Landry in Like

by Krysten Lindsay Hager

  “You one of Ashanti’s friends?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “Come on in,” he said. “She’s in the kitchen.”

  I followed him in, and Ashanti got up to hug me as soon as she saw me. She introduced me to her aunts and great-aunts. They were all looking through some old binders.

  “We’re trying to find Grandma’s macaroni and cheese recipe,” Ashanti said. “We can’t figure out what made it taste so different from any other kind.”

  “My mother never wrote a thing down,” her aunt Bette said. “I remember asking her how to season chicken soup and it was all, ‘Bette, you just eyeball it. A pinch here and there and you’ll know when you know.’”

  “Did your soup turn out okay?” I asked.

  “It was so salty my husband told me he thought I dropped a horse’s salt lick in it,” she said laughing. “I never got the soup quite like hers. Hoping that recipe’s in here, too.”

  “Ooh, her chocolate silk pie one is here,” Mrs. Russell said. “She used boxed pudding for it? I feel lied to. She always made it seem like everything needed to be homemade or it was cheating."

  “Here we go. Macaroni and cheese,” Aunt Bette said. “However, I don’t recognize some of these ingredients. What’s Waddell sauce?”

  All the women exchanged glances and shrugged.

  “Dexter cheese? Anyone know what that is?” she asked.

  Ashanti reached over and took the piece of paper. “Maybe those things aren’t super important. We can still try to make it, right?”

  Her mother nodded. “Sure, we can see if we can recreate it.”

  “Well, I don’t see how since two of the ingredients are a mystery,” Aunt Bette said. She saw Ashanti’s face fall and she cleared her throat. “But we can always try.”

  Ashanti got her phone and tried searching for the two ingredients online, but came up with nothing for Waddell sauce. All we found out about the cheese was that they didn’t make it anymore.

  “I guess that’s a bust,” she said.

  “Maybe someone will be able to figure it out yet,” I said. I started to say we could ask her family members how they’d describe the taste when she jumped up and ran to the door.

  “You guys, I’m sooo glad you came,” she said.

  Halle, Maggie, and Yasmin were standing there with three older girls wearing dark pink lipstick.

  “Hey, we had to come. We’re all cheer sisters now, right? And cheer sisters stick together,” the one girl said.

  My heart sunk as they all shared a group hug and did this little cheer chant. I felt invisible.

  Ashanti started introducing the girls to her aunts, and I noticed her parents seemed to know the other girls already. Had they been over before?

  “Oh, and this is Landry,” she said pointing to me.

  Just Landry. Not my best friend, just… Landry. The other girls barely noticed me and continued talking like I wasn’t there.

  “So you guys have to come to practice tomorrow,” the tall one said. “We’re trying the new lift again.”

  They all started going on about cheerleading, and I realized I was just going to be standing there alone. My house wasn’t that far from Ashanti’s and I had walked the distance before, so I told her I had to get home.

  “Oh, okay,” she said, sounding distracted. “Thank you so much for coming.”

  I went to hug her, but she had gone back to her new friends. Feeling dumb, I retreated and went to the front door.

  “Thank you for coming over, Landry,” Mr. Russell said walking over. “Do you want me to drive you home?”

  I shook my head afraid if I opened my mouth, he’d hear my voice break. As I walked up the sidewalk to my house, the tears started. I was going to lose her to that group—I just knew it.

  Chapter 13

  I got home and saw I had an email from Kendall. She asked if I wanted to come along to the movies with her and her friends. Vladi and Steve would be there, too. As excited as I was to be included with these high school girls, the idea of it also scared me. After all, Kendall told me herself some of her friends could be kind of intimidating. Could I handle it? I wanted to be able to say, “Oh yeah, went on a date with my freshman boyfriend and hung out with my high school friends,” but let’s be real. I would probably destroy an entire forest with the amount of toilet paper I’d use after my nervous stomach went nuts.

