Don't Bet On Love (7 page)

“
Hi, Mom,
”
I called as I hopped out of Gary’s car.

She glanced up at me and smiled.
“
Oh, hello, dear.
”

Gary got out, too, and strolled over to her.
“
Hi,
Mrs. McKenzie,
”
he said.

Mom stared at him for a moment.
“
Gary?
”
Her trowel slipped out of her hand and fell
to the ground.
“
Is that really you? Good heavens! I didn’t even recognize you!
”

“
Doesn’t he look terrific?
”
I said proudly.
“
Say
,
Mom, is Mark
i
nside?
”

“
He's helping your dad fix the car,
”
Mom replied, still staring at Gary.
“
They’re both in the garage.
”

She was only half right. Dad was in the garage, working on the car, but Mark was nowhere in
sight, which wasn’t really sur
prising. Whenever there’s work to be done, my brother has a habit of disappearing.

“
Hi, Dad. Where’s Mark?
”
I asked.

“
He’s in the house,
”
Dad answered from under the hood.
“
If you're going inside, will you please send him out here pronto? I sent him in for paper towels, and he seems to have gotten lost.
”

“
Okay, Dad. Come on in, Gary.
”

“
Gary?
”
Dad looked up from the engine, an amazed expression on his face.
“
Gary
Hadley
? The same Gary who backed his car over my lawn mower last week?
”

“
Uh, yes, sir. I’m afraid so,
”
Gary mumbled apologetically.

“
Well, you sure don’t
look
the same,
”
Dad said, scratching his head.
“
Don’t let it bother
you,
”
he added, ducking back under the hood.
“
The lawn mower Incident, I mean. Mark never should have left
i
t in the drive-way in the first place.
”

At that moment the door opened, and Mark entered the garage with a roll of paper towels.
“
I never should have left—what in the—
”
He stopped short at the sight of Gary, then slowly circled the spot where we stood, studying Gary from all angles. At last he let out a long, low whistle.
“
I gotta hand
i
t to you, Moll,
”
he said.
“
You
did
perform a miracle! I never knew you had it
i
n you.
”

I
grinned.
“
Actually, it was Ellen at Hair Designs who did it. Everybody's in for a big surprise on Monday.
”

“
Especially Eddie and Steve,
”
Mark chortled.
“
Are
they
i
n for a nasty shock! I feel twenty dollars richer already!
”

If my own family's reactions were anything to judge by, Gary's new look would be the talk of Carson High School. I could hardly wait until the weekend was over!

As soon as I got to school on Monday morning, I hurried down the crowded corridor in the direction of Gary's locker, eager to
see the effect he was having on the other kids. I found him there, all right, surrounded by a group of wide-eyed girls. A bevy of sophomores gazed adoringly up at him while several flirtatious juniors were giggling at something Gary had just said. One of them reac
hed up and ruffled his reddish-
brown hair.

Rather than approaching him, I
hung back. I knew I should be pleased at Gary's success, but something about the sight of him with all those girls gave me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t that
I
was jealous of the attention he was getting—of course not! He certainly deserved it, especially after the way most of the kids at Carson, including me, had either ignored him or made fun of him for the past two and a half years.

At that
moment Gary looked up and spot
ted me standing by the water fountain. From the expression on his face, I could tell that he was far from enjoying his new popularity. When his eyes met mine, they were filled with such relief that it was almost comical.

“
Molly! Am I glad to see you!
”
he exclaimed. He grabbed a maroon and white
baseball
cap from his locker and jammed i
t down on his head, concealing his trendy new haircut. Then he pushed his way through the crowd of girls to my side.

“
What’s with the hat?
”
I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“
I had to put it on in self-defense,
”
he explained.
“
I’m telling you, Molly, this place is a jungle!
”

“
You're darned right, it's a jungle,
”
I said i with a grin,
“
and
you're
going on safari.
”
I
snatched the bill of the off
ending cap and twitched it off.
“
Now, put that thing back in your locker and quit hiding under it!
”

“
Well, okay,
”
Gary said reluctantly.
“
If you say so. But I
…”

His voice trailed off, and
his eyes seemed
to glaze over as he stared past me down the hall. I didn't have to turn around to know
who he was looking at.

“
H-hi
, Colette,
”
Gary stammered as she approached.

