by Tina Wells
Zee sighed and turned to Jasper. “What do you think I should get my dad?” she asked. “You’re a guy.”
“Thank you for noticing,” Jasper said, shuffling his feet. He was still getting used to his new sneakers.
Zee rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
Jasper adjusted his glasses. “Tickets to a Galaxy game?” he suggested.
“Soccer?” Zee asked. “Dad’s not a big fan.”
“Your dad will like whatever you get for him,” Jasper said. “You don’t have to make a big deal out of it.”
“That’s it!” Zee shouted.
“What?” Jasper asked, confused.
“I should make something for him.”
“Did I say that?” Jasper asked.
Chloe shrugged. “Only sort of. But it doesn’t matter. It’s a great idea.”
“Like decorate a picture frame,” Zee suggested.
“Awesome! I’ll make one for my mom, too. Her birthday is in two weeks,” Chloe added.
“Cool beans!” Zee said. “You want to join us, Jasper? We can talk about your part in the musical.”
“I’d rather not be reminded,” Jasper declined.
What’s up with Jasper? Zee wondered. Then her Sidekick beeped with a text. “Darn it!”
“What?” Chloe asked.
Zee showed the screen to Chloe.
>Can’t. My family’s @ our cabin in Tahoe over break.
“Landon’s family went out of town for break. I asked him to rehearse with me,” Zee said. “I have so many lines to learn. I’m afraid I’ll never get them all memorized in time unless I practice every day.”
Jasper began to walk slightly ahead of the girls.
“You’ve got some big scenes with Jasper, too,” Chloe pointed out. “Why don’t you run lines with him?”
“That’s a good idea!” Zee said. Then she called to him, “Will you help me, Jasper?”
“That would be brilliant,” Jasper told her. “And I think I will make prezzies with you. My nana’s coming for a visit from England soon. She’d love a homemade frame with a picture of her favorite grandson.”
“Aren’t you her only grandson?” Chloe asked.
“You don’t have to nitpick,” Jasper said, smiling.
Chloe IMed Zee after dinner.
* * *
SOCCERNOW: Did ur dad like his present?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Yes, but it was still a little wet when I gave it 2 him.
* * *
* * *
SOCCERNOW: I think this was J’s 1st time using glue.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: LOL! His was kinda messy…. He’s been acting weird.
* * *
It took Chloe a while to respond.
* * *
SOCCERNOW: What do u mean?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: It’s like he gets mad at me 4 no reason.
* * *
* * *
SOCCERNOW: That doesn’t sound like him.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: I know. That’s what’s strange.
* * *
7
The New Girl (and Boy)
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Bonjour!
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Hey!
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: How was ur long weekend?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Good. I practiced 4 the musical w J. We’ve still got A LOT 2 learn!
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: J? Y not L?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: He went away 4 break. PLUS I still have no idea if he likes me.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: I just got my new Flip mag. There’s a whole article about how 2 tell if a guy likes u.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: 411 pls.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: It’s all stuff about body language. Like does he touch his hair when u get close?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: He does!
* * *
Zee’s heart pounded at the thought.
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Does he make up excuses to call and email u?
* * *
Hmmmm.
* * *
E-ZEE: No.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: That doesn’t mean anything all by itself. There’s a whole list. I’ll fax it 2 u.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: U r the best!!!!
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: LYLAS!!
* * *
Zee ran downstairs to her father’s home office where the fax machine was already humming. She grabbed the pages and picked up a pen off the nearby cherrywood desk. She headed back to her room and curled up in her comfy chair where she focused on the quiz questions.
1. Does he touch his hair when you’re nearby? a. Yes.
b. Sometimes.
c. No.
Zee circled a.
2. Does he sit next to you at lunch? a. Yes.
b. Sometimes.
c. No.
Sometimes, Zee thought, but the whole music class can say that—except Kathi, who got to circle a.
