The Boyfriend Bracket

by Kate Evangelista

  Will had to reread the e-mail several times. Almost immediately, the first person he wanted to tell was Stella. She would freak. A part of him thought it might be some prank. But he recognized the agency. Once upon a time, Will toyed with the idea of sending the comic out for either representation or publication. But he had been anonymous, and having it published sort of defeated the purpose of the secrecy. Now an agent had actually approached him. He would still have to verify the validity of the e-mail, of course. But to have Morla published?

  Breathing became difficult. Will couldn’t believe what he was reading. The number below the agent’s name begged him to make the call. But he couldn’t do it in the car. Not where Cam could hear. Not anywhere anyone could hear. Especially when he was going to spaz like a dweeb. He nibbled at the side of his thumb. What if Cam found out? No, he couldn’t think about that. Anyway, what was the harm of one call? It wasn’t like he had to commit to anything afterward. He was happy with the current state of The Adventures of Morla the Witch Hunter.

  * * *

  STELLA GLANCED AT the clock. Any minute, Will and her brother would walk through the front door. She had estimated their arrival based on Will’s text letting her know they were on the way. Barring traffic, they’d be on time.

  With every minute that passed, her nerves grew tenfold. She had never been this excited to see Will. During previous Thanksgiving dinners, all she’d felt were the normal jitters that came with seeing her crush. Having dinner with him. All that. But this time was different. She was dating her crush. And it was a secret. Only two people outside of Will and Stella knew. Franklin, because of course he should know. And Nana. She’d caught them making out on the couch one afternoon when they thought she had been out on an errand. All she’d done was smile knowingly at Will and say, “Carry on.” Then she’d left them alone. They must have laughed for a good thirty minutes out of sheer relief.

  To keep from obsessing, she focused on setting the table. Will had made her promise that they would keep things casual. But how exactly was she supposed to do that when all she wanted was to show him off? In some circles of Oak Hills High, dating William Montgomery was considered an achievement of the highest order. How was a girl supposed to keep that to herself? It was like winning the gold medal at the Olympics and not being able to tell anyone about it. But she had said she would try. And try she would.

  Once the table was set, Stella headed into the kitchen. Her mother and Nana were hard at work. Had been since the crack of dawn. The turkey was in the oven. Potatoes were mashed. Corn buttered. Green beans steamed. And the adobo was simmering in the pot. The smell brought a wide smile to her lips. Her first Thanksgiving with Will. Sort of. As in dating. She pushed down as much of the giddy joy as possible.

  She was about to ask what she could do to help when the front door opened and shut.

  “Camron’s home!” their mother exclaimed as she was checking on the turkey.

  Nana made a similar exclamation about Will. Stella’s heart jumped. She hurried from the kitchen to catch her mom hugging Cam and Nana hugging Will, then they switched. Both guys were all smiles. But Stella’s eyes were all on Will. It might as well have been an eternity instead of a week since she last saw him. Her heart leaped when he smiled. She had missed him. More than she thought someone should ever miss another person.

  Without thinking, Stella walked over to where Cam and Will stood.

  “Hi!” she exclaimed, her voice higher than it should have been. She threw her arms wide and hugged Will, giving him a kiss on the cheek in the process.

  She realized what she had done the second she pulled back—Will’s face was beet red, and Cam, her mom, and Nana were watching them. So, turning toward her brother, she repeated the same action. A squeal of a “Hi” and a tight hug ending in a kiss on the cheek.

  “You’re happy to see us?” Cam said, eyebrow raised. “Normally you’d be stomping on my foot by now.”

  “I just missed you guys,” she said, hopefully covering up coming on too strong.

  Thank God her mother saved the day by saying, “Dinner is almost ready.”

  “Can we help with anything?” Cam asked, shrugging out of his light jacket.

  “No!” their mother said with a curt wave of her finger. “Do you remember the last time you were in my kitchen?”

  Cam’s shoulders came up to his ears. “I was making you breakfast.”

