Crushes, Codas, and Corsages #4

by Michelle Schusterman

  Despite our bad start, when the rest of the band came in, it began to sound better. In fact, I actually started to enjoy myself. Sight-reading was almost like a game—trying to play a song perfectly the first time through. It would’ve been fun if I wasn’t so worried about whether we’d get Sweepstakes.

  But just like the first time we’d sight-read, things fell apart at the end. I saw a repeat sign coming right before the coda and couldn’t remember for the life of me if we’d already repeated that section or not. I guess I wasn’t the only one, because most of the brass section ended up taking the repeat again, while the woodwinds and percussion played the coda and finished. When Mr. Dante put his hands down, too, I set my horn in my lap mid-measure with a groan.

  “The curse of the coda,” Mr. Dante said with a sigh. “Brass, any ideas as to how you got lost?” When no one answered, he went on. “Because no one was looking up. I know it’s hard not to have your eyes glued to your music when we sight-read, but you must look up at me at least once every four measures, especially if you’re lost. I’ll cue every repeat and every entrance, and I’ll definitely cue the coda.”

  Closing the score on his podium, he gave us an encouraging smile. “Considering how difficult that piece was, I thought you all did a great job in the middle. But what were the two weakest spots?”

  Natasha raised her hand. “The beginning and the end.”

  “That’s right.” Mr. Dante nodded. “Here’s the thing about sight-reading. The judges don’t necessarily expect it to be perfect. They’ll be listening for how well you recover from mistakes. But the two spots we want to sound best are the beginning and the end, because those are the first thing they’ll hear and the last thing they’ll hear. So that’s where we’ve really got to play with confidence.” Smiling, he pushed his glasses up his nose. “Even if we don’t feel all that confident.”

  Even though he was just talking about band, I decided to apply Mr. Dante’s advice about confidence to the rest of my classes. I felt like I was swimming in deadlines, projects, and final-exam preparation, but maybe if I pretended I felt like I had it all under control, I could trick myself into believing it.

  Same thing with my feelings about Owen, which were kind of all over the place.

  After our maybe-date to the movies, a tiny part of me had been hoping the spring dance would be a real date after all. I wasn’t sure how to ask Owen about it, though. Especially since Ginny the Amazing Artist called him while we were working on Alien Park at his house Thursday after school.

  “She had a question about a project we’re working on,” Owen explained after he hung up the phone. “It’s due in a few weeks.”

  “A project from the workshop?”

  “Yeah. It was optional,” he added. “Just to get more feedback on our work. I figured it’d be good practice, and Ginny wanted to do it, too.”

  “Oh.” I smiled, probably a little too widely. “Cool!”

  Owen went back to scrawling away on the tablet. But I was having a hard time concentrating on writing a description of the alien-fish habitat. I couldn’t help wondering if the reason Ginny and Owen had decided to do this optional project was really because they wanted an excuse to keep in touch. Besides, wasn’t Owen drowning in enough schoolwork already, like I was?

  Irritated with myself, I picked up the Saturn roller coaster card. I had no reason to be jealous. Because Owen was my friend—just my friend—and him being friends with some girl who happened to be a talented artist was completely fine.

  I figured if I kept saying it didn’t bother me, eventually it wouldn’t.

  We were supposed to present our science fair project to Mrs. Driscoll on Friday, so I was anxious all through lunch. Not just about talking in front of the whole class, but about the project itself. Owen and I had been working on it since last semester, and I thought we might actually have a shot at winning.

  “Oh, you could totally win!” Julia said when I brought it up. “You guys put way more work into your project than I did.”

  Natasha nodded in agreement. “Plus your topic’s a lot cooler. Mine’s just on different types of seeds.” She sighed dreamily, opening a bottle of juice. “I’d so go to Alien Park if it were real. That UFO slingshot sounds amazing.”

  I grinned. “Thanks. It’d be pretty cool to win—the first prize is a trip to NASA in Houston. We’d meet actual astronauts.”

  “And watch them train,” Owen added, taking a Warlock card off the stack in the middle of the table. “And see a rocket-launch simulation.”