  As much as I wanted to be the cool, popular girl with the high school boyfriend, I was terrified of hanging out with that crowd. But I didn’t want to hurt Vladi’s feelings and make him think I didn’t want to spend time with him. I knew Kendall didn’t want to spend the night away from her friends and that’s why she was including me instead of just going with Steve, Vladi, and me, but her whole crew thing made the idea of date night that much scarier. I knew I needed to make some new friends now that I saw I couldn’t rely on being included with Ashanti’s friends, so I went to talk to Mom about it.

  “Kendall wants me to go to the movies with her and her friends and she said Vladi and Steve would be there, too,” I said. “It’s a group of girls, so not like a date, but I’d actually be less panicky about it if it were just me and Vladi going together.”

  Mom stared at me. “Why is that?”

  “Well, he’s such a nice guy, but those girls are older and… well, Kendall’s super sweet, but she’s told me some stuff about her friends and they are… a little scary.”

  “Scary? What do you mean? Like intimidating or aggressive?” she asked.

  “Intimidating. I know you wouldn’t let me go with just him and I’m not sure his parents would either, but this whole group thing is…”

  “Too much? Maybe you feel in over your head?”

  I paused. I hated to admit that — especially to my mother — so I just shrugged.

  “I want to hang out with him and people are always hanging out at games and stuff, but his parents are weird about the mall’s new rules and there aren’t any games right now to go to,” I said. “He did mention going to the library, but that might be super lame—”

  “How about you let me be the bad guy on this one?” she said.

  “Huh?”

  “Well, I’m glad you shared with me how you feel about this, and I don’t want you spending time with some group that makes you feel uncomfortable. To be honest, I don’t know which makes me more nervous — you on a date alone with a boy or hanging out with older high school mean girls. Let’s just say high school girls often act older than they actually are, and I’d prefer you not get in with a group like that.”

  “So I can’t go then? Is that how you’re the bad guy?”

  “No, you tell them I said I’m not sure about the movie night, but you could tell him I was okay with you two meeting to study at the library.”

  “So I can meet up with him?” I asked.

  “With rules. First rule is that you cannot leave the library under any circumstance—”

  “What if the library catches fire?”

  She sighed. “Fine, other than a fire or bomb threat. Second, I want you to stay in the teen area because that area is supervised, and I know nothing inappropriate will go on under the librarian’s watchful eyes.”

  My mother was so embarrassing sometimes, but I just nodded.

  “Third, you will behave yourself in a suitable manner.”

  “Huh?” I asked.

  “No kissing.”

  “Moth-er, seriously. I’m not going to kiss anyone in the library. Gross.”

  “I do not feel good about this,” she said. “However, you were upfront with me about the situation so I feel that I should extend some trust to you, but don’t push it, kid.”

  I texted Vladi about the library thing, and he wrote back that was even better because we could get together on a week night. Then he asked if I was free to meet tomorrow. Wow, I hadn’t expected him to want to hang out quite so soon. I asked Mom, and it seemed like she did the same weird swallowing thing I did because she ch
oked on her tea.

  “Oh, I guess. I can’t take you until after five though, and I don’t want you driving with high school boys,” she said.

  “I could see if we could meet at the smaller library that’s near Hillcrest. I can walk to that one from school.”

  She frowned. “I don’t want you walking alone from there.”

  “I could see if his friend would drop him off at my school and we could walk together.”

  “Oh, I’m hating this idea more. You and him unaccompanied with no adult supervision, and I have no way of knowing if you will go to the library at all,” she said.

  “What if I text you a picture of me standing in front of the library?”

  She shook her head.

  “Mom, you promised. Don’t you trust me?”

  “I guess the only way to know is to let you go and do this. However, you need to realize if you disobey me at all on this then the trust will be gone and I will never let you do anything like this again.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “Landry, it’s easy to get talked into things — even things that don’t seem so bad — by older kids and boys, so you have to be able to set boundaries and say no.”