  “And almost burning down the house. So, no! You go watch your game.”

  Unfazed by their mother’s abrupt tone, Cam gave her a salute and made his way to the couch. The TV was already on before Mom and Nana reached the kitchen.

  “I’ll go grab us some snacks,” Will said. He walked past Stella, not making eye contact.

  With shaking knees, Stella followed along. The look on Will’s face said it all.

  * * *

  DINNER WAS AWKWARD. For Will, anyway. The rest of the table seemed fine. Somehow he’d ended up sitting beside Stella, and he hadn’t been expecting that. Normally he sat between Cam and Nana.

  He couldn’t even enjoy his adobo. His stomach was in knots. He pushed pieces of pork around. His tongue felt like sandpaper, unable to taste anything. Stella kept touching her leg against his. And every time that happened, he’d jump and pull away.

  Eventually, he leaned toward her and whispered, “Cam is like three feet away. Will you stop doing that?”

  She didn’t respond. Instead her shoulders stiffened. There was no thigh touching after that. She didn’t even look his way anymore. Instant guilt assaulted Will. She looked so pretty in that pink sweater too. The skirt showed off her legs. Had she dressed for him? He wanted badly to find out.

  “Everything okay?” Nana whispered as she leaned closer.

  “I’m fine,” he said back.

  “You’ve barely touched your food since we started.”

  “I’m not that hungry.” He pushed away from the table, not sure why, but he had to be somewhere else. Everyone paused and looked up at him. Quickly, he picked up his half-empty glass of soda. “Just need ice.”

  Nana pushed away from the table and grabbed her own glass. “Me too.”

  Stella’s eyebrows came together. Will turned and shuffled to the kitchen, Nana hot on his heels. Sounds of dinner resumed.

  “I find it hard to believe that you’re not hungry,” she said when they reached the privacy of the kitchen.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Will insisted, filling his glass with ice he didn’t particularly want.

  “Sometimes people don’t say what they actually mean.”

  “Nana, don’t.”

  “You will have to tell everyone eventually.” His grandmother ignored the warning in his tone and studied him like her gaze knew the truth. “She deserves to openly show her affections for you. As do you.”

  “Well, we all know that’s not going to happen. Can we drop it?” When she scowled at him, he added, “Please?”

  “I did not raise a coward.”

  Will sucked in a breath. He locked eyes with Nana. There was a hint of annoyance in her eyes. She was right. He knew she was right. But the timing was wrong. It was obvious Stella was hurt. He had to do something about that.

  A seed of determination grew in Will. He wasn’t leaving this house knowing Stella was upset with him. Glass cooling in his hand from the ice, he made his way back to the table. Glancing at Stella, who was still resolutely ignoring him, Will settled in to enjoy his adobo. After all, he was going to need the energy to come up with a way to make Stella happy again.

  “Eat up,” Nana whispered into his ear as she sat down, reading his mind like she always did. “Warriors always need their strength.”

  For the first time that night, food began tasting good again. He even got seconds.

  * * *

  STELLA EXPECTED THE guys to eat their desserts in front of the game. Nana and her mom were busy putting away leftovers. She had been content to wash the dishes by herself. Unfortunately, she had a
n unwanted assistant.

  “You don’t need to be here,” she said, pulling on rubber gloves.

  “I’m happy to help” was Will’s resolute reply.

  The cheer in his voice set her teeth on edge. She plunged her plastic-gloved hand into the sink filled with soapy water and grabbed a plate. With the brush in her other hand, she scrubbed vigorous circles on its surface, ridding it of leftover gravy and cranberry sauce and a layer of porcelain. Then she handed the plate rather aggressively to Will, who took it—almost dropping it—and placed it in the dishwasher. She was committed to ignoring him.

  On the third plate, Will said, “I’m sor—”

  “There’s no need. I was wrong. You were right” was Stella’s caustic reply.

  “Is that it, then?” Will asked casually. Like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Of course. You said we needed to be careful. I was obviously way too excited to spend this Thanksgiving with you. So yeah, all my fault.”

