by Anne Dayton
“Awww,” Zoe says like a mom. “Wasn’t that a nice thing for Riley to say?”
Ms. Moore approaches our table, but then she stops cold in her tracks. She quickly recovers, shakes her head a little, and breaks into a big smile.
“Well, if it isn’t my little detention club.” She raises her right eyebrow at me.
“Miracle Girls,” Zoe says. Ms. Moore doesn’t seem to hear.
“Might I ask what the momentous occasion is that brings the most powerful minds in the school together at one humble and, might I add, broken picnic table?” Ms. Moore crosses her arms over her chest. Today she’s wearing a pinstriped suit that really shows off her curves. A bit of a pink t-shirt shows underneath the jacket.
“We call it lunch,” Christine says. “All the kids are doing it these days. It’s the latest craze.”
Ms. Moore laughs. “Indeed.” Her eyes sweep our table again, and I can feel my cheeks burning. I know I’ve said some pretty terrible things about Riley to Ms. Moore. “It’s actually quite lucky that I’ve found you all together. I’m trying to recruit for the upcoming beach cleanup for Earth First.”
Ms. Moore gives us the details. In a few weeks, the club is going to go down to State Beach and pick up as much litter as we can with gloves and plastic buckets. The more volunteers we can find, the easier the job will be.
Christine spoons some yogurt into her mouth. “So you thought of trash and manual labor, and then you thought of us.”
“Always,” Ms. Moore says, meeting her tit for tat. “Now, Riley, I know you’re not a member of Earth First, but I thought this might appeal to you. Plus, we could really use some more members. You like to surf those beaches, right?”
Riley nods.
“Then protecting them is important.”
Riley bites her lip. “I was surfing the other day and an empty milk carton floated past me.” She shakes her head. “It was so gross.”
“So come out and join us for the cleanup. I’m sure these guys will be there.” Ms. Moore nods at all of us. “Right?” she says loudly.
“Oh, right,” I say. Hey, my mouth works again.
“Okay, see some of you in class. You’d better hope and pray that you made Raskalnikov your new best friend over the long weekend.” Ms. Moore walks away, laughing.
I look at Christine. “Pop quiz on Crime and Punishment in Ms. Moore’s. You can depend on it.”
“It’s about a wacko who kills his landlord. What more do you need to know?” Christine polishes off the last spoonful of her yogurt.
“Hey, are you guys going to the Valentine’s Day dance?” Riley asks. We all turn and stare at her like she just asked, “Are you guys all wearing your bras on the outside of your clothes tomorrow?”
Christine laughs. “I would go, but I can’t decide which of my suitors should have the honor of escorting me.”
Zoe shakes her head back and forth as if she’s just tasted something sour and rotten. “Oh, no. No, no, no. I don’t dance.”
Riley gapes at us. “Guys, it’s the biggest dance of the year, aside from prom. You can’t skip it. Ana, tell them.” She nudges me with her arm.
“I—” Suddenly it occurs to me why there would be some advantages to having Riley as a Miracle Girl. The truth is, I kind of do want to go to the Valentine’s Day dance. I know I didn’t used to like dances, but that was before, when I didn’t really know anyone and I didn’t really understand Dave yet. Zoe doesn’t really like guys yet and Christine is so . . . Christine. But I see now how dances could be romantic. Anything can happen. Pretending I don’t want to go can only last for so long before someone finds out it’s another lie. “I don’t know,” I finally say.
“Look, the cheerleaders are sponsoring it, and they all say that everyone goes in big groups. You don’t need a date. I’m not taking one.” She looks around the table at us. “Just think about it. You don’t want to look back and regret not going.”
“Riley?!” someone screams from across the courtyard. I freeze. Ashley Anderson marches her way over to our table. Ashley always tries to overcompensate for being one of the less cute cheerleaders by being twice as mean. Her father is a doctor, and she dresses like she lives in L.A.
As she approaches, her flouncy skirt swings wildly. “What are you doing?” she whispers through her teeth to Riley, but she makes sure that we can all hear her.
I swallow. This could get ugly.
