"So you think he's like that with everybody, too? I'm just a dumb kid who's one of fifty other girls."
"Will you relax? Look, he's been writing you, and he spent the entire time after the varsity game with you. If he asks you to go to his next game, then you'll know for sure," she said.
I agreed, but I wondered if he would even ask me to go.
Chapter Eight
I got home from school and made myself a strawberry and banana milkshake. Sometimes I didn't know how the girls in my grade could go to volleyball practice after school. After all, I could barely hold my head up to watch TV. And how did they get their homework done, too, and still have time to have lives? They were always posting pictures online of fun things they did after school. How did they have the time? It was hard enough to get all my homework done some nights. Sure, I could cut out some TV shows, but I didn't watch that much, and I did need to relax and just escape after school. Hillcrest Academy could be so stressful with all the pressure for grades, plus the friend drama. It felt like some of my friends wore me out sometimes. I had to be careful not to say something that would set Ericka or Devon off. Sometimes I wondered if anyone else felt that way.
The next morning I got to class late, and Ms. Ashcroft gazed at me over her glasses.
"Miss Albright, how nice of you to join us this morning. Please sit down and turn to page one hundred immediately," she said.
My stupid puffy coat was still on, so I was super uncomfortable and starting to get hot in it. I tried squirming out of it, but the coat was so big the sleeve was getting in Thalia's way. She reached over and helped me pull my arm out. Ms. Ashcroft chose that moment to call on me to read the next answer. I found question five, but I couldn't read what I wrote down for the answer. My handwriting was bad on my best days, but even I couldn't make out what I had attempted to scrawl on the line.
"Um…"
"We don't have all day, Landry."
"I'm not…um…it's…"
"Ecstatic," Thalia whispered.
I repeated what Thalia said. Ms. Ashcroft moved on, while I hoped she wouldn't send my mother another note about my "bothersome tardiness" because I couldn't take another lecture. Plus, it wasn't my fault. Seriously, whose idea was it to have school start at seven-fifteen in the morning? Like anyone's brain even worked at that hour.
Ms. Ashcroft started writing on the board, and the words were kind of blurry from the back of the room. I knew I should go to the eye doctor, because I probably needed glasses. That part would have been okay; it was just the eye exam part that scared me. After her last eye doctor visit, Peyton said they put drops in, and an hour later she blew her nose, and it was neon yellow. That was not right.
When I got to the cafeteria for lunch, my friend Hana Ito was sitting by herself. Looking over at her, I wondered if she was studying alone or if she had no one to eat with, since some of the class was eating in the science lab to make up a quiz a lot of people had failed. I went over to ask if she wanted to join my group for lunch, and she quickly gathered up her stuff and followed me.
"Thanks," she said.
Devon said hi to her when she sat down and then asked if I had heard from Vladi. I shook my head. It was the day before the Cougars' away game, and he had still not written me back saying it was "cool seeing you at the game." I had waited two days to write him back, but that still gave him three full days to read my three-sentence e-mail and write back. Seriously, how hard was that? All he had to do was ask me to come or, if he didn't like me, type, "Get a life, loser. You stink," and then click Send.
Devon shrugged. "I still want to go to the game, since it's pretty close by for an away game. Why don't you come?"
I told her I was afraid of looking stupid because Vladi could have asked me to come if he wanted me there. The last thing I needed was another Cristian situation where some guy thought I was stalking him.
Later, Peyton offered to go with me, but I said I didn't feel comfortable going.
"Do you want to come over and do a movie night instead?" she asked. I told Devon to call me the next day and tell me what happened — if there were girls hanging all over Vladi or if he appeared to have a girlfriend.
****
Devon didn't call the next day, but India did.
"Landry, do you have the review sheet for the social studies test? I lost mine," she said. I read her the sheet over the phone and then asked how the game was.
"Oh, they lost, I think. Um, did Devon call you?" she asked.
"Nope."
