Chewy stays under control, we'll be fine." Chewy! Mary Anne's heart sank. She had forgotten that Chewy was the star of the play. "Where is Chewy?" Mary Anne asked.
"He's all ready!" Gabble informed her. "He's waiting in the garage." She looked at James. "We call that offstage." "I see." Mary Anne watched as Gabbie opened the garage door and Chewy came barreling across the yard. He acted like a dog who had been cooped up for five years. He immediately began running in circles.
"He's excited," Myriah explained.
"I can see that." Mary Anne gently pushed Chewy off the lawn chair he'd jumped on. "Are you sure he'll calm down enough for the play?" "I know he will," Myr
iah said, petting him. "I'll put him back in the garage." Mary Anne doubted that Chewy would calm down, but she didn't want to discourage Myriah. "Okay," she said finally, "where do we start?" "We need to set up chairs for the audience, and then we need to start ringing doorbells." James was suddenly very businesslike as he dragged some folding chairs over to the patio. "This is the stage," he said, motioning to the backyard, "and this is where the audience sits." "That looks fine, but what did you mean about ringing doorbells?" "To tell people about the play," said Mathew impatiently.
"We really should have sent out invitations," Myriah said, "but we've been so busy rehearsing, we didn't get around to it." She looked a little worried. "It's not too late to ask people to come, is it?" "I guess not." Mary Anne glanced at her watch. It was after three-thirty. "But we better get started right away. How about if I call Mallory Pike and see if she can bring some of her brothers and sisters?" "Oh, good!" Myriah clapped her hands together. "And ask Jessi to bring Becca and Squirt." "The more the better," James said. "The grown-ups can sit on the folding chairs, and the little kids can sit on blankets." "Are we inviting grown-ups?" asked Mary Anne.
"Of course! Otherwise it won't seem like a real play," James replied.
"Hmm, I guess you're right." Where could Mary Anne find some real live parents at a moment's notice? she wondered. She thought of Mrs. Pike. As far as she knew, Mal's mom was the only one of our clients who might be at home.
A quick phone call to Mrs. Pike settled things.
"Of course I'll come, Mary Anne," she said warmly. "Stacey took a couple of kids to the playground, but I'll round them up along with Vanessa and the triplets. I know they'd love to see a play." Half an hour later, everything was falling into place. Mal (who was baby-sitting for Charlotte Johanssen) arrived with Charlotte and her best friend, Becca Ramsey. Jessi brought the Newton kids. Stacey arrived a few minutes later with two of the Pike kids - Margo, who is seven, and Claire, who is five.
"Hi, Mary Anne-silly-billy-goo-goo!" Claire shouted. (Claire is going through an extremely silly stage right now.) Mary Anne was helping everyone find seats when Claudia appeared. "I just heard about the play," Claud whispered. "I'll help seat people if you want to go help James. He looks like he's got a problem." Mary Anne glanced up. James was darting back and forth with a clipboard, barking orders to his actors. "Johnny, I want you to be quiet until it's time for you to say your lines!" "Little dog lost," he sang softly.
James put his finger to his lips. "No talking," he said sternly.
"I wasn't talking. I was singing," Johnny said, making a face.
James looked like he wanted to throw his clipboard in the air. Mary Anne touched his shoulder. "I'll make sure the younger kids are in their places," she told him. "Why don't you do something about Chewy? He's making a racket in the garage, and I'm afraid someone's going to let him out." "Let him out?" Myriah repeated. "Oh, no!" She grabbed a Magic Marker and a piece of paper and told Mary Anne to make a sign that read: STAR'S DRESSING ROOM. KEEP OUT.
Mary Anne smiled. "I think that'll do it," she said.
The audience was settling down and James edged over to Mary Anne.
"Do you think I should say something to the audience?" He looked a little nervous.
Mary Anne nodded. "You'll have to introduce the play. After all, they don't even have programs." "I feel a little silly." "Don't feel silly. And remember to tell everyone that you wrote the play." "Do you think so?" "Of course. You should be very proud. Not many kids your age could write a play." James smiled then, and Mary Anne knew he was relaxing a little. A few minutes later, he cleared his throat and stepped in front of the crowd. Mary Anne crossed her fingers as he finished the introduction and took a seat in the front row. It was show time! Myriah made her entrance like a professional actress. She was wearing one of Mrs. Perkins's coats and was carrying a large pocketbook.
"Oh, I just love shopping at the mall," she said brightly.
"Hi, Myriah-silly-billy-goo-goo!" Claire shouted from the audience.
Myriah frowned but stayed in character. "Where shall I go first?" she said, coming close to the audience. "There are so many stores to choose from." Mary Anne knew that Chewy was supposed to be onstage by that point, but there was no sign of him. James turned around from the front row and caught her eye. "Get Chewy fast!" he mouthed.
Mary Anne grabbed Johnny Hobart, who didn't have to go onstage for awhile. "Quick, Johnny," Mary Anne hissed. "Let Chewy out of the garage!" Johnny stared at her. "I already did," he said solemnly.