  “Do you remember what the prizes for second and third place are?” I asked him.

  “I think it’s money,” Owen replied.

  Seth nodded. “Two hundred for third, three hundred for second.”

  Natasha choked a little on her sandwich. “Geez, I kind of wish I’d spent more time on mine now.”

  “I wish I had, too. Oh, Holly, I’m finished with this.” Digging through his bag, Seth pulled out a book and slid it across the table to me. Julia beamed when she saw it.

  “My ghost book!” she exclaimed while I examined the cover. “Tell me what you think, okay?”

  “Okay!” I tucked it into my backpack, wondering if I’d even be able to read it before summer thanks to all my schoolwork. “Hey, do you have a dress for the dance yet?”

  Julia shook her head, and Natasha perked up.

  “Me neither!” she said just as the bell rang. “Want to go shopping together tomorrow?”

  “Yes!” I stood up, suddenly much happier. I hadn’t gotten to hang out with just Julia and Natasha in a few weeks. Maybe I could bring up Ginny the Amazing Artist. Even though it didn’t bother me that she’d called Owen. Really.

  A fresh wave of nerves hit when I walked into science. But I was kind of excited, too. Alien Park really was pretty awesome. And even though getting up to talk in front of a classroom always made me nervous at first, I usually ended up having fun.

  Mrs. Driscoll had us draw slips of paper with numbers to see in what order we’d be presenting. Owen picked number three, to my relief. The sooner, the better.

  Trevor and Brent McEwan went first. Their project was called “Attack of the Carrot Clones,” which made me laugh. And it really was about how you could clone carrots and other vegetables. Erin Peale and Nina Rodriguez went second with a presentation on whales. They actually had an audio recording of whales singing that was pretty amazing.

  But no one else had an original cartoon. Owen hadn’t finished the commercial yet, but he’d created enough images that we had a few super-short animated sequences to show with our presentation. So I felt pretty confident when it was our turn.

  While Mrs. Driscoll finished giving Erin and Nina her notes, Owen fixed the computer monitor so that it faced the class and got the cartoons ready. I set up our display board with all the pictures and descriptions, then waited until Mrs. Driscoll gestured for me to start.

  “Our project is called Alien Park,” I told the class. “It’s a theme park with rides, but also exhibits and habitats like a zoo. Only instead of animals, we have different types of aliens from planets with a variety of . . .” I glanced at my notes, clearing my throat. “A variety of ecological and environmental conditions.”

  I launched into the first description of amphibious aliens from Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Owen played a short cartoon that showed them swimming around in their habitat, followed by another one of our Saturn roller coaster.

  “Awesome!” said Brent, and several others nodded in agreement. Feeling much more confident, I went on to the next exhibit—lizard-like creatures from Mars.

  The cartoons were a huge hit, especially the UFO slingshot. I couldn’t wait until Owen actually finished the whole commercial. When we finished, everyone applauded.

  “Excellent job!” Mrs. Driscoll waved us over to give her notes. Quickly, I pulled down our di
splay board so whoever was next could set up, then joined Owen at Mrs. Driscoll’s desk. She’d already handed Owen the notes, which I was relieved to see were only one page long.

  “I just have a few suggestions on places where you can add more information,” she said. “The rides are great, they really make this fun—but the judges will want the majority of your presentation to be scientific, so really focus on the habitats. But overall, this is fantastic!”

  “It’s the cartoons,” I said eagerly. “Wait until you see the whole thing—Owen’s not even finished yet!”

  Owen blushed, and Mrs. Driscoll smiled at me. “The cartoons are excellent, but so was the rest of the presentation,” she said. “You two make a great team!”

  I felt my cheeks start to glow, too. “Thanks, Mrs. Driscoll.” Following Owen back to our desks, I wondered which of us had the redder face.

  The mall was swarming Saturday afternoon, probably because we’d been hit with an early heat wave and everyone was trying to escape into the AC. By two o’clock, Julia, Natasha, and I had taken over the dressing rooms at Milanie’s, one of our favorite stores. I organized our selections by style into groups while Julia paraded around in a yellow dress with a flared skirt.

