What If... All the Rumors Were True

by Liz Ruckdeschel

  Coco pretended to laugh through gritted teeth. “Rachel loves to tease,” she said to Haley. “Rach, honey, I need a favor. Do you still have the guest lists from Casino Night?”

  “I might,” Rachel said. “But why should I do a favor for you?”

  “Because if you don’t,” Coco said, “I’ll tell Spencer I saw you and Garth canoodling at Bubbies the other night.”

  Rachel went pale.

  “Who’s Garth?” Haley asked.

  “The campaign manager for Peter Welch, Mrs. Eton’s biggest competitor,” Coco said. “It doesn’t look good when functionaries from rival campaigns fraternize, now, does it?”

  “We were only exchanging messages,” Rachel said. “Mrs. Eton offered to stop criticizing his health care policy if he stopped looking into Spencer’s rap sheet.”

  “Sure you were,” Coco said. “Through your tongues.”

  “Okay,” Rachel said. “What do you want to know?”

  “Look for the name Mia Delgado,” Coco said. “I want to know whose guest list she was on.”

  Rachel opened her briefcase and riffled through her files. “Here it is. Mia Delgado. On the private guest list of Mr. Jerry Klein.”

  Haley gasped. “Whitney’s father?”

  “The very same,” Coco said.

  “Is that all?” Rachel asked.

  “For now,” Coco said. “You’re dismissed.”

  Rachel closed her briefcase and left in a huff.

  “Poor Whitney,” Haley said. “Should we tell her?”

  “I don’t know,” Coco said. “Would you want to know, if it was your dad chasing around after a girl in our grade?”

  What a dog. Haley couldn’t imagine her dad behaving this way, which doesn’t make it any easier to know what to do. It’s hard for Haley to believe that Mia would flirt so shamelessly with someone’s father. What does Mia want from Mr. Klein, anyway? Is she after something tangible, or is she just incapable of not flirting around the opposite sex? And what will Trish think of all this? After only a year, she’s already being replaced?

  If you think Whitney deserves to know the truth about her father, send Haley off to tell her on "HIGH SCHOOL HOME-WRECKER". If you think Haley should protect volatile Whitney’s feelings and keep this to herself—and hope that Coco does the same—go to "CONCEALED WEAPON".

  Even if Haley keeps this gossip to herself, there’s no way of knowing what destructive Coco will do. If you think Haley should cut her ties with the callow Spencer/Coco/Whitney crowd, send her off to fortify her friendship with Sasha on "INCURABLE FLIRT".

  This information is dynamite in Haley’s hands. It’s up to you to help her handle it in just the right way, before it all blows up in her face.

  INCURABLE FLIRT

  Just because a guy and a girl are sitting alone together, it doesn’t mean they’re flirting. Unless they’re groping each other under the table.

  Haley and Sasha rode to Bubbies bistro in Sasha’s vintage Mustang at around eleven on Saturday night. Sasha parked right out front and the two girls went inside to pick up Johnny from work.

  The dinner seating was over and the restaurant was pretty quiet, nearly empty, with most of the waiters and bus boys clearing the last of the tables and adding up tips.

  “There he is,” Sasha said, spotting Johnny in a back corner. She and Haley headed toward him, then Haley suddenly stopped. Johnny wasn’t alone at the table: sitting with him, just tucking into a late supper salad, was the big-haired beauty Mia Delgado.

  “What’s he doing with her?” Sasha gasped.

  “I don’t know,” Haley said, but from the way he was leaning forward and the quiet, intimate way they were speaking, it didn’t look good.

  “Let’s go find out,” Sasha said, storming over to them. “Johnny, your ride’s here.”

  Johnny looked up, startled. “Sasha—I didn’t think you’d get here so early.”

  “I can see that,” Sasha said.

  “I’m all ready to go—I’ll go finish up and get my tips.” Johnny stood up and pushed through the swinging doors into the kitchen, untying his apron.

  Mia smiled at Haley and Sasha. “Hello, girls. I love the food here, don’t you?”

  “It’s grrreat,” Sasha snarled.

