A Life Like Mine

by Jorie Saldanha

  Giggles4ever: Then show it to the girls

  CoolCatAnita: Why would they want to listen to me?

  CoolCatAnita: They don’t like me very much

  Giggles4ever: Is there some show at our school that the girls would watch along with the rest of the school?

  CoolCatAnita: I don’t think so

  Giggles4ever: There’s got to be something

  CoolCatAnita: But what?

  Giggles4ever: When would Lena be most vulnerable?

  Giggles4ever: When she wouldn’t have time to make sure you weren’t around to bother her

  CoolCatAnita: When she’s cheering

  Giggles4ever: Is there any time that they show movies or something while they’re cheering

  I know, you’re probably yelling at me for not realizing I can do it the same time that I play Tom’s clips. Well, I didn’t figure that out until just now. Sorry, I’m a little slow when I’m excited about something.

  CoolCatAnita: Yes!

  Giggles4ever: What?

  Giggles4ever: Hello?

  Giggles4ever: Anita?

  CoolCatAnita: The honor’s night game!

  Giggles4ever: The what?

  CoolCatAnita: Right before the game, the team shows

  CoolCatAnita: Wait

  Giggles4ever: What? What are you talking about?

  CoolCatAnita: Never mind. It won’t work

  CoolCatAnita: Forget about it

  Giggles4ever: What else can you do?

  Giggles4ever: I can’t think of anything

  CoolCatAnita: Neither can I.

  CoolCatAnita: I’ll figure something out though. Don’t even worry about it

  Giggles4ever: Okay

  CoolCatAnita: Well, I’ve got to go. Bye, and thanks

  Giggles4ever: No problem, go get her!

  Giggles4ever: Bye

  CoolCatAnita: Bye (Signed off)

  You’re probably wondering why I acted as if that plan didn’t work and didn’t explain it. Right? Well, even though this girl did tell me about some very good information against Lena, she still might tell somebody my plan. So if she doesn’t know what I’m going to do, or who I am, there’s no way it can get linked back to me. Get it? I know, I’m brilliant. You don’t have to tell me…Well, tell me anyway. Come on, praise me! Well, if you don’t want to that’s fine. After all I’ve told you, haven’t we bonded at all? Guess not. Well, whatever. I still have to find a way to get to Lena. You know, get the information. A plan is nothing without having anything to back it up with. It looks like my next stop is Adam’s house and then I should go and find Lena. The only thing I have to do is get the info! That’s it! Aren’t you proud of me? Well, you should be.

  Chapter 13

  Dreams

  Dreams…well lately, my dreams have been really weird. I had this dream the other night that I was in a field and Adam was at the end of it. I kept running and running towards him, but no matter what I did I couldn’t get to him. The closer I thought I was getting, the farther away I actually was. Then, suddenly, he stopped getting farther and farther away. I was able to get to him, but when I got there he was with a girl that I didn’t recognize. She looked like a major criminal that had just gotten out of prison. He waved and took the girl’s hand, extending it towards me. She had a ring on her finger. I couldn’t stop staring at it. Then I seemed to fall into the ring, and I just keep falling and falling. Just when I was about to hit rock bottom, I woke up. What kind of a freakish dream is that? I would much rather have dreams about me going to school naked. Well, ok, those are good dreams…heehee, I’m just kidding… sort of. The dream that I really wished I’d had was how to get Adam out of the problem that he was going through. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone over it in my head. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to find a way to fix it. It’s just not working. I don’t know what to do about it either. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. I’m weird that way. You don’t care about what I’m thinking you just want me to get my revenge on Tom and Lena. Right? Just say yes, even if I’m not right. Humor me. Well, I think it’s best that I go over and talk to Adam about how I’m feeling first.

  I walked up to Adam’s…er…Hank’s doorstep and rang the doorbell. I looked around. Nothing seemed to stir inside the house. Odd. I rang the doorbell again. Then I heard a huge thump from up above. It sounded like someone had fallen. Then the door opened. There stood Hank, in a pair of pajama bottoms, without a shirt on. Wow! That’s pretty much all I can say…Wow.