  “It looks really cute,” I said, glancing at her reflection in one of the mirrors. “Not dressy enough for a dance, though.”

  Julia sighed. “I know. Maybe I can get this one, plus another for the dance.” Checking the price tag, she made a face. “Or maybe not.”

  “Ta-da!” Natasha burst out of one of the rooms and struck a pose. Laughing, I eyed the dress—off the shoulder, floor-length, crimson rosette accents.

  “Gorgeous, and too formal.”

  Natasha grinned. “Yup. Forget the dance, I’m thinking ahead. Prom.” She flipped through the tiered skirts while Julia grabbed a bright pink taffeta dress.

  “My vote’s still on that green one for you,” I told Natasha.

  She nodded. “It’s my favorite, too, so far.”

  I’d already tried on four dresses. They were okay, but nothing spectacular. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, though. The idea of going to the dance with Owen was making me more and more nervous. We’d actually be . . . dancing. Like, slow dancing. Back when I’d asked him before winter break, the whole thing had seemed so far in the future, I hadn’t even thought about the dancing part.

  Now I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  I also couldn’t stop thinking about the dancing penguins in Owen’s sketchbook.

  Grabbing a turquoise dress with cap sleeves, I glanced from Julia to Natasha. I really wanted to talk to them about Owen, but since I wasn’t even sure how I felt, I didn’t know exactly what to say.

  “I think we’re getting the schedule for the science fair this week,” I said, holding the dress in front of me. “Fingers crossed none of us get stuck with an early time, since it’s the day after the dance. It starts at eight in the morning.”

  Natasha wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, that’d be annoying. How did you guys do on your presentation in class yesterday, anyway?”

  “Really good!” I couldn’t help but grin. “Everyone loved the cartoons. I hope Owen finishes the whole thing this weekend.” Trying to keep my voice light, I stepped in front of the mirror. “He’s kind of busy working on another project with Ginny.”

  Julia paused, her arm halfway through a sleeve. “Who’s Ginny?”

  I kept my eyes on my reflection. “His partner from that art workshop.” Smoothing the skirt down, I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t like this length.” As I turned, I thought I saw Natasha and Julia exchange a glance.

  “Owen met a girl there?” Natasha asked lightly.

  Nodding, I focused on flipping through more dresses. “They’re doing this optional animation project, just for practice. So I guess they talk on the phone and stuff sometimes.” Did I sound jealous? I hoped not.

  “Oh, that’s cool.” Julia was silent for a moment. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, though.”

  “I know!” Okay, my voice was definitely too high. “Not that it matters. We’re just friends.”

  “Exactly! It doesn’t matter.”

  I peered at Julia’s face in the mirror, checking for signs of sarcasm. But she looked unconcerned. Which kind of made me feel better and worse. Did she mean I had nothing to worry about because there was no way Owen liked Ginny? Or did she mean even if he did like Ginny, I had nothing to worry about because I didn’t like Owen?

  Since January, I’d been insisting to Julia and Natasha that I didn’t have a crush on Owen. And I hadn’t been lying. But now that they finally seemed to believe me . . . well, maybe it wasn’t so true anymore.

  I knew if I told them about my maybe-crush, they’d get all excited and encourage me to tell Owen. Julia would remind me of how nervous she and Seth were around each other at first, and Natasha would add that I was the one who helped her ask Aaron out.

  But this was different. Because Owen wasn’t just a boy I knew from band or PE or whatever. Since the beginning of the year, he’d become one of my best friends. If I told him I liked him, everything would change between us whether he liked me back or not. Either way, I just wasn’t ready for that to happen.

  Chewing my lip, I went back to searching through the dresses. I pulled out a silvery one that looked kind of weird on the hanger, but had a pretty wicked geometric pattern covering the skirt. Cyborg dress, I thought with a smile, slipping it off the hanger and turning around. Julia was standing in front of the mirror, wearing the bright pink dress.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed. “That one. Definitely that one.”