  I promised I would follow her rules.

  “This will be a huge test for us. I’m counting on you. And I might take off work early to come spy, just so you know.”

  I texted Vladi that my mom was on the fence about it and had a bunch of rules. I think there was a little part of me that was hoping he’d say forget it, but instead he asked if he could call me. He rang me a second later.

  “So what are these rules?” he asked.

  I told him about the whole distance to the library thing.

  “Steve could drop me off at your school.”

  “Okay, but we have to walk there. Mom would kill me if I got in the car with Steve.”

  “Does she know you’ve driven with him before?” he asked.

  “Not quite.”

  “Ah, okay. All right, we walk from Hillcrest to the library then.”

  “And we have to stay in the teen section or else she’ll have, like, nine cows or something. And she’ll know if I step one toe out of that section. Don’t ask how. She’ll just know.”

  He laughed. “That’s my mom right there, too. She knows stuff she wasn’t there for and couldn’t possibly be aware of, but somehow she just knows.”

  “Is this going to be completely lame, or are you okay with it?”

  “If I get to see you, then it’s cool. To be honest, when Kendall said she was bringing her friends along, I was not looking forward to it. I hate being around those girls. She’s cool, but some of her friends are, like, drama central. So this will be better and plus, we can talk and stuff. There’s a coffee shop in the library on the main floor. It’s not near the teen section, but could you ask your mom if that would be okay?”

  “Hang on. I’ll check.”

  I ran into the living room and told my mom about the coffee shop.

  She stared into space.

  “What? Yes or no?” I asked.

  “I’m thinking… well, it’s not in the teen area, but it’s small so nothing could happen there. I guess that whole library isn’t all that big so… okay, you can leave the teen area.”

  I told Vladi she was fine with it.

  “Cool. Okay, so I’ll see you tomorrow after school then. Can we meet by the city bus stop that’s on the end of the street by your school?”

  We got off the phone and then it hit me. Vladi was going to see me in my stupid Hillcrest uniform, and it was too late to borrow one of Ashanti’s cute school sweaters. Oh well, I’d have to do the best I could. I texted her later to see how she was doing and told her about my almost-sort-of-date with Vladi.

  Ashanti: That is awesome! What are you wearing? Do you want me to bring you that baby blue sweater of mine you look so good in? You can change into it before you go off to meet him.

  I wrote back that she was the best friend a girl could ever have then reached over to set my alarm an hour early so I would have plenty of time to get ready in the morning. Then I stared at the ceiling daydreaming about my date with Vladi. I checked my phone and realized an hour had passed. Well, it wouldn’t be good for me to show up all tired looking, so I changed my alarm setting to getting up only forty-five minutes early. I figured an extra fifteen minutes should help.

  Chapter 14

  My alarm went off and I reached over and hit snooze. Then I hit snooze again… and again. Then I saw the time and realized I had less time than usual to get ready — ugh! Not today. Why did I have to be lazy and sleepy today of all days? I thought about skipping my shower, but I would feel super self-conscious meeting Vladi when I was all stinky and gross. I tried to shampoo as fast as I could and wound up with some in my eyes. I blindly groped for my towel and rinsed my eyes out in the sink. I stared at my bloodshot eyes in the mirror. Nonononononono. Why today?

  I grabbed my blow dryer, but when it came on, I heard a pop and saw a spark. It had just died on me. Where was my new one?

  “Mom? Where’s the hair dryer I got in the Ingénue competition?”

  “No clue. You can use mine. It’s under the sink.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “I always put it there.”

  “I’m not blind — oh wait, yes, it’s here.”

  My mom’s dryer had weird settings on it and a motor that sounded like a plane taking off. My hair was all weird and static-y when I was done drying it. Mom walked by and told me there was a conditioning setting on it and switched it. I didn’t know what that meant, but apparently it meant it would completely flatten my hair. Ugh. The static had at least given it some movement. Maybe it was a ponytail kind of day.