She said that Doug had been hanging around her all night, and Devon got mad and left early. "She didn't even tell me she was going, but Doug's sister gave me a ride home," she said.
"Wow. Are you and Doug going out now?"
"No, but he called me this morning. Woke me up, but I didn't care," she said. "Oh, that blond guy asked Devon about you."
"Vladi? What did he say?"
"He asked where you were, and Devon said you didn't come," she said.
"Then what did he do?"
She said he just walked away. India wanted to know if I'd call Devon and see just how mad she was at her. I called, but Mr. Abrams said Devon was taking a nap because she wasn't feeling good. Well, I didn't feel like playing referee anyway, although I did want to get Devon's opinion on what Vladi had said.
Devon wasn't in school on Monday, but I offered to take her homework to her. Mrs. Abrams let me in to see her, and she was playing video games in her room.
"You feeling okay?" I asked.
She rolled her eyes. "You know my mom always keeps me home over the least little cough. I'm okay, it's just allergies. No biggie. Was India talking about her new boyfriend?" she asked.
I shrugged. Peyton and I found it was better not to get involved when Devon was mad at someone. She paused her video game, and I asked her about the basketball game.
"Jeremy was following me around all night, and Doug was obsessed with India."
"Did you talk to Vladi?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, he asked where you were. Anyway…"
I asked what he said exactly, and she said he just wanted to know if I was there. She went on to talk about how mad she was at India.
"But how did he say it?" I asked. "Like he was upset that I wasn't there, or like he was just wondering if I was there so he could run away from me?"
"I don't know. I guess he was…uh, wanting to know…if you were there."
That wasn't a big help. He still hadn't e-mailed me, so he couldn't have cared too much. I could have died for all he knew. Why wasn't he desperately trying to contact me? When I got home, I asked my mom if Dad used to call her a lot. She rolled her eyes.
"Constantly. Sometimes it was like I couldn't get rid of him. My roommate in college thought it was weird that he called so much," she said.
"So when did he stop calling you all the time?"
"Well, now he e-mails me every day or leaves a message on my voice mail if I'm not in," she said.
"What? Dad still calls or e-mails you every day?" I asked surprised they talked so often I just assumed after you were married for a while you barely spoke — like Tori's parents or Ericka's. She nodded and asked why I was so interested. I pretended it was no big deal and called Ashanti to see how often Jay e-mailed her.
"We don't e-mail a ton, because he calls me at night," she said.
"You get an actual phone call?"
"Why? Oh, Vladi. Well, there's probably more homework in high school, and he's got basketball practice."
I pointed out that Jay was on the basketball team and on the honor roll, too. But I wasn't even worthy of a phone call. Sure, he hadn't actually asked for my phone number, but if he checked online he could have easily found my social media page. Of course, it's hard to find a phone number or write an e-mail when: a) you don't want to, b) you already have a girlfriend, c) you're not interested, or d) all of the above.
Devon and India made up by Wednesday, but I noticed in social studies that India had scri
bbled Doug's name all over the inside cover of her notebook. We all went to the mall Thursday night, which was a big deal for me since Mom almost never let me out on a school night. I thought she was finally trusting me when she informed me the mall was probably safer for "a kid on a weeknight than on a weekend anyway." Oh thanks, Mom. Kid. Seriously? I was fourteen.
India's mom dropped us off, and we walked around for a bit. Devon and India liked to go around the mall so that guys would notice them. Me? I would have preferred to hit the bookstore and maybe look at lip gloss. Peyton seemed bored, too, and finally, when Devon and India realized there weren't any guys our age out that night, they caved and went into some stores. We went into Connick's, which was this great accessories store. Devon was looking at earrings when I saw a butterfly necklace pendant. It was made out of some sort of crystal and it was purple at the top, blue in the middle and green at the bottom.
"That's druzy crystal," the store worker said, coming over to the display. "Do you want to try it on?"
