Twisted

by Jo Gibson

“Hi, Brett.” Colleen spoke up when she realized that Amy was practically speechless. “Amy and I were talking about poor Tanya. Do you know what happened?”

  “Poor Tanya?” Brett looked thoroughly mystified.

  Amy took a deep breath and managed to find her voice. “Yes. We just noticed that she was on crutches.”

  “Oh, the crutches!” Brett started to grin. “Tanya borrowed them from the hospital. Her first-aid class is having a drill this morning, and she’s playing the part of an accident victim.”

  “You mean she didn’t sprain her ankle?” Colleen tried not to look disappointed.

  “No. Tanya’s fine. But I’ll tell her that you guys were concerned about her. That’s really nice.” Brett lifted the lid off the box and handed Amy an envelope. “Here, Amy. This is for you. Take a look when you’ve got a minute, and let me know what you think.”

  “Sure, Brett. Thanks.” Amy waited until Brett was out of sight, and then she turned to Colleen. “I don’t know whether I’m relieved or disappointed.”

  “Me, neither. What did Brett give you?”

  “I don’t know.” Amy looked down at the envelope. “It feels like a card.”

  “Open it and see.”

  Amy hesitated. “But what if it’s something personal?”

  “Come on, Amy. We’re best friends. Whatever it is, you’re going to tell me, anyway.”

  “True.” Amy nodded, and opened the envelope. And then she gasped as she drew out a Valentine’s Day card. “It’s a Valentine. And it says, ‘Be Mine’ on the front. I can’t believe it! I got a Valentine from Brett!”

  Colleen stared at the card for a moment, and then she shook her head. “I really hate to burst your bubble, Amy, but that card has a red heart with H. H. in the center for Hamilton High. Don’t you remember what we were talking about in the lunchroom, yesterday?”

  “Oh.” Amy’s smile of pleasure faded quickly. “I get it. These are the cards that Brett and his dad printed up for us to sell?”

  “I think so, but I could be wrong. Why don’t you open it and see if he wrote anything inside.”

  Amy opened the card, and sighed as she saw the blank space inside. “You’re right, Colleen. This is just a sample. I should have known that Brett wouldn’t give me a Valentine.”

  “But he did give you a Valentine.” Colleen made an effort to raise Amy’s spirits. “I don’t have one, and I bet no one else does, either. He singled you out, Amy. He wanted your approval and that’s a very good start.”

  Amy didn’t look convinced. “Maybe. But he’ll never take me to the dance.”

  “How do you know? You haven’t asked him. Why don’t you beat Tanya to it?”

  Amy shook her head. “She’s probably already asked him.”

  “Maybe. But maybe not. I think you should try to get to him first. The worst he can say is no.”

  “Yes, but . . .” Amy stopped and looked thoughtful. Colleen really did have a point. Tanya always left things to the last minute, and it was possible she hadn’t asked Brett to the dance yet.

  “Well?” Colleen began to grin. She knew Amy was wavering. “Are you going to do it?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll think about it, okay?”

  “There’s nothing to think about. If you want him to take you to the dance, you have to ask him. It’s that simple.”

  Amy took a deep breath for courage and nodded. “Okay. I’ll ask him. It’s like you said, Colleen. The worst he can do is say no.”

  It turned out that Amy was in luck. She didn’t have to count the ballots alone. Mr. Dorman had decided that at least three class members should be present while the votes were tallied, and he’d excused Gail and Colleen from their student council duties so that they could help Amy. He’d also given them permission to use the faculty lounge, which was deserted during fifth period.

  “What a dump!” Colleen glanced around her in dismay. The long table in the center of the room was littered with coffee cups, and empty lunch trays. “There’s no place to spread out our ballots on the table. I guess we’ll have to clear these dishes and wipe it off.”

  “And that’s exactly why Mr. Dorman let us use it!” Amy started to laugh. “You girls have been taken, big-time. Mr. Dorman knew we’d have to clean up the lounge to use the table.”

  Gail nodded. “Amy’s right. The cooks usually clean it right before they go home. I guess Mr. Dorman figured he’d free them up for bigger and better things.”

