Chelsea continued her little charade. “Yes, you seem rather familiar. Do you perhaps live in the same neighborhood?”
Janelle seemed honestly surprised. “Huh?”
“Why have you been acting like this?” Chelsea quietly asked her.
“Me?” Janelle gave her an innocent look.
Chelsea shrugged. “Oh, I suppose it was me snubbing you. Right?”
Janelle nodded like she honestly believed this nonsense.
“Are you serious?”
“Let’s take the seats back there.” Janelle pointed to the seats in the rear of the auditorium where the class met.
Once they were seated, Chelsea continued trying to get to the bottom of Janelle’s snooty behavior, but the more they talked, the more it seemed obvious that Janelle had been thinking the exact same things about Chelsea.
“But what have I done?” Chelsea demanded. “I smile and say hi to you, and you act like you’re blind and deaf or you—”
“Because I know you’re just pretending to be nice.”
“Pretending?” Chelsea stared at her. “What are you—”
“Now that you’ve got your new hoity-toity set of friends, you’re too high and mighty for me and my friends and—”
“That is so not true!”
“Lishia told me how you snubbed her in English—”
“I have never snubbed her!” Chelsea seethed. “But she’s snubbed me ever since I first met her. Even that day at my house when she—”
“Excuse me up there in the back row.” Mr. Valotti waved from the stage. “Why don’t you two girls bring your discussion down here to the stage for everyone to hear?”
“Sorry,” Janelle called back.
Chelsea just nodded.
“No, I mean it,” he insisted, “you two girls come down here, please.”
Chelsea and Janelle exchanged glances, then got up. Amid comments and teasing from the rest of the class, they made their way down the stairs and onto the stage.
“Sorry about that,” Chelsea mumbled to the teacher.
He smiled at her. “Remind me of your name.”
“Chelsea Martin.”
“You’re a new student, right?”
She just nodded.
“Have you been in any productions before?”
“Just behind the scenes.” She briefly explained her minor responsibilities at her previous drama classes.
“That’s great to hear,” he said, “because I usually expect new students to learn the ropes, so to speak, by working on lights, makeup, and costumes. But since you’ve already been there and done that, I’m sure you’ll have no problems with auditioning.”
“Auditioning?”
“For a role in our fall production.”
“Oh.” She glanced nervously at Janelle.
“As you all know,” he said loudly to everyone, “we’re doing The Man Who Came to Dinner for our fall play. As usual, it’s not a musical. We’ll wait until spring for that.” He nodded to the stacks of scripts piled on the edge of the stage. “For those of you who plan to audition, come on up here and get a script.” He looked back at Chelsea. “You get one too. I want you to audition for the role of Maggie.”
“Maggie?”
“Are you familiar with this play?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“That’s fine. You will be.” He turned to Janelle. “I’m not sure which role you’ll want to audition for, but I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Now if everyone will begin finding their seats, I will tell you a bit about this charming old play, which is fun for Christmas. For anyone who’s unfamiliar with the story, you’re invited to join me to watch the 1942 film version after school today at 3:30.”
Chelsea and Janelle found new seats, not in the back this time, and listened as Mr. Valotti discoursed on the play and how it was produced first on the stage, later by Hollywood, and finally on television.
“Are you going to watch the video today?” Janelle asked Chelsea as class ended.
“I think so.”
“Me too.”
“Do you want to finish our conversation?” Chelsea asked a bit tentatively.
Janelle nodded, and they agreed to meet after school and go to the movie together.
They were just turning toward the math department when Dayton stopped Chelsea. “Hey, you never told me if you’re coming to the game tonight or not.” He smiled hopefully. “You will come, won’t you?”
She explained about the movie after school.
“When will it get done?”
“I assume it’s a couple hours. Like 5:30 maybe?”
“Want me to pick you up then?”
“Sure, that’d be great.”
“The varsity game doesn’t start until eight. But if you want to ride with me, we’ll have to go early. You’ll have to watch part of the JV game.”