3. When you turn his way, is he looking at you?
No. That wasn’t going to help her score, but it was true.
Zee went through the rest of the questions.
4. Does he stumble or drop things when you’re around?
5. Does he stammer when he talks to you?
Zee circled sometimes for those two and for most of the remaining questions. Then she totaled her answers and checked her score. “Inconclusive,” she read. “It’s hard to tell if your cutie is crushing on you or not. But keep an eye on him to see how things develop.”
“Ohmylanta!” Zee said out loud. She took out her diary.
* * *
3 Reasons I’ll Be Happy Break Is Over
1. Getting to see Landon again.
2. Getting to see if Landon likes me!
3. Getting to work on the musical.
(With Landon, of course.)
* * *
“Wait up!” Chloe called out to Zee, who was speed walking to first period. “I can hardly keep up with you.”
“Sorry,” Zee said, stopping so her friend could walk beside her. “I’m just so excited, because”—she paused—“after four days away, I’m ready to get to work on Taking Sides.”
“You’re not going to be able to sing a note if you’re winded,” Chloe pointed out as the girls rounded the corner and entered the room.
“That’s why I want to get there….” Zee’s voice trailed off.
Two unfamiliar figures stood at Mr. P’s desk—a girl with a teddy bear backpack purse and a tall boy with his hair spiked up on top. They both wore Brookdale Academy uniforms.
Landon entered the room, too. Yay! Zee thought, smiling in his direction. Landon didn’t notice. His eyes were glued on the new girl.
As Landon reached up to smooth down the hair on top of his head, Zee remembered the magazine quiz she’d taken the day before. “Does he touch his hair when you’re nearby?” Ugh!
The girl stopped talking to Mr. P and turned around. She was incredibly pretty, with silky, shiny brown hair and a button nose. Her dark eyes were circled by long eyelashes. She looked at Landon, who was staring right at her.
“When you turn his way, is he looking at you?” Zee remembered another question from the quiz. This super-pretty student could definitely circle yes.
As Landon headed to his seat, he tripped. “Does he stumble or drop things when you’re around?” Yikes! It just got worse and worse.
Ohmylanta! Zee’s heart felt like someone were stomping on it. Having
perfect Kathi around to steal Landon’s attention had been bad enough. Now there was this new girl. Was she going to ruin everything for Zee—right at the moment Zee was beginning to think Landon really might like her back?
Jasper turned Zee’s way and grinned. “What?” Zee whispered.
“It looks like Landon might have a thing for the new girl.”
Zee sighed. If Jasper had noticed, Zee knew she was in trouble.
The new girl accidentally bumped Zee’s leg with her violin case. “Oh, I’m such a klutz. Are you okay?” she apologized, giving Zee a sweet smile. A real one. Now Zee felt even worse. The girl couldn’t help the fact that she was so pretty. And if she was nice, who cared what she looked like?
Chloe elbowed Zee out of her thoughts and gestured to the new boy, who high-fived Marcus, then sat down next to him. The new boy put his sax case on the floor.
Marcus looked at the other students, who were staring at him. “Oh. This is Conrad. We met at the music store this weekend,” he explained. “Then we hung out.”
Landon’s mouth dropped open. It was obvious he had no idea Marcus had made a new friend over break.
Chloe wiggled her eyebrows up and down at the boy. Zee had to admit, with his dark eyes and spiky hair, he was cute—not gorgeously handsome like Landon, of course, but cute.
“Listen up, everyone,” Mr. P said, quieting down the students. “We lucked out and got two additions to the class. This is Missy Vasi,” he said, nodding toward the girl, “and Conrad Mitori,” he added, tilting his head in the other direction. “The timing is perfect. Over the break I realized that our leads don’t have understudies. Missy and Conrad have agreed to learn those parts and fill in if necessary.”
“You mean, they won’t get to be in the musical unless Zee or Landon can’t play their parts?” Kathi asked. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Good point,” Mr. P said.
