Twice As Nice

by Lin Oliver

  I nodded so vigorously that my head was in danger of toppling off my neck. He reached out and tousled my hair. “Okay, go call Lauren; she’s waiting to hear from you.”

  “Thank you a million, billion times, Dad,” I said, throwing my arms around his neck. “I won’t let you down. I promise.”

  I practically flew into the kitchen. Inside, Sammie and GoGo were sitting at the counter, sampling several different kinds of quesadillas from a serving platter.

  “Hey, Noodle,” GoGo called. “Come have a taste. I’m trying to decide which one to serve as appetizers at Bethany’s party. It’s down to chicken and cheese or veggie with avocado.”

  “I’ll be right back, GoGo. I’ve got to do something first.”

  I ran into my room and closed the door, grabbed my phone, and called Lauren.

  “My dad said yes,” I said without even so much as a hello. “I’m in!”

  “Oh, Charlie, this is super awesome!” I heard her whisper “She’s going to do it,” to someone else in the room. In the background, I heard Jillian and Brooke cheer and echo Lauren’s “this is super awesome” comment. Everyone in the SF2s, especially the girls, winds up talking like Lauren. She’s the kind of person you want to be like.

  Jillian grabbed the phone from Lauren.

  “Can we come to the club right now and do the application?” she said. “The sooner we get it in, the sooner we’ll know.”

  The last thing I wanted was for us to be sitting around working on the application with Sammie hovering nearby. It was going to be hard enough to tell her my decision, and I didn’t need a constant stream of critical remarks from her.

  “Would it be okay if I came to Lauren’s instead?” I asked.

  “Let me check.” Then I heard Jillian whisper, “She wants to come here.” Lauren whispered something back to her, but I couldn’t hear what she said.

  “Lauren wants to know if Ryan is there at the club.”

  “No, he’s at a volleyball team dinner.”

  I heard her whisper that to Lauren and then I overheard Lauren say, “In that case, tell her to come here.”

  “Lauren says it’s great if you come here. We’ll get the papers ready and order pizzas.”

  I ripped off my school clothes and put on my new hot-pink tank top and matching ballet flats I had been saving for a special occasion. Then I went back to the living room and slid onto the stool at the counter next to Sammie. Just by looking at what I was wearing, she knew what was up.

  “They got you, didn’t they?” she said.

  I didn’t answer, just reached out and took a bite of each of the quesadillas. Sammie talked while I chewed.

  “You’re not seeing things clearly, Charlie,” she said. “I’m trying to protect you. These girls are using you. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

  “I vote for the veggie with avocado,” I said. “And Sams, I don’t need your protection. I am old enough and smart enough to make my own decisions about my own friends.”

  “Charlie has proven that she can use good judgment,” GoGo said. That shut Sammie up. Then turning to me, GoGo added, “Follow your instincts, and if it turns out you’ve made a mistake, learn from it. That’s all we can do in life.”

  “Thanks, GoGo. See you guys in a little bit.”

  I slid off the stool and ran outside to find my Dad.

  “Can you drop me at Lauren’s house?” I asked.

  “Well, that didn’t take long,” he answered. “Can this wait until after dinner? I thought you and Sammie were going out for your pizza celebration.”

  Oops. In the excitement of everything, I had totally forgotten about our plans. “I can’t tonight. The girls have already ordered pizza for us,” I explained.

  “Did you tell Sammie your date is off?”

  “She’ll understand, Dad! Besides, she’s already eaten a ton of quesadillas and she’s probably full. We’ll go to Barone’s tomorrow. I know she’ll be fine with that.”

  “Maybe you should talk to her first.”

  “I can’t, Dad. I don’t have time. Everyone is waiting for me.”

  “All right. I guess that’s between the two of you, anyway. I’ll get my keys.”

  Lauren lives in a huge house in the Palisades, overlooking the ocean. It’s only a few minutes away, but the ride there seemed to take forever. It’s strange how that is . . . when you want something to happen really fast, time seems to slow down just to torture you. Finally, we pulled into the circular driveway of Lauren’s house. There’s a fountain in the middle with a statue of a little boy peeing. We all think it’s gross, but Lauren’s mom says every elegant Italian mansion has one. I hopped out almost before my dad stopped the car.