  I didn’t have time for makeup, but I thought maybe I would at lunch so I put my cosmetics bag in my backpack. Then I grabbed my lunch money as I ran to catch the bus.

  I felt weird about telling the other girls I was meeting Vladi after school, but I didn’t want to keep secrets from them either. Part of me wished I could just tell Peyton and Devon and not have to worry about what anyone else would say. I walked to the bus stop where I ended up telling Devon the news. She shrieked about how awesome it was, but Tori just stared at me and chewed on her hair. Ericka asked me how I got my mother to agree to that.

  “She’s met him before and thinks he’s a nice guy,” I said. She seemed surprised and didn’t say anything.

  I told Peyton and India on the bus. Peyton’s eyes got big.

  “Wow, that’s major,” she said. “I can’t believe your mom said yes.”

  India didn’t say anything. She just shrugged like she went off with boys all the time, which, she kind of did, but I got a weird vibe from her.

  Ashanti brought the sweater over to me at lunch. She, Devon, and I ate fast so we could go into the bathroom and work on my makeup. Ashanti did my eyeliner and Devon French braided my hair. I put on some blush and a little pink lip gloss, and I seemed more alive.

  Mrs. Kharazzi commented on how cute my hair was when I went into her class. I was glad she was showing us a biography DVD because I loved those, and it was easier for me to pay attention to something interesting on a day when I was so anxious.

  As soon as the final bell rang, my heart leapt into my throat. I went to my locker and Devon, Peyton, India, and Ashanti were there with big, stupid grins on their faces.

  “Good luck,” Ashanti said. “I want you to take my lucky bracelet just in case.”

  She took off her rose gold heart charm bracelet and put it on my wrist.

  Peyton gave me a pack of gum, and Devon offered me her lucky lemon-lime soda flavored lip balm. I noticed Tori by Ericka’s locker, staring at me. I waved, but she just gave me a little shrug. Weird.

  The girls walked off to the bus and wished me luck. Was I actually going to do this? I took a deep breath and then walked toward the front door. Then the panic began to set in. What if Vladi didn’t show up? What if he was sick or
changed his mind, or he couldn’t come for some reason and there was no way to reach me? What if I was standing on that corner all night and someone came and mugged me? Or what if he did show up, but decided I was such a baby who needed her mommy to plan her fake date and then it was all lame and boring and he decided to go out with someone his own age or older and way more mature? I started to feel sick when I went around the corner and saw a blond guy standing at the bus stop. Was that him?

  I tried not to walk too fast and look overeager as I approached the stop. The closer I got, the more my heart pounded. I realized it was him, and he gave me a smile when he saw me. That smile — eeek! I couldn’t stop the big, dumb grin from overtaking my face. I reminded myself it was not cool to go running to him, but it didn’t matter because he started to walk toward me. Then it hit me. What did I do when I reached him? Did we hug or what? He had kissed me once, but that seemed like a huge deal and would he do that now? Did I wait for him to do something?

  “Hey Landry,” he said and leaned over to hug me. He was hugging me! It had been so long since he had. It felt like if he let go I’d float into the sky.

  “Hey.”

  “I’m so glad your mom was okay with this,” he said. “Here, want me to carry your bag?”

  I handed it to him trying not to geek out at the idea of him carrying my stuff. Then he reached over and slipped his hand into mine. I thought I was going to pass out, and I went to look behind me but the busses hadn’t left yet. It would be so amazing if they’d pass by us and everyone would see us holding hands. He started talking about his day and then broke into a big smile.

  “Sorry, I’m such a dork. I’m just super glad we could meet up, you know?” he said.

  All I could do was nod. I didn’t trust myself to open my mouth for fear I’d start squealing like a little kid.

  We got to the library and went to the coffee shop. There was no one in there other than the lady behind the counter. They had a million kinds of coffee and I wasn’t a big coffee fan, but I wanted to appear cool in front of him.