by Ivy Smoak
“It’s late, kiddo.” He yawned. “You should be getting to bed. We can talk about this tomorrow, okay?”
He did look tired. And honestly, I was tired too. Asking him about my dad wouldn’t get me anywhere tonight. Besides, I wasn’t going to go on and on about how hot the Hunter and Caldwell brothers were without Kennedy to back me up. But for some reason my mouth opened anyway. “I broke up with Felix,” I said. I wasn’t sure why I said it. No, that wasn’t true. I said it because I wanted him to know that he could trust me. And because it had been weighing on me all day. And maybe I wanted him to be proud of me too.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
It wasn’t the answer I was expecting. But for some reason it was better. He wasn’t worried about the fact that I did what he wanted me to. He was just worried about me. “Yeah. I think so.”
He smiled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier for you to talk to.”
“Honestly, I think all I really needed was a hug.”
He leaned down and hugged me. “Better late than never,” he said.
I hugged him back. “Will you be home tomorrow at the usual time?” I asked, without letting go.
“Yeah, kiddo. I’ll even let you pick out the movie.”
I smiled and hugged him a little tighter.
He pulled back and started coughing.
“Are you okay?” I was pretty sure I had just squeezed him too hard.
He took a huge breath. “Fine.” He cleared his throat. “I finally picked up some Nyquil like you suggested. I’ll take it tonight.”
“Good.” I’d been pestering him about taking some cough medicine for weeks. I guess whatever fancy thing he’d had to do tonight in a suit had made him want to not be coughing everywhere.
“Now go get some rest, kiddo.”
I stood up and hugged him one more time, this time not quite as hard. “Goodnight, Uncle Jim.”
Chapter 27
Friday
Matt had shown up again last night. This time bearing two cups of hot chocolate. He said even though it wasn’t snowing, he hoped it reminded me of my mom. I was pretty sure I would have cried if he hadn’t been staring at me so seductively the whole night. And holding me. And kissing me senseless when I told him Felix and I were just friends and that I’d asked Felix to stop selling drugs to James. I was a pretty great girlfriend. Girlfriend?
The smile faded from my face as I knocked on the Alcaraz’s door. Despite our wonderful night together, Matt hadn’t asked me to be his girlfriend. But what did I expect? Sneaking around was hard enough. Being a secret girlfriend would be even harder. Or would it? Wouldn’t it just be the same? I bit the inside of my cheek. Why did everyone I date never ask me to make it official? Felix did, you idiot.
Kennedy burst out of her apartment with a pancake hanging out of her mouth, hopping on one foot as she finished pulling on a shoe. And I was immediately distracted from my pesky thoughts.
“Um…I can come in if you’re not ready,” I said.
“No.” She slammed her foot on the ground, shoving the shoe on. “I have a huge update.” She pulled me away from her apartment.
“What kind of update?”
“On Project Undercover Daddy.”
Ew. “Do we have to call it that?”
“Project Who’s Your Daddy?” she said as we hurried down the stairwell and out into the blustery fall weather.
“Let’s put a pin in the name for now. What did you find out?”
“Actually…I don’t think it’s related. But did you see your uncle last night? He was in a suit!”
“Yeah, I saw him right before I went to bed.” Right before I hung out with Matt all night.
“Do you think he was on a date?” she asked.
I honestly hadn’t thought about that option. “I don’t know.”
“Well I think I know what’s going on,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to sound crazy, but just hear me out.”
“Okay…”
“Uncle Jim has always been in my life. And he’s always helped my mom out, especially after we lost my dad. And I don’t know why, but I kind of always assumed that they might end up together.”
“Your mom and my uncle?”
Kennedy nodded.
She was right, that was definitely crazy. Mrs. Alcaraz and my uncle were friends. Not lovers. “Kennedy…”
“So I think he was on a date. He even called my mom to make sure you’d have dinner with us, just so he could make sure that she knew that he was on a date.”
“Wait…what?”
“I think he was trying to make my mom jealous! Because he loves her! And when he came over last night he just wanted to show off his fancy suit and give her some papers to sign.”