  “Don’t bother saying good-bye,” he called out as I ran to their huge front door with the stained glass windows and rang the bell.

  From inside, I heard a ton of footsteps thundering down the stairs. The door flew open, and Lauren, Brooke, Jillian, and Lily were all there, holding out their arms to me.

  I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

  “Okay, let’s get rid of these pizza boxes so we don’t have cheese stains all over our application,” Lauren said after dinner. “Esperanza! Could you please come here and take these?”

  Alicia’s mom, Esperanza, works at the Wadsworth’s house when she’s not working at the Sporty Forty. I think she spends three days at each job. I love Espie—she’s become a great friend of our family and really helped take care of GoGo after she broke her leg. The last thing I wanted was for her to have to come into the kitchen to clean up our mess.

  “I’ll take care of this,” I said, popping up and clearing the boxes off the table. “Where do you keep your recycling bin?”

  “Oh, Charlie, you’re such a hopelessly good girl,” Lauren said.

  “But that’s what we love about you,” Lily added.

  By the time I had returned from dumping the boxes in the garbage bin, which was already out at the curb waiting for the next day’s pick up, the papers were spread out on the table.

  “So, Ryan already helped us enter most of this information on the application form,” Lauren said, as I pulled up a chair. “We just have to add your answers. Let’s write them down for now, and I can get my dad to put it all in the computer later.”

  “I can do it,” I said. “It’s not hard.”

  “Why bother?” said Lauren. “It’s so much easier to have my dad do it. So, here’s the first question. List your most important extracurricular activities and why they matter to you.”

  I didn’t have to give that one a second thought.

  “Well, for sure mine is playing competitive doubles tennis with my sister. It’s really important because we’re hoping to win scholarships one day to pay for college.”

  “College,” Brooke nodded approvingly. “They’ll like that. It sounds so serious.”

  “In a boring kind of way,” Jillian added.

  “Plus, we just got a new ranking,” I said proudly. “We’re now eleventh in the state in the fourteen-and-under category. If we keep it up, we’ll make it to the Top Ten Club.”

  “Oh yeah. That’s what I’m talking about,” Lauren said, writing as fast as her pen could go. “The principal is going to love that.”

  “Can we highlight that in yellow?” Jillian asked.

  Lily laughed. “I don’t think you have to, Jilly,” she said. “It’s pretty impressive as is. I’d say it stands out all on its own.”

  I was on a feel-good roll now, so I just went on.

  “Also, every year on Christmas Day, our whole family goes to the mission downtown and helps serve turkey dinners to the homeless people. It’s a tradition.”

  “Not us,” Brooke said. “Our tradition is ripping open all the presents and trying everything on.”

  Laur
en burst out laughing and threw her arm around Brooke. “Remember that year when everything your mom bought you was one size too small?”

  Brooke started to chuckle and groan at the same time.

  “Brookie didn’t stop crying all day,” Lauren laughed. “It was so pathetic.”

  “Then our families went skiing together the next day,” Lily explained to me. “Brooke was in such a bad mood, she didn’t even want to leave the condo. So I stayed back with Brooke. We spent the whole day drinking hot chocolate.”

  “Okay, everyone, no more reminiscing. We still have to add Charlie’s info to this whole section on grades,” she said, picking up her pen again.

  “Let’s not and say we did,” Jillian said. We all cracked up. Lauren was done messing around, though.

  “Charlie, what do you have for us?” she asked.

  “Well, on my last report card, I got all As and one B.”

  “Unbelievable! That’s exactly what I got!” Brooke giggled.

  “Yeah, in your dreams,” Lily said. “The day you get an A, I’ll eat my hat.” Then she took off the hat she was wearing, a cute black-and-red checkered one with actual earflaps, and pretended to be chomping it down. We all cracked up again.

  It felt so good to be back with these girls. They knew each other so well that they just said and did whatever they felt like. It was like I had always known them.