  “Hi…” Hank said combing his hands though his hair in a very Adam-like manner.

  “Uh,” was all that I could say.

  “Sorry, I would have thrown a shirt on, but I just woke up when you rang the doorbell.” He looked at my face, then down at his body. He kind of blushed and then tried to regain his composure the way that I couldn’t.

  “Uh…”

  “Well.” Hank laughed to himself with a look of discomfort in his eyes, “Let me go get Adam for you.” He left the door open for me, as I walked in. I’d never been inside Hank’s house before. It was amazingly clean. To tell the truth, it really didn’t look like anyone lived there. The house was completely bare. The only things that occupied the empty room were boxes.

  “Still haven’t unpacked yet?” I asked.

  “Uh…” Hank bit his lip, “I guess you could say that.” He headed up the stairs.

  “Okay,” I was able to at least pick my tongue off of the floor before Adam showed up.

  “I’ll be right back.” Hank said. He headed up the spiraling stairs. I heard mumbling voices. One belonged to Hank, he was whispering in a scolding tone. Adam’s voice escalated into an angry roar. Then I heard Hank raise his voice a little. I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

  “Ash!” I heard Adam say as he descended the stairs towards me. Sadly, he was fully dressed in a plain white t-shirt and pajama bottoms. DARN!

  “Hi. Are you and Hank having problems?” I asked.

  “Nah. He just wants me to do something that I’m not ready to do, that’s all. How are you?” He gave me a big bear hug.

  “What do you mean? What does Hank want you to do?” I looked at him curiously.

  “Nothing. Never mind. It’s not a big deal. So how are you?” Adam continued.

  “Does it have anything to do with Hank letting you live with him permanently? Like, as in adoption?” I asked with excitement.

  “No,” Adam gave me a confused look. “What would give you an idea like that?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied with a disappointed tone. “If that’s not what it is, then what is it?”

  “It’s nothing. Now will you please drop it?” Adam’s eyes turned hard and serious.

  “Fine.” I looked away because the harshness of his eyes creeped me out!

  “Thanks, so how are you for the third time?” Adam grabbed my hand.

  “Still upset about our last face to face meeting.” I answered.

  “Awwww. Come on, don’t be like that.” He nuzzled my neck.

  “Whoa. Slow down, cowboy. Can’t we ever just talk?”

  “Yeah, but why can’t I show you that I care, and why can’t you just forgive me for once?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You drag arguments out until I can’t even remember what they were about anymore.” Adam laughed, combing his hand through his tousled hair.

  “I didn’t know that’s how you felt. I’ll try and watch for that. Anyway, I do forgive you, but I just don’t like that you jump me the minute you see me.”

  “Whoa. Hold on. I’m jumping you?” Adam stood up straighter.

  “That’s what it feels like to me.”

  “Well, I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep my slimy hands off of you,” Adam joked.

  “Very funny!” I chided back.

  “Why did you come over here anyway?” He asked me.

  “Well…I wanted to know what it is you wanted to tell me last night.” I lied.

  “Oh, well
…that was really…” Adam’s eyes shifted around the room behind me.

  “What?” I asked searching for his eyes to look at mine.

  “I can’t really remember.” He smiled at me, but I wasn’t buying it. “No, really, I can’t remember.”

  “What makes you think that I’m going to let you off that easy?” I asked.

  “The fact that I’m never going to answer your question.”

  “And why not?” I asked indignantly.

  “I already told you,” Adam grinned. “I don’t remember.”

  “Okay,” I answered. “Well, you know how we were talking about getting back at Tom?”

  “Sure, what about it?” Adam walked me into the kitchen.

  “Well, I know how we can get back at Lena too! You know, hitting two birds with one stone. Or like a two for the price of one deal.”

  Adam’s eye lit up. “Oh, like the sales that they have at Bath and Body Works!” I looked at him with a surprised and amused look on my face. Adam looked at his feet, “But I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

  “Mmmhmmm,” I smirked.

