Dad beams. “Parker, meet Veena. Veena, meet Parker.”
•••
When I was little, I looked up to Ryan. He was my hero: so good at baseball, so smart at school, so funny and cool with his friends. I felt like a twerp by comparison.
Opryland was Nashville’s theme park, but it went out of business a couple of years ago. It had this crazy 3-D rollercoaster called Chaos. It scared the bejesus out of me. I loved the bumper cars. I ate cup after cup of Dippin’ Dots ice cream. But my favorite attraction was the Tin Lizzie cars. Kids could drive horseless carriages from the early 1900s around a track. I did that over and over again. One time, when I was eight, I took off for the Tin Lizzies, thinking my family was right behind me.
They weren’t.
I ran around in circles, crying. My parents told me never to talk to strangers, so I wouldn’t let anyone who was trying to help me come near. I was lost for ten minutes before Ryan found me. I’ll never forget how he came sprinting up and lifted me into his arms and twirled me in a circle. My running off scared him bad.
Now, I wish I had a Tin Lizzie that I could drive to find the real Ryan. The one I love and miss. Where did he run off to? And God, will you bring him back?
Written on February 21 on a napkin. Wadded up and burned.
•••
I have never ever sat by the phone before. Never. Ever.
But that’s how I’m spending Sunday afternoon, instead of my usual: doing homework. Ring, phone, ring! He has my number—I gave it to him over Skype. Hell, he can talk to me on Skype if he wants to. But he hasn’t been online all day. The only thing in my inbox is a draft article Drew wrote that he wants an opinion on.
I compose a short email to Brian:
Hey, where did you disappear to today? Loved talking to you in the janitor’s closet. It’s my new favorite place. Let’s do it again sometime. Next Sunday during Big Church?
Egads, what am I thinking? I delete the email immediately and pray that no hacker saw that and plans to post it all over the Internet announcing it as the lamest thing anybody’s ever seen.
Maybe Brian’s online but invisible. Maybe he’s staring at my name and thinking, Wow, she has no life and she’s sitting there waiting for me to message her. I’m gonna go running with Brandy the dog and then go drink a beer and live my real adult life and do adult things.
I click the Go Invisible button. Now he’ll think I have a life. He’ll think I’m out doing cool things, like hanging at Jiffy Burger with Drew, Corndog, and Sam, pretending to be Elaine and yelling “Get out!”
What if he’s with Coach Vixen? What if they’re doing it right now?
This goes on for two more hours. I download that movie Never Been Kissed starring Drew Barrymore from iTunes. As if anyone would actually believe a twenty-five-year-old woman who looks like her—hideous makeup or not—has never been kissed. Her teacher, who thinks she’s a teenager when she’s really twenty-five, is into her, but he doesn’t go after it until he discovers she’s really an adult.
I consider telling Brian that I’m not really a teenager. Really, I’m a twenty-five-year-old reporter for the Tennessean and I’m researching the athletics department at Hundred Oaks High because the football team gets all the money.
My phone buzzes. I pick it up faster than a jet at Mach 5. Aw, it’s just a text from Corndog that reads Look outside ur window.
I move my laptop and go push the curtains aside to find Corndog sitting out front on his lawnmower. Without bothering to check my hair or makeup, I head to the front door. He gives me a big smile when I let him inside. He’s wearing a polo layered on top of long-sleeved T-shirts with a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a cap.
Ryan’s listening to some god-awful trance music in his room, and Dad is passed out on the couch with the Sunday comics draped across his face, so they don’t even notice a boy coming in. That’s what I should tell Brian. I’m the real adult in my house, you know.
Corndog follows me to my room without a word. As soon as the door’s shut, I yell-whisper, “What are you doing here?”
He shrugs and rubs his palms together. “Bored. I don’t have any homework or practice or chores so I thought I’d see what you’re doing.”
“Me?” We’ve never really hung out alone before, considering (1) he was my nemesis for valedictorian, and (2) he’s never tried to hang out alone with me before. At least not since those science projects we did together in eighth grade.
