Invaluable

by Holly J. Wood

  “Of course I’m dying to know, I’ve been nervous all day, but I’m also scared to find out.”

  Keira laughed at my expression and pulled me along by the elbow.

  “Come on, scaredy-cat. Let’s put you out of your misery!”

  I followed her obediently, but my stomach twisted in anxiety. She marched me up to the line of girls who were gathered around the audition results posted to the choir room door. I waited for a break in the crowd before timidly making my way to the paper. The names were listed in alphabetical order, so I scanned down the list. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

  “I made it!” I squealed as I turned to Keira. A few girls around me offered their congratulations, and Keira gave me a hug.

  “I knew you would! I don’t know what you were ever scared about. Your voice totally rocks!”

  We made our way down the hall, and Keira shared in my enthusiasm as I bubbled over, the words of surprise and excitement spilling out of me faster than should have been humanly possible.

  The feeling of having achieved something I’d dreamed of gave me a sense of total euphoria. After saying good-bye to Keira, I said a silent prayer of thanks as I made my way to my car. Not long after turning on the ignition, I got a call from my mom, wanting to know the results.

  The thrills returned again as I shared my news and listened to my mom shriek excitedly. She promised to call my dad at work right away. I heard Courtney cheering in the background, which made me smile. This was turning out to be a great day!

  It wasn’t until I was sitting alone at work that I realized I still hadn’t heard from Jason. The game had been over for hours, so I sent him a text asking how everything went. I was sure that he’d just gotten caught up in the excitement and forgotten to let me know, so when I received a reply a few minutes later, I gasped in shock.

  Jason: This is Christy. Jason broke his leg. He’s at the hospital right now getting a cast. He’s going to be fine. He says he’ll call you.

  I sat in complete silence, reading the words over and over again to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood. Jason broke his leg? Unthinkable! Was this some kind of sick joke? Was Jason trying to break up with me two days before prom? I felt physically ill as I typed a reply.

  Me: Christy, thnx for letting me know. Tell Jason I hope he’s OK. How did it happen? Is he still going to be able to come home w/the team tomorrow?

  A few seconds later my phone rang. I flipped it open and was instantly greeted by a clamoring of sounds.

  “Hello?” I answered uncertainly.

  “Hi, Eliza, this is Christy. I had to wrestle the phone away from Jason.”

  I heard a slurred voice yelling in the background. “Gimme that phone, Chrishty. I’m jusht fine!”

  “Um, is he okay?” If I hadn’t recognized Jason’s voice, I would have thought this was a prank call.

  Christy giggled. “Yes, he’s fine, but he’s pumped full of about a thousand kilos of pain meds right now, and he’s not exactly . . . coherent.” She covered the receiver and said, “Hush, Jason! You’re in no position to talk. I promise I’ll tell you everything she said later.”

  Another frantic shout ensued. “I’m sho shorry, Elizha! Tell her I’m shorry, Chrishty!”

  I felt sorry for Jason, but I had to stifle a giggle as I listened to his slurred speech. I heard a door close and suddenly the background noise was gone.

  “Sorry about that,” Christy said, sighing in exasperation. “He was getting so worked up that I had to leave the room. Anyway, about your question, Jason broke his leg during the game when he collided with a guy from the other team.”

  I gasped. “No way. How awful!”

  “I know! It was a total freak accident. Jason’s leg was underneath him when the other kid landed on top of him. Fortunately, it was toward the end of the game, so Jase didn’t miss much. But it’s still a bummer.” She paused as if uncertain what to say next. “Anyway, he’s going to be fine, and he’ll come home with us tomorrow, but he made me promise to apologize for what this might mean for your prom date. I think he’d be calmer if he knew you weren’t upset. Are you going to be okay?”

  I felt awful to know that he was worrying about how I felt when he was the one with the broken leg.

