by Seven Steps
I saluted him. “Yes, capitaine.”
He pulled open the front door.
“That’s the first French word you’ve said right all week.”
Before I had a chance to reply, he shut the door behind him.
23
Alas, life continued to poke me.
It was already seven thirty and Daddy still wasn’t home, nor was he answering his text messages. Where was he? Was he still job hunting? Why wasn’t he looking for jobs online like a normal person?
My worry got the best of me, and so to allay my fears, I called Ariel and Jasmine and told them all about Cole, his bad attitude and our poker game.
“I heard that Cole and Jake got in to a big fight in the locker room yesterday after football practice,” Jasmine said. “They say that Cole punched him in the face and got suspended from the team.”
“He punched Jake?” Ariel asked, her voice high in shock. Ariel had six sisters and to the best of my knowledge, they argued and screamed at each other constantly. Why was hitting so far-fetched to her? Especially since she was so willing to get into brawls for her friends.
“That’s what I heard,” Jasmine said.
“Does anyone know why he’s so mad?” I asked.
“Nope,” Jasmine said.
“He ran out of my house after the poker game like his pants were on fire,” I said. “Maybe that has something to do with it.”
“I don’t know,” Jasmine said. “Hey. I hear there is a party at Stephanie Pleasant’s house on Friday. They said that all of the cool kids are going to be there.”
I had no idea how Jasmine always got all the hot gossip. She must’ve had connections outside of Ariel and I, though I’d never seen her with anyone else.
“They must’ve lost our invitation in the mail,” Ariel said.
“Stephanie Pleasant is a skank,” I replied. “I wouldn’t want to go to her stupid party anyway.”
“Not even if Jake asked you to?” Jasmine said.
I paused. That’s right. I was Jake’s girlfriend now. If he went to a party, it would look suspicious that I wasn’t there.
Crap.
“I guess I’d have to,” I said with a sigh.
My phone vibrated and Jake’s number flashed across my screen.
I frowned. What did he want?
“Speaking of Jake, girls, I have to go.”
I didn’t really want to talk to Jake, but I didn’t really feel like talking to Ariel and Jasmine any more either. It was late, my dad wasn’t home and I was hungry and tired.
I bid goodbye to my friends and picked up Jake’s call on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Bella! What’s up?”
His good mood grated on my deteriorating one.
“Hey.”
“Happy to hear your voice, too.”
I frowned. Was this some sort of game? Was Dana around and that was why he was calling me and being nice? I couldn’t be sure.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Everything is fine. I just thought that you would be a little more excited to hear from me.”
“Would I? Did you forget that you yelled at me via text earlier? That doesn’t exactly inspire anxious anticipation.”
He smoothly ignored my comment.
“Most girls in school would be excited to hear from me and seeing as how no one really knew your name before yesterday, I thought that it would be, I don’t know, thrilling for you.”
I was so not in the mood for his condescending conversation. Was that how he talked to Dana, too? No wonder she’d dumped him. I rolled my eyes so hard that I thought they would pop out of my head.
“What do you want, Jake?”
“Just cementing our plans for this week.”
“Plans?”
“Yup. You have the distinct honor of having plans with the one and only Jake Winsted. Prepare for a heavy dose of awesome.”
A week ago, I would have killed for this phone call. Now, this phone call just made me want to kill Jake in particular. Was he always so arrogant?
“I’ll get my date book,” I said. I did not have a date book but I didn’t want him to know that. Instead, I grabbed a pen and wrote in the back page of my chemistry notebook.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
“I will meet you at my first period class every morning before school starts for a crazy make-out session. There will be tongue, so make sure you floss and gargle. A clean tongue is a happy tongue.”
I wanted to break my pencil in half.
“How about I meet you at your first period class every morning and give you a hug instead?”
“Peck on the lips?”
“Kiss on the cheek.”
He didn’t respond at first. I could feel his frustration through the phone.
“I suppose that I could tell everyone you’re a virgin and that we’re moving slow because you grew up a prude. But that’s only a short-term solution. You can’t hold out forever, Bella. Especially not against me.”
My skin crawled.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I guess it’s not all bad.” His voice sounded farther away, making me think that he was talking more to himself than to me. “It will make me look cooler if we’re making out by week two. People will think that I am the king of de-virginizing.”
“That’s degrading,” I stated loudly.
“More degrading than my girlfriend not wanting to kiss me? Definitely not.”
“I’m not your girlfriend.”
“According to the student body of St. Mary’s Academy, you are.”
“Did you get dropped on your head as a child?”
“Yes; right in to a pool of rich, young and hot. Moving on to item two.”
“Is there really a list?” I asked.
He laughed. “There is always a list, babe.”
Great. Perfect. Wonderful.
“Item two. You will dress appropriately for all occasions. Appropriate clothing includes mini-skirts, mini dresses, hair down and blown straight or wavy and heels. Make-up is not optional.”