His mouth slides into a smile. “Yes, you.”
“Don’t you need to do something on the farm?”
“Cows are milked. Eggs are collected. I got the afternoon off.”
“How’s Bo? Did he get booboos on his knees and hands?”
“Yeah. But he’ll be okay.”
Corndog starts looking around my room and beelines straight for my bookshelves. He drags a finger over my shelf o’ vampire novels, then moves on to the travel guides I grab at yard sales and used bookstores. I love collecting random travel books for places like the Galapagos and Australia and Tanzania and South Africa.
Then he moves on to my nonfiction shelf, which has all sorts of randomness…books on zookeeping, books on the horrors of animal smuggling, books about the Serengeti. I’m praying he doesn’t pull any of those books down, because I hide my Harlequin romances behind them.
Corndog starts looking at my bulletin boards, which are covered with pictures of me and Drew and me and my family. I took down the pictures of me, Laura, and Allie and buried them in a box under my bed. There’s only one picture of me and Mom. It was taken when I was five, out in front of Forrest Sanctuary on Easter. Mom looked gorgeous that day in a trim blue dress and matching hat.
“What were you doing before I got here?” he asks, coughing into a fist.
Stalking your baseball coach online. “I was watching a movie.”
“What movie?”
“This chick flick thing.”
“My favorite!” he laughs.
“Corndog, why are you here?”
“I told you. I’m bored and wanted to hang out. Can’t George hang out with Elaine once in a while?”
“I guess so.”
He pulls his sneakers off, then lies down on my side of the bed—the side I sleep on!—and situates the laptop on his thighs. He yanks his cap off and tosses it on top of his sneakers. I hesitate for a sec, then lie down on the other side of the bed while he restarts the movie.
“I’ve never seen this,” he murmurs.
We watch the movie in a nice silence until he exclaims, “This is unbelievable. How can they make Drew Barrymore look that bad? Well, I mean, she’s still hot—I’d do her, but geez!”
I’m cracking up. “I know! And the teacher still wants her even though she’s wearing that hideous sombrero.”
“What a perv that guy is. What kind of teacher goes after his student?”
I clutch my pillow. “He probably has some sixth sense and knew that she wasn’t really seventeen.”
“A sixth sense.”
“Yes.”
“You think that perv guy has a sixth sense?”
“Yes. He has the ability to tell if women are really older than they say they are. He can tell when forty-year-olds are pretending to be thirty-five too.”
He hoists himself up on an elbow and throws me a withering look. “Are you really our valedictorian?”
“Uh, yeah. I beat you by a tenth of a point, remember?” I chuckle. “Besides, we can’t have someone named Corndog giving the valedictory speech. Everyone would spend the whole time salivating instead of listening. Everyone would just get up and leave to go get a corndog!”
He laughs, but then his face goes soft and pensive. “It’s Will. You can call me that, you know.”
“But no one would have any idea
who I’m talking about.”
A pause. “I kinda like that.”
“You’re talking over the movie,” I say, gesturing at Drew Barrymore making an ass of herself singing with a band at a bar. She was stupid enough to eat a brownie full of roofies or something.
I snuggle up with Patrick the stuffed koala and Corndog? Will? slides a hand behind his head and we watch the movie together.
I guess at some point I passed out, because I wake up to find a black screen. I also find my mouth pressing against Corndog/Will/Person/Guy’s shoulder. I left a big drool spot on his polo. Holy mortifying! I’m pawing at it, trying to make my spit bleed into the shirt, when he opens his eyes and looks over at me with a lazy smile.
“Sorry, I drooled on you,” I say.
“It’s fine.” He ruffles his hair. A cowlick sticks straight up. One eye opens wider than the other.
Oh. My. God. I fell asleep with a boy in my bed.