I nodded. The chain was long enough I could slip it over my head without having to unfasten it. "It's so pretty."
"The colors are great on you," she said. "The blue matches your sweater and your eyes."
Well, blue was a Hillcrest Academy color, so it would work with my stupid school uniform. I asked her how much it was, and she said it was fifty dollars with the chain and thirty-five for just the butterfly. I bit my lip. I didn't have a chain at home, and that one was perfect for it, but I didn't have that much money to spend. Devon walked over to see what I was looking at.
"That is beautiful," she said. "You guys, come here."
India and Peyton loved it, and pretty soon they were all looking at the different versions of the necklace.
"What if we all save up and get one?" Devon asked.
"I love this green one," Peyton said. "I'm down. You guys?"
India found an aqua blue one with pink in it that she said was meant to be hers. We all agreed we'd save up and get them. I knew Peyton had the money for it already, but I thought it was cool that she'd wait until the rest of us could buy one, too.
"I'm going to get Ashanti one," I said. "She'll love this orchid-colored one. I might be able to save up enough by the time her birthday comes around."
We stopped to get smoothies, and Peyton convinced me to go to the next basketball game. It was an away game, but it was close enough that my mom didn't mind driving us. I asked India and Devon to go with us, but Devon said she didn't want to run into either Doug or Jeremy. India said she might have to babysit and took a long sip of her peach smoothie.
Chapter Nine
I was so nervous the night of the basketball game. My palms were sweaty and I kept going to the bathroom. At first, I didn't even want to go into the gym. However, I mustered the courage just as the game ball went streaking past my head, and I almost got knocked over by a referee. The ref blew the whistle and went to hand the ball off. Vladi was standing there, and he nodded at me. Peyton squeezed my arm as we sat down, but I didn't think it was a big deal because he didn't smile at me.
"Duh, he was playing basketball, but he acknowledged your existence," she said.
"Kind of like how that cheerleader who keeps screaming out his name is acknowledging him?" I pointed to the girl with glossy, straight brown hair who was doing backflips on the sidelines.
"Forget her. He must like blondes anyway. He didn't check me out after all," she said.
I checked around to see if Carey was there, but I didn't see her. However, I did see India sitting with Doug and Cristian. I poked Peyton, but she had already seen them.
"Devon would kill her," she said.
"Um, should we tell her? They just started talking again," I said. I didn't want to get in the middle of another fight, and I could tell Peyton felt the same way. Besides, it wasn't as if Doug was Devon's boyfriend. I was sure India thought she would be safe since, other than her and Devon, the rest of us hadn't gone to the away games before. Peyton said we should try to avoid them after the game so we could pretend we never saw them together. However, I ran into her on my way out of the bathroom at halftime.
"Landry." India's aqua-blue eyes widened. "Are you here to see Vladi?"
I nodded, and we both stood there. Peyton came in to see what was taking so long and almost passed out when she saw India.
"You guys, could you not say anything to Devon about this? I came by myself and just ran into Doug here," India said.
Peyton and I acted like we hadn't even seen Doug. I knew India had to be lying because who would go to a game by herself? We agreed not to say anything. The whole time I worried about what would happen if Devon found out that I knew about Doug and India. Peyton told me to relax because we weren't doing anything wrong. I wasn't sure which was worse: keeping a secret from Devon or breaking up her friendship with India.
I decided not to say anything so that India wouldn't get into trouble. She and Devon had been fighting a lot, and it would only make things worse. Besides, India and Doug probably wouldn't last, and I would be getting her into trouble for no reason. My stomach felt queasy the rest of the evening. I couldn't even enjoy the rest of the game because I felt like keeping my mouth shut was betraying my friend.
When the game was over, we waited in the hall hoping Vladi would come out of the locker room. My eyes stayed glued on the locker room door, but those nagging feelings about India and Doug wouldn't go away. Then the door opened and Vladi came out. He glanced around, spotted me, and his face lit up. Peyton poked me in the side.
