by Sybil Nelson
“There was a section of chemistry on there that I wasn’t familiar with, but since all the formulas were given, I was able to figure things out,” Tai continued.
“That is simply amazing. So are you ready to go to Copenhagen to represent the U.S. in the international competition?”
Copenhagen? She was going to leave me again?
“I sure am. I can’t wait.”
“Well, it was certainly nice meeting you, Tai. You keep on making River’s Bend proud.” Stacy turned to the camera and said, “Tom, back to you.”
“And we’re out,” the cameraman said. He took the camera off of his shoulder and whipped off his headphones while another man unhooked wires and started winding up the huge, thick cable that ran from the camera to the news truck outside.
“You’re leaving the country? Why didn’t you tell me about this?” I asked her once we were back in her room.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I knew you wouldn’t be happy with me. But it’s only for a week this time.”
I sat on her bed and pouted. This would be the fourth time this year she left me. I’d be stuck hanging out with Kyle again. Some best friend she was.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” She sat down on the bed and put her arm around me. I shrugged her arm off my shoulder. “Look, you’ll have plenty of time to hate me later. Right now, I have to get you ready for your date tonight.”
She had a good point there.
Chapter 8: Girl Power
After Tai and I finished styling each other’s hair, I went home to get dressed. On Tai’s recommendation, I wore a green and brown summer dress that brought out the green in my eyes. It was the kind of dress that tied at the back of the neck and that required boobs to give the full effect, but a cute little brown shrug drew the attention away from my lack of upper body accessories.
All dressed and ready to go, I sat in my room trying to think of a way to get out of the house without having to tell my dad I was going to see a boy. Tai had it easy. Her parents trusted her so much that they basically let her do whatever she wanted. Mr. and Mrs. Houston were actually going to drop her off at Spencer’s house. Ha! I could be thirty years old and married with three kids and my father still wouldn’t hand me off to another man. I flopped back on my bed. It was hopeless.
Just then, I heard a knock on my door.
“Let’s go,” Josh said, poking his head in.
“Go where?” Didn’t he know I had a date tonight? I wasn’t going anywhere with him. Gosh, he could be so thick-headed.
“I’m taking you to the movies,” he said, leaning into the hallway like he was looking for something … or someone.
“What are you talking about? I’m going to see Spencer tonight.” I folded my arms and rolled my eyes at his stupidity.
“I know that, dummy!” he whispered, leaning back into my room. “I told Dad I was taking you to the movies. I’ll drop you off at Spencer’s then go pick up Stefanie.”
Oh, wow, okay. That was actually pretty brilliant. I shrugged, grabbed my purse, and followed him into the kitchen.
After a million questions from my dad, including what movie we were seeing, the subject matter, the start time and end time, even the route we planned on taking to and from the theater, we were finally free to go. Serious overkill. I mean, there was only one theater in town, and just like everything else, it was on Main Street. River’s Bend was so freaking small he could throw a rock up in the air in the middle of town square and it would have a 40 percent chance of hitting one of his own kids in the head.
Thankfully, Josh had answers to all the questions. He had really thought this through.
“Why are you doing this, Josh?” I asked once we were in his pickup truck.
He took out the ring he’d bought for Stefanie and held it in front of him. “You keep my secret, I’ll keep yours.”
Who would’ve thunk it. Me and Josh working together. It felt good to have an ally, especially since I no longer trusted my parents and my best friend always left town every time I turned around.
Most people in River’s Bend had a huge house, but Spencer’s was probably the hugest. Is that a word? Anyway, his front yard was literally a golf course. And his backyard looked like a postcard, complete with horses, ponds, and a cute little gazebo. The cool thing about the Callahans was that they didn’t act like rich people even though they were. They made their oldest son, Trevor, work during the summers to help pay for college, and Spencer shopped at thrift stores. From what I heard, the family didn’t even spend money on Christmas gifts, but instead volunteered together at a soup kitchen in Pittsburgh. Spencer was definitely, without a doubt, my dream guy. Tonight was going to be perfect.
Thankfully, Josh drove me right up to the front door and I didn’t have to make the half-mile trek from the main road.
“I’ll pick you up at eight fifteen sharp.”
“Eight fifteen? Can’t I stay a little longer?”
“Eight fifteen is already pushing it, Priss. The movie we’re supposed to be watching is over at seven thirty. Plus we have school tomorrow. Eight fifteen, and don’t be late.”
Josh put the car in gear and got ready to pull off, but I tapped on the door to make him stop, and said, “Thanks, Josh.”
He smiled as he drove off. I really hoped Stefanie realized what a great guy she was getting.
I turned around to knock on the door, but before I could, it swung open.