Christine leans back to watch the scene with a very satisfied look on her face. “Good question. We were wondering the same thing.”
Riley shrugs as if she couldn’t care less. “Talking to some friends.”
Zoe breaks into a huge grin. “We’re just talking to our friend, Riley, okay?”
The bling around Ashley’s neck nearly blinds me. She crosses her arms over her chest, and then glances at me, as if noticing me for the very first time. “I didn’t know you were friends with God Girl. Isn’t that cute?”
It takes everything I have not to throw my applesauce at Ashley. I take deep breaths and remind myself that I am not afraid of being called a Christian. I am one.“Her name is Ana.” Christine stands up and levels her eyes at Ashley. I smile for a moment, until I realize that Christine, like some kind of shark, can smell cheerleader blood about to be spilled. The look on Christine’s face scares me.
At this point, a normal person would make nice and retreat. But Ashley is one of the queens of the school, and she is not normal. She continues to ignore me.
Ashley pulls at her necklace. “I guess I didn’t know that you were some kind of religious freak, too.”
Riley’s confidence seems to waver for a moment. Her shoulders droop.
“Maybe you could write a new cheer for us.” Ashley steps back from our table a little bit and starts to clap “Who’s got sandals and hair down to here? Goooo, Jesus!” She nearly doubles over laughing at her own joke.
Riley walks around the table and stands directly in front of Ashley. I suddenly realize how different Riley is from the other cheerleaders. I had always lumped her in with the others, but now that Riley stands next to this unathletic beauty queen–type, I see that she is nothing like them. Riley is tanned, muscle-bound, and has a casual, natural beauty that she seems unaware of.
Ashley and Riley stare at each other for a moment. What will I do if they start to tear each other’s hair out?
Luckily, a group of football players walks by, carrying trays piled high with fried food. “Zach! Andy!” Ashley calls, waving at the hulking quarterback. Zach turns his thick neck, squints at Ashley, and nods. Andy smiles at Riley. “Hang on!” But Zach keeps walking.
“Well,” Ashley says, shrugging. “I guess I should be going. See you at practice, darling.” She runs after the football players, her red ponytail bobbing up and down.
Riley flares her nostrils and watches Ashley go with her fists clenched. Zoe is practically in tears, but Christine is studying Riley.
Riley turns to us. “I have to go, too.” She picks up her bag and purse. “But maybe I’ll see you guys at the dance.”
We all mumble good-byes and watch her walk away from us. The usual swagger is gone from her step.
37
I say a quick, and, I’ll admit it, very selfish prayer right before I pop my head into Mrs. Slater’s room.
“Knock, knock.” As I walk in, my heart sinks. It’s still Christmas in here, and Dave is nowhere to be found.
“Becky!” Sarah pushes herself up in bed. She seems to have no doubt about who I am today. “You made it. I thought your flight was delayed. Well, no matter. You’re just in time.”
“In time for . . . ” I walk over to her bed and help her get up. She’s in such a state. Her face is bright with joy. I get her safely onto her feet, and she pulls her housecoat around her body and pats her hair.
“Your father likes to keep it so cold in this house. I told him, I said, It’s Christmas Eve. And, you know, Peter is from the South. He’ll freeze to death.”
&nbs
p; Oh. It’s Christmas Eve.
Sarah walks over to her little Christmas tree and plugs it in. It sparkles with bright, multi-colored lights.
“Now what is keeping Peter? Does he need help with the luggage? I would send your father out there, but he threw his back out again.”
I study her for a moment. I think Becky was one of the little girls in that photo. Becky must be Sarah’s daughter.
Sarah goes to sit in her favorite chair. “I’m so thankful you married into a family without back problems. It will give your kids a better chance of not suffering like your father. But where is Peter?”
I sit down across from Sarah and pretend I’m plotting a novel. Okay, I’m Becky and I’m married to Peter. Sarah is my mother. It’s Christmas Eve, and Peter is supposed to be here with me. Why isn’t he here? “His flight was delayed. He’ll be here later.”
Sarah shakes her head. “Poor Peter. Flying is so miserable.”