The sun is setting outside the window, leaving my room in shadow. It’s nice lying here with him in a warm silence. It’s pretty weird that he just dropped by and hasn’t tried to make out with me or do any other funny business. I don’t think this has happened before, well, at least not with anyone other than Drew. And he doesn’t count.
So what’s this about?
Will folds the laptop lid down and sets it on the floor, then shuts his eyes, pulls Patrick the koala to his chest, and curls up. I stare at the ceiling. How weird is this? The captain of the baseball team is cuddling with my stuffed animal? I shrug and shut my eyes and wonder if Brian’s spending a quiet afternoon reading. I let myself doze back off.
Next thing I know, Dad has barged into my room. “I’ve been knocking for over a minute. What’s going on in here?” he exclaims.
I sit up straight and smooth my tangles. Will quickly pulls himself to a sitting position, grabs his sneakers, and fumbles with the laces.
“Just watching a movie, Dad.” I yawn.
“Who is this boy in your bed? And why’s there a lawnmower by our front door?”
“This is Corndog,” I say. “He’s a friend from school.”
Dad raises an eyebrow. “A friend?”
Why is Dad choosing this precise moment to stop being Daddy Denial? Gar. It’s not like I really care—I mean, this is just Corndog—what if Brian were in my bed?
“I better go,” Corndog says, giving me a nervous smile.
“I’ll walk you to the front door.” I hop out of bed and lead him down the hall. When we get to the living room, I stop dead. Mystery Woman Veena is here. Staring at me. She looks from me to Corndog and back to me again.
Who is this lady? Some angel of darkness God sent to confront me for my sins? Thanks but no thanks, God. I’ve already got Laura.
Dad walks up behind me, whistling. He drops a hand on my shoulder. “I invited Veena over for dinner.”
“I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” I mumble to Corndog. My face feels hotter than a supernova.
He glances at Dad and Veena, then gives me a quick smile. “Thanks for the chick flick.”
Once he’s gone, Dad claps his hands together and looks at me. “So what’s for dinner?”
“Oh, um…” I say. I hadn’t really thought about dinner yet. I glance at my watch. It’s 6:00 p.m., and normally I’ve started cooking by now. Veena narrows her eyes at Dad. I guess he invited her over for dinner and failed to mention that his daughter makes most of the meals.
“I love cooking,” I explain, not wanting to embarrass my father. “I accidentally fell asleep. I’ll start making dinner now.” I nervously play with my hair as I head into the kitchen. Pasta is a good, fast option. I don’t have time to make a roast or anything. I could toss a salad to go with it. I grab a pot from the wall and begin filling it with water.
Brian hasn’t called all day. Didn’t that time in the closet mean anything to him? Obviously not.
I’m shutting off the water when Dad enters the kitchen. “Forget cooking. Let’s go out for a change, okay?”
•••
Ryan said he has a paper due tomorrow (can you say “excuse”?), so it’s just me, Dad, and Mystery Woman Veena at Davy Crockett’s Roadhouse. I like this place because they serve peanuts by the bucket, and I can eat a bucket load of peanuts because my diet depends on lots of protein.
I crack open a few and line eight peanuts up across my bread plate. I’ll savor them one by one.
“Veena’s a nurse,” Dad says, touching her hand.
She blushes. Is she embarrassed of her job? Or because Dad is coming on way strong? Since when does Dad come on to anybody? He hasn’t dated since…since…ever? Since Mom.
“I work at the Murfreesboro Regional Medical Center,” she says, avoiding my eyes.
Dad rattles peanuts in his fist like a pair of dice. “And Parker is a senior at Hundred Oaks. She’s going to Vanderbilt next year.”
“Vanderbilt? Really?”
“She’s valedictorian too,” Dad adds, smiling and popping a peanut in his mouth.
I’m pleased that Dad is proud of me, but Veena looks way surprised. How humiliating. But then I remember: she doesn’t know me. She has no right to judge me. Is that why she agreed to come out with us—to judge me? But on the other hand, all the evidence I’ve given as to my personality involves me hanging out with two different guys on the same day. One in a janitor’s closet, one in my room. I rub my eyes. This isn’t what I wanted for myself. Maybe I was meant to be a sinner. Maybe that’s all I’ll ever be. Maybe Laura’s right.
