My mouth drops in horror. “How do you know all those details?”
“
Honey, I know everything,” she says with a smirk.
“
As do we, Ms. G.” I raise