She wanted to point out that she hadn’t committed to going to the game yet. “I need to get to class,” she said as the warning bell rang.
“See you around 5:30 then, in front of the school.”
Janelle gave Chelsea a doubtful look, as if she questioned her judgment. Chelsea simply smiled and said she’d see her later. As she headed for class, she caught Dayton’s ex-girlfriend, Riley Atkins, dressed in her blue and red cheerleader’s uniform and scowling at her. It wasn’t the first time this had happened either. For whatever reason, it seemed that she now resented Chelsea, which was hard to imagine since Riley had been the one to break up with Dayton. Plus she didn’t even know Chelsea.
As Chelsea slipped into a desk, she realized that all she wanted was a friend. Just one loyal and good and dependable friend. She knew that God was her friend, and that was great, but someone wearing skin would be nice too. Ironically, it seemed the only available and willing candidate was Dayton. Every time she turned around, he was there. Ready with a friendly smile, encouraging word, or a needed ride, Dayton came through. Even if his motives were selfish—and she had no doubt that sometimes they were—it was still a comfort to know he was there for her.
After school, she and Janelle got sodas and slowly walked over to where Mr. Valotti planned to show the movie. As they walked, they talked, and the more Janelle talked, the more Chelsea began to suspect that Lishia had been very manipulative.
“I kind of thought you might be using me this summer,” Janelle finally said, “but when school started, it seemed pretty obvious.”
“What seems obvious is that Lishia wants to make sure I don’t come between you and her.” Chelsea sighed. “I can’t really blame her. Good friends are hard to come by. But even if you don’t have room for another friend in your life, and even if Lishia can’t stand me, which I suspect is the case, it would still be nice not to feel like I’m your enemy.” Chelsea felt a lump in her throat.
“Is that how you feel?”
Chelsea shrugged. “Kind of. I mean, you’ve pretty much been ignoring me.”
“I just thought you were so busy with Dayton.” Janelle shook her head. “And to be honest, I can’t figure that out. Dayton is such a—”
“Dayton has been a friend to me. Just about the only one I have.”
“But you know what he’s after, don’t you?”
“Of course. I know he wants this relationship to turn into something more than what I want.”
Janelle looked confused. “Meaning you don’t consider yourself his girlfriend?”
Chelsea laughed. “No. And Dayton knows that.”
Janelle’s expression was skeptical.
Chelsea decided to tell Janelle about the commitment she’d made to God at the concert. “I don’t know exactly what that means, but I’d like to get more involved in a youth group. I’d hoped maybe yours, but now I’m thinking I might not be welcome there. I asked Dayton if he ever went to church, and he just laughed. But he said he might go to church if I took him. That’s pretty funny considering I don’t even have a church to go to. Talk about the blind leading the blind.”
Janelle looked truly stunned. To Chelsea’s surprise, she hugged her. “I’m so sorry, Chelsea. I’ve been a totally rotten friend to you. Please forgive me!”
Chelsea hugged her back. “I just think you got influenced by someone who doesn’t really know me.” They stepped back and looked at each other. “I’m not saying that Lishia purposely maligned me . . .” Of course, she wasn’t going to say that Lishia hadn’t either.
“Lishia has always been kind of jealous.”
“I meant what I said before,” Chelsea reminded her. “I don’t want to replace Lishia. I respect that you two are best friends. I’d just like to be your friend too.”
“You are my friend, Chelsea.”
“Hey, friends,” Mr. Valotti said cheerfully, “how about coming in for the film?”
Chelsea smiled at him. “That’s why we’re here.”
“I’ll be curious to see what you think of Maggie. She’s played by Bette Davis.”
“Bette Davis?” Chelsea said, feeling more interested now.
“You know who that is?”
“Of course.” Chelsea nodded. “I love Bette Davis.”
“You do?” He looked dubious.
“All About Eve is one of my favorite old movies.”
“Really?” he said. “That’s a great classic.”
