by Coco Simon
I almost blurted out what I had seen, but I stopped myself again. What if I was wrong? It would be awful. So I decided not to say anything.
That day, Mr. Green was on lunchroom duty. Most of the time, he doesn’t come over and talk to me, because I think he figured out that it was a little awkward since kids know he’s dating my mom, and he wanted to spare me. (In the beginning, it was one reason why Olivia spread those rumors that I was cheating in math because Mr. Green dates my mom.) But that Monday he walked right over with a big smile on his face.
“Hey, girls,” he said. “Katie, I’m excited about the big day on Friday. I hope you’re doing a good job of keeping my secret.”
“Yeah,” I said, poking my fork into the fruit salad in my bento box.
“Thanks!” He held up four fingers. “Four more days!” He had a big goofy grin on his face.
After he walked off, Mia looked at me. “Katie, you don’t seem very excited.”
I sighed. “Well, you know how my mom and I do the same thing every year on her birthday, right?”
Mia nodded. “Pupu platter and The Wizard of Oz.”
“Well, I’m just upset we’re not doing it, that’s all,” I said, suddenly feeling grumpy.
“Why don’t you just tell Mr. Green?” Alexis asked.
“Did you see how happy he was?” I protested. “He’s like a puppy. And he made all the arrangements and everything without even asking me, so . . .”
“He’s nice. He would understand,” Emma pointed out.
“Yeah, maybe, but it’s too late,” I said stubbornly.
“Hey, are we still going after school to get your mom’s present?” Mia asked.
“I have practice. Can we go after that?” I asked.
Mia texted someone with her phone. “My mom will take us,” she said after a few seconds. “Just tell your mom you’re studying or something.”
“Okay,” I said. After all, what’s one more secret? I thought. I couldn’t tell Mom about the party. I didn’t want to tell Alexis about seeing the answer key in Natalie’s backpack. And now I would lie, just so I could get Mom a birthday present. How many secrets was I supposed to keep?
For the rest of the afternoon, I kept thinking about all those different secrets and whether there was such a thing as a good secret or a bad secret. Keeping the surprise party secret: good. Not telling Mr. Green I was upset about it: probably bad. Lying to get Mom a present: not so bad. Not saying anything about Natalie: I’m not sure if that was good or bad, but it felt like a big secret, at least. Not a small one.
So it was a little weird when I saw Natalie in the locker room after school. She was all friendly and stuff, but I wasn’t sure how friendly I felt. So I tried something.
“Hey, I heard from Alexis that you did really well on that math test in Donnelly’s class,” I said.
“What? Oh, yeah,” Natalie said, and then she bent down and retied her shoelace. I was pretty sure that she looked flustered. Then she quickly changed the subject. “Are you hungry? I’m starving! All afternoon I couldn’t concentrate on anything except my stomach growling.” She was babbling a little bit, the way people do when they’re nervous.
She probably cheated, a little voice inside my head said, and I pushed it away. And for the whole practice, I did that focusing thing and pretty much kept to myself.
Luckily, going out with Mia that night really changed my mood. I had been so busy with track practice that I hadn’t been spending as much time with her as I usually do.
Mia’s mom drove us to the bookstore in town.
“Let me guess,” Mia said. “You’re headed for the cooking section, right?”
“Of course!” I replied.
Mom loves to cook (which is where I got my love for cooking), and I had seen her eyeing this fancy cookbook by this famous chef on her laptop. I had been saving money from my Cupcake jobs so I could get it for her.
There it was, right on display: Viola’s Vegetables. On the front cover, there was a beautiful photo of a cutting board with fresh vegetables, and inside, on thick glossy paper, were tons of great recipes and a color photo of each dish once it was finished, so you knew what it was supposed to look like. Mia helped me pick out this really nice wrapping paper for it.
“Your mom’s going to love it,” said Mrs. Valdes. She has dark hair like Mia’s, and like I said before, she always looks glamorous, no matter where she is.
“I know she is,” I said, feeling proud. It felt great to get it for her with money that I earned myself.