  Johnny returned a few minutes later. “Let’s roll,” he said. He gave Mia a little smile and a wave. “See you. Glad I could help with that…thing.”

  “Goodbye, Johnny. See you another time,” Mia said. “Good luck with…you know.” She winked at him. Haley could feel Sasha stiffen beside her.

  Haley climbed into the backseat while Johnny rode shotgun and Sasha started the car. The tension between them made Haley nervous. She had a bad feeling she was about to witness another historic fight. She sometimes felt there should be Civil War–type plaques posted around town to commemorate all of the famous Sasha-Johnny battles that had taken place.

  “So?” Sasha said, pulling away from the curb. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

  “Sash, Mia is a Bubbies regular,” Johnny said. “She flounces in with a different guy every night. Things were slow, I was finished with my shift, so I was just making small talk with her to pass the time.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes. “Small talk? Please. What was that little thing she said when we were leaving—‘Good luck with you know’? Good luck with what?”

  “Nothing, Sash, I swear. You know how Mia is. Everything she says sounds like a come-on.”

  “So she was coming on to you, is that what you’re saying?” Sasha was livid.

  “Sasha, no!” Johnny said. “You’ve got to believe me. Haley, talk some sense into her, will you?”

  What’s Haley supposed to think? She keeps catching Mia in compromising situations. They can’t all be innocent mistakes, can they?

  If you are sure Mia is trouble and feel that Haley should warn Sasha that Mia has been flirting with Johnny since day one in Hillsdale, go to "JOHNNY BE GONE". If you’d rather Haley encourage Sasha to give Johnny the benefit of the doubt, go to "HAPPY ENDING". And if you believe Haley should stay out of Sasha and Johnny’s love life altogether, send her to focus on real drama on "THEATRICAL RELEASE". Finally, if you think Mia’s asking for trouble and Whitney should know what she’s been up to, send Haley to "HIGH SCHOOL HOME-WRECKER".

  No man is safe with Mia around. Which means neither is any girl with a boyfriend, brother or father.

  BASEMENT DWELLERS

  What happens in the basement stays in the basement.

  “The way you stood up to your parents was so cool, Irene,” Haley said enthusiastically. “I mean it. My parents aren’t half as strict as yours, but still, when it comes to certain issues they’re touchy on, I sometimes chicken out.”

  Haley and Irene were lounging on the couch in Haley’s basement, flipping through channels on the TV and working their way through a big bowl of popcorn. It was almost midnight on Saturday night and Haley’s parents and Mitchell were in bed. Irene, at Haley’s urging, had refused to obey her parents’ wish that she quit working on the sets for the school play and spend more time at the Golden Dynasty instead. Haley thought Irene was such an incredible artist that she shouldn’t let her talent go to waste, and Irene was beginning to believe in herself, too. Maybe, from now on, Irene’s parents would start to see their daughter with new eyes as well.

  “I’m still glad I’m sleeping over at your house tonight,” Irene said. “Just in case…you know, they decide to backslide and chain me to the hostess station.”

  “Just let them try,” Haley said. “Devon and Shaun and I will cut you free with a chain saw.”

  “Don’t let Shaun near a chain saw,” Irene said. “Ever.” Haley laughed.

  There was a tapping on the basement window. “Did you hear something?” Haley said.

  “I bet it’s the boys.”

  Haley went to the window and drew the curtain aside. Shaun’s big blond face was pressed against the glass like a smashed pumpkin. Haley almo
st screamed, but caught herself just in time.

  “Let us in!” Shaun said in a deep, creepy voice.

  “Shhh!” Haley said. “Come around to the door.” She opened the basement door and Shaun and Devon snuck in.

  “Oh yea, poppers.” Shaun dug his hand into the bowl and stuffed his mouth with a fistful of popcorn. “Hales, you got any chocolate sauce?”

  “Are you forgetting where you are?” Haley said. Her parents refused to keep anything sugary in the house. “I can get you wheatgrass juice or carrot shavings. Take your pick.”

  “Whatever.” Shaun shrugged. “My stomach can take anything you throw at it.”

  “Be right back.” Haley quietly went upstairs for some soda water and glasses and a few condiments for the boys. When she came back down she found Shaun on his hands and knees, bucking his legs and yelling, “Hee-haaww! Heeee-haaawww! Come on Irene, you up for a ride?”