  “I’m totally fine! Please tell him that he doesn’t need to worry—things like this happen.” Despite my noble attempt at sounding sincere, tears began forming in my eyes. I had to cut this conversation short before my shaky voice gave me away. “If it’s okay, I’ll stop by tomorrow after school to see how Jason’s doing. Please tell him not to worry one bit about prom and to just take it easy.”

  “Thanks, Eliza, that’s really sweet of you. I’ll tell him you’ll stop by tomorrow. See you then!” she said cheerfully.

  “Bye.”

  I snapped the phone shut in a stupor. In a matter of a few minutes, all of my planning and daydreaming about prom had come to a crashing halt.

  Part of me held a glimmer of hope that Jason would still be able to go even with the cast on his leg, but the more realistic part of me acknowledged that there was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to move at all for the next few days. I knew it was selfish to be thinking of my own disappointment when Jason was in physical pain, but I was sixteen after all, and this was supposed to have been my first prom.

  Cynthia entered the store, and I carefully wiped at my eyes to hide any evidence of tears.

  “Hey, Eliza, how was work tonight?” she asked.

  “It was pretty slow. I think we only had about eight or nine customers come in.” I headed for the back room to hang up my apron and grab my purse. Since I’d given my notice, things had been a little awkward between Cynthia and me, so I tried to keep my conversations with her brief.

  As I was walking out, she called, “Your last day will be next Thursday. Does that work?”

  I turned around. “Sure, that works for me. Have a good night.”

  “Eliza, hold on a sec.”

  I looked at her in surprise. Was she going to let me stay on without working Sundays?

  “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry I can’t let you work here without working Sundays, but I also wanted to tell you that I really admire you for sticking to your standards like that. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have had the guts to do something like that when I was sixteen.” She shook her head. “I obviously don’t have the guts to do that now, but I wanted to let you know that I’m impressed by your determination. I’ll let you know if I hear of any job openings, and I’ll be happy to write you a letter of recommendation if you need one.”

  I was stunned by Cynthia’s words. In all the time I’d known her, she’d never opened up to me like this.

  “Thanks, Cynthia. That really means a lot to me. I’ll miss working with you too. You’ve been a great manager.” We smiled at each other, and then I waved and walked out the door.

  What a crazy day! Cynthia’s kind words had helped me push away the sadness about prom. As Grandma would say, “No sense wasting time and tissues” over something I couldn’t control anyway. Tomorrow I would talk to Jason and figure out what we were going to do about prom. Until then, I was determined to focus on the things that had gone right today, because when I stopped to think about it, I had plenty to be thankful for.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Wow! How did you know I’ve been craving a milkshake all day?” Jason sat on the couch in his living room with his leg propped up on an ottoman.

  “Lucky guess.” I smiled as I handed him the milkshake and sat down next to him. “I have another surprise for you, too.” I pulled a flat, wrapped object from behind my back and handed it to him.

  “What’s this? You didn’t need to get me anything.”

  “Just wait till you see what it is,” I said, smiling at him mischievously.

  He tore open the paper and laughed. “No way! Just what I’ve always wanted—a Brady Bunch DVD!” I laughed as he jokingly stroked the DVD case as if it were a treasured object. “Mom wil
l be so pleased.”

  “I saw it in the store and thought of you,” I teased.

  He rolled his eyes but smiled. “I’m surprised you even bothered coming over here after what happened.” His smile faded as he looked at me.

  “Oh, Jason, knock it off! You keep talking like this is your fault. I feel bad enough that you’re stuck wearing a cast, but it makes me feel worse to hear that you keep blaming yourself. There will be other proms. It’s no big deal.”

  I reached out to take his hand, and he shifted uncomfortably. Something was bothering him.

  “I wish there was some way I could still take you, but the doctor said I have to stay off the leg for a few days,” he explained apologetically.

  “I know, and it’s okay. I promise.” He looked so sad that I wanted to throw my arms around him and make him believe that I really wasn’t disappointed. I looked down at his cast and noticed the signatures on it.