  “I wasn’t—” Will took a deep breath, looked over his shoulder, then modulated his voice before continuing. “What I’m trying to say here is I was wrong.”

  “Oh, so suddenly you want to flaunt that we’re dating?” Stella rubbed a plate so hard that suds were flying everywhere.

  Will shoved the plate she handed over harder than the others into the dishwasher. “Look, when you kissed me on the cheek earlier, I was taken aback. I wasn’t prepared for it. Good save, by the way.”

  “That’s not what it looked like from where I was standing. You were about to hurl.”

  “I was in shock. Why do I even need to defend myself?”

  “I get it. Cam was there.” Stella turned her head to face him and whisper-hissed, “So what are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the living room pretending I mean nothing to you?”

  “Stella, don’t be this way. I’m trying to make amends here.”

  She looked away from the sincerity on Will’s face. “It’s just … I’m sorry, too, okay? It’s hard keeping this just between us.”

  “I know. I know.” Even with damp hands, Will still combed his fingers through his hair. Unruly strands fell over his forehead. “Don’t you think I want to shout from the rooftops that we’re dating?”

  “What about my brother?”

  “If you stop interrupting me, I’ll tell you.”

  Stella focused on the crystal glasses next. She tried to be gentle. To break one was to invite the wrath of her mother. They were a set and used only on special occasions.

  Will took her silence and ran with it. “Cam can’t know. You and I agreed. But I didn’t mean to be distant today. In fact, I actually have great news I wanted to share with you.”

  “Oh?” Stella hated how hopeful she sounded. She should be ice-cold. Ice-cold! Not falling for his words.

  “I got an e-mail from an agent today. He wants to represent the comic.”

  “What?!” she burst out, almost dropping a glass.

  “Shh!”

  They both looked over their shoulders. Thankfully, no one was in the kitchen with them.

  Stella modulated her voice. “You mean, like, an actual agent?”

  “Yeah,” Will said. “He said I should call him.”

  “You should! You definitely should,” Stella encouraged, practically bouncing on her feet. “I’m so happy for you!”

  “Yeah?” He gave her a shy smile.

  In her happiness, Stella checked if the coast was clear one more time. Then she jumped to her toes, placed a quick kiss on Will’s lips. He sucked in a breath in surprise. But instead of pulling away like he had done, he smiled. A bright smile. The kind of smile that showed all his feelings all at once.

  “I’ll give him a call,” he said.

  TEN

  HOLIDAY CRUSH RUSH

  Stella’s head spun like a top. There was so much to do before Christmas Eve. The second school was out, her mother had whisked her away to the mall. And so began their arduous process of shopping for presents.

  Stella used to love shopping. What girl obsessed with fashion didn’t? But the act had lost its appeal when she’d learned how to sew her own clothes and she’d realized being in the middle of huge crowds wasn’t fun. The air vibrated with stress. It was supposed to be the most wonderful time of year, yet almost everyone she passed was scowling. A certain kind of frenzy and manic insanity came out of even the nicest people during the holidays.

  It also didn’t help that she missed her dad the most during the holidays. Actually, all of her family did. Sometimes she would still catch her mom looking at ties, socks, and polo shirts with the intent of buying them. She would play it off as if she were thinking about giving them to Cam, but Stella knew the truth. Cam even called more often. Stella suspected being away in college was messing with his being the man of the house.

  What really bothered Stella was how she and Will seemed to have grown apart. She understood that school was hectic. He had final projects to submit. It cut down on his visits home. He said he needed the time to work and get things done. Stella thought she was good about being patient too. But still she sent texts, each growing sadder by the minute. “How are you?” His response was “Fine.” When she sent him an “I miss you” text, all she got for a reply was a smiley-face emoji. And when all she could come up with was a sad-face meme, she got crickets. Like, nothing. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. It was obvious texting wasn’t cutting it anymore. With things just starting out, especially after the stress of Thanksgiving, both of them being so busy was worrying her.