I nod, and we sit in companionable silence for a moment. I hope that she’s not getting confused again. It’s easier for me when she’s stuck in one moment in time instead of skipping around. I can’t make sense of the characters when she changes scenes.
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to hang out with Dave all week. Calling him on the phone is out of the question because (1) I’m grounded and thus not allowed to use the phone, (2) even if I weren’t grounded, I’m not allowed to call boys because that is a sin, though don’t go looking for it in the Bible, and (3) calling him would be humiliating since he’s probably already engaged to Jamie by now.
But if I were to run into him, well, then, that would be something else. Then I could figure out what’s going on with him and Jamie . . . and me . . . without angering my parents or exposing myself to too much risk of embarrassment.
And truthfully, I almost waited until youth group tomorrow. I’ll definitely see him then. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that wouldn’t work. There are way too many people there to talk about anything serious. So I hoped I might run into him here with Mrs. Slater. Only, now that I’m here and I see how happy she is to see me, I feel like a jerk. I’m worried about a boy, and this poor woman doesn’t even know what year it is.
“Peter! You made it!”
I turn to the doorway and see Dave holding a bouquet of flowers and wearing a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tie. He bows deeply at the hips and kisses Sarah on the cheek.
“Flowers for the ultimate hostess.” He gives them to her.
Sarah takes a big whiff of them. “They smell wonderful. I’ll just put them in a vase.” She walks across her room and then stops. “Becky, take your husband’s coat, for goodness’ sake!”
I stand up and glance at Dave. Am I really supposed to pretend he’s my husband?
“Becky?” Dave says, arching an eyebrow at me. “Have you completely forgotten your manners?”
I glare at him. How can he think this is funny? “Well, of course not,” I say through my teeth. I walk over to Dave and help him take off his navy blue pea coat. As I stand behind him, I realize how tall he is and how broad his shoulders are.
“Mrs. Slater was wondering what kept you.” I hang his coat on the rack by the door. “I worried you had flight trouble. But maybe you had other plans?” Plans with Jamie? Hmm, Dave?
“Wait!” Mrs. Slater screams, staring at us. We both freeze. “Just stay right where you are! I have to get my camera!”
She digs in drawers and eventually pulls out an old disposable camera. I doubt it has any film left.
“I caught my two little lovebirds under the mistletoe,” Sarah sings.
I look above my head in horror. Sure enough someone has hung some fake greenery with white berries over Sarah’s door.
“That’s right,” Dave elbows me. “You caught us!”
I stare at him in horror and, truthfully, in hope. Is he going to kiss me? My heart starts racing. Will he do it on the lips? I need time to prepare for this, study up. I didn’t think my first kiss would come so unexpectedly. What about Jamie? Is this cheating?
“Becky, go on. Kiss your new hubby! I know you guys are crazy for each other. That’s why I’ve already got a grandbaby on the way.”
My face turns beet red and I hear Dave stifle a laugh. I know she doesn’t mean to imply that I’m fat, but just the thought that I’m . . . omigosh, this is so embarrassing.
Sarah comes over and peeks at us through the viewfinder of her camera. “You two are the cutest couple in the world.”
Dave grins broadly and puts his arm around me. “Thanks, Mrs. Slater. I couldn’t agree more.”
I look up at him to see if he meant it. He’s still smiling, and I suddenly feel very warm, and a little pleased. I also feel like I’m about to throw up.
“Peter, I don’t have all day. Please kiss Becky for me. She’s too shy.” Mrs. Slater points her camera at us.
“I—” I don’t even know what I’m going to say. I’m trying to stall. But then I feel Dave squeeze me tighter and put his soft, warm lips to my cheek.
“That’s it, now hold it.” Mrs. Slater walks forward to get a closeup. “Oh, you two are a hoot.”
I shut my eyes without realizing it. My heart is pounding in my chest. Nothing has ever felt so good. And then, in an instant, it’s all over. Sarah snaps the photo, Dave drops his arm, and awkwardness hangs in the air.
