Along Came Jordan

by Brenda Maxfield

  I didn't know how long Sarah could fake it, so I hustled her into the kitchen. "We're hungry."

  "Eat up, but I'll want to hear from each of you about your day."

  I stuck my head out from the kitchen. "Find any job openings?"

  He shifted and rolled his shoulders as if trying to break free from some invisible grip. I could've bitten my lip. I'd been worried about Sarah saying too much when I should've worried about my own fat mouth.

  "I'm looking, girl. Won't be long now," Dad answered. The strained cheerfulness in his tone scraped my heart.

  "I'm sure you're right." My words tumbled out with certainty, but inside my belief evaporated. I'd seen the news; nobody was hiring.

  Sarah and I'd be doomed to public school forever.

  I grabbed an apple and headed to my room. I plopped on my bed, and my phone buzzed. Someone had remembered!

  I slumped in relief and smiled before I saw who had texted. I opened my phone. Farah.

  how ws publc? missd u.

  I dropped the phone as if it were slime. What nerve. What colossal nerve. There had been days when I would've paid to get a text from Farah. Not long ago, either, but no more. My stomach still jolted when I remembered her betrayal, and I couldn't afford to be stupid again. It had cost too much.

  A text from Marc was my ultimate hope. Yeah, right, like he'd text me after the way I'd treated him. Guess he couldn't afford to be stupid again, either.

  My stomach cramped into a tight wad. How could I have been so delusional? I liked him. I'd always liked him, but I'd dumped him for Lance. What a brilliant choice that had turned out to be.

  I sighed.

  It was over. Marc would never trust me again.

  ****

  The next day at Edgemont, Sally saw me come into the school and rushed over, dragging a short girl behind her.

  "Emili, this is Margo," she said. She waved her arm in front of her and bowed as if presenting the queen.

  Margo's clear blue eyes crinkled when she smiled. She pulled her long wavy black hair off her neck with one hand and then let it fall back down like a shawl over her shoulders.

  "Mucho gusto, nice to meet you," she said. Her voice was soft, and she spoke with an accent. She leaned toward me, and her algebra book slid out of her grasp and tumbled to the floor.

  "Smooth move," Sally said, scooping it up.

  "Nice to meet you, too," I said and helped straighten her stack of books.

  Sally giggled and crushed Margo in a one-armed hug. "You'll love her, and she's not always so clumsy. Isn't your locker close to mine? We'll go with you."

  "Second floor, and I've got a lock." I pulled the lock out of my front pocket and waved it around.

  "You got one of the broken lockers then. Shame. Glad you brought a lock though. You're gonna need it around here," Sally said. "We've got a lot of sticky fingers."

  "Remember when my pencils were stolen?" Margo asked from behind us. "What a catastrophe."

  Sally nudged me in the side. "Margo's an artist, and she's good. She means her art pencils, in case you're wondering."

  We reached my locker, and I squatted to take my stuff out of my backpack. I began stacking it on the metal shelf, lining up the corners of all my books. Then I grabbed my lit and history books and stood up.

  Margo smiled and elbowed Sally. "Look, another neat freak. You're outnumbered now."

  Sally rolled her eyes and grimaced. "Oh, marvelous. No matter, Emili. I'll forgive you. Hey, Margo, Laine has her claws out."

  "Does she? What now?"

  "About Emili. She's not too fond of the new girl."

  I shrugged. "I didn't do a thing to her."

  Margo stepped back and squinted, surveying me up and down. "I can see it. You're too cute, and you're an unknown. If there's one thing Laine can't stand, it's an unknown. She's threatened, right?"

  "You got it," Sally said.

  "I repeat — I didn't do a thing to her." I no sooner got the words out of my mouth when Laine appeared right smack in front of me.

  "Private Girl," Laine said. "Day two. How nice you survived day one. We're having a council meeting after school. Be there."

  She turned away, then swirled back around and put on her fake smile, showing smooth even teeth. "I mean, please come. You'll like it. Since you're new, you'll meet more people. You'll be there, right?"

  "I take the bus…"

  "I'll give you a ride home. No problem."