  Julia beamed. “I think so, too!”

  I stepped into a dressing room and quickly pulled on the silver dress. My eyes widened at my reflection.

  It was one of those outfits that looked completely different off the hanger. This dress was . . . cool. Halter top, flouncy skirt, and the geometric pattern went up the back in silver lace. If it wasn’t already a million degrees outside, I’d wear it with my silver combat boots. But a pair of black sandals would work, too.

  I pushed the door open. “Hey, guys, what do you—”

  “Oh my God!” Natasha cried. “That looks amazing!” She pulled me over to the mirror and spun me around. “Look at the lace on the back! You have to wear your hair up to show that off, like this . . .”

  Laughing, I waited as she piled my hair on top of my head and clipped a barrette to hold it in place.

  Julia clapped. “Perfect! Wow, I don’t even remember picking that out!”

  “I grabbed it off one of the racks in the back,” Natasha said. “But it looks totally different than I thought it would. You’ve got to get this one, Holly,” she added fervently, and Julia nodded in agreement.

  I grinned, turning back to the mirror. “I will.”

  After buying our dresses (Julia got the pink taffeta one, and Natasha went with a green dress with spaghetti straps), we walked out into the mall. When we passed the theater, Julia let out a shriek and pointed. Glancing over, I saw the Mutant Clowns from Planet Z poster and smiled.

  “I meant to warn you about that,” I told her. “We saw the preview before House of the Wicked 2. It looks really cool, but those clowns are kind of freaky.”

  “Kind of?” Julia repeated incredulously. Natasha was attempting to walk past the theater with her hand over her eyes, which made us laugh. I grabbed the back of her shirt before she wandered onto the escalator, and something in the food court on the first floor caught my eye.

  “Maggie Moo’s!” I turned to Julia and Natasha, bouncing on my toes. “Oh, let’s go see if Chad’s girlfriend is working.”

  I’d kept my promise to Chad so far and hadn’t told Mom or Dad about Amy. But it wouldn’t technically be breaking our truce if I met her myself.

  Maggie’s was pretty busy, so while we
stood in line I scrutinized the workers: two girls, one boy. I pointed to the girl with short black hair, who was running the register. “Is that her?” I asked. “She looks like she could be related to Trevor.”

  Julia squinted. “Maybe!”

  We ordered our cones, then moved to the register. I grinned when I saw the girl’s name tag.

  “You’re Amy!”

  She took my five-dollar bill, eyebrow raised. “Yeah . . . ?”

  “I’m Holly Mead,” I told her. “Chad’s little sister.”

  Amy’s face lit up. “Oh wow, no way!” She rang up Julia and Natasha’s orders. “The horror-movie fanatic, huh? Chad told me.”

  “Seriously?” I couldn’t keep the surprise out of my voice. “He talks about me?”

  “Yeah!” Smiling, Amy handed Julia her change. “Way to get him to finally clean that car, by the way. That thing was getting out of control.”

  “Wait, he told you he cleaned it?” I sputtered as Julia and Natasha started giggling. “I cleaned it!”

  Amy snorted. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  “He can’t even do his own laundry,” I told her, causing Julia to choke on a mouthful of coconut almond. “He’s been paying me to do it for, like, a year.”

  “Oh my God, Holly, your brother is so going to kill you,” Natasha said, her eyes wide. But Amy was laughing.

  “Also unsurprising.” She pointed to an empty table. “Why don’t you guys sit down? It looks like we’ve got a lull coming up.”

  We plopped our bags on the table and waited while Amy rang up the last few customers in line. My scoop of peanut-butter swirl was starting to melt.

  “I cannot believe this,” I said. “My brother’s girlfriend is actually cool. How did this happen?”

  “I can’t believe you told her you do his laundry.” Julia’s eyes were still teary from laughter. “You’re so dead.”

  She had a point. Chad wasn’t going to be too happy about that. I shrugged, licking my ice cream. “Serves him right for taking the credit on the car cleaning.”