  “I see you have a fan club. Mind if I add to it?” I picked a marker from the assortment scattered on the coffee table and searched for a space to add my name. I recognized a lot of his team member’s signatures—particularly Luke’s. He’d written, “Tough luck, man, but you played awesome! Get well soon.”

  As I searched for an empty space to make my mark, I tried to think of something creative to write. Signing things like casts and yearbooks always made me feel a bit intimidated. It was hard coming up with something witty and original on the spot, but I felt extra pressure because as Jason’s almost-girlfriend, a simple “Get well soon” hardly sufficed.

  After a few moments’ hesitation, I decided to be a bit daring. I uncapped the purple marker and wrote, “Casts are sexy—wear it with pride!” followed by a heart and my signature. I felt a bit uneasy using the word “sexy,” and I secretly hoped his mom wouldn’t see what I’d written.

  Jason read what I wrote and laughed out loud, which made me feel like the risk was worth it.

  We talked for a while, and I noticed that no one from his family ever came into the room. It seemed a bit strange that a family as friendly as his would be absent while I was there, but I assumed they were all busy.

  Jason looked a little tired, and I decided it was time to let him rest.

  “I better go,” I said, “but is there anything I can do for you before I leave?”

  His anxiety seemed to increase, and he looked around the room as if making sure no one was listening.

  “Actually, yes. There is something I want to talk to you about.” He turned and looked at me straight in the eyes. “Eliza, you don’t really want to be my girlfriend, do you?” he said bluntly. It was more a statement than a question, and I stared back at him in complete shock.

  “Wh-what are you talking about?” I felt my palms begin to sweat.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past few days. I don’t know how to say this, but it’s just . . . for the past week or so you’ve been acting like my girlfriend, but sometimes I feel like that’s all it is—an act.” He shook his head as he took in my hurt and confused expression. “Don’t get me wrong! It’s not like I think you’ve been leading me on, or anything like that. You’re one of the coolest girls I know, and I’d like nothing more than for you to be my girlfriend. In fact, I’m completely flattered that you’d even consider me for a boyfriend, but I can tell by the look in your eyes and the way you act that you’d prefer if we were just friends. Am I right?”

  I looked down at my hands to hide the shame I felt. How did he know? I couldn’t believe I’d been so easy to read all along! I felt like a total fool, but I knew that now was the time to be honest.

  Without meeting his eyes, I slowly nodded. “Jason, you’re absolutely right, and I’m so sorry.” I looked up at him apologetically. “You are such an amazing guy, and I really wanted to like you, but you deserve someone who will be as awesome to you as you’ve been to me. I know it sounds totally cliché, but I hope we can still be friends.”

  He smiled somewhat sadly and reached over to give me a hug. “You can count on it.”

  I couldn’t believe how cool he was being about the whole situation, and I marveled once again about what a great guy he was. After a few seconds, he released me, and I stood up to leave. “Do you want me to come over tomorrow night and keep you company or something?” I hated that he would be stuck at home in a cast on prom night, and it wasn’t like I had plans anymore either.

  Jason shook his head and seemed to smile to himself. “No, I don’t think that would work out.”

  I felt like he’d been about to say something else, but I decided to let it go. He probably needed a little space before we started being “just friends.”

  “Okay, well, take care of yourself. Let me know if you need anything.”

  He nodded, and we looked at each other with an understanding that this was more than a normal good-bye; the chapter of “Jason and Eliza” had come to a close.

  As I walked toward my car in the chilly spring evening, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad. My first serious relationship had only lasted about a week—what did that say about my dating future?

  I walked into the kitchen and plunked my keys on the table, barely aware of my surroundings.

  “How did it go?” Mom was sitting at the table and looking at me with an anxious expression.

  “He’s going to be okay, but, as I expected, there’s no way he can make it to prom.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry! This must be really hard for you.” She took my hands and pulled me down to sit in the chair beside her. “Tell you what— why don’t you and I do some ‘girl time’ tomorrow? We can go shopping, get massages and pedicures, and gorge ourselves at whatever restaurant you choose for dinner. Maybe we can even catch a movie. How does that sound?”