  “Like thinking up new ways to poison us?” Amy started to laugh.

  “Exactly.” Colleen laughed, too. “Come on, you two. We might as well make the best of it. At least the teachers have cold drinks in the refrigerator, and we can help ourselves.”

  In less than ten minutes the table was clean, the dishes were stacked neatly in the rubber tubs the kitchen had provided, and the girls were enjoying their favorite soft drinks from the teachers’ refrigerator. They’d developed a system for counting the votes. Gail would unfold the votes and read them aloud. Then she’d hand them to Colleen, who would verify them. Amy would do the actual count by making a tally mark on the lists Mr. Dorman had given her, one for the Senior boys, and one for the Senior girls.

  Their first task had been to separate the votes. That wasn’t difficult because the names were written on hearts cut out of construction paper. There were red hearts for the Valentine Queen, and green hearts for the Valentine King.

  They’d counted the green votes first, and Brett had taken a decisive lead for Valentine’s Day King. He’d chalked up thirty votes out of the fifty-two that had been cast. Now they were counting the votes for Valentine’s Day Queen, and there were many more of them. It was pretty obvious that the boys had purchased more cards than the girls.

  Gail unfolded another red heart, and frowned as she read the name inside. “Here we go again. It’s another vote for Tanya.”

  “That figures.” Colleen sighed as she verified the vote. “Chalk up another one for Tanya. How many does that make, Amy?”

  “Fifteen. Out of twenty. You’ve got one, Gail’s got one, Jessica’s got one, and Michele’s got two.”

  “Here’s one for you, Amy.” Gail unfolded another red heart.

  “For me?” Amy looked astounded. “Who’d vote for me?”

  Colleen grabbed the heart-shaped ballot out of Gail’s hand. “Let me see. I know everybody’s handwriting.”

  “Yes?” Amy held her breath. She hoped the vote had been cast by Brett.

  “I don’t know. It’s printed. And that means it could be anybody. Maybe you’ve got a secret admirer, Amy.”

  “Oh, sure.” Amy sighed. “It’s probably from your brother and you made him do it.”

  Colleen shook her head. “No, it’s not. Danny had to go to the dentist at eleven this morning, and he’s not back yet. He missed lunch and that’s when they sold the cards.”

  “Are you sure it’s not from Danny?”

  “I’m positive. Somebody else must have voted for you.”

  Amy began to grin as she turned back to her tally sheet and put a check mark by her own name. Even though the skies outside were still gray, it made the whole day seem much brighter. Someone had actually cast a vote for her! Maybe Colleen was right and she did have a secret admirer. She just wished she knew who he was.

  Three

  Cat scowled as he studied the bulletin board. They’d posted the totals during fifth period, but this was the first chance he’d had to look.

  The bulletin board had been decorated since he’d seen it this morning, and it was a total mess. Cat remembered the old joke Mr. Dorman had told them, that the camel was a horse that had been designed by a committee. Even though it was a joke and Cat knew it, he decided that the same committee had decorated the bulletin board.

  The bulletin board was covered with red construction paper. That, in itself, was just fine. But someone had cut Cupids out of glossy pink paper and stuck them up in a random design with ribbons of blue lace running between them. Silver
hearts formed a frame in the center of the board, and there was a shiny, gold bow on top of the center heart. White clouds made of cotton balls dotted the red background, and four big purple hearts, made of garish, metallic paper, were attached to the corners. The only part that was the least bit tasteful was the white piece of paper that was thumbtacked to the center of the frame. It was the list of votes for Valentine’s Day King and Queen, and it was typed very neatly.

  Cat read the list with interest. Brett Stevens had the lead for Valentine’s Day King, just as he’d predicted. But Tanya Ellison had the most votes for Valentine’s Day Queen, and that just wouldn’t do.

  “Hi.” Amy walked up to him and smiled. “The bulletin board looks nice, doesn’t it?”

  Cat smiled back, searching for something positive to say. There wasn’t much. “It’s really . . . uh . . . colorful. Who counted the votes?”

  “I did, along with Colleen and Gail. Mr. Dorman wanted three of us, so there wouldn’t be any mistakes.”