  I didn't want to go, but I could hardly say, "I don't like you, so no. I won't be coming." Besides, there was my whole self-promise thing about being friendly.

  Laine stood waiting, her hand on her hip.

  "Yeah, okay. I'll call Dad after school and tell him I'll be late."

  "Great. Room 136." She was off.

  "See what I mean?" Sally asked. "Threatened."

  Margo shook her head. "You told her yes. Are you nuts?"

  "She caught me off-guard. I didn't know what to say."

  "You'll learn," Sally said. "We'll expect a full report tomorrow."

  I put my fingers to my lips. "Uh oh. I forgot about my little sister Sarah. She'll wonder why I'm not on the bus."

  "Can't your dad tell her?" Sally asked.

  "Yeah, I guess he could." I didn't think it was a good plan, but I had no other ideas.

  I was relieved the day was passing with no major mishaps. Now I wouldn't have to pretend and tell my dad lies. Dad still had his part-time job at McDafe's selling copiers, so he worked a few hours each morning. But every afternoon, he vegetated on the couch like a shrunken-up homeless man. When I was around him, something cold and queasy snaked up from the pit of my stomach. It didn't used to be that way, but then he never used to hang onto every comment I made as if he was desperate.

  Before he lost his other job, I rarely saw him. Now, I saw him too much. I loved him, but having him always there, always asking me questions, always cranking out forced smiles — well, it made me want to squirm.

  After seventh period, I meandered to room 136, which was already filled with a bunch of kids. I recognized some of them from my classes, but others I'd never seen. Laine was in front, puffing out her chest and wearing her pompous in-charge smile.

  She clicked a pencil against the projector. "People, people! Come to order!"

  A teacher I didn't know sat in the back, slouched over a stack of papers. He surveyed each sheet, his red pen scribbling at a furious pace. Glad he wasn't grading my stuff.

  Laine cleared her throat. "Let's get this meeting underway. Before we start, I want to introduce a new student, Emili Jones." She smiled and nodded toward me as though we were best friends. "She'll be helping us."

  I would? I didn't have a clue what was involved.

  "Our only order of business today is to discuss the Winter Ball. You should remember which committee you're on. If you don't, Janae has it all recorded. I'll need a status report from each chairperson by the end of the hour."

  Laine droned on, and I tuned out. I didn't want to hear about any ball — I wouldn't be going. After my stupid decisions and being betrayed by my "prize" guy, I'd given up on the whole dating game.

  "People, get in your committees. We need some serious progress today," Laine directed.

  Everyone grouped up. I stayed put and tried not to look bored, but Laine came right over.

  "What committee do you want me to put you on? We've got decorations, food, tickets, finding chaperones, music. Wait, I think we've already got enough people on food and tickets, so forget those."

  "Uh, Laine, not sure I'm going to volunteer."

  She snorted. "Nonsense. It'll be fun, plus I can get to know you better."

  Her manipulation grated, and I wasn't happy. After bowing to Farah's whims for so long, I wasn't in the mood to start in with someone else. To be fair, bowing to Farah had been my idea in the beginning, not hers. Still, I'd ended up with no friends left at Bates — which had been anything but pleasant. I'd promised myself that wasn't going to happen at
Edgemont.

  "Well?" Laine asked, and her voice snapped with impatience.

  "Decorations," I said.

  She clapped like a delighted child. "Wonderful! Go on over right now. Janae is chairperson."

  I stood up and walked to Janae's group, where she gazed up at me with obvious displeasure. "Oh, it's you." Her tone sounded as though she'd discovered dog doo all over her shoe. "Everyone, Emili's with us."

  Five kids turned to me and nodded or smiled and then returned to their discussion. I tried to listen and be interested, but all I could think about was if this obligated me to go to the ball.

  When it was almost time to go, Laine hustled over to our group and tugged me up by my arm. "Emili, we need to make a change."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm removing you from decorations so you can work with the music group."

  Janae stopped talking and looked toward her. "Laine, do you mind? We're making plans."

  "I'm moving Emili to music."

  "Why? I think we need her, after all."

  Laine gave Janae a harsh look and her eyes spit some secret meaning. "Don't you remember who else is on this committee? You don't need Emili."