Suddenly they were talking about Bette Davis and old movies, and Janelle was looking at Chelsea with a mixed expression of curiosity and concern. When Mr. Valotti invited Chelsea to sit next to him, she urged Janelle to sit on the other side. As the movie played, he quietly pointed several things out to them.
“See that fire in her eye,” he whispered to Chelsea. “That’s what you’ll need to capture to carry out that role. She’s a spicy one.”
Janelle gently elbowed Chelsea, but when Chelsea turned to look at her, Janelle’s eyes were fixed on the screen and her arms were folded across her front as if she were irked about something.
To Chelsea’s surprise, Mr. Valotti asked her to remain and discuss the part of Maggie after the movie ended. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “My ride is probably waiting for me.” She smiled. “Another time, okay?”
“Okay.” He nodded and smiled.
Chelsea hurried to catch up with Janelle. “What’s the hurry?”
“Too hot and heavy in there.” Janelle shook her head.
“Huh?”
“I can’t believe Mr. Valotti was flirting with you.”
“What?” Chelsea grabbed Janelle by the forearm, stopping her in her tracks.
Janelle looked directly into her eyes. “You seriously didn’t get that?”
“No.” Chelsea shook her head. “I think you’re imagining things.”
“Oh, Chelsea, you are so oblivious.”
“I thought we were going to be friends.” Chelsea felt blindsided again. “Why are you saying things like that? Don’t you know it hurts?”
“I said that because I think it’s the truth. And friends tell each other the truth, right?” They began walking again.
“Well, here’s my truth, Janelle. What you just said is insulting to me. It’s like you think I’m a slut or—”
“No, no, you don’t get it. It’s not you, Chelsea. Not exactly anyway. It’s the guys who are being jerks. But it’s like you send out some signal . . . like what I said before. You’re a jerk magnet.”
Chelsea looked over her shoulder, then spoke quietly. “So are you saying Mr. Valotti is a jerk?”
Janelle pressed her lips together and slowly shook her head. “You know, I’d heard rumors, but until today I’d never actually seen anything. Now I’m starting to wonder.”
“Oh, Janelle.” Chelsea felt disappointed. “I can’t believe you’d say that.”
“I’m serious.”
They were at the front door, and Dayton’s car was already waiting. “Do you need a ride?” Chelsea asked.
“With Dayton?” Janelle laughed loudly. “No way. My mom’s picking me up. But we can give you a ride.”
Chelsea waved at Dayton. “Thanks, but since Dayton made the effort to come get me, the least I can do is ride with him. Another time, okay?”
“What does your dad think of Dayton?”
Chelsea shrugged. “He’s fine with him. I mean, they barely met the other day. Why?”
“Just curious.”
Chelsea paused with one hand on the door. “So . . . we’re still friends then?”
“Absolutely.” Janelle nodded. “But as your friend, I will tell you the truth. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll try to do it more gently though.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Chelsea told her goodbye, then jogged out to get in the car.
“How was the flick?” Dayton asked as she buckled her seat belt.
“Pretty cute.” She told him about how she wanted to try out for a part. “Mr. Valotti thinks I can do it.”
Dayton tossed a sideways glance at her. “Is Mr. Valotti coming on to you?”
She laughed nervously. “Of course not. Why would you say that?”
“Because that man has a reputation.”
She brushed this off, but she was starting to wonder.
The second week of school showed some signs of improvement for Chelsea. Although she was trying to keep things cool and calm between her and Dayton, she could tell that he was getting impatient. She could also tell that he wanted everyone to think they were a couple. In a way, that was sweet. In another way, it was disturbing.
However, it was not as disturbing as the way Nicholas Prague was treating her. After attending youth group on Saturday night with Janelle and a slightly irritable Lishia, Chelsea had hoped that other members of the church group would become more accepting of her. Of course, Chase was always glad to see her. Not that it helped her friendship with Janelle much, since she still seemed to be pining for him.