  Cat nodded. “Good idea. Is he going to let you sell the cards every lunch hour?”

  “That’s the plan. Mr. Dorman’s really happy. This is only our first day, and we made eighty-three dollars for the library book fund.”

  Cat nodded again. He was glad the money was going to a worthy cause, even though he didn’t approve of the contest. “I see your name is up there.”

  “Yeah, at the bottom!” Amy laughed. “It was nice, getting a vote.”

  “Would you like to be Valentine’s Day Queen?”

  “Don’t be silly.” Amy gave a little laugh. “I don’t even stand a chance. Just look at Tanya’s total. Thirty-seven votes!”

  “Do you think she’ll win?”

  Amy shrugged. “I’d be really surprised if she didn’t. The boys all like her, and she got almost ninety percent of the votes today. See you later. I’ve got to get home and do my homework before the game. We’re going to take the Bonnerville Tigers to the cleaners tonight, aren’t we?”

  “That’s the plan.” Cat waved as Amy turned to go. “See you at the game.”

  Cat smiled as he watched Amy walk away. He’d decided that it would look strange if he didn’t buy a Valentine card, and he’d cast his vote for Amy. Now he was glad. She’d seemed really happy that she’d gotten a vote and Amy had been a true friend to Karen.

  Amy had seemed certain that Tanya would win, and Cat was afraid that she was right. Tanya was very popular, and Brett had lots of money to spend on votes for her. Since Brett was going with Tanya, he wouldn’t vote for anyone else. And Tanya would win, hands down.

  As he turned away from the bulletin board, Cat thought about Karen. He could feel her presence with him now, and he could almost see her staring down at the bulletin board with a dismayed expression on her lovely face. But Karen had never been a vindictive person. She’d always believed in giving everyone a second chance. That was exactly what she’d want him to do with Tanya. He’d warn Tanya to shape up, and put her to the test.

  If Tanya failed, he’d just have to eliminate her from the contest.

  The gymnasium smelled like popcorn, sweat, and floor polish, but no one seemed to mind. The game was far too exciting to care about the strange combination of scents that were associated with basketball in the winter.

  Amy sat with Colleen in the first row of seats, right behind the bench that had been set up for the cheerleaders. Gail, Jessica, Michele, and Tanya had left after doing their routine at halftime. Now they were in the girls’ locker room, waiting for Hamilton High’s band to start the school song. Right after the trumpet fanfare, they would run onto the floor, green and white pom-poms waving, to lead the students as they sang.

  The band started to play the Bonnerville Tiger’s school song, and Amy rose to her feet. “Come on, Colleen. We’re supposed to stand.”

  “Why?” Colleen complained as she pushed herself to her feet. “They don’t stand up for our school song.”

  “That doesn’t matter. Mr. Dorman says it’s a sign of respect.”

  “Then, why don’t they respect us?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I do.” Colleen began to grin. “Because they’re going to lose and they know it!”

  Amy glanced over at the scoreboard to see if she’d missed something. Just as she’d thought, the game was tied at forty-seven, forty-seven. Colleen had sounded very confident, but Brett had two fouls. Two more and he was out, and without Brett, their chances of winning went down the tube.

  “But the score’s tied.” Amy moved closer so that Colleen could hear her. The band was playing the Bonnerville song very loudly, perhaps to make up for the fact that the clarinets didn’t seem to know the music. “And the Bonnerville Tigers are really on tonight. They’ve only missed one free-throw. How can you be sure that we’re going to win?”

  “Danny told me. He’s sitting right behind us.”

  Amy glanced behind her. Colleen’s brother, Danny, was sitting four rows back, his arm draped casually around Megan Stillwell, who’d dropped out of school last year. Megan was working at Tom-Tom’s Truckstop out on the highway, a horrible greasy spoon with the motto, Tom-Tom’s—You Can’t Beat Our Food.

  A sigh escaped Amy’s lips. Megan wasn’t very bright. She’d flunked out of school. But she had a perfect figure, and she was so pretty, she could have been a model with her gorgeous shoulder-length auburn hair and deep, sea green eyes. Megan knew how to show off her figure. She was wearing a low-cut black sweater and gold hoop earrings that glistened in the lights overhead.