  “So,” He cleared his throat. “Do you really think we should mess with such an evil couple?”

  “What do you mean couple?” I asked.

  “They’re going out now. Didn’t you know that? I’m a guy, and I know that,” Adam said.

  “I didn’t know that. How long has that been going on?”

  “For... a while,” Adam told me.

  “Well, okay then. Anyway, what do you think of getting both Lena and Tom?”

  “What do you plan on doing so we can get back at Lena too?

  “Well…here’s what I think we should do. I think that we should not only make a DVD of all of Tom’s basketball flubs, but also of Lena doing something against the Cheerleader code.”

  “And an example of that would be…?” Adam gestured for me to elaborate.

  “Well, I was chatting with some girls who have a bone to pick with Lena. They all know for a fact that she is completely fake in every aspect of her anatomy, and…”

  “Whoa! Way too much information.” Adam put his fingers into his ears as if to tell me he wasn’t listening anymore.

  “Very cute.” I plucked his fingers out of his ears. “She also dated Jill and Liz’s brothers. Not only that, but she also has been embezzling money from the cheerleading funds and using it for herself while giving cheering secrets to our rivals!”

  “No!” Adam said with mock surprise and interest. “The Panthers?”

  “You’re making fun of me?” I scrunched my nose.

  “No!” Adam started laughing at me. “It’s just that…Well, come on. Embezzling, huh? You make it sound like these chicks work for wall street or something!”

  “Are you listening to me? This is our ticket to get back at Lena.”

  “You’re kidding, right? How are we supposed to get back at Lena? Just because she MIGHT have done this doesn’t mean that she has. You talked to some random girls on the Internet. They could have been old men with and open robe in women’s underwear surfing the net for a young girl to flirt with before Matlock reruns were on TV!”

  “Ewwww!” I shuddered, continuing, “How do you know about that kind of gross stuff?”

  “My Uncle Bob.” Adam shrugged, grabbing an apple out of the refrigerator and taking a huge bite out of it.

  “Seriously, does everyone have an Uncle Bob? I don’t think there’s a single family that doesn’t have a Bob in the family!”

  “Well, I don’t know if that’s true, but there are a lot of Bob’s in this place we call Earth.”

  “Are you going philosophical on me, or something?” I asked.

  “No. I’m just talking about my Uncle Bob in women’s lingerie, surfing the net for chicks.”

  “That’s disgusting! You actually have family like that?” I stuck out my tongue in revulsion.

  “Hey, doesn’t every family have a freak of nature in their family?” “Well…” I said.

  “Admit it, every family has someone in it with a screw loose.”

  “I guess that’s true,” I concurred.

  “And besides, just because he’s a weird perve doesn’t mean what he’s doing is illegal. He never actually meets these girls…I don’t think.” Adam took another bite out his apple.

  “Okay, let’s change the subjects fast!” I said. “So, are you saying that my plan is a bad idea?”

  “No.” Adam looked at me sympathetically, putting his arm around my shoulders while I looked at him affectionately. “I’m saying it’s a horrible idea.”

  “Hey!” I shoved his arm away from me.

  “Come on,” He burst into laughter. “You’ve got to give me cool points for that. You have to admit it was quite the burn!”

  “Cool points? Are we on Ghetto Feud now?” I joked.

  “Come on admit it!” Adam continued as if he hadn’t heard me.”

  “I don’t have to admit anything. Hey, do you have any single friends? I seem to be on the market again.” I sneered, teasingly.

  “Now that…wasn’t funny.” Adam grabbed a box of Fruit Loops, and he started eating right out of the box with his bare hands. What a pig. He sleeps in and then he eats like a barbarian who has never seen food before in his life.

  “Oh, I disagree, I think that mine was quite the burn,” I imitated his voice. “Anyway, you don’t think we can catch Lena doing something underhanded?”

  “I just don’t think that it will get her kicked off of the squad. I think we need to do something where we get her to confess to all of it over the intercom at school. That way everyone hears her and decides to hate her.” Adam accidentally spit out a few Fruit Loops as he spoke.

