Justin laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
“See that you do,” Gerald said. “Now, what’ll it be after dinner, a board game or a movie?”
“Depends on the movie,” Justin answered.
“I think it should be Darren’s choice since it’s his celebration,” Ann decided, and Justin groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Danni asked. “You don’t like board games?”
“Board games are fine, but we both know D.J.’s gonna make us watch some boring Bogart movie again,” Justin complained.
Gerald laughed. “How can you not like Bogart?”
Chelsea furrowed her brow. “Who?”
“Thank you,” Justin said.
“Humphrey Bogart was in like a thousand cool movies,” Danni said, smiling at Darren. “I can’t believe you’ve never seen Casablanca or The African Queen or The Caine Mutiny or The Maltese Falcon.”
Justin groaned again. “Oh, no, he got to you too.”
“I’ve never heard of any of those movies,” Chelsea admitted.
“That’s because you’re not a big dork like D.J.,” Justin said.
“D.J.’s not a dork,” Danni argued.
“D.J. is a dork in sheep’s clothing,” Justin insisted. “If it wasn’t for the fact that he got my pretty face, he’d be the biggest dork in this room.”
“Hey, I thought I was,” Gerald protested.
“Actually, I think I’m the biggest dork in this room,” Marcy spoke up.
Gerald frowned at her. “What are you talking about? You’re much too cute to be a dork.”
Marcy snorted. “Tell that to all the guys at my school who never ask me out.”
“You underestimate yourself,” Gerald said. “I’ll bet you right now there’s a boy at your school who’d love to ask you out, but he’s much too shy.”
Danni wished it was that easy, but the girls all knew better. The guys they were interested in weren’t into girls like them. If Darren hadn’t lost his arm, Danni wouldn’t have been sitting beside him now. Instead, she would be just like Chelsea and Marcy with their hopeless crushes. Danni forced the thought aside. She might not be able to change the past, but she was not about to ruin their future.
* * *
Danni groaned. Why now?
Most of the time the twilight phone calls didn’t bother her. As if her body knew Darren needed her, it allowed her to wake right up.
Danni dragged the cell phone from the night stand and tapped the answer call button without opening her eyes.
“Hey, baby,” Darren said, and Danni smiled despite her sleepiness. “Sorry I woke you.”
She forced her eyes open. “Is it bad?”
“Yeah, it’s the worst it’s ever been.”
“Are you sure you can’t take anything for it?”
“I wish I could.”
“Me too.”
Darren laughed. “Only so I don’t wake you up.”
“I’m okay with that part. I just wish you weren’t in pain.”
“Me too. Too bad wishing isn’t enough.”
“Can I ask you a serious question?” Danni asked.
“Serious, at two thirty in the morning, when I’m in severe pain?” Darren said and laughed again. “Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down.”
“I know your mom’s excited, but how do you feel about the homecoming king thing? Do you want to win?”
“Honestly? Yeah, I do, but not because I give a shit about it,” he explained. “It’s just that I’d rather win for the wrong reasons than lose for them.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to go with plan A,” Danni said.
“Plan A?”
“Yeah, Chelsea’s plan, remember?”
“We don’t have to do that. I don’t want to force people to vote for me.”
“Campaigning isn’t forcing people,” Danni said. “It’s letting them know you’re there.”
“They know.”
“Okay, then we’ll go with plan C.”
“What’s plan C?”
“Wait and see what happens at the game next Friday,” Danni replied, giggling.
“I think you should go back to sleep. That joke was one of your worst.”
“I’ll go back to sleep when you’re feeling better.”
“I’m okay, baby.”
“Are you sure, D.J.?”
“I’m always okay when I talk to you,” he answered.
“All right then, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you too,” Danni said and set her phone aside.
Please, please let him win, she thought as she drifted back to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Don’t be LEFT behind! Vote for Garrett and Whitney! The RIGHT choice for homecoming king and queen!
Danni grimaced at the giant poster board as she pulled her car into the school’s front parking lot. A picture of Whitney and Garrett with their million dollar smiles sat smack dab in the middle of the bright pink, glitter trimmed sign. It was the kind of thing Danni expected from Whitney, offensive slogan and all. No doubt they put the words left and right in capital letters to remind everyone Darren only had one arm now.
What a bitch! Danni thought as she emerged from her car and slammed the door behind her.
Chelsea and Marcy abandoned their place on the sidewalk and rushed toward her.
“Can you believe Whitney and Garrett?” Chelsea asked her.
“Actually, I can,” Danni replied.
“Yeah, me too, but it still pisses me off,” Chelsea said. “Like she doesn’t win enough shit as it is.”
“Maybe she won’t win,” Marcy offered.
Chelsea wrinkled her nose. “She’ll win.”
As much as Danni hated to admit it, Chelsea was right. Whitney would win. Danni tried not to picture her and Darren standing side by side on the podium at the homecoming game.
“We should make posters for Darren,” Marcy suggested.
“I offered, but Darren doesn’t want to influence people’s votes,” Danni replied.
“That’s because Darren is a decent person,” Chelsea said. “Speaking of which, where is he?”
Danni shrugged. “No clue.”