  It took us another hour to finish the application. We added some stuff about how I was new to Beachside Middle School and looking for an opportunity to participate in the community. And while we were making additions, we decided to put in a whole paragraph on Lily’s talent for fashion design and how she had volunteered to make all the hats for Bethany’s sweet sixteen. I suggested we put in that Lily was going to donate all the hats to a children’s charity afterward, but Lauren didn’t think Bethany would go for that.

  Lauren decided that she and Lily would get to school early to turn in the application. If we all trooped in to Principal Pfeiffer’s office together, it would look too much like we were a clique and not a school club. Lauren’s very smart about these things.

  “Let’s all meet at our table at lunch to see if there’s any news,” Lauren said.

  “Me too?” I asked, suddenly timid about whether I’d be welcome.

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Lauren said, pausing to consider what to do.

  “Of course you too,” Lily said, answering for Lauren. “You’re back, remember?”

  “But what about Jared and Sean? Won’t they be there?” I asked.

  “They’re not the leaders of the SF2s,” Lauren said. “You are definitely sitting at our lunch table. They’ll just have to get used to that. We all will.”

  It had been such a big deal when the SF2s first invited me to sit with them at their table. They have the best table in the lunch pavilion, and every day the whole crowd gathers there to laugh and tell stories and make plans for what they’ll do after school. I had really missed sitting with them the past three weeks. Once or twice, I’d had lunch with Sammie or Ryan, but mostly I just went to the library and ate lunch alone. The thought of joining them at “our” table again made me want to stand up and dance. Or at the very least, shave my legs.

  Mrs. Wadsworth was on her way to meet some friends for a bridge game, so she offered to drive all of us home.

  “Good luck to us,” I said as I stood on the porch and said good-bye to Lauren. “Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”

  I was surprised when we all climbed into the backseat of the car to find Esperanza sitting in the front, next to Mrs. Wadsworth.

  “Hola, Charlito,” she said. “Mrs. Wadsworth is driving me home, too. Did you have a nice time with your friends?”

  I wanted to sink into the big black leather seat and disappear. I didn’t want to seem like one of the rich girls in front of Esperanza. Usually, Espie and I talk about all kinds of things, and I practice my Spanish with her. But I didn’t feel comfortable having our usual chat now that the other girls were in the car. We rode the rest of the way in silence.

  When we pulled up in front of The Sporty Forty, I hopped out quickly. As I ran inside, I could hear Esperanza call out, “Hasta mañana, Charlito.” I didn’t answer again.

  The minute I pushed the gate open and went inside, I saw Sammie leaning against the screen door of the clubhouse, her arms folded across her chest.

  “Have a nice evening?” she said. Her voice was tight and angry.

  “Sammie, let me explain . . .”

  “Dad already did. I know the whole story. We had a lot of time to talk about it while I wasn’t out to dinner with you as we had planned. Nice touch, sis.”

  Ryan came swaggering in from the kitchen, eating ice cream from the carton.

  “Somebody’s in the doghouse with Sam-I-Am,” he said, a few chocolate chips spewing from his mouth. “And I think her initials are C. D. Do you know anyone with those initials, Charles?”

  “Can you please ingest your half gallon of ice cream somewhere else, Ryan? Sammie and I need to talk.”

  “Stay right there, Ryan,” Sammie said. “We don’t need to talk. I think Charlie’s actions tonight said plenty.”

  “I’m sorry about tonight, Sams,” I said. “I was hoping we could go to Barone’s tomorrow night.”

  “I’m busy tomorrow night, Charlie. “

  “I know you’re not.”

  “You just don’t get it, do you?” Sammie said, her blue eyes glaring at me. “It feels really terrible to be second choice. You chose Lauren and those girls over me. And this isn’t the first time, either. So fine. That’s the way it is. “

  “Score a point for Sammie,” Ryan said. “You got a comeback for that, Charles?”

  “No, she doesn’t,” Sammie said. “Because there’s really nothing more to say, is there, Charlie? The truth is the truth.”