“I am very excited for the surprise party. Mia will be with her dad, but Jeff invited Eddie and me,” Mia’s mom said as she drove us home. “So I will see you Friday. Boy, Jeff seems very excited about it.”
“He sure is,” I agreed, but I didn’t feel so bad about it anymore. I mean, the important thing was that Mom was happy, right?
Anyway, if I stopped being upset about it, that was one less secret for me to worry about. . . .
CHAPTER 11
Secrets Revealed
There were so many secrets floating around, and I knew they couldn’t all be kept secret for long. I was right. The next day, things started exploding . . . and that was only the start of things.
I was eating lunch with Mia, Alexis, and Emma, like we always do, when Bella from the BFC table walked up to our table. She used to be named Brenda, but before middle school started, she changed her name and started dressing like this girl from these vampire movies. She wears dark eyeliner all the time (to look more mysterious or something, I guess), and as she got close, I could see it was smudged, like she was crying.
“Mia! You are such a liar!” she fumed in a voice loud enough for just about everyone in the cafeteria to hear her. She glared straight at Mia.
Mia, as usual, played it cool. “Bella, calm down,” she said. “What’s up?”
Bella shoved her cell phone in front of Mia’s face. “Why did you text Lucy that Todd was seeing Julie Fletcher behind my back? It’s not true!”
Mia’s face turned pink, and I could tell she felt bad. But she wasn’t going to show it if she could help it.
“Honestly, Bella, I don’t know why you’re mad at me,” Mia said. “Olivia texted everyone saying that she saw Todd and Julie together. That’s how I found out.”
“Olivia is my friend. She would never do that,” Bella protested. “Besides, when I asked her about it, she said that you were probably starting the rumor because you were jealous. That you like Todd and just want to break us up.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “That is not what happened. Olivia is the liar! Can’t you see that? I do not like Todd. I like—” She stopped herself. I knew she liked Chris Howard, but she probably didn’t want Bella to know that.
“I don’t like Todd,” she repeated. “He’s all yours.”
“Then stop lying about him and Julie,” Bella shot back.
“Maybe you should ask Todd about that,” Mia countered.
Bella gave Mia the most evil look she could manage. “Whatever, Mia. Just stop.” Then she turned and stormed back to the BFC table.
Emma, Alexis, and I looked at Mia.
“Wow,” Emma said.
“Yeah, that was crazy,” Mia said. “Imagine, Olivia blaming me for spreading that rumor. So typical.”
“She’s the worst,” I agreed. “But I feel bad for Bella.”
“Maybe if everybody had just ignored Olivia’s texts, it wouldn’t have been an issue,” Alexis said diplomatically.
Mia groaned and put her head in her hands. “Okay, now I feel awful! I should not have been spreading a rumor around. I’m just as bad as Olivia.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said, and Mia gave me a weak smile.
“Thanks, Katie,” she said, giving me a hug.
Emma turned to me. “You have a meet over in Franklin, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It starts at four.”
“Well, Dad’s taking Jake to the pediatrician in Franklin, and he said h
e’d drop me off at the field so I could see your meet,” Emma said.
“That’s awesome!” I said. “Thanks. Mom can’t get off work, so I won’t have a cheering section today.”
“I’ll do my best,” Emma promised.
I was glad Emma was going to be there, because the idea of an away meet made me pretty nervous—we would be in a strange school, on a strange field.
After school, the track team changed in the locker rooms and then got on the bus. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams fit on one bus. This was a whole new territory to navigate. On the bus ride to school, Mia and I sat in the same row and in the same seats every single time. Now I would have to find new bus buddies.
Just don’t say “bus buddies” out loud, I quickly reminded myself. I knew I would never live that down.
“Hey, Silly Legs! Over here!” George yelled from the rear of the bus.
I pushed my way back there. It was a little crazy because everyone was hyped up for the meet. George was in the big backseat with some of the boys, and Zoe was in the seat in front of them. I slid into the seat across the aisle from Zoe.