  Haley glanced at Devon, who looked nervous. Irene’s eyes darted from one friend to another, embarrassed.

  No way, Haley thought. She’d heard the rumors, but she didn’t think they could really be true. Not even Shaun would take Method acting that far….

  But there he was, honking and bucking in his most donkey-brained fashion, even without the papier-mâché head.

  Shaun certainly puts his whole heart—or ass—into everything he does, and he’s apparently unembarrassable. The same can’t be said of Irene, though—or Haley. Maybe the creative types have gotten a little too freaky for Haley’s taste.

  If you think Haley should forget the theater crowd and focus on her upcoming academic challenges, send her to "TESTING LIMITS". If you believe Haley’s loyalty, both to her friends and to the theater, will overcome any distaste for Shaun’s antics, go to "THEATRICAL RELEASE".

  Shaun has certainly been tamed a little by Irene, but will she keep him as her pet? Or will Mr. Chen impose a catch-and-release?

  TESTING LIMITS

  A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

  The moment of truth—or at least the first of many—arrived. In the last five days the junior class brain trust had taken the IQ test, the PSAT, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator…and they were utterly exhausted.

  “I can’t even speak I’m so fried,” said Annie, fanning herself with a notebook and putting her feet up on the Metzgers’ coffee table.

  “My brain feels like the densely compressed center of a black hole,” Dave babbled. “Or maybe a freshly split nucleus.” He continued with more spacy nonsense and then trailed off, stopping midsentence.

  Annie had told Haley in confidence earlier that Mrs. Metzger was worried about Dave and had sent him to a psychiatrist for observation. However, after his earlier meltdown on the “Inside Hillsdale” videocasts, he now seemed to be acting fairly normal.

  “Well, I feel great,” Haley reported proudly. “I actually kind of liked taking the IQ test. It was sort of…fun.”

  Only Haley had managed to make it through this firestorm with her wits fully intact. After one good night of sleep, she’d recovered from the testing circuit, no sweat. “I think studying with Alex really helped me prepare mentally,” she added. “I mean, he’d taken all these tests before and let me know exactly what to expect.”

  “I saw the chemical reaction happening between you two from the very beginning,” mumbled Dave. “Like a gas burner meeting a highly flammable substance—puff. Ignited uncontrollably.”

  “There must be something you two do together besides study,” Annie said, pressing for more details before a yawn got the best of her. For the first time since Haley had known her, Annie was actually too tired to interrogate her. Haley could tell by the exhausted look in Annie’s eyes that what she really needed was a nap. Apparently, Dave did too. He’d just fallen asleep in his chair sitting up and was now snoring loudly.

  “Okay, on that note…I’m going to give Alex a call and see if he wants to hang out. You people need to get some sleep.”

  Judging by the sparkle in Haley’s eye as she shot up, it was obvious she was looking forward to seeing her senior “friend” again. She had already started dialing Alex’s phone number as she walked toward the front door.

  “See ya later, Annie,” Haley said with a playful grin.

  THE END

  HIGH SCHOOL HOME-WRECKER

  Sometimes models don’t exhibit model behavior.

  “Whitney, I’ve got something to tell you,” Haley confided. She’d found Whitney in the cafeteria at lunchtime, scarfing down an ice cream sandwich. Upon hearing Haley’s serious tone, Whitney glanced up nervously and said, “Just let me get some more ice cream first.”

  “In a minute,” Haley said, sitting down beside Whitney. “After you hear what I have to say, even you might be too disgusted to eat.”

  “I doubt that,” Whitney said. “Hit me.”

  “Remember how we were all wondering what Mia was doing at Mrs. Eton’s Casino Night?” Haley said. Whitney nodded. “Well, I found out who invited her.”

  “Who?”

  Haley swallowed. This was going to be hard. “It was your dad.”

  “My dad?” Whitney screeched. She paused for a moment to let this news sink in. Then she said, “I knew it! I knew something funny was going on between them. Did you see the way that slut was flirting with him at the party?” She jumped to her feet, forgetting about the second ice cream sandwich, and ran off.