“You think he’ll be pissed about Whitney and Garrett’s stupid posters?” Chelsea asked.
“Maybe,” Danni answered.
The first bell rang with no sign of Darren, and Danni debated what to do. She didn’t want to be one of those girlfriends who needed to know where her boyfriend was every single minute of the day, but she didn’t want him to think she didn’t care. Then again, she also didn’t want him thinking she was babying him.
Just as Danni made up her mind to give in and call, her cell phone rang. When she fished it from her purse, she saw it was Darren. “Hey, I was just starting to wonder about you.”
Marcy and Chelsea waved their goodbyes without saying anything. Danni waved back at them before starting in the direction of her first class.
“Sorry,” Darren said. “I’m not coming.”
“Are you okay?” Danni asked. “You sound terrible.”
“Yeah, I’m okay, but my mom’s freaking out and dragging me to urgent care.”
“How come?”
“I’ve got a fever and the last time that happened I got that infection.”
“Oh, then call me when you get home.”
“I’ll call you at lunch,” Darren said and followed the words with a coughing fit.
“Maybe you should just text me,” Danni suggested. “I don’t want your voice to get any worse.”
“It’s cool. I can call you.”
“Okay, get some rest and drink a lot of water.”
Darren chuckled. “Yes, dear.”
“Listen smart ass, I’m just trying to make sure you get better fast.”
“I know, and I love you for it.”
“Love you too, but I gotta go,” Danni said. Cell phone still pressed to her ea
r, she entered her first period classroom. “Second bell’s about to ring.”
“Later, baby,” Darren said, and Danni echoed his goodbye before ending the call.
Danni dropped the phone back into her purse and slid into her seat just as the second bell rang. The student body elite launched into their morning announcements, including a reminder to vote for the homecoming king and queen in room B-19 during the lunch hour. For the first time in her life, Danni was going to do just that.
“And speaking of the homecoming king and queen, there will be a mandatory meeting for all candidates in room B-19 at the start of the lunch period,” Amber said.
Of all the days for Darren to be sick, he picked the one day they decided to hold a mandatory meeting! As much as she dreaded the thought, Danni knew what she would have to do.
* * *
Before going to the leadership room, Danni paused to send a quick text message to her friends. While telling them she would be late meeting them, she didn’t say why. With her hands and knees shaking, she trudged into the room. A few of the candidates were already there, including Whitney.
“I think you have the wrong room,” Whitney said. “The triple D club doesn’t meet in here.”
Amber furrowed her brow. “What’s the triple D club?”
Spencer laughed. “Please tell me that’s what I think it is.”
“You know, dorks dating the disabled,” Whitney explained, and Danni sucked in her breath.
Spencer’s smirk vanished. “That’s not cool.”
Danni frowned. Since when did Spencer care if people made fun of Darren? Just last week, he was calling her an ugly ass bitch and telling Darren he could do better.
“Please,” Whitney scoffed.
“Spencer’s right, that’s mean,” Taylor said. “Besides, you used to date Darren.”
Whitney wrinkled her nose. “That was before he became a freak.”
Danni wanted to tell Whitney to shut her stupid, slutty mouth, but her voice was stuck in her throat. At that moment Garrett sauntered into the room and moved toward Whitney. Without even saying hello to her, he smothered her in a sloppy kiss that made Danni’s stomach turn. Amber glanced her way and rolled her eyes.
“What’s this meeting for anyway?” Lee asked.
“It’s so Mr. Hughes can tell us what we need to know for the game on Friday,” Amber explained.
“I thought we just have to show up,” Spencer said.
“I’m afraid there’s a bit more to it than that,” Mr. Hughes announced as he entered the room. “Sorry I’m late. My fourth period class is on the other side of the campus. Now then, is everyone here?”
“Darren Jacobs isn’t here, but he sent his fan club,” Whitney said.
“Darren’s sick,” Danni explained. “I, um, came to get the stuff he needs.”
Mr. Hughes smiled at her. “That’ll be just fine. Let’s get started. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t want to spend my whole lunch here.”
“You got that right,” Spencer agreed.
It turned out there was a lot more to the whole homecoming thing than just showing up to get the crown. If anyone wanted to campaign, it was fine, but they needed to keep it clean and respectful. There was to be no smearing of fellow candidates. Danni had to bite her tongue to keep from telling Mr. Hughes it was too late for that.
Kickoff for the football game was Friday at seven thirty. Halftime was at eight thirty, but all of the candidates needed to be at the east end of the track in front of the football field fifteen minutes earlier. At eight thirty, all of the nominees had to walk on and be introduced to the crowd. The girls would be accompanied by their fathers while the guys would walk in single file.
For the introductions, all candidates needed to write a brief, third-person speech about themselves, which could include information about their time at school and future plans. Like their campaign tactics, everyone had to keep their speeches clean. They also needed to be typed and turned in to Mr. Hughes no later than three o’clock on Thursday afternoon so he could proofread and edit them before the game on the following night.
The girls and the boys would need to dress up. Boys didn’t have to wear tuxedos unless they wanted. Nice suits were fine, but jeans and T-shirts were not. The girls’ dresses had to be dress code appropriate and neither too short nor too low in the front.