  She was right. The truth was that I had missed my friends; that more than anything, I wanted to be back in their company; that I loved the idea of being a Junior Wave; and I had chosen those things over her.

  There was a moment of silence, filled only by the slurping sounds of Ryan getting the last goopy remains of Mint Chip from the bottom of the ice-cream carton.

  “I’m going to bed,” Sammie said.

  She turned around and marched inside, leaving me standing there alone, with nothing but my decision to keep me company.

  Sammie had already left for school by the time I woke up the next morning. She’d taped a note for me on the shower door.

  “I guess you have to do what you have to do,” it said. “Good luck with that.”

  It was a typical Sammie note. She can be really pigheaded about her own ideas. She likes to see things her way. Maybe we all do, I don’t know. But as far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t sympathetic. I had apologized for standing her up. I had invited her out to another dinner. I had gone to her stupid Truth Tellers, and tried my best to fit in. But it didn’t work out. For the first time in weeks, I woke up in a good mood and was looking forward to going to school. You’d think she could be happy for me.

  Once I got to school, I couldn’t keep myself from hanging around outside Principal Pfeiffer’s office. I tried not to be obvious about it, pretending I had developed a deep interest in the policies about respecting school property posted on the bulletin board outside his office. Finally, just before the bell rang, Lauren and Lily came bouncing out into the hall.

  “We did it!” Lauren said, linking her arm in mine and guiding me down the hall toward homeroom.

  “What did he say?” I asked.

  “That he was very familiar with The Waves at Pacific High, and that he thought a Junior Waves at Beachside was a fine idea.”

  “And guess what, Charlie?” Lily said. “He’d heard about your win at the Sand and Surf tournament over the weekend and w
as very impressed. Apparently, he has a little son who is just getting started in tennis and thinks you guys are amazing.”

  “Yay, me!” I said with a giddy laugh. “So when’s he going to let us know?”

  “He said maybe as early as tomorrow,” Lauren answered. “Thursday at the latest. And you know what that means?”

  I didn’t, but I nodded my head anyway.

  “That we could go to the Friday night game as official Junior Waves?” Lily asked.

  Lauren didn’t answer. She just squealed, and that said it all.

  As we walked to homeroom, we talked excitedly about our ideas for T-shirts. Lily didn’t think ours should be exactly the same as the ones The Waves wore, because we wanted to have our own look. But we all agreed that they should definitely be the same color, so when we sat together at the game, we could blend in and look like one big group.

  I didn’t have a chance to talk with Sammie at school in the morning, but I did run into her at the beginning of lunch. She was standing at her locker with Alicia and Sara Berlin, pulling out a beat-up-looking canvas lunch bag that had seen one too many tuna sandwiches.

  “Hi,” I said, not too friendly, not too angry, just right in the middle. I wondered if Sammie had told Alicia and Sara about our fight, but I was pretty sure she hadn’t because Sara was really friendly and said, “Hey, Charlie. Want to join us for lunch? We’re going to Mr. Walsh’s room to watch a documentary on how dolphins are almost as intelligent as humans.”

  “Thanks, Sara, but I can’t.”

  “Charlie has plans with her other group,” Sammie said. “I guess we’re not good enough for her.”

  Even Sara and Alicia looked surprised at her tone.

  “Ease up there,” Alicia said. “This is your sister, you’re talking to.”

  “That’s okay,” I said to Alicia. “Sammie and I are just having a little disagreement. No big deal. We’ll get over it. We always do, don’t we, Sams?”

  She didn’t answer. Fine, that was her choice. I said good-bye to the others and continued down the hall out to the lunch pavilion. It was a nice breezy day and kids were streaming in, carrying trays of food and cups of yogurt and icy drinks. I glanced over at the spot I knew so well, and there they were—the SF2s. Sean and Jared were on one side of the bench, wedged in between Ben Feldman and the General. Lauren was balancing a tray with three yogurts and climbing over the other bench to sit down. I paused, suddenly feeling unsure if I was going to be welcome. I hoped Lauren would look up and wave me over, but she was busy chatting with Brooke.