  I smiled weakly at her. It was sweet that she was trying to make me feel better, and I wanted her to know I appreciated it.

  “Sure, that sounds really fun.”

  She still looked a little worried, and as much as I wanted to reassure her that everything was fine, I just didn’t have it in me. I was dangerously close to crying, and right now, escape was my best option. “I think I’ll head upstairs and take a nap. It’s been a long day.”

  Mom patted my hand. “Okay, sweetie.”

  As soon as I entered my room, the first thing I saw was my prom dress, all beautiful and sparkly, hanging from my closet door. Maybe I’ll get to wear it next year, I thought, trying to be positive, but the tears were already flowing freely down my cheeks. Turning my music up loud to cover the sound of my sobs, I flung myself onto my bed and let the floodgates open.

  • • •

  I wasn’t even close to being done with my crying session when a knock sounded at my door.

  “Liza, there’s someone here to see you,” Mom called loudly. With my music turned up, I hadn’t heard the doorbell ringing. I moved swiftly to the door. There was no way I wanted to see anyone right now, and I was sure that as soon as Mom got one look at my face she’d politely tell the visitor that I wasn’t feeling well.

  By the time I opened the door, however, Mom had already vanished, and I was left without a choice. Irritated, I ran to the bathroom and quickly applied some makeup to disguise the fact that I’d been crying. Who could possibly be visiting me out of the blue on a Friday night? I wondered. After a few moments of fiddling with my makeup, I sighed and headed downstairs. It was as good as it was going to get.

  I entered the living room, and there was Luke Matthews, sitting on the couch in my house! He smiled and stood up, causing my pulse to quicken at an alarming rate. Mom made an excuse about needing to check on dinner and walked past me toward the kitchen, winking at me discreetly as she walked by.

  “Hey,” Luke said rather shyly, looking at me.

  “Hey,” was all I managed in reply. I wanted to melt into those chocolate-brown eyes of his. I stood for a few seconds before I regained my senses. “Do you want to sit down?”

  “Sure, thanks.” He sat back
down on the couch, and I sat in the recliner facing him. He looked at his hands and cleared his throat, but didn’t say anything.

  I tried to think of something to say to break the silence. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t want him here, especially since I’d never had the chance to apologize for the other night. “It’s so awesome that you guys took state,” I finally said. “I really wish I could have been there.”

  Luke smiled. “Yeah, it’s too bad you couldn’t come. It was amazing to be a part of something like that!” His eyes dropped to his hands again. “Except of course for the part when Jason broke his leg. I felt really bad for him. Maybe if his lucky charm had been there it never would have happened.”

  He smiled slightly as he spoke, but now I was the one looking at the floor, a steady blush rising to my cheeks. Was he here to talk to me about Jason? It would be absolutely humiliating to admit that Jason had just dumped me!

  “I was never really his lucky charm,” I mumbled. Wanting to change the subject, I grasped at another topic. Might as well get it off my chest, I decided. “Luke, about the other night at your house. I’m really sorry I ran off like that. I’m not sure what I was thinking. I . . . I was just caught a bit off guard, I guess.” I looked at him apologetically. I knew it was a lame excuse, but I’d die a thousand deaths before admitting the reaction his touch had caused in me.

  Now it was Luke’s turn to look uncomfortable, and he waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it; that was totally my fault.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that comment, and Luke shifted a little on the couch before seeming to determine something.

  Looking at me intently, he said, “Liza, I came here to ask you . . .

  My stomach filled with butterflies, and I held my breath as I waited for him to continue.

  “I know Jason can’t take you to the dance tomorrow, and I wondered if . . . if . . . you’d be willing to let me take you instead.”

  Kaboom! It felt like a giant bomb went off inside my body! Could I really have heard him right? I shook my head slightly in confusion and squeaked, “You mean . . . like to prom? Tomorrow night?”