“That blows,” Spencer said, and everyone but Danni laughed.
After the winners were announced, they would be expected to give a brief acceptance speech for the crowd and pose for the yearbook photo.
“This is a lot of work,” Spencer complained.
“Maybe you should just drop out,” Garrett suggested. “It’s not like you’re gonna win anyway.”
Spencer grinned at him. “I hope you don’t think you’re actually gonna beat me.”
“I don’t think I am,” Garrett said. “I know I am.”
“That’s so lame,” Taylor said.
“So, are we done here or what?” Lee asked.
“We’re done,” Mr. Hughes replied. “I’ll see all of you at the game on Friday and good luck.”
Everyone shuffled from the room. Danni frowned as she watched Whitney and Garrett walk hand in hand toward the parking lot. She still could not understand how Darren spent almost a year of his life dating that girl.
Amber came to stand beside her. “Tell Darren I hope he feels better.”
“I will,” Danni replied with a weak smile.
“And tell him I’m voting for him too.”
“Um, okay.”
Amber flashed her a smile. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys at the game.”
Danni made up her mind then and there that she was voting for Amber Hicks, and she was going to ask her friends to do the same. If Darren won, she would much rather see him standing beside a nice person like Amber than that bitch Whitney.
On her way to meet her friends, Danni’s cell phone rang. When she freed it from the bottom of her purse, she was relieved to see it was Darren.
“What’d your doctor say?” Danni asked.
“I’ve got strep throat,” he replied.
“You’re kidding me. How’d you get that?”
“That’s what my mom wanted to know since I’m still on the antibiotics from the surgery,” Darren said. “The doctor said he thinks I built up a tolerance or something so he gave me something stronger.”
“That’s good.”
“Yes and no. The side effects are a bitch.”
“Do I want to know?” Danni asked.
“Probably not.”
“I guess I won’t be able to come over tonight.”
“I know, and it totally sucks,” Darren said.
“How long do you have to miss school?”
“I have to be fever free for at least twenty-four hours so I might be back on Wednesday. It’ll depend on how I feel.”
“You think you’ll make homecoming?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Okay, so you want me to text you all the stuff you need to know?”
“What stuff?” Darren asked.
“There was a mandatory meeting for the candidates today so I went for you,” she replied.
Darren drew in a sharp breath. “They were all there?”
“Yes.”
“Did any of them give you any shit?”
Danni hesitated. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to tell him what Whitney said about the triple D club either.
“Danni?” Darren prompted.
“It was nothing,” she said. “You know how Whitney is. Amber said to tell you she hopes you feel better and that she’s voting for you.”
“And what did Whitney say?”
“Um, well, she said she thought I had the wrong room.”
“Why? Come on, Danni, be straight with me.”
Danni sighed. “She said the triple D club didn’t meet there, and when someone asked what that was she said it was the dorks dating the
disabled club.”
“Fucking bitch,” Darren snarled and then broke into a coughing fit.
“Darren Andrew Jacobs!” Ann shrilled. “You need to get off that phone and get some rest.”
Danni giggled. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Yeah, all right. Listen, thanks for dealing with that for me.”
“No problem,” she replied. “I’ll text you all the stuff you need to know for homecoming.”
“Cool, love you, baby.”
“I love you too, D.J.”
While Danni didn’t want Darren to be sick, she was kind of glad he didn’t have to face Whitney. The thought of him standing next to her on the podium on Friday made Danni’s skin crawl. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was Amber who won.
That’s it! Danni thought and hurried to meet her friends for what was left of her lunch period.
* * *
After school, Danni and her friends headed to her house. Along the way they stopped at the store where they loaded up on poster boards, glitter, magic markers and glue sticks. Just because Darren didn’t want any posters didn’t mean the girls couldn’t make them for someone else.
They spread their supplies across Danni’s living room floor and stared at the blank poster boards.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Chelsea said.
“We can’t let Whitney win,” Danni insisted.
“I know,” Chelsea agreed. “I just never thought I’d be spending my own time and money helping some popular girl win an award she doesn’t deserve.”
Marcy smiled. “Amber’s way nicer than Whitney.”
Chelsea wrinkled her nose. “That’s not saying much. A grizzly bear in heat is way nicer than Whitney.”
Danni laughed. “That’s just wrong.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t be that mean to the grizzly bears of the world,” Chelsea said, and the other two cracked up. “What are we supposed to write on these things anyway?”
Danni shrugged. “I don’t know. Mr. Hughes just said they had to be clean and we couldn’t put the other candidates down.”
“I guess that means ‘Vote for Amber instead of that bitch Whitney’ is out of the question?” Chelsea asked.
Danni giggled. “I’d say so.”
“We could just write Vote for Amber,” Marcy suggested.
“That’s too boring,” Danni said. “We need to come up with something people will remember when they’re going to vote.”
Marcy frowned. “Like what?”
“How about ‘Vote for Amber or you’ll be sorry’?” Chelsea suggested.
“I don’t know about that one,” Danni replied, smiling at her.
Like You Mean It Page 18