“Hey, Priss. What’s going on?” Spencer beamed at me with his gorgeous smile and electric eyes.
I loved that he said “what’s going on” instead of “what’s up.” That was one of Tai’s pet peeves. She always said “what’s up” was a stupid question. Up is a direction not a state of being. Or something like that.
“Not much,” I replied, trying to give my cutest smile. But he didn’t even notice. He kind of looked past me down his mammoth driveway.
“I thought Tai was coming,” he said.
“Oh, she is. We just didn’t ride together.”
“Okay, sweet. Well, Cali, Rebecca, and Helen are in the kitchen, making something called peppermint bark.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what it is, but it has something to do with chocolate so it’s fine with me. Kyle, Ethan, and Manny are in the game room playing Street Mania. Just make yourself at home.” He held the door open for me and let me enter. He didn’t follow me into the house like I’d hoped. Instead, he stood by the door and continued looking out through the glass frame …probably waiting for the rest of his guests.
I heard the girls giggling in the kitchen, but I was more drawn to the guys in the game room. I was an expert at Street Mania. Josh bought a copy of the racing game at the beginning of summer. When I first played against him, he beat me like a piñata, but I don’t give up easily. I stayed up for twenty-four hours straight and played it constantly. The next day, I was able to keep up with him. After a month, I was beating him so badly that he didn’t want to play it anymore.
That’s the thing about me. I might not be as smart as Tai, but when I put my mind to it, I could conquer any challenge.
“Can I play?” I asked when I went into the huge game room complete with leather sofas and flat screen TV.
Ethan and Manny were so focused on their race that they didn’t even realize someone had entered the room. Kyle rolled his eyes and said, “No way, Slumner. This game is boys only. Why don’t you head off to the kitchen with the other girls?” Kyle waved his hand in the air and dismissed me as if I was a fly threatening his meal.
“What’s the matter, Kyle? Afraid you’ll lose to a girl … again?” I asked. That worked. I could basically get Kyle to do anything I wanted by threatening his manhood.
Twenty minutes later, I had beaten him four straight times. Not only did I beat him, I crushed him. What I did to that boy in that game bordered on child abuse, it was so devastating. Then I actually stood on the coffee table and, with my arms in the air, roared, “Girl power!”
Cal
i, Rebecca, and Helen came from the kitchen and joined in on the chanting. In the middle of our celebrating, I realized my best friend wasn’t there to enjoy it with me. As a matter of fact, neither was Spencer. I hadn’t seen him since I got there. I wasn’t even sure if Tai had arrived.
I got down from the table and concentrated on finding her voice. When I did, I heard her laughing. I followed the sound to the gazebo out back. Tai and Spencer stood in the center of the gazebo as the sun hung just above the horizon behind them. Spencer was showing Tai his pet iguana, Scabby. She squealed and laughed each time he brought it close to her, refusing to actually touch it. Tai was not a lizard type of girl.
Why was Spencer showing Tai so much attention?
I ducked behind a bush and listened to their conversation.
“We should probably head back in. They can’t possibly still be playing that game,” Tai said.
“Ha, you don’t know Kyle. We might just be here all night until he finally beats Priss. But I don’t mind. I … I like spending time with you.”
“But, what about Priss?”
“What about her?”
“I thought you … she said that … I—”
“Look, Priss is cool, but it’s you that I really wanted to see tonight.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because I think you’re incredible and beautiful and smart. And I … I … I’d really like to get to know you better.”
My chest tightened. It hurt to breathe. I couldn’t listen to them anymore. I ran away as fast as I could. I didn’t know where I was going. I just ran. I ran faster and faster hoping that if I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, I wouldn’t notice my tears falling.
Chapter 9: The Great Mistake
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could I possibly think he liked me? Of course he fell for Tai. She’s so smart and so easy to talk to, not to mention completely adorable.
I ended up in the Callahans’ horse stable, drying my tears with the cute little brown shrug that was supposed to attract Spencer’s attention. After kicking a pail and sending it sailing across the room, I sank down into a pile of hay and tried to shut out all the sounds flooding my head. Suddenly, I heard everything everywhere. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but I heard sounds coming from Spencer’s house as well as bits of conversations from passengers of cars driving on the main road. That had to be like two miles away!
My brain couldn’t filter the sounds, giving me a massive headache. I felt hot and flushed everywhere. A strangely powerful hot flash was creeping up on me. My powers were completely out of whack. I thought I had learned to control them, but maybe I had gotten so emotional that I couldn’t anymore.
I lifted my hands out of the hay, afraid that any second a spark would fly out and send the whole barn up in flames.