"He's coming this way," she said.
"Hey, Landry," he said, "I'm glad you could come out and watch us play tonight."
"You guys did great," I said, mentally kicking myself for not saying something witty and smart to wow him with my personality and intelligence.
"Thanks, it — it means a lot to me that you'd come see me play," he said, his eyes locked on mine. They were so warm, and it felt like my smile was radiating through my whole body.
"Any time."
"I have to go out with the team tonight," he said, glancing behind him. "But I'll talk to you later, okay?"
He walked over to his teammates. Then he turned around and winked at me.
"He totally likes you," Peyton said.
I nodded. It felt amazing that he seemed to truly appreciate that I had been there, but I couldn't shake the thought of how Devon would feel if she learned her crush didn't feel the same way about her.
****
The next day, Devon asked me to spend the night. I felt guilty keeping the truth about India and Doug from her, but I held back. Then I thought about how I'd have felt if I were dating Vladi and somebody saw him with another girl and didn't tell me. This whole mess was making me feel sick. I couldn't keep this secret. So I told Devon that I had seen them together, but I kept Peyton's name out of it.
"She what? She's supposed to be my friend," Devon said on the brink of tears. "I can't believe her. She's such a lying, backstabbing…"
"I'm so sorry," I said.
She sulked the rest of the night, and we ended up doing a movie marathon of her favorite actor, Blake Alderson, to make her feel better.
****
I was prepared for a long day on Monday. As I got dressed, I thought about how upset Devon had been and figured she and India wouldn't be speaking. I wondered if she'd tell India that it was me who told her. Mom gave me a ride to school, and I went up to Devon's locker.
"Hey," I said, "did you talk to India?"
She stared at me. "Yes, and she said she just ran into Doug there and that you totally made it into some huge thing to keep us from being friends."
"That's crazy. She even told me not to tell you."
Devon's eyes blazed. "And you were going to keep it from me?"
"Well, Peyton and I weren't sure — " I didn't mean to bring up Peyton's name, so I cut off and said, "I'm not the one you should be…"
Devon pushed past me, and I walked to class with
my head down so no one could see that my eyes were watering.
"Landry, what's the matter?" Thalia asked when I sat down.
I told her Devon was mad at me, and her eyes got big. "That was you she was talking about in the hall this morning?"
"What?" I asked, gripping my desk. My stomach rolled, and I started to feel queasy.
Ms. Ashcroft walked in, so Thalia started to write me a note. It was extremely hard to pass notes in Ms. Ashcroft's class because she had this, like, psychic, cat-like alertness. It didn't matter where I sat or what I did — she knew if I was doing something wrong. I thought it was brave of Thalia to even attempt to write me a note, but of course, Ms. Ashcroft's psychic powers kicked in, and for the first time all year, she moved her podium right in front of where Thalia and I sat. Her stupid podium had been next to her desk in the corner since the beginning of time, and that day she decides to move it? Thalia shrugged and mouthed "sorry" as she stuffed the note between the pages of her vocab book.
I went to social studies thinking maybe I could talk to India, and everything would be okay. Besides, Peyton was absent, so who else did she have to talk to? I walked into class and saw India sitting with Arianna. Great. I sat with Tori and Ericka, but Mrs. Heart told us to pair off into twos so we could quiz each other before the big social studies test the next day. Of course, Tori and Ericka were going to be partners, so I had to go around the room feeling pathetic and ask if anyone still needed a partner. Tad, the other class outcast, also had no partner so I sat at his table and we went over the practice questions in the back of the book.
"Do you want me to quiz you first?" Tad asked. All around the room everybody was just talking and pretending to test each other, and I got the kid who actually wanted to study. Of all days for Peyton to be gone. I told Tad that I'd ask him the questions first. We were supposed to cover everything we had learned since the beginning of the year, so I knew I wouldn't remember enough to answer anything.
Best Friends...Forever? Page 5