Colette threw him a brief glance. She was about to pass him by, wh
en her huge, dark eyes widened i
n surprise. I'd never seen anyone do a double take before, but that's what Colette did. She stared at Gary for a moment
,
then flashed him a dazzling smile.

“
It's Gary, isn't it?
”
she purred.
“
Gary
Hadley?
”

“
Uh—yeah,
”
he said, gazing down at her with a dopey grin on his face.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. True, I was supposed to be grooming Gary for a date with Colette, but in spite of the contacts and the haircut, it had never crossed my mind that she might actually find him attractive. But there she stood, smiling up at him with an unmistakable
“
come hither
”
look.

Everything is working out beautifully
, I told myself as I watched them walk down the hall together.
Gary will have his dream girl, and Mark will win his twenty dollars.

So where did that leave me?

I didn't see Gary again until lunchtime, when he had promised to meet me in the cafeteria and give me a progress report. But as he carried his tray past Colette’s table on his way to mine, she called to him, then pulled out the vacant chair beside her and patted it invitingly. Gary cast one nervous glance in my direction, then promptly forgot all about me as he sat down beside Colette. She was at her flirtatious best, laughing and tossing her dark brown curls, and Gary was smiling at her dreamily as if she were the only girl in the world.

“
Earth to Molly McKenzie! Earth to Molly McKenzie!
”
Jan called to me from the other side of our table.
“
I've asked you three times how you did on your algebra test, and I'm still waiting for an answer!
”

“
Oh—sorry,
”
I
mumbled, tearing my eyes away from Colette and Gary.
“
I guess I wasn’t listening.
”

“
You sure weren't,
”
she said, grinning.
“
You were too busy staring at Gary Hadley. And who can blame you? What a fox! Molly, you asked me once if I would go out with Gary, and I said no. Is it too late to change my mind?
”

“
You're just like all the other girls in this school!
”
I snapped irritably.
“
Where were you last week, before he had a haircut, and when he was still wearing those hideous gla
sses? You're all so—so
shallow
!”

“
Well, excuse me for living!
”
Jan said, taken aback.
“
What's your problem?
”

“
Honestly, Jan, can’t you see what's happened?
”
Beth scolded gently.
“
Molly’s fallen in love with the new Gary Hadley.
”

“
I have not!
”
I cried.
“
It just makes me furi
ous to see Colette Carroll falling all over him, when
j
ust last Friday she wouldn't give him the time of day. Can't he see that she's interested only in his looks? She doesn't care about the
real
Gary at all! Oh, why do boys have to be so
stupid
?
”

“
Because if they were any smarter, they'd be girls,
”
Jan replied smugly.
“
You know, Beth,
”
she added,
“
I think you’re right. It sure looks like love to me.
”

“
And
I
think you're both crazy!
”
I said, blushing to the roots of my hair.

I stormed out of the cafeteria without eating a bite and headed for the girls' room to splash cold water on my burning cheeks. When I came in, I found two girls I slightly knew touching up their makeup before the big mirror over the sinks. Neither of them paid the least bit of attention to me.

“
I’ve got a class with Gary Hadley next period,
”
Ashley
told Laurel as she ran a comb
through her short brown hair.
“
Have you
seen
him today? Boy, what a difference!
”

“
Yeah, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you,
”
Laurel warned her friend.
“
Colette’s already gotten her hooks into him.
”

“
Just my luck,
”
Ashley sighed.

“
Give me a break!
”
I muttered, and both girls’ eyebrows shot up in surprise. Giving them a dirty look,
I
turned on my heel and left the room.

That encounter in the rest room was only the first of many during the week. Everywhere I went, I heard girls talking about
“
Gorgeous Gary
”
Hadley. Overnight he had become a charter member of Carson High’s in crowd. It was also common knowledge that he was Colette Carroll's own personal property, and I even heard a rumor that Colette was going to give a party in his honor.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Gary asked her to the prom, and there was no question in my mind that she would accept.

Meanwhile, my two best friends tried to pretend they were immune to Gary fever. Beth and Jan seemed to walk on eggshells whenever we were together, careful to avoid making any reference to him that might upset me. I knew they were thinking that I was eating my heart out over the new Gary Hadley, but they were dead wrong. I had no interest whatsoever in some overnight wonder.

It was the
old
Gary Hadley I was in love
with.