  Danny had cut his hair again. It was very short now, and he looked a lot like Keanu Reeves had in Speed. He was even wearing a clean white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck and with the sleeves rolled up. He looked incredibly sexy.

  Megan didn’t seem to notice that she was staring, but Danny did. He caught Amy’s eye, and winked. Before Amy could stop herself, she winked back. Then she blushed and turned away quickly, before Danny could see how he had affected her.

  As the band finished the Bonnerville song, the Hamilton High crowd began to cheer. It was almost time for their team to take the floor. Amy cheered, too, being careful not to lift her arms too high. She was wearing a cotton forest green sweater that had been much longer before she’d washed it.

  “Did you hear what I said?” Colleen had to shout over the noise of the crowd. “Danny says the Tigers are definitely going to lose.”

  Amy nodded. “I heard you. But what does Danny know about basketball?”

  “Nothing, but he’s dating their coach’s daughter. And she told him that the Tigers always fall apart in the second half.”

  “Let’s hope she’s right.” Amy started to cheer again as the band played their trumpet fanfare, and the Hamilton High Chargers ran onto the floor. The cheerleaders were right behind them, and they led the crowd as they all started to sing the school song. Amy had always thought that the school song was insipid. It was about dear old Hamilton High and how it would live in their hearts forever. But she’d never expressed that opinion verbally. Mr. Dorman had written the lyrics when he was a first-year teacher, and now that he was the principal, all the students and faculty pretended to love it.

  When the school song was over, Amy and Colleen sat back down in their seats and watched while the cheerleaders did a new cheer that they’d rehearsed at the pep rally that afternoon. Naturally, it featured Tanya, who did a series of back flips at the end.

  “I hope Tanya’s wearing her pants.” Colleen grinned.

  “What do you mean?” Amy looked shocked. “Of course she’s wearing her pants . . . isn’t she?”

  “Just watch.”

  Colleen was still grinning as Tanya prepared to go into her series of back flips. The cheerleaders were wearing new outfits, long-sleeved white turtlenecks under short green satin jumpers, with flared skirts that were lined with white satin. The new outfits hadn’t been ready at the pep rally this afternoon, but they’d been delivered in time for the game.

  As A
my watched, Gail, Jessica, and Michele stretched out into splits, one leg forward and the other leg back, clearing the floor for Tanya. Tanya did a little jump, bouncing off the small trampoline that was at the edge of the floor, and started to do her series of back flips.

  The moment Amy saw Tanya’s green satin pants, she started to laugh. There was a message sewn across the rear in white satin ribbon. “Oh-my-God! Her pants say ‘BEAT TIGERS!’ ”

  “I know.” Colleen nodded. “Gail told me she had them made especially for this cheer. All the other girls have to wear plain green, but Tanya gets to wear a bulletin board. Gail says she’s going to change the message for each game.”

  Amy began to laugh so hard, tears came to her eyes. “I wonder what she’s going to do next week.”

  “Next week?” Colleen looked puzzled.

  “We’re playing the Farmington Mountain Lions. Do you think there’ll be room for BEAT MOUNTAIN LIONS?”

  “Sure. She’s already working her way up to it.” Colleen gave a mean little smile. “Danny told me he saw her pigging out last night at the Hungry Burger. She ordered giant fries and two double-doubles with bacon and cheese. And she washed it all down with a chocolate shake.”

  Amy raised her eyebrows. “If Tanya keeps eating like that, there’ll be room on her pants for BEAT MOUNTAIN LIONS, and the time and temperature, and the latest stock market quote! Did Danny say if she was with Brett?”

  “She wasn’t with anyone. When Danny asked, she told him that Brett was tied up with his parents all night. His whole family went to a party at his grandmother’s house.”

  Amy nodded. And then she began to smile. Brett had gone to a family party, and he hadn’t taken Tanya along. Perhaps their relationship wasn’t quite as tight as everyone thought. That was bad news for Tanya, but it was very good news for Amy!

  Four

  As soon as the cheer was over, Tanya came over to sit on the bench while Jessica, Michele, and Gail hurried back to the girls’ locker room to get their sports bags.