by Jenni James
“Do you know what I think?”
“What?” I peeked an eye open. I shouldn’t have. She was grinning like a fool.
“I think you’re secretly totally crushing on him, but you’re just too used to hiding to show it.”
Was I? I didn’t think so. “Not true. I like him, sure. But I’m not crushing.”
“Yet.” She started to talk faster. “And when you do, you must, and I mean M.U.S.T. show him you like him a little bit more than you’re showing now. Be outgoing and smile and flirt so he knows how you feel. Okay?”
At this point, I’d say anything to get rid of her. “Okay.”
“Good!” She pushed away from the bed and stood up. “And if you need any pointers, let me know!”
CHAPTER FOUR: Butterflies and Flurries
I really wanted to be left alone, so I waited until I figured the coast was clear before I went to my mom’s room and got on her laptop, since Mom and Katelyn wouldn’t be home for a while. Mom’s purple floral bed was pushed up against the wall under the window, and Katelyn’s smaller green one was on the wall next to the closet. They had a long white dresser next to the door. I found the laptop charging on Mom’s bed and opened it. I could hear a show in the background. Maralyn was probably watching something on Netflix in the living room.
When I logged onto Facebook, my heart jolted when I noticed I had a friend request from Zane Ferrars. I don’t know why I was surprised—I just was.
Once I confirmed it, I instantly did a bit of cyber stalking. Scrolling through his pictures, I was startled to see how many friends he had. It looked like he was always doing something fun—snowboarding, rock climbing, team sports, having barbecues …
Then suddenly, he messaged me. The chime nearly gave me a heart attack. Gah! My pulse raced as I imagined us both thinking about each other at the exact same moment. It was so bizarre, but crazy cool, too.
Zane Ferrars: Hey. Thanks for accepting my request so fast. How’s it going? Did you survive your first day of school?
I stared at the message for a few minutes, not sure what to do. No one had ever started a conversation like this with me, and my head was spinning too much to think rationally. After some deep breaths, I decided to respond.
Ellyn Dashwood: Yes. I survived today. It was a little disconcerting at first, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get the hang of it soon.
Zane Ferrars: You will. It must be hard going to a whole new school and all.
Ellyn Dashwood: Yep.
Now what should I do? I waited a few seconds and then he responded.
Zane Ferrars: I’d like to apologize for putting you on the spot earlier. My bad. And I really feel awful about it.
I scrunched my brow. What was he talking about? I couldn’t remember anything.
Ellyn Dashwood: What did you do? When?
Zane Ferrars: Lol. Uh, when I brought up your dad and was asking about him.
Ellyn Dashwood: Oh.
He needed more than that. I rushed to send another response.
Ellyn Dashwood: That’s okay. Thanks for dropping the subject and wanting to walk with me.
Zane Ferrars: Thanks for putting up with me. Sorry, I usually don’t go completely creepy on people—but you’re so interesting. I should probably back away before I scare you for good. Lol.
There went my heart racing again. Eeep. I snuggled into the comforter beneath me and bit my lip.
Ellyn Dashwood: Why am I so interesting? I don’t understand why you’re not more afraid of me.
Zane Ferrars: *coughs* Afraid of you? Wow. No! And can’t you see why I’d be so excited to meet you?
Ha. A totally hot guy like Zane? Yeah, right.
Ellyn Dashwood: Um, no.
Zane Ferrars: *facepalm* Because you can keep up. I mean, you’re wrong and all—Edison wasn’t half the genius Tesla was—but the fact that we can discuss it seriously is so cool. I’ve never met a girl like you.
“What?” Gah. I pulled up Wikipedia and Thomas Edison. “There. Read this and weep.” I grinned smugly as I pushed send.
Ellyn Dashwood: Here. This is why I’m right. Follow this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison
Zane Ferrars: Lol. Okay. I will. I promise to do so with an open mind, too. But ONLY if you follow this link and watch this awesome video list on Tesla. (I mean, you can read about him on Wikipedia too, but these videos from curiosity.com sum up his coolness the best.) Er—just watch out for language. I can’t remember if there is any, and I don’t know if you’re OK with that or not. Um. Right. Here’s the link. Now be prepared to be stunned/amazed/flabbergasted—behold, the mighty Tesla: https://curiosity.com/learn/nikola-tesla
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. There was no way Tesla was better than Edison.
Ellyn Dashwood: Fine. Give me a minute.
I clicked on the link and then watched a couple of videos, impressed with the curiosity.com guy’s interpretation of Tesla’s genius. Tesla really was pretty much amazing. And I was surprised to find that Edison didn’t like him at all. I messaged Zane again, this time eating humble pie. Sheesh.
Ellyn Dashwood: Okay, so I can see your point. Kind of.
I didn’t want to give him too much leeway.
Zane Ferrars: Kind of? Kind of? Ha! You know he’s a total genius. While you were watching that, I followed the link to Edison. I have to admit, there were a few things I didn’t know about the guy, but I still think Tesla won.
I grinned. I don’t know what happened, but Zane suddenly got a whole lot hotter.
Ellyn Dashwood: Yeah. Okay. You win.