A good person wouldn’t lust after a teacher. Lonely or not.
Veena takes a greasy roll from the bread basket and butters it up. Saliva forms in my mouth as I stare at the bread. I could have one bite, right? No, I shouldn’t.
“Are you coming to Forrest Sanctuary now?” I ask Veena.
She sips her water, then nods. “Yes. I just moved here from New York and don’t really know anyone except for people at the hospital. But I’ve always gone to church, so here I am.” She shrugs and blushes again. It gives her dark skin a rosy touch.
“I’m glad you came,” Dad replies. He touches her hand again. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” He stands and heads toward the restrooms.
I eat the first of my eight peanuts, savoring the salt.
Veena takes a bite of roll, and after swallowing, she whispers, “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything to your father about this morning.”
I find her eyes. They are kind but questioning.
She continues, “The man you were with…he seemed older.”
I don’t respond. I concentrate on peanut #2. I want to eat it in peace.
“It’s none of my business, I know. And I’m one to talk…your father must be over ten years older than me…I’m 29…I just wanted to let you know I won’t say anything, okay?” she says.
“Okay, thank you,” I whisper. “Nothing happened, just so you know.”
She pauses. “So, Vanderbilt?”
“Yes, I got in early admission.” I say it with a strong, proud voice.
She smiles. “Good school. I didn’t get into their medical program. I’m jealous.”
“I studied hard.”
“I guess I didn’t study hard enough.” She laughs, sipping her water, and I join in laughing.
I eat peanut number two and smile at Veena as I chew. She’s very pretty and slim. I love her black curls, and it looks like she knows how to use an eyelash curler. Her full lips are painted a bronze-ish color.
Dad hustles up and slides into the booth next to her. “What did I miss?” he asks, putting his napkin back on his lap.
“None of your business,” Veena replies. “Girl talk.”
I pop peanut number three in my mouth and think: don’t mess this up, Dad! She�
��s pretty nice.
But she knows about Brian. I hope she keeps her mouth shut like she said she would.
•••
Before bed, I wash my face with cleanser, moisturize, and carefully tweeze my eyebrows. I slip on pajamas and climb into bed with my laptop.
My phone beeps. A text from Corndog reads: Had fun today.
I text back: Me too. Can’t wait to tell everybody u love chick flicks!
Don’t! You’ll destroy my street cred!
I log in to Skype, and ten seconds later an IM from Brian pops up.
Brian Hoffman: Hey. Sorry I flaked.
I smile, and a warm feeling rushes through my body.
Parker Shelton: No prob.
Brian Hoffman: Want to talk?
Parker Shelton: Yes!!
Skype rings, I answer, and Brian’s voice tumbles out of the speakers. “Hey, you.”
“Hi.”
“Tell me about your day.”
My phone buzzes again. I ignore it.
•••
Drew and I don’t have many classes together.
I’m taking AP courses, while he’s in classes like music theory and art. It’s senior year and he wanted to relax. But we do take AP English together, because he cares a lot about making his writing the best it can be. He sits in the front row, next to Corndog, and I sit right behind them. And because everyone now knows Drew broke up with Amy, the girls are out in full force to win his heart. Or win a chance to fool around with him. I don’t know which.
While we’re waiting on the final bell to ring before class starts, Marie Baird is leaning against his desk, chatting, laughing, and playfully slapping his shoulder, and Kristen Markum is standing between his legs, smiling down at him. He grins up at them, shaking his leg and tapping his foot. They’re discussing what one item they’d bring if they were to go on the TV show Survivor.
“I’d bring my iPad so I could download books to read,” Marie says.
“But how would you charge the battery on a deserted island?” I hear Corndog murmur to himself. I laugh silently.
Stealing Parker (Catching Jordan) Page 10