  “Where are you going?” Haley called after her.

  “There’s someone else who needs to know this,” Whitney said. Haley’s heart sank. This gossip bomb was clearly going to wipe out people for miles around.

  Haley found out the next day that Whitney had cut English to run home and tell her stepmonster, Trish, that Jerry Klein was now cheating on her. How life does come full circle. Whitney had found Trish lying on the couch, watching soap opera reruns. Trish was of course upset by the news, and as soon as Jerry Klein got home from work that night, she let him have it. He denied everything—even knowing any Mia Delgado.

  “You know that’s not true,” Haley told Whitney. “You saw him talking to her at the party. You saw it with your own eyes.”

  “You’re right,” Whitney said. “But I know Dad. He’ll stick to his story unless someone confronts him with convertible proof.”

  “You mean incontrovertible proof,” Haley said.

  “That’s what I said,” Whitney replied.

  “Well, I can get that for you.” Haley made a call to Mrs. Eton’s office, asking for the social secretary. All she had to do was say the secret code, “Garth,” and the next thing she knew Rachel had faxed her a copy of Jerry Klein’s guest list, which Haley gave to Whitney.

  “This proves Dad’s lying,” Whitney told Trish when she showed her the fax. “Why would he spend $1,500 on a ticket for Mia if there wasn’t something going on?” Within a week, Trish moved out of the house. Whitney had never been a big fan of hers, but she couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the former waitress.

  Haley, meanwhile, felt sorry for Whitney, whose family was once again undergoing an upheaval thanks to her. Whitney was so stressed she started shoplifting and eating and repeating again. And all the while, Mia blithely went on in her usual flirtatious way, completely unfazed by the whole scandal. Nothing seemed to be able to shake that girl. She was truly shameless.

  Haley’s zeal to expose the ugly underbelly of Whitney’s family didn’t do anyone any good. The Kleins had always been dysfunctional; now they were basically destroyed. Whitney wasn’t speaking to her dad, and her mom was so caught up in her new romance with Sasha’s dad that she wasn’t really there for Whitney either. Ka-boom. All that progress Whitney had made these last few months, erased in a single afternoon.

  If Haley was hoping to derail Mia’s march through the male population of Hillsdale, that didn’t work, either. Haley should have thought twice before setting off such a scandal bomb. Now it’s too late.

  You blew it. Go back to Chapter 1.

  CONCEALED WEA
PON

  If you’re going to try to bury something, you’d better dig a really deep hole.

  When Haley arrived at Whitney’s house, she had already decided she was not going to tell anyone about Jerry Klein’s alleged affair with Mia Delgado—especially not Whitney. But when Whitney invited her up to her bedroom and secretively closed the door behind them, Haley also realized she would probably need to confess if Whitney pressed her on the Mia subject.

  “I wanted to ask you about something,” Whitney began. “It’s serious.”

  “Okay,” Haley said, sitting down on Whitney’s fluffy white bed, looking wide-eyed and innocent.

  “Do you ever get really awful stomach pains that twist up your intestines into knots and make you want to bend over and cry?” she blurted out, gripping her waist.

  “Do you mean cramps?” Haley asked, not sure where Whitney was going with this one, but relieved she wasn’t talking about her dad and Mia Delgado.

  “My stomach has been off for days,” she went on.

  “Maybe you should drink some herbal tea,” Haley suggested. “I bet peppermint would settle your tummy. Is it stress? Everyone in our class seems to be succumbing to it lately.”

  Haley had hit the nail on the head. Whitney suddenly burst into tears.

  “I can’t believe I now live with Sasha’s dad and that Sasha hasn’t even come over once to visit me,” she cried. “Not once. She has her own room here, right across the hall, and she doesn’t even care. We used to be best friends! Do you know I designed my fall collection with her in mind?”

  Haley put her arm around Whitney’s shoulder. She was glad she had decided to butt out of the Kleins’ ongoing scandals. Whitney had already been through enough upheaval in her family and seemingly couldn’t stand much more.

  “I know Sasha is going to come around, Whit. Maybe you should tell her how you’re feeling.”