Zane Ferrars: Wahoo! I knew it. I knew I would win! I knew it!!!!!!! Booyeah!
Booyeah? The dork. I giggled. Like, a completely Maralyn giggle. It was fun. I decided to try to tease him.
Ellyn Dashwood: Um, are you this crazy all the time?
Zane Ferrars: Only when pretty girls admit I’m right. That never happens, so I have to live in the moment while it lasts. *fist pump*
My heart flip-flopped and I tried to keep from smiling too much. Maybe Maralyn was right—maybe he did really like me.
Ellyn Dashwood: Whatever.
Zane Ferrars: So, what are you doing right now?
What an odd thing to ask. Wasn’t it obvious?
Ellyn Dashwood: Messaging you on Facebook.
Zane Ferrars: Lol. I love literal logic.
Ellyn Dashwood: Well, good, because that’s how I roll.
Zane Ferrars: I meant, do you want to hang out in a few? I’ve got some chores to do for my dad, but when I’m done, I wouldn’t mind showing you around Bloomfield or something.
My breath slammed into my throat so hard, I honestly couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. Was he asking me out? On a date? As in, wanting to get to know me and be with me and… Was this how easy it was?
My fingers were all over the place as I attempted to type him back. It took about four tries with badly misspelled words before I gave up and typed simply,
Ellyn Dashwood: OK
Zane Ferrars: Cool. I’ll see you in about an hour. Will that work?
I honestly couldn’t breathe.
Ellyn Dashwood: Sure.
I had no idea if it would work or not, but I certainly wasn’t turning down my first date ever.
Zane Ferrars: Great. Well, I’ve got to run so I can get there in time. So, catch ya on the flip side. Bye.
Ellyn Dashwood: Bye.
I signed out of Facebook and turned the laptop off. Holy cow. Holy cow. Holy cow. I got off the bed and walked to my room, then back to my mom’s, then back to mine again. What was I doing? I needed to get ready.
I went into the bathroom and stared in the mirror for a minute. I really had no idea what to do. Closing my eyes, I finally gave up and called, “Mara, I need your help.”
“What?” She asked as she leaned against the doorframe.
When I looked at her, her eyebrows rose. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
No. I didn’t know the first
thing about dating. What did I do? What did he do? Was I dressed okay? “Help.”
“What is it?”
You’ve got to speak. Calm down. Say the words so she understands. Thankfully, my mouth opened. “Zane wants to take me to see Bloomfield. Now. In an hour. Like, right now.”
Her jaw dropped. “No way.”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
Suddenly, she screeched. “Eeek! Makeover. Ellyn’s got a date!”
In that moment, I believe I was more afraid of my sister than I was of Zane. “Okay, no sudden loud noises. And let’s keep this looking like me. I know we’re twins, but you’re way prettier, so I’ve still got to look like me and not you.”
She tilted her head and gave me a funny look. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
I blinked. My darn elbow itched again. “Okay. Probably safer that way.”
She took a deep breath. “Never mind. We’ve only got an hour. Where’s my makeup?”
I cringed. The last time I’d worn makeup was when I was coerced into the third-grade play.
“Hush. It’ll be good for you.”
By the time Maralyn had finished attacking my face, I had to say, I didn’t look too bad. Turning my head from side to side in the mirror, I checked out her handiwork. She’d made my bangs look cute and textured, and even found an adorable headband. The makeup looked pretty, actually. I smiled at the girl grinning back at me. Bright eyes, long, dark lashes, and just a hint of light pink lip gloss. “Thanks for not overdoing it.”
Maralyn laughed. “I’m saving the smoky-eye look for the next date.”
I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded painful. “Please don’t.”
She nudged me with her shoulder. “Hey, I’m just teasing.”
Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself for the thousandth time that month that sarcasm was actually a thing people chose to use. It made absolutely no sense to me why anyone would choose to say something besides what they meant—not to mention, completely confusing—but whatever. The world was a weird place.
“Okay. Let’s get you changed into clothes that’ll match that headband.”
I followed her into our bedroom. “Don’t I look good enough?” Glancing down at my jeans and T-shirt, I didn’t see anything wrong.
She shrugged. “You look fine if you’re going to school, but this isn’t school. This is Zane Ferrars.”
“I really don’t want to be uncomfortable. You know how I get with my clothes.”
When I was little, it was awful. I hated certain collars and tags and pants and even socks. Basically, anything that didn’t feel right on my skin used to bug me so badly, I’d cry until my mom let me change.
“How about this fabric?” Maralyn pulled out a pretty flowy top of hers for me to borrow.
I touched the white sleeve. The material was soft and smooth. “It might work.”
She tossed it at me. “Well, try it on and see.” Then she threw me a dark blue ball. “And put these jeans on, too.”
I groaned, but quickly changed. I hated the jeans the second I put them on. They were too tight and too flashy, way too trendy-looking for my taste. “The blouse is nice, but I can’t do the bottoms. These are just way too close-fitting.” I plucked at the fabric that hugged my thighs.
“They’re skinny jeans. They’re supposed to be snug. Just wear them. They look killer on you.”
“No.”