"Then where is he?" Johnny pointed toward the Perkinses' yard, where Chewy was digging an enormous hole in the flower garden.
"Oh, no!" Mary Anne wailed.
"I can whistle for him," Johnny suggested.
"Do it!" Johnny stuck two fingers in his mouth and made an earsplitting sound. Chewy bounded across the lawn, knocked over Gabbie's "shoe store," and skidded to a stop at Johnny's feet.
The kids in the audience started laughing, not sure if this was supposed to be part of the show. Mary Anne knew she had to act fast. She grabbed Chewy's collar and pushed him "onstage." "Go on. Act like you're lost," she pleaded.
Myriah waited until Chewy raced over to her, and then she sank down to her knees. "Oh, you poor dog," she cried. "You're lost and looking for your owner." Chewy immediately began licking her face, nearly beside himself with joy. "You must be very . . . sad," she said doubtfully.
Ill Someone in the audience giggled at this line, because Chewy was running in circles and barking. He didn't look the least bit sad! Myriah decided to ad-lib some lines. "Sometimes dogs act happy, but they're really sad. And lost," she added, in case the little kids in the audience had missed the point.
James signaled to Myriah to begin her walk through the "mall," and she headed for Gabbie, who was rearranging her shoe store.
"Shoe sale! Shoe sale!" Gabbie yelled, picking up a decrepit shoe. It was muddy from Chewy's mad dash through the yard. Everybody laughed at her line, and Gabbie looked pleased.
James rolled his eyes. Mary Anne knew the play wasn't turning out at all as he expected, but at least he was getting a lot of laughs. And then-Man/ Anne got a surprise. She was standing at the back of the patio when Zach showed up! He was the last person in the world she wanted to see at the play.
Mary Anne wasn't taking any chances. She showed him to a seat way in the back of the audience, and decided to sit next to him. "It's a great play," she whispered. "Really funny." "Uh-huh." Zach looked totally unimpressed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and didn't crack a smile for the next fifteen minutes. Mary Anne couldn't imagine why he had bothered to show up.
The moment the play was over (to wild applause) Zach grabbed James by the arm. "Hey, how about some football?" he said.
"I don't know. I'm sort of busy right now," James began.
"C'mon. Ditch this baby stuff and let's toss around the pigskin," said Zach, and James looked completely confused.
Zach pulled James down the driveway. Mary Anne didn't know why James let himself be dragged along, or why he didn't speak up. A lot of kids wanted to talk to him about the play, and James was letting Zach ruin his big moment for him. It didn't make sense.
Then Mary Anne thought about Dawn and Travis and got an idea. Dawn would be sure to read the notebook. Maybe this was Mary Anne's chance to tell her some things she'd been thinking about.
Chapter 13.
You're probably wondering why I would even want to see Travis again after that scene in the park. After all, I had seen him kissing another girl, so what could be left between us? I was tempted to forget the whole thing (and Travis, too) but I couldn't. I wanted Travis to know that I was on to him, and there was only one way I could do that. I'd have to wait until he left school with the girl and follow them again. But this time would be different. This time, I would confront Travis! What did I hope to accomplish? Well, if nothing else, I would embarrass him! I could just picture how Travis would react when I bumped into him with
his girlfriend. Let's see how cool and confident he'd be then! I got my chance the following Tuesday after noon. We had a quiz at the end of the day, and our teacher said we could leave as soon as we handed in our papers. What a lucky break! I whizzed through the test, double-checked my answers (it was a multiple-choice test), and left school fifteen minutes early. I had plenty of time to catch Travis as he left SHS.
My heart was pounding as I waited on a bench near the front steps of the school. I was wearing sunglasses, and I kept my head ducked down. I wanted to make sure that I spotted Travis before he recognized me! Soon the bell rang, and kids came pouring out of the double doors. I saw Travis and caught my breath. He was alone! My mind raced with possibilities. Maybe he had broken up with the girl. Maybe he realized I was the girl he had wanted all along. Maybe the two of us could spend a wonderful afternoon together. Maybe, maybe, maybe . . .
There I was, lost in fantasyland when Sara (Kristy had found out her name for me) appeared on the scene. She darted up to Travis, and he grabbed her in a big bear hug. They hurried down the steps, just inches away from me. (I didn't need the sunglasses after all, because they never even looked at me. They were too wrapped up in each other.) My heart sank, but I was more determined than ever.
It was time to catch Travis in a trap.
I decided the best place to "bump into" them would be downtown. That way I could pretend that I was out shopping. (I certainly didn't want Travis to know that I had waited for him outside his school.) Travis and Sara walked briskly along, and I kept a half block behind them. I didn't feel nervous at all because I was absolutely sure I was doing the right thing. The only question now was, where should I run into them?
I got my chance outside the Merry-Go-Round. It was a bright, sunny day, and the Merry-Go-Round was holding a sidewalk sale. Customers were jamming the area in front of the store, looking for bargains, and Travis and Sara had stopped in front of a display rack.
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