Perhaps Chelsea’s biggest social success had been initiating a somewhat shaky friendship with Olivia Hutchison. Although they had economics together, Olivia had been a bit chilly at first, but Chelsea remained persistent and eventually Olivia warmed up.
“You’re a lot nicer than I thought you were,” Olivia finally told her on Friday.
“And you’re even funnier than I thought you were,” Chelsea said. “I seriously think you could do stand-up and get rich.”
“Thanks!” Olivia beamed, but then her smile faded. “The truth is I’d trade my humor for your looks.”
Chelsea shook her head as they left the classroom. “Looks are highly overrated. And someday, when we have time, I can tell you why.”
“Really?” Olivia looked hopeful.
As predicted, Chelsea had gotten the role of Maggie in the play. But now she was concerned that Janelle, and Dayton as well, might’ve been right about Mr. Valotti. Oh, he hadn’t actually done anything morally questionable. But he was definitely a touchy-feely sort of guy, and sometimes the implications seemed clear, even to someone as oblivious as her. As a result, she felt like she needed to keep a safe distance and watch her step, but being on her guard like that felt restrictive. And then she’d second-guess herself, wondering if her suspicions had more to do with what she’d heard than what she’d actually experienced firsthand. Sometimes being attractive felt like a tricky tightrope dance. She wondered if she’d ever figure out how to act like a normal person.
However, the most frustrating part of her fledgling social life was Nicholas Prague. It wasn’t that she’d expected him to fall madly in love with her. Not after the night of the concert anyway. But he’d been so cold to her the first week of school that she wondered if there was some reason he detested her. Had she done something offensive? She was working hard to eliminate her crush on him, but she was learning the hard way that the heat of a crush is a hard thing to extinguish. She wished she’d never allowed herself to feel that way. At the same time, she wondered if she really had a chance—did she pick love or did love pick her? Or was she totally naive to conf
use a stupid crush with real love? So many questions . . . Where were the answers?
She eventually concluded that she’d been foolish to nurture an interest in someone like Nicholas Prague when it was clear he disliked her. Still, it didn’t seem too much to expect for him to be civilized, especially since they were in the same youth group. How was it that all the sweet talk of brotherly love ran rampant on church property but evaporated on school grounds? Just the same, she tried to be polite and friendly to him, but she was rewarded with what felt like cold hostility. Nicholas treated her as if she had cooties. Her respect for him, despite his noble words in youth group and his unbearably good looks, was rapidly deteriorating. In her opinion, Nicholas Prague was a snob. Or worse—a hypocrite.
By the third week of school, Chelsea realized she had an interesting and varied collection of friends. From star quarterback Dayton Moore to academic geek Janelle Parker to ever-adoring Chase Lassiter to chubby but funny Olivia Hutchison. She’d also befriended a couple of drama kids. It wasn’t unusual for Chelsea to be surrounded by this diverse gathering of friends during lunch.
She’d also made some frenemies, including popular but snooty Riley Atkins, who sometimes acted nice, as well as the not-so-popular but equally snooty Lishia Vance. Both girls, for whatever reasons, pretended to like Chelsea, but she knew better. Mostly she tried to take girls like that in stride, the same way she took the guys who pursued her in stride. However, the balancing act, especially with Dayton’s constant attentions, was getting more and more difficult.
“You should run for homecoming queen too,” Dayton told Chelsea. He pointed up to a glittery poster with Riley’s photo beaming down on them. Naturally, Riley had long ago made it clear she intended to win that crown.
“Why would I do that?” Chelsea asked.
“To beat Riley,” he said, as if it were obvious.
“You should run,” Olivia said from the other end of the lunch table. “I’d help you launch a last-minute campaign.”
“So would I,” Chase offered. “I could be your campaign manager.”
Dayton tossed Chase a warning look.
“Thanks anyway.” Chelsea smiled at them. “That’s really sweet of you guys, but it’s not even a possibility for me. That’s the weekend of my dad’s wedding, so I won’t even be in town.”
Jerk Magnet, The (Life at Kingston High Book #1) Page 12