  Janae wrinkled her brow, then understanding passed over her face. "Oh right, got it."

  I'd no idea who they were talking about, nor did I care. I'd had enough manipulation for one day. "Thanks so much, both of you," I said, loading my voice with molasses. "I think I'll stay." I yanked my arm from Laine's grasp and plopped myself back in the seat.

  Wait 'til I told Sally and Margo.

  ****

  I didn't have either Sally's or Margo's phone numbers, so I couldn't tell them until the next morning. When they saw me come through the front door, they dashed over, and Sally started jabbering before I could get a word out. "We've got the perfect club for you to join."

  "Sally's right, you need a group. She's got orchestra, I've got art, and you've got…" Margo flourished her arm overhead.

  "Drum roll, please." Sally held her hand to her mouth like a fake microphone. "Environmental Club, commonly known as EC."

  "To top off our wonderful suggestion, you'll meet Jordan, another EC member."

  "To. Die. For." Sally clipped each word as though she was playing hopscotch. She sidled up close to me as if to discuss an urgent secret. "Margo and I adore him."

  "Are you three a thing or something? Does Jordan like having multiple girlfriends?"

  Margo chortled and made a face of disgust. "Ay, what a thought. No, we're just super friends. We've never dated Jordan because he was always dating Pamela Riggins."

  "She moved, and phhsst! Over." Sally snapped her fingers. "Like it never was. Everyone's been after him since, but he's not interested."

  Margo stretched out her arms as if to hug the world. "Idea alert."

  Sally's eyes lit up. "Out with it."

  "Jordan and Emili." She crossed her arms and looked like she'd won a gold medal.

  "It's perfect." Sally turned to me. "Laine's been after Jordan, and he can't stand her. When he falls for you, it'll be double delight — you get Jordan, and Laine doesn't."

  Before my eyes, my life whizzed out of control.

  "Wait." I held up my hand. "Not in the market. Sorry."

  "You have to be. It's too good." Sally's face scrunched into a pout.

  "She hasn't met Jordan yet. She'll change her mind," Margo said.

  No, I wouldn't. I couldn't trust myself in the love department — learned that the hard way.

  Marc's face flashed before me. "I'm sorry, sorry, sorry," I whispered to his image for the zillionth time.

  "Wait a minute. Isn't Jordan in student council? Isn't he on one of the committees for the ball?" Margo faced me. "You must've met him yesterday."

  Aha — the missing piece to the puzzle. Jordan was the no-show yesterday on the decorating committee. He was the one Laine was trying to keep from me.

  The warning bell rang, and Sally pulled on my arm. "Come on, Emili, we have to stop at your locker and get to English. Margo, catch you later."

  "Emili, you're joining EC. It's perfect for you — promise me. The meeting's today after school, room 101," Margo called and trotted off to class.

  Today after school? Were there meetings daily?

  I decided to check it out, since I was semi-interested in environmental stuff. My decision had nothing whatsoever to do with some guy named Jordan.

  ****

  Laine was at EC — was there no escaping her? When I walked in, she looked up and for a split second, I saw fire flare from her eyes.

  "Emili, you lost?" she asked in a voice pulsing with irritation.

  "Isn't this Environmental Club?"

  She jumped from her chair and came over to me. "Are you joining? Don't you think it might be too much? I mean, a new school, and already on decorations committee for the ball?"

  I regarded her expression and noted the hint of desperation lurking behind the cool façade. "I think I can handle it."

  There was an awkward silence, and I thought she was going to forbid me to join. Then she broke into a stiff smile, which didn't reach her eyes.

  "Okay, listen up!" She looked around the room, and everyone gave her their attention. "This is Emili, she's new. She'll be joining us."

  Thank you, Your Highness, for introducing me. How could I survive without you?

  I raised my arm in a half-wave and sank into a chair. On my left sat the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen. His smooth chestnut hair swooped over his deep toffee eyes. He sat relaxed, dominating the chair with his size. I saw how his broad shoulders strained the fabric of his tee shirt. A shiver crawled up my spine. I couldn't help it; I stared. Was this Jordan?