  “Oh, please! There’s a lot of things wrong with that plan.”

  “Like what,” Adam said between chewing and swallowing.

  “First, everyone already hates Lena.”

  “Second?” Adam egged me on.

  “Second, that’s so a scene from a teenie-bopper movie!”

  “Is not!” He crossed his arms defiantly. “If anything it’s from a romantic comedy, or something.”

  “No! You’re a closet chick-flick watcher! I knew it! I knew there was something different about you.” I pointed my finger at him.

  “I never said that! I never ever said anything close to that at all!” Adam put his hands up in defense.

  “Whatever. We both have pretty much the same idea. Let’s just deal with Tom then. You said Hank has recordings from every game?” I asked.

  “That’s right. Oh, and he’s got a couple of shots where you can see clearly that Tom is cheating.”

  “Perfect!” I gave him a kiss.

  “I like this. Why don’t we do this more often?” Adam asked me.

  “Because you always make such a huge deal out of it. If you left it alone for a little while, I might kiss you more,” I told him.

  “Okay. Don’t ever kiss me then.” Adam winked.

  “I’m not talking about reverse psychology you loser!” I smirked. “And that doesn’t work on me either!”

  “Awwww man. A guy can always hope, right?” He hugged me.

  “You’re such a geek!” I nudged him. “Well, let’s get to work on this DVD then, shall we?”

  “Good idea, Captain.” Adam saluted me. “Operation Visual Embarrassment is about to commence.”

  “You’ve been watching Charlie’s Angels again, haven’t you?” I giggled.

  “I’m shocked and offended at these accusations!” Adam gasped.

  “Fine, then what have you been watching?” I asked.

  “Did I say you were wrong?” Adam gave me a sheepish grin.

  “You’re such an idiot!” I told him.

  “You know, all your insults…they hurt. They hurt me right here.” Adam gave me a mock serious face and put his hand on his heart.

  “You’re such a liar!”

  “Do you see what I mean? All this abuse? It stings me. It sting
s me real bad right here.”

  “Cut it out!” I chuckled.

  “No, that’s what you did to my heart, babe. You cut it out.”

  “No, I’m serious. Stop it!” I laughed harder.

  “I can’t stop the pain. It’s all your doing anyway.” Adam took his finger from his eye and ran it down his cheek like a tear. “You make me cry.”

  “I do not. Now can we get down to business, please?”

  “Oh, dirty!” Adam smiled flirtatiously.

  “You have one sick mind, do you know that?” I smiled in reply.

  “I’m a guy.”

  “Is that all you have to say for yourself?” I asked.

  “Well, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. Don’t you?”

  “That’s not what I asked. I asked if that’s all you had to say for yourself. And if that’s all you actually do have to say for yourself, well, then I’m dating a dork.”

  “Did I ever say that I wasn’t a dork? I don’t believe that I ever said I was a non-dork.” Adam defended himself.

  “Hey, now you’re making up words!” I said. “It looks like I’m rubbing off on you!”

  “It seems that way, doesn’t it?”

  “Can I ask you something, Adam?” I looked up at him intently.

  “Whatever your heart desires!” Adam sat down on the only piece of furniture in his family room; it was a couch.

  “Why are you and Hank having problems?” I sat down next to him.

  “We’re not.” Adam looked at me, “Now let’s make this DVD.”

  “Okay.” I grinned.

  Adam and I spent the entire afternoon making the best DVD that we could. There was no way that he wouldn’t get kicked off of the team. He had done some very bad things, and it was about time that he dealt with the consequences. It took Adam and me forever because half of the time we were either talking or kissing. By the time we were finished with the final copy of the DVD, it was time for me to go home.

  “Well, I think we made a great DVD.” I told him.

  “We made a DVD? I just remember having a good time with my sexy girlfriend.” Adam gave me a lopsided grin.

  “That’s all you ever think about.” I laughed, and then said, “Well, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”