“You’re joking.”
“Not at all.”
“You do realize that I’m doing you a favor, right? You know that I am doing this because you asked me to.”
“You are doing this for Arianna.”
“Ariel.”
“Whatever. Now, what is the price of her happiness worth to you? A shaved leg and a little lipstick? Come on.”
“You can’t give me a dress code. Especially not in Autumn. I’ll freeze to death.”
“It’s not a dress code. More like guidelines on how to be a girl.”
“I don’t have to dress up in heels and hooker skirts to be a girl. I could dress in jeans and sweatshirts and still be a girl.”
“Biologically.”
“Do you know how sexist that sounds? You do realize that it’s no longer 1950, right? Women are no longer confined to the kitchen, just waiting to be impregnated while we cook your dinner and mop your floor.”
“Dear God. Please press the mute button. I’m not having a conversation about feminism. I am letting you know in the nicest way possible that your clothes are not up to par with your new popularity and that I am going to buy you new ones.”
“New ones?” I stuttered.
“Tomorrow, we are ditching school after first period and I will personally take you shopping.”
“You’re going to take me shopping?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t I be trusted to pick out my own clothes?”
“You’ve been picking out your own clothes since Freshman year. The answer to that question is no.”
My stomach twisted in knots.
“Item three. Friday night. We will meet up at Stephanie Pleasant’s pre-party, then head over to the Stamford Club for an under twenty-one party. You are required to attend.”
Exhaustion pulled at me. I hadn’t slept the night before and this conversation
wore me down to the bone. I just wanted to get off the phone and never speak to Jake again. Unfortunately, that was not possible either. I sighed.
“What time?”
“Stephanie’s party starts at seven.”
“As long as we’re back by ten o’clock.”
“Why?”
“I have a curfew.”
“Then you will be breaking it.”
I snorted. “I can’t break my curfew. My dad will freak.”
He ignored me again. He did that a lot.
“Moving on. You will spend every lunch period at my table and you will talk about any cool things that you do or know. The car thing was spot on. Talk about more of that, but don’t talk too much because girls who talk too much think too much and girls who think too much are not for me.”
I imagined grabbing his neck and wringing it.
“Are we done?”
“Last item on the list for this week is that I will address you as Baby and you will not give me a dirty look about it. I just figured that you were one of those types.”
My body shook in anger and I hung up the phone and hurled it across the room.
He was just as infuriating as his brother! Worse! How could I stand to be around him for two weeks? Was it worth the humiliation to be popular? To give my best friend her dream boyfriend, who may or may not even like her back? I had half a mind to call Ariel and tell her exactly what I was up to. I wanted to walk away from this stupid plan and this even stupider dream of popularity and leave it all in the past.
But I couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. I had to see this through for myself and even more importantly, for Ariel.
I blew out a harsh breath and walked to the window. I didn’t think again until my heartbeat slowed down and my hands unclenched.
I couldn’t tell Ariel, just like Jake couldn’t tell Dana. We had to keep quiet and play our roles until the time was right. When Jake was back with Dana, Eric and Ariel were cozy, and I was … well, I didn’t know where I would be then. My life had taken so many twists and turns in the last two days that even thinking about tomorrow seemed overwhelming. Like it was a grand mystery that I wasn’t ready to solve.
I sighed.
Where was Dad? It was almost eight o’clock and he still wasn’t around. Why didn’t he text me? Was he out looking for a job? Was he at a bar?
I crossed my bedroom, picked up my phone from where it had landed in my hamper and checked it.
To my relief, Daddy had texted back while Jake and I were on the phone.
Dad: Be home soon. I love you.
I texted back telling him that I loved him, too, before I laid back down on my bed.
This had been the longest day ever. God only knew what tomorrow would bring.
24
It was only Wednesday and I felt like my entire life had turned upside down.
I took the longest shower of my life and put on my standard jeans and t-shirt. What did it matter? I was going shopping with Jake for new clothes anyway. That meant that today would be the last time that anyone would see me looking like me for the foreseeable future. I pulled my I Heart Inigo Montoya T-shirt over my head. It always cheered me up before but today, no such luck. If it were possible, I was in an even worse mood.
Joylessly, I flat ironed my hair and put on make-up.
You’re doing this for Ariel, I told myself as I applied my third coating of mascara. You are doing this for Ariel.
When I was ready, I pulled my door open to find my father sitting at the breakfast bar, eating some eggs, toast and coffee. When he heard me come out, he put down the paper he’d been reading and turned to me.
“Hey.”
He wore a small, hesitant smile. One that matched mine.
“Hey.”
I pulled my backpack closer to me, waiting for him to speak again.
“Look, kid. I’m sorry. I lost my job and I turned our life upside down again. I just … I…” He held his hands out in front of him, first in fists then opening them, as if letting something go that he’d held on to for far too long.