  After a long afternoon at the mall, Stella was ready to go to bed. Her feet ached. Her arms hurt from carrying too many bags. And her stomach sloshed from the giant icee she’d allowed herself as a reward. Not even the added sugar in her system could keep her motivated to stay awake.

  “Oh, you’re here,” she said when she entered her room and dumped her shopping bags on the floor. “Did we make plans and I forgot?”

  Franklin sat cross-legged on her bed. “I guess it’s safe to say that the Boyfriend Bracket is finally over?”

  She glanced at the board and pouted. “Yeah. Not that Will and I are talking much these days.”

  “Everyone’s busy. It’s understandable,” he said in a consoling tone. “So should we get rid of it? The board, I mean.”

  Stella flopped onto her bed beside him. “Nah. It’s so pretty. And you worked so hard on it. Let’s keep it where it is.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not.”

  “It’s definitely a compliment. You are the bestest friend in the world. Thank you so, so much for putting this bracket together for me.” She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Will that she was home.

  “So humor me; who would have won if the bracket continued till the end?”

  Puffing her cheeks and staring at the board, she thought long and hard about the answer until her vision blurred. Then she breathed out and said, “I’d go with Joey. I liked him from the beginning.”

  “Yes!” Franklin threw his hands up. “I knew it. Five stars, five hearts can’t be wrong!”

  Her jaw dropped. “Were you taking bets or something?”

  “Maybe.”

  She smacked his arm. He flinched away and laughed. Then he grew serious again.

  “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something before I leave for Korea,” he began.

  “A trip sounds nice right about now. When are you leaving?”

  “Couple of days.”

  “Make sure to bring something cute back for me, okay?”

  The small smile on Franklin’s lips came and went so fast, Stella wasn’t sure she’d actually seen it. “Yeah. I’ll do that. Look, I wanted to ask you again about the fashion show. Are you sure you don’t want to participate? It’s great exposure.”

  “Can we not right now?” Stella rubbed her forehead. “I’ve been walking all day. The mall was a madhouse. And Mom was looking at socks again.”

&nb
sp; “It’s about your dad, huh?”

  “The holidays are still tough. That’s why feeling this disconnect with Will is so depressing. I’m missing way too many people at once.”

  “I’m here.”

  From her position, she hugged him and buried her face in his side. The second she closed her eyes, all the weight she had been carrying came crashing down. She was asleep before she knew it.

  * * *

  THE UNFORTUNATE THING about going to bed early? Stella was awake before the sun. She crept to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk and made a breakfast sandwich to eat in her bedroom. Maybe she could get a jump on her winter-formal dress. The event was still over a month away, but it didn’t hurt to get the initial concept on paper. She had nothing better to do.

  Back in her room, she set her plate and glass on her desk. She brought half the sandwich to her lips. She was about to take a bite when her eyes wandered to her window. There was a white envelope taped to the outside.

  She set the sandwich down and wiped her hands on her pajama bottoms. Giddy curiosity had her lifting the latch and pushing the pane high enough to ease her arm outside. The second her fingers closed around the envelope, she yanked it from the glass and brought it inside.

  It didn’t take long for her to rip it open and read its contents. At first she couldn’t believe her eyes. She read the words again. The letters were in a clean, bold handwriting she would recognize anywhere. For the third pass through, she read out loud.

  “Slappy, I know we’ve both been busy.” She smiled. “I know I haven’t come home in a while. And I dropped the ball on texting you back. Can you please let me make it up to you?” She snorted. “The first clue is waiting at the place where you proved Cam and me wrong. Yours, Will.”

  She looked out the window. Dawn was chasing away the night. She had no idea how long the envelope had been taped to her window. And she didn’t know if the hunt had a time limit. Will wasn’t seriously waiting for her, was he?

  As if her feet had sprouted wings, Stella got dressed and ran out of the house. The holidays had given her such a solid beating these past few days that she had forgotten what a wonderful time it was. Will was in town! Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. All she had to do was go on this hunt and find him.