“I’ll get you a copy. Don’t worry.” Mrs. Slater walks back to the drawer to put the camera away.
“Mrs. Slater, I hope you’ll forgive me for kissing and running, but I have to go now.” Dave walks over to give her a hug.
“Now, don’t you worry. I know doctors have very irregular hours.” She gives Dave a hug. “Thank you for coming. You made Christmas Eve the best it’s ever been.”
Mrs. Slater walks Dave to the door. My shoes feel like they’re sewn to the carpet. He’s just leaving? What? For the life of me, I’ll never understand guys. I have to do something. “I’m going to walk Da . . . Peter to the car. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, hurry back.” She shakes her head at me. “The roast is going to dry out if we wait too much longer.”
Dave and I step outside, and he stops for a moment. “I love her.” Dave shakes his head.
For a moment, my ears hear “I love you,” but then I figure it out. “Yeah, she’s great.” I stand there, staring at him. What do I say?
“Listen, sorry I have to run. I’m meeting Jamie at our practice pad. She’s auditioning to join Three Car Garage, so I’ve really got to be there.”
My whole face crumbles. I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me.
“Dominguez, what’s wrong?”
“I, uh . . .”
“You like her, right? I thought you guys were friends.” Dave watches my face. I try to control it so that he won’t see how crushed I am.
“Yeah, she’s great.”
Dave looks relieved. “And what a set of lungs, right?” He gives me a pat on my shoulder. “Okay, see you around.”
“Right,” I say to no one, as he walks out the glass front door.
38
Maria parks our SUV in the garage. I tear open the passenger side door, open the door to our kitchen, and start screaming.
“Mom?” I call. My voice almost echoes back.
Maria shuffles in behind me. “She was here when I left.”
“Mom?” I call again. I wait a few more seconds and begin to draw another huge breath when I finally hear soft footsteps on the staircase.
“My goodness, Ana,” Mom says as she steps into the kitchen. “Why are you screaming bloody murder?”
“Because of this!” I raise my right arm and show my mom a piece of paper with the three best numbers in the world on it: 1-0-0. “It’s my logarithms test that Papá helped me with.”
Mom slides her reading glasses down to the tip of her nose and takes the paper out of my hand. Mackey wrote a note at the top that says, “Keep up the good work!” I nearly fainte
d when I saw it.
“Ana,” Mom whispers with reverence. “You did it! You did it!”
Spontaneously we both jump around for a moment to celebrate while Maria laughs at us.
“Well, this is just really something.” Mom starts shuffling papers on the front of our fridge and then tacks my test up there with a magnet that says ‘Think Thin Be Thin.’ It’s kind of lame—what am I? Four? But on the other hand, it’s kind of awesome. I worked so hard on that test.
Mom turns around and wraps me in a big, if a bit unpracticed, hug. “Just wait until your father hears. He’ll be so proud.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I shut my eyes and thank God again. When Mackey handed me my test back, I thought there had been a mix-up. I felt good while I was solving the problems, sure, but I’ve practically never made a hundred on a math test. “It feels really good.” I walk over to the pantry and search for a suitably naughty celebration snack.
“And you know what else this means?”
I turn back to Mom. She raises an eyebrow at me.
“You’re no longer grounded.”
“Really?!” I can’t help myself. I start to dance right in the pantry. This is so huge! I can have my life back. My parents said that my grounding would come to an end when they felt like it, and I was beginning to fear that that meant after I got married and started a family.
“Really, Ana.” She comes over and gives me another hug. “You deserve it. You have really buckled down on your studying, shown us the maturity we were looking for, and been thoughtful and considerate around the house. Now just remember to practice your piano more, and you’ll be right on target for the goals we set for you.”
I grab a package of Oreos and a paper plate. No one is allowed to eat without a plate in our house, no matter how small the bit of food. If Jesus himself came over and asked for a cracker, my mother would insist he used a plate. “I really never even thought I could do math, but Papá just knew how to explain it better than my math teacher.”
Mom smiles. “I’ll bet you’ll beat out Riley for the number-one spot in your class yet if you keep up this hard work.”