“I’m just sorry. You shouldn’t have to think about money or stuff like that. You’re a kid. You should be thinking about Barney and dolls and playing dress-up.”
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at what Daddy thought I should be concerned with. It wasn’t the right time. Instead, I took a small step forward.
“I’m sorry, too. Some of the things that I said on Monday were hurtful.”
He ran his hand over the graying stubble that covered his cheeks and chin. “That didn’t make them any less true.”
“It does. I don’t hate you. I love you, Dad.”
His smile grew, and he pulled me in to a warm hug.
“I love you too, sweetie.”
The world seemed to fall in place again as he kissed the top of my head and held me tight. My insides turned gooey with love. I hugged him so hard that my arms hurt.
“We’re going to be all right,” he whispered. “I found a job yesterday.”
I pulled away, surprised and delighted.
“You did?”
He nodded.
“It doesn’t pay as much as the old job, but we don’t need much. I put down first and last month’s deposit on a new apartment across town near Central Park. It’s closer to where I’ll be working.”
I gasped.
“Seventy six?” I asked.
He nodded, a smile growing on his face.
“That’s where Ariel and Jasmine live!” I screamed and threw myself back in to his arms.
76 Central Park West was closer to my school, too. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“I know.”
“How did you get in there? It’s way more expensive than this place.”
“Well, I went back to the car shop to collect my tools when I saw this guy outside. I’d fixed his car once and we’d talked a little. Anyway, he asked what was going on and I told him that I was fired and that I might have to move and everything that was happening. So, he tells me that his aunt, this woman named Fleckenstein, has two apartments over at 76 and one of them is rent controlled. She held on to the second apartment for years, paying both rents.”
“Why?”
“One is for her and the other is for Lad, the kid I met. It turns out, he goes to school across town and his parents have this huge house and he’s never going to use the apartment. The lady is cooked in the head or something, I think. Anyway, he told me that he can get us in the apartment and we’ll just have to pay the rent to his aunt under the condition that he can stay there if he ever needed a place to crash.”
“Oh my god. That’s fantastic!”
“We move in next Saturday!”
I hugged my father again, relief washing over me. We were going to be okay. Everything was going to work out.
“So, what’s the new job?”
He frowned. “Well, it’s not as glamorous as my old job, but…”
“But?”
“You know those horse carriage rides that they give around Central Park?”
“Yeah.”
Was he going to be giving horse carriage rides for fifty bucks a pop? That was a long way from fixing cars.
“Well, I’ll be working in the stables.”
“Just like you did back on Grandpa’s farm?”
He nodded, his smile waning.
“I guess I can’t get away from the farm life, huh kid?”
I sighed. This was not where Dad saw himself when he left North Carolina. I could see the disappointment on his face and it made my heart ache.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I know you had dreams.”
He let out a breath.
“Sometimes, we have to put our dreams on hold for our children,” he said. “One day, I’ll find that perfect formula. But in the meantime, we have to eat, right?”
I smiled, feeling proud of my father and his decisions.
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
�
��And I have to go to school, so…”
He stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “I’ll walk you downstairs.”
We smiled at each other. Daddy and I were going to be okay. Everything was going to work out. Joy took over as we walked down the four flights of stairs, discussing details for the move and what our new place would be like. I couldn’t wait to tell Ariel and Jasmine.
We reached the door and I turned to him.
“See you later, Dad,” I said.
“I’ll see you, kid.”
I kissed him on the cheek and nearly skipped to my friends.
Ariel and Jasmine waved. “Bye, Mr. French.”
Dad waved at them before he headed in the opposite direction.
“He’s walking you to the door now?” Ariel asked. “What are you; eight?”
“He was telling me the good news.”
“What news?” Jasmine asked.
“We are moving.”
Both Ariel and Jasmine stopped walking to look at me, wide eyed.
“Moving?” Ariel’s voice sounded on the edge of hyperventilation. “Where?”
“To 76 Central Park West!”
We all screamed and jumped and danced around in a circle.
“This is going to be awesome!” Jasmine cried.
“Super awesome!” Ariel yelled.
“Mega awesome!” I joined in.
The thought of all three of us in the same building filled us all with happiness.
Ariel lived in the penthouse suite with her super rich father and her two sisters. There were seven sisters in total. Four of them were already out of the house and off to expensive in-state colleges. Two of them, Adella and Alana, were freshmen at St. Mary’s. Her apartment was cluttered but swanky, with big windows, a huge pool and a beautiful patio. Each room even had its very own themed aquarium.
Jasmine’s apartment was no less swanky with colorful walls, intricately beaded pillows and throws and thick braided rugs. Plus, her father, Sultan Patel, made the best tea I’d ever tasted. Jasmine lived with her father and four brothers, all college aged and super cute. Though I didn’t tell them that.
The news that I was going to be in the same building with my two besties was almost as good as the news that my father had found a job. This day was shaping up to be the best day ever.