“Why does he call you Silly Legs?” Zoe called to me.
“Um, long story,” I replied. I really didn’t want to get into it. Then George jumped into the conversation.
“Because when she plays volleyball, she has silly arms,” George said, waving his arms around. “And on the track she has silly legs.”
“The first part is true, but not the second,” I said. “I only have silly legs during practice. We all do from all the stretching and stuff.”
“Ha! Silly Legs! That’s pretty funny,” Zoe said.
Did I really look silly when I ran? I wondered. I didn’t think so, but George was kind of messing with my mind. Luckily, Hana and Natalie came to the back of the bus, and they took two aisle seats. Even though it was still a little weird for me to be around Natalie, I was relieved to see them. I hoped George and Zoe would stop talking about my silly legs, and to my relief, they did.
After about twenty minutes, the bus pulled up to the Franklin Middle School field. I had to admit, it looked pretty much like our home field. The Franklin team was warming up in their yellow uniforms.
When we got off the bus, I immediately started jogging in place to work off some nervous energy. Coach Goodman spotted me.
“Slow down, Katie,” she said. “We’re going to stretch out first.”
Then she raised her voice. “Park Street girls’ team! Gather around.”
We stretched and then jogged around the track a few times, and then it was time for the meet to start. I looked over to the side fence for the away team and saw Emma there. She waved to me.
“Go, Katie!” she yelled.
I felt a surge of confidence. It really does help when people are rooting for you. I jogged over to see her, because I knew my race wouldn’t be up for a while.
“Thanks for coming,” I said. “I could use a cheerleader. George kept calling me Silly Legs on the bus ride over.”
Emma got a serious look on her face.
“Really? Was he being mean?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” I said. “You know how he is. Anyway, I’d better go. My race is soon.”
I jogged over to Hana, Leah, and Kelley, and we waited for the 1,600-meter to start. We pinned on our numbers and stretched out, and when it was time for the race, my heart was beating superfast before the countdown.
“Go!”
I tore off, moving pretty fast. Then a really dumb thought hit my brain.
Do my legs look silly?
I looked down at my knees. No, they didn’t look silly. But why did I look down? It threw off my pace, and I knew I slowed down a little. I tried to pick up speed again, but I was now in eighth place!
I had to really push myself on the last two laps around the track. Luckily, some of the other girls started slowing down. I passed two girls from Franklin . . . Then Kelley . . . and when I crossed the finish line, I was in fourth place. Again!
“Nice job, Katie!” Hana said.
“I guess four is my lucky number,” I said as I tried to catch my breath. “How did you do?”
Hana grinned. “I came in first.”
I high-fived her. “Way to go!”
I couldn’t help wondering if I might have done better if I hadn’t been thinking about my silly legs. I mean, fourth place was decent, but third place would be pretty cool. Or even second . . . or first. Could I ever come in first place on my own and not just in the relay?
Maybe I could, if I kept my head in the game. And that’s what I did during the relay—I stayed focused, and this time when I tagged Zoe, I was way ahead of the Franklin runner. Zoe crossed the finish line at least ten seconds ahead of her opponent. She was really fast.
Emma ran up to me at the end of the meet.
“Dad’s picking me up in a minute,” she said. “Katie, you looked great out there! You guys won the relay! And you finished really strong in that long race you did.”
I shook my head. “I think I could have done better. It’s George and that whole Silly Legs thing. I let him get inside my head. I’ve got to ask him to stop doing that. He’s got to understand, right?”
“Katie, Zoe likes George!” Emma blurted out, and then she put her hand over her mouth like she wished she hadn’t said it.
“What?” I asked. I mean, I was surprised, but not totally shocked. Zoe was always hanging around George. But how did Emma know? So I asked her straight up.
“Zoe told me over the summer, at camp,” she admitted. “She knows we’re friends, so she asked me to keep it a secret. I didn’t think it was a big deal, because George is so into you. But then you joined track, and I knew Zoe was on the team. . . .”