  Laine must have noticed where I'd sat. She grabbed my arm and pulled me from the chair. "Sit next to me, Emili, over here."

  Since I wasn't in the market for romance, I let her pull me away. Besides, why should Jordan give me a second look? It was apparent he could have any girl he wanted.

  I thought about Lance. I'd landed him, and he was gorgeous, too — tall and muscular with a thin waist and a mouth you wanted to get lost in. I winced when his memory brought the bitter taste of betrayal to my tongue. The nasty truth was I hadn't landed Lance Jankins at all, only thought I had.

  For all I cared, the model could pull me to a chair on Mars. I wasn't in the market for another guy.

  I was surprised Laine wasn't in charge of EC. A guy named Bud called the meeting to order. "Today's agenda is the community garden."

  "The agenda's always the community garden," said a blonde girl who looked to be at least a junior. "I'm bored with the whole thing. It's not going to work, because we can't get the money in time. Let's give it a rest."

  Angry gasps flew around the room as if she'd announced the end of vending machines in the cafeteria. Jordan smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. Then he spoke. "We've had some setbacks, but I don't think we should give up."

  A guy with persistence. Hmm.

  "Hear, hear," agreed Bud. "We already have one hundred bucks. It won't be hard to raise another four."

  "The administration wimped out, and they haven't given us a thing." It was the blonde again.

  A few other kids chimed in, while I was trying to figure out what was going on. I could feel Laine watching me. In fact, though I wasn't looking at her, I'm pretty sure her gaze was bouncing back and forth between me and Jordan.

  She cleared her throat. "Jordan's right. We shouldn't give up." The heat of her smile could've melted an Alaskan glacier.

  He nodded at her, but there was no answering smile. Instead, his eyes inspected me as if I were a product on a video game shelf. Had Sally and Margo already gotten to him?

  "By the way, Emili, welcome." His voice was deep and lulling, like a late-night DJ. He continued to study me, but I couldn't begin to read the thoughts behind his guarded eyes.

  Bud rustled a stack of papers. "Right, welcome. Sorry, Emili. I get caught up with all this. We'r
e trying to develop a community garden on the east field. We'll raise veggies all summer and ask the community to help. The food will be donated to the food bank, and the helpers can take some for their own families. It's a win-win."

  "Great idea."

  Bud continued, "The administration told us we need five hundred bucks to get started. They want us to use raised beds so we don't dig up the ground, but raised beds costs money. It'd be good PR for the school, so I don't know why they don't jump on this. Instead, it's one roadblock after another."

  "We need to get off our butts and get some fund-raisers going," said a girl I recognized from English class.

  "Five hundred doesn't seem like much," I said.

  Laine cleared her throat, calling everyone's attention back to her. "If you weren't so new, Emili, you'd know we have a lot of clubs at Edgemont. There are fund-raisers every three minutes, and we keep milking the same crowd. While five hundred isn't much, we've run out of ideas."

  "Face it," said the blonde. "We haven't tried very hard."

  "That all changes today. Do we still want to do this?" Bud asked.

  Everyone except the blonde nodded.

  "Okay, let's get the ideas going," Jordan said.

  "One time we did something kind of weird at Bates to raise money." All eyes focused on me.

  "We're desperate, Emili. We'll take any and all ideas," Bud said.

  "We auctioned ourselves off as servants. One kid would donate money to buy another kid, who'd then have to serve the buyer for a week. You know, things like carry his books to class, clean up his garbage at lunch. Dumb stuff. 'Course, we couldn't do each other's homework or anything. If we got bought, we even had to take our master's dirty gym clothes home and wash them."

  Smiles started to show up on everyone's face, except Laine's.

  She shook her head. "No offense, but your idea's ridiculous. It'll never work."

  Bud held up one hand and patted the air for emphasis. "It's brilliant! Who wouldn't want to buy a servant for a week? LaShawna, write it up for the administration. I love it. Cheers for Emili."

  I wasn't fishing for cheers, but they felt good anyway. I looked over at Laine. She tried to smile, but it was a contorted attempt. I squirmed in the metal chair. The last thing I needed was an enemy as powerful as Laine Meadow.