“Papers?”
“Not important. Brooklyn, if they get married, we’ll be sisters!”
That wasn’t how that worked. Jim was my uncle, not my father. “Wait, how does all this relate to Project Undercover Daddy?” Oh God, why did I just call it that?
“I guess it’s more about my soon-to-be new dad.” She shrugged. “Sorry.”
“But you said there were papers he had your mom sign?”
She clapped her hands as we made it up the steps outside Empire High. “You’re right. It was probably a marriage certificate!”
I laughed. “So you think he went out with another woman to make your mom jealous. And then immediately married your mom?”
“Well when you put it like that…” Kennedy laughed too. “So scratch the marriage thing. But they really might be in love.”
Maybe. “It always just seemed liked they were friends to me.”
“I don’t know…my mom was certainly agitated last night while Jim was out on his date. She kept yanking food out of my mouth and trying to change the subject.”
“That’s because you kept implying that I was down for threesomes.”
She laughed. “Maybe. Or maybe she’s been pining for Uncle Jim this whole time. And even if they’re not already married, they still might get hitched one day. It’s going to be weird when I have to stop calling him uncle, huh?” She shook her head. “I’m going to go tell Cupcake all about it. See you in English class!” She practically skipped away.
I shook my head as I stopped by my locker. Uncle Jim and Mrs. Alcaraz? I hung up my jacket and grabbed a few books. I wasn’t sure I could picture it as easily as Kennedy could. Although if they did get married, I’d get to eat Mrs. Alcaraz’s delicious pancakes every morning. And those empanadas. And even though I wasn’t my uncle’s daughter, Kennedy was right. It would practically make us sisters. Was it possible that the conversation Kennedy had overheard the other night was about that? That I would be related to someone at the school if Uncle Jim and Mrs. Alcaraz got married? If that was the case, Mrs. Alcaraz didn’t know who my father was. It also meant that the secret wouldn’t be spreading to me anytime soon either.
I sighed and closed my locker. And then I’m pretty sure I jumped out of my skin. Because James was silently leaning against the locker next to mine, his arms folded across his chest, a frown on his face.
“I thought we had an agreement,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “We do.” I looked around. There were students walking around. Unlike Matt, James didn’t seem to care if anyone saw us together.
“You don’t think I noticed you getting closer to Felix these last few weeks? And now he just randomly decides to stop selling to me? You want me to believe that’s a coincidence?”
“He stopped selling to you?” I would have smiled if James wasn’t staring daggers at me. Felix had done what I’d asked. He’d risked his whole business for me.
“Don’t play games with me, Sanders.”
He used my last name like his little brother always did. But he wasn’t joking around with me like Rob. James looked…really pissed. “I’m not.” I tried to keep my voice even. “I didn’t tell Felix to stop selling to you.”
“You did.” He dropped his voice. “
And you have until lunch to fix this, or everyone in the whole school will know your secret.”
“James. I’ve been friends with Felix since almost the beginning of the school year. Way before I saw what he gave you,” I said, lowering my voice. “I didn’t get close to him to get him to stop selling to you. That’s ridiculous.”
He leaned forward. “Ridiculous? Are you calling me ridiculous, Sanders?”
“No.” My voice was small. “But maybe…maybe you have a problem, James. You can take this opportunity to get clean.”
“So that’s what this is? You care about me?” The corner of his mouth ticked up a notch. “And here I thought you were fucking Matt.”
So that was the secret he had on me? He knew I liked Matt. But he didn’t know I could be related to Matt. That was a relief. Besides, his intel was all wrong. Matt and I had only kissed. “I’m not sleeping with Matt. So if that’s the big secret you’re going to share…go ahead. I’ll be the one laughing at you.”
“That’s not a secret, Sanders. Matt didn’t even tell me that in confidence. He was joking around about it in front of Mason and Rob. Even Isabella. Everyone knows about it.”
“That’s a lie.” Matt said no one could know about us. He wouldn’t have told anyone that. Especially that. Especially not Isabella. Because it wasn’t even true. He hated Isabella. He wouldn’t be joking around about anything with her. I knew that, and yet, I felt my bottom lip tremble.
“No, a lie is when you stare me right in the eye and tell me I’m ridiculous. Because we both know you had Felix cut me off. Have a nice morning, Sanders. Because if you don’t fix this, your afternoon’s going to be hell.”
***
I had played it cool all morning. Even through gym. But as I made my way to lunch, I was starting to panic. I was glad that Felix had stopped selling to James. He’d even confirmed it to me while we were running earlier. And I had no intention of asking him to start selling to James again.
I didn’t know what secret James would reveal at lunch, but I figured it would be about my uncle. And I could handle that. I wasn’t embarrassed that my uncle was a janitor. If it had been up to me, I would have been honest about it from the start. It was my uncle’s idea to keep it a secret.
It was definitely going to be about that. James had already said his piece about Matt. And yet…I had a bad feeling. What he’d said about Matt was a lie. A definite lie. Maybe he knew there was more to that story. What if I was related to Matt? What if James announced it to the whole school…which would make Isabella spill whatever she had on Matt. And I knew it was something bad.
It’ll be fine, I tried to tell myself as I took a deep breath.
But then I saw my uncle through the cafeteria doors. He rarely had lunch duty, probably because he was trying to avoid me. But there he was…pushing around a trashcan, waiting for students to toss their trays. I could handle the teasing. But I wouldn’t be the only one subjected to it. They’d be making fun of him too.
Screw me. I grabbed Felix’s arm before we went into the cafeteria.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I need you to go up to James right away and tell him you’ll sell to him again.” I couldn’t risk it. I was banking on the fact that the secret was about Matt and me. And I was banking even more on Matt being honest. Because if he really had told everyone we were sleeping together…I didn’t care what Isabella had on him. As far as I was concerned, they could both go to hell. But right now, I was believing in Matt. And if it wasn’t about him? I didn’t want my uncle to witness the rest of the students making fun of me because of him. Or worse…making fun of him.
Felix started laughing, but he stopped when he saw my face. “What? Are you serious? I gave it up. For you. Because you asked me to.”
“I know. And I’m so so thankful. But I need you to go sell whatever you were selling to James right now.”
“Brooklyn, what’s going on?”
“Please.”
“Brooklyn…”
“Please. Please, please, please. You have to. Right freaking now.”
“I don’t…”
I grabbed the front of his blazer. “Felix, please. I’ll do whatever you want. Anything. Just go sell James drugs!”
“Would you lower your voice,” he hissed.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him through the cafeteria doors. “We’ll do it together. I’ll sell them.”
“Brooklyn, can we please just talk about this for a second?”
I pulled him toward the Untouchables’ table. “There’s no time to talk! James needs drugs and you have drugs…”
“I don’t have any on me.”
“It’ll be an I owe you kinda thing then. Please, Felix. I’m in trouble. I need you to do this. Please.” I was hysterical. I was pretty sure I lost it somewhere between my locker and the cafeteria doors.
“Okay. I’ll handle it. But first I need to find Cupcake…” He started looking around the cafeteria.
“What? No. I swear to God, Felix, if you don’t go right now I’m going to…murder you in your sleep.”
He stared at me like I’d lost my mind. Which I most definitely had. “Are you high?” he asked me.
God, I was going to kill him. “No! And you don’t have time to talk to Cupcake about cupcakes right now. It’s now a life or death situation. So go sell James whatever he wants. All of it. Anything. And give him a nice discount while you’re at it.” I tried to shove him in the direction of the Untouchables’ table, but Felix didn’t budge.
“I said I’ll handle it, Brooklyn. I just need to talk to Cupcake first…”
“Oh, there you are, Brooklyn!” Isabella shouted and waved me over to the Untouchables’ table.
I froze.
Felix froze.
“Brooklyn Sanders,” she continued when I didn’t move. “Geez…Sanders…wait…” her voice trailed off. “God, that sounds so familiar. Why does that sound so familiar?”
The squeaky wheels of the trashcan my uncle was pushing stopped. “Miss Pruitt,” he said. “The cafeteria is for eating. Let’s lower your voice now.”
“Oh.” She looked at my uncle. Then at me. “Oh,” she said a little louder.
There was a lump in my throat that wouldn’t go away. It was like she set up the whole scene. Baiting my uncle to talk to her since he was the closet faculty member to her.
“Sanders,” she said. “Jim Sanders.” She stared at my uncle like she was in shock. “Brooklyn, darling…are you related to Janitor Jimbo?”
I cringed at the nickname that the students had given him. Say something. But my lips felt like cement. Say anything.
A few students nearby snickered.
“Oh, it all makes sense now,” Isabella said. “I knew you couldn’t be a scholarship student. Poor? Yes. Direly so,” she said and glanced at my uncle. “But you’re incredibly dumb too.” She smiled sweetly at me as more students started laughing. “Just like your fat janitor uncle.”
How dare you. But the words didn’t come out. I looked at my uncle. He looked ashamed. But not of what Isabella was saying. He looked ashamed of himself. I felt tears start to trail down my cheeks. Say something!
“Miss Pruitt, go to the principal’s office right now,” my uncle said. But there was no authority in his voice. He sounded so defeated.
“Excuse me, janitor. The help doesn’t talk to me,” she said.
“Shut your troll face, Isabella!” Kennedy grabbed my hand. I wasn’t sure when she had appeared by my side. But her having my back finally made it feel like my lips were unfreezing.
“Kennedy, I wouldn’t butt into this,” Isabella said. “There’s low.” She looked at Kennedy. “And then there’s loooow.” She turned to me. “Brooklyn is as dumb and poor as a janitor. Literally. You better cut ties with her now before you’re both the laughingstock of the school.” She flicked a green bean onto the floor at my uncle’s feet. “Pick it up,” she said to him. “It’s your job.”
My uncle sta
rted to lean down. And something inside me snapped. “His name is Jim, not Jimbo.” I let go of Kennedy’s hand and went over to the Untouchables’ table. “And he’s smarter than you’ll ever be. He does those impossibly hard daily crossword puzzles in the papers every day in record time. And he knows how to fix everything. From my shoes you tried to ruin to anything that breaks down at this school. All he can’t fix is your vile attitude.” I leaned down and snatched up the green bean before my uncle could.
“He took me in when I didn’t have anyone else,” I said. “He’s the best uncle in the whole world. He’s kind and caring and so full of love. You’d be lucky to have someone like him in your life. Maybe if you did you wouldn’t find it so necessary to put other people down to feel good about your hateful self. Oh yeah…and one more thing. My uncle is also a faculty member here. Not the help. Which means you have to listen to him. I believe he told you to go to the principal’s office, Wizzy.”
I still didn’t know what that nickname Matt called her meant, but the look on her face was priceless.
She cleared her throat. “You’re not making a good point when you’re already doing janitorial work,” she said, eyeing the green bean in my hand. “And no wonder Janitor Jimbo had to take you in. Your parents were probably embarrassed that they spawned a trash child.”
I’m pretty sure I snapped again. Because the green bean in my hand somehow ended up smacking against Isabella’s perfectly contoured cheek. She gasped.
“Before you tell the whole school about my personal life, you should get your facts straight. My parents didn’t give me up. My mom died.”
The little laughter left in the cafeteria died away with my words.
For some reason I glanced at Matt. He was studying the food on his place like it was the Mona Lisa. I tried to save your secret from coming out, Matt. At least look at me. Look at me!
He didn’t. And in that second, I lost faith in him. I believed what James had told me. I was just a conquest to joke about with his friends. I glanced at James. I thought there would be a smile on his face, but he didn’t look happy at all. His Adam’s apple rose and fell as he stared at me. Something about the way he was looking at me sent a shiver down my spine. This was his fault. He’d clearly told Isabella about my uncle. So why did I feel bad for him right now?