Then it hit me. The French braid. All those remarks about changing my clothes. “Is that why you keep wanting me to look nice? So I don’t look worse than Zoe or something?”
Emma looked sheepish. “Yeah, kind of. Since I promised her I wouldn’t tell you, I figured maybe I should do something to help give you the upper hand. Especially after what Callie said about you being sweaty and whatever. I didn’t want George to start liking Zoe because you were sweaty or your hair was messy.”
I was trying to process this. “I get that you were looking out for me. Thanks,” I said. “But if George can’t deal with me being sweaty, then maybe I don’t need to hang out with him.”
Emma nodded. “You’re right.” And then we heard a car horn beep.
“That’s my dad! I’ll text you later,” Emma said, and she waved and ran off.
The team was heading for the bus, anyway, so I jogged to catch up to them. George and Zoe were already on the bus, and Zoe was sitting next to him this time. I sat in the seat in front of them.
George stuck his head over the seat, like he always did on the school bus.
“You came in first on the relay, right? Nice!” he said, and then we fist-bumped.
“How’d you do?” I asked.
“Second in one race, and then I didn’t even place in the next one,” George said with a shrug. “Next time!”
“Second’s really good,” I said, and then one of the boys in the backseat grabbed him, and they started wrestling each other. I looked out the window and thought about Zoe.
So, Zoe liked George. What, exactly, was I supposed to do with that information? Wear a French braid and lip gloss to every track meet?
That would be ridiculous, I decided. And just because Zoe liked George didn’t mean that George liked her back.
The only thing I decided was that I wouldn’t ask George to stop teasing me. I mean, I know he didn’t mean anything by it, and I could take it. So why mention it?
Because it bothers you, the voice inside me said, but I pushed it aside. And not telling someone how you really feel isn’t exactly like keeping a secret, is it?
Well, maybe not . . . but it kind of feels you are.
CHAPTER 12
A Surprise I Could D
o Without
Before I knew it, it was Friday—my mom’s birthday. I set my alarm fifteen minutes early so I could wake up before she did for a change. I turned on the coffeepot for her, and then I made a batch of chocolate chip pancakes for us.
The pancakes were turning a golden brown when Mom came into the kitchen in her robe, yawning.
“Happy birthday!” I yelled.
Mom hugged me. “Oh, Katie, this is so sweet. You didn’t have to do this. We have our special celebration tonight.”
I felt a little pang of guilt. There was going to be a celebration, all right, but it wasn’t going to be our special celebration.
“Well, I wanted to do something extra special,” I said. “Besides, I’m really in the mood for pancakes!”
Mom got a cup of coffee, and I piled some pancakes on plates for each of us. I stuck a birthday candle into her pancakes, and lit the candle, and then I carried it to Mom at the table.
“It’s too early in the morning to sing the birthday song,” I said, “but you get the idea.”
“And now I get an extra wish,” Mom said. She closed her eyes and blew out the candle. Then she opened them. “It worked! I have the best daughter in the whole world!”
“Well, I have the best mom in the world,” I said, sitting down to eat my pancakes. (Yes, the whole scene was sweeter than the syrup we poured on our pancakes, but trust me, our mornings didn’t always go this smoothly. This was a special occasion.)
“So, I made our reservation for six thirty,” Mom announced. “Pupu platter for two! I asked Jeff and Emily to join us, but he said they had plans.” She sounded a little sad when she said this. I felt a little . . . annoyed again. Mom’s birthday celebration was always just the two of us. Why wouldn’t she tell me first before she invited Jeff and Emily? I tried to push it out of my mind.
“We’ll have a good time anyway,” I assured her.
I, of course, knew that Jeff was lying to Mom so he could surprise her. He told me his plan: The restaurant for the party, Mezza Luna, was on the way to the Golden Wing. He was going to call her and say he had left his glasses at Mezza Luna, and then he would ask if she could stop in and get them for him. I was supposed to come in with her, and when we walked in, everyone would yell, “Surprise!”