A huge smile spread across Kathi’s face as she proudly looked around the room. “Thanks!”
“We could use more people in Lily’s and Dylan’s groups of friends,” Mr. P began, “so Missy and Conrad would be great there.”
“Would it be okay if Conrad and I worked on mixing music, too?” Marcus asked. “Missy could take my place on sets.”
“That would be awesome,” Missy said. “I love to do scenery.”
“Yes!” said Conrad. “DJ Conrad’s in the house!”
Everyone laughed—especially Jasper. Zee thought he looked happier than he had in a while.
* * *
E-ZEE: New girl alert!
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: 411???!!!!
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Her name is Missy. She’s nice.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Good.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Smart.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Good.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Artistic.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Cool.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: And VERY pretty.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Good? Or bad?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Bad. According to Flip, L might like her.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: That stinks. What does K think?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Don’t know. But L’s not the only thing K has 2 worry about.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: What else?
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: She’s an AMAZING violin player.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: BETTER THAN K???!!!
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: Mayb. K’s totally going 2 have competition 4 the violin solo in the musical.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: OOOOOOH! K must b soooo mad.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: There’s a new boy 2.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Get out!!!
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: I know. Crazy, right? Conrad. He’s cute…at least Chloe thinks so.
* * *
* * *
SPARKLEGRRL: Wow! Now u have so many friends I don’t even know.
* * *
* * *
E-ZEE: And I don’t know ANY of ur French friends.
* * *
Zee realized that Ally and she were feeling exactly the same way. Major things were happening in Ally’s life, and Zee wasn’t a part of them. And Ally wasn’t there for all of the changes that were happening to Zee. Zee wished the girls could be together again in Brookdale. Then they could just forget about how different their lives had become. But Zee knew that that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, and they’d just have to keep figuring out their friendship over the Internet.
8
Busted!
“Ya’ll wanna come over to my house after school today to do homework?” Chloe asked Jasper and Zee as they headed from the cafeteria to science class.
“Sure,” Zee said. “I’ll call my mom to let her know.”
“I can’t,” Jasper said. “I’m having trouble with one of my scenes with Landon. I’m going to ask him if he wants to help me with it after school today.”
“Really?” Zee asked. “You’re going to work on the musical with Landon—voluntarily?”
“Don’t act so surprised,” Jasper said.
“I just didn’t think you guys were getting along very well,” Zee said.
“I can’t let my fellow thespians down,” Jasper replied.
“I’m sure you know what that big word means,” Chloe said, “but you might want to talk more like a seventh grader so the rest of us can understand you.”
“Actors,” Jasper said. “I can’t let the other actors down. Besides, Mr. P says this performance will be a major part of our grade.”
“That’s okay,” Chloe said. “Zee and I will just have to hang out all by ourselves.” She laid the back of her hand across her forehead and swooned. “I hope we can make it.”
Zee smiled at Jasper. Maybe she’d only imagined tension between Jasper and Landon.
When the three friends reached the science room, Landon was already sitting on the tall stool beside his lab table. Kathi, his lab partner, was there, too.
“Landon—” Jasper said, walking over to the table. “I had a few ideas about our first scene in Act One. Do you want to work on it with me today after school?”
Landon looked from Jasper to Zee. “I was going to ask Zee if she wants to work on our duet.”
“Yes,” Zee blurted out. Oops. She felt bad about changing plans with Chloe, but she couldn’t give up the opportunity to rehearse with Landon. Right?
“I thought you wanted to go over to Chloe’s,” Jasper said.
“That was before I needed to work on this,” Zee explained.
“Well, at least Jasper can come over now,” Chloe said as she and Jasper walked to their lab table together.
But Zee thought she heard some sarcasm in Chloe’s voice.
* * *
Hi, Diary,
I told my teacher I had to go to the bathroom, but I really just needed to talk to you. I have to make it quick, though—since it’s not so much fun sitting in the girls’ room.