That thought scared me so much that I had to struggle more and more to keep the fire inside me. Then, just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore and I was about to literally burst into flames, that calm feeling settled over me. The same feeling I felt when I was in the Crawford bathroom. My breathing slowed down and I felt my head clear. I loved this feeling. It was like floating on a gentle breeze or sticking your head out of a car window on a cool November day.
What was going on with me? Was that another part of my powers? I could miraculously calm myself?
I didn’t complain. Anything was better than that uncontrollable hot flash I had felt coming. That was a scary feeling.
I leaned my head against the wooden wall and thought about my sucky evening. I knew it wasn’t Tai’s fault that Spencer liked her instead of me, but I was still angry and hurt and just plain sad. Why did she have to be so cute? I closed my eyes and cried some more.
Josh will never know, a voice inside my head said.
Josh? Who cared about Josh right now? Wait, no. The voice didn’t come from my head.
I wiped the tears from my face and concentrated on where the voice was coming from. I desperately wanted to think about something else besides Tai and Spencer. And this seemed like just the adventure I needed. Someone was talking about my brother. No one else named Josh lived in River’s Bend.
I followed the voice to the guest house near the lake. Trevor usually stayed there when he was home from college. As I got closer, I noticed that Stefanie’s car was parked behind it. What was she doing there? Wasn’t she supposed to be somewhere getting a promise ring from my brother?
“Look, Stefanie, I don’t think this is a good idea. Josh is a good guy. And you’re a little young for me,” Trevor was saying.
“You’re nineteen; I’m seventeen. Nothing’s wrong with that.”
Ooh, what a little liar! She wouldn’t be seventeen for three more months. I knew because Josh was already planning her surprise birthday party.
“Girls mature so much faster than boys, which means you and me are so much more compatible. Josh is a little boy. I need a man, like you.”
Then I heard kissing sounds. Oh my God! Stefanie was cheating on Josh. This would crush him. This night was just getting worse and worse.
My anger grew as I thought about how Josh was going to feel. He was planning on proposing to that little skank. Hands on hips, I marched over to where her precious pink Pontiac was parked. I touched her tire and then sent a spark, instantly melting a hole into it. I repeated the process with the other three tires. Her stupid tacky car was now an immovable hunk of metal.
Well, really, all she needed to do is get four more tires and the car would be good as new. Just when I had decided to pop the hood and do a little more damage, I heard Josh’s car in the distance. Well, actually, I heard a Christina Aguilera song getting louder and louder on a car radio and I assumed it was him. I turned out to be right.
I ran as fast as I could to Spencer’s front door to meet him. I didn’t want him to come looking for me and find Stefanie with Trevor. As I ran, I peeked at my watch. It was only 6:25. Why was he back so early?
By the time I reached the driveway, Josh was already out of the car and rushing to the front door. “Priss, get in the car. We gotta go,” he yelled as soon as he saw me. He turned and hopped back into the driver’s seat.
“Why? What’s going on?” I asked, scrambling to get into the pickup before he drove off.
“You messed up, Priss. Big time.”
Oh my God. What did I do? As Josh peeled out of Spencer’s driveway, I racked my brain trying to figure out how I’d messed up. I couldn’t think of anything. He couldn’t have found out about me vandalizing Stefanie’s car. Not that fast, anyway. Not unless he was psychic or something. And besides the waffle attack from the twins, things had been pretty calm at the Sumner house. It couldn’t be what I had done to Chester. I’d already told dad I would make it up to him. I had no idea what this was about.
“How did I mess up, Josh? What did I do?”
“You mean you have no idea what this is about?” he asked as he ran a stop sign. I shook my head. “Think really, really hard about everything you did today.”
I thought and thought, but I couldn’t come up with anything.
“Josh, I really don’t know. Just tell me.”
“No, you tell me. Please tell me that you were not on the six o’clock news today along with Tai talking about some science test. Please say that it was some other skinny, big-mouthed, red-headed Priscilla Sumner.”
I leaned forward and slammed my head against the dashboard. “Snap! I thought I stayed out of the camera shot.”
“Well, you didn’t. And now Dad’s flipping out. He called the movie theater to find us. Good thing I was actually there. Stefanie wasn’t home so I went to see a movie after all. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if I wasn’t there?”
No, I couldn’t imagine. Well, I could imagine, but I didn’t want to. It would probably include my father running down the streets of River’s Bend screaming our names at the top of his lungs. I shuddered at the possible embarrassment.
***
“What is this?” my dad barked, pointing to the TV screen as soon as Josh and I entered the house. On it was an image of me in the Houston living room. I guessed he had TiVo’d the news footage and paused where I had gotten on camera. The cameraman must have panned the living room while Tai was talking to the reporter. I hadn’t even noticed. “What did I tell you about publicity?” he yelled at me.