“Yes.” She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, Ellyn. You can’t hide from discomfort your whole life. Sometimes you’ve gotta go out on a limb and wear something constricting just so you know what the rest of the planet feels like.”
“But it’ll be too distracting, and I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else. And then the date will be a huge failure. I’d rather wear my yoga pants.”
Maralyn threw her head back and groaned. “Fine. Put on your jeans.” She pointed to where they lay on the floor. “At least they’re better than your yoga pants.” She walked over to her jewelry box and pulled out a long necklace with a heart at the bottom. “Could you wear this?”
It was really cute. “Maybe.”
“Well, let’s see.” She slipped it over my neck and stepped back. “So, what do you think?”
We shut the bedroom door so I could see in the full-length mirror behind it.
A beautiful dark-haired stranger looked back at me. “Wow. I don’t even look like me.”
“Sure you do.” She smiled. “It looks just like you—only thing is, you’ve been hiding.”
Mom pushed the door open, and we both jumped. “Hey, girls. What’s going on in here?”
“You scared us!” Maralyn gasped.
Mom chuckled. “Good. You need to be scared sometimes.” Then she looked over at me. Her tired eyes went from the top to the bottom of my outfit. “Ooh … I like it. Makeup, even. What’s the occasion?”
Maralyn clapped her hands. “Ellyn’s got her first date! She’s leaving in like, fifteen minutes or so.”
“What?” Mom gave us both a stunned gape. “Congratulations, Ellyn.” Then she said the last thing I’d expect from her. “But no, you’re not leaving this house. No way. Not yet. Dream on.”
“Why?” My face fell.
“Mom!” Maralyn protested.
“Because no one is going anywhere until their jobs are done. And that kitchen is still a disaster.” She dropped her purse from her shoulder and ran her fingers through her hair, releasing a few bobby pins. “Now that I’m working full-time, you know you guys need to pitch in. I can’t do it all anymore, and I’m not going to.” She pointed to the kitchen. “So move it. Both of you. Katelyn’s already begun sweeping in there.”
Since Mom worked at an elementary school in Farmington, she’d enrolled Katelyn there, so they drive down together.
“I’m sorry. After it’s clean, can I go?” I asked. Would she really ruin this chance I had with a guy before it even began?
“We’ll see. But as of right now, you’re stuck here. Besides, nobody’s planning anything without me meeting the guy first.”
CHAPTER FIVE: Champion’s Cause
Maralyn stepped in front of me and tried to calm Mom down. “Okay. I know you’re tired. I think today has been rough for everyone. But Mom, you’ve got to let Ellyn go on this date. Zane is a really great guy. We promise to let you meet him first—we definitely weren’t planning on Ellyn going anywhere until you did.”
Actually, I’d completely forgotten about my mom, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
Maralyn continued, “And this may be Ellyn’s only chance to truly fit in here at this high school. Zane is cute and he likes her, and I swear I’ll do all Ellyn’s jobs while she’s gone.”
“What?” I asked.
Mom blinked. “Yeah—what did you say?”
Maralyn rolled her eyes. “Come on. Me offering to do her jobs isn’t that rare.”
I laughed. “Yes, it is. And thank you.”
Mom put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, what gives? Why are you being so dramatic?”
“Because this is epic!” Maralyn exclaimed.
Mom winked at me. “I know it is. But it’s just a date. Jobs are important too, you know. Especially when people are coming over and will see this dirty house.” She cleared her throat. Mom always cleared her throat when she was mad.
Maralyn groaned. “You’ll never understand.” She walked past us. “Fine, I’ll start cleaning now. And I wasn’t kidding about doing Ellyn’s stuff too. You know how she is—she’s going to need time to reflect and get ready for this date.”
As Maralyn walked out of the room, still grumbling, Mom turned to me. “Okay, so tell me the truth. Do you want to do this? Or is your sister setting you up and trying to coerce you into getting out of your shell?”
I guess it would seem that way. “Yes, I want to. I think. I’m kind of nervous. And Zane asked me out all on his own—Maralyn didn’t even know until I told her.” My elbow began to itch
again. “But I don’t know if it’s really a date. He only asked to take me around Bloomfield so I could get to know the area better. We’re just friends.”
She walked over to the pink fluffy chair by the window and sat down. “So, let me get this straight. You went to school today for the first time, and already, a boy has asked you to drive around town.”
“Yeah.”
“And you met him at school?”
“He was the guide who was assigned by the office to help me get to my classes.”
She nodded and smiled. “Okay. Then you need to understand something. If a boy asks to spend time with you, even just as friends—which is how all relationships should start—then he likes you and wants to get to know you more, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. It’s a date. At least, you can use it for practice.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Do you like him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess. He’s nice. More surprising than anything, really.”
“Why’s that?”
My eyes got big. How could she not know this? “Well, because I’m not really the type the male gender wants to hang out with.”
“Good grief. You’re as dramatic as Mara sometimes. You know perfectly well there are many males who like you.”
I laughed. “Whatever. Male cats and dogs don’t count.”
Mom tilted her head and looked at me seriously for a minute. “Do you really believe boys aren’t attracted to your type? Did that actually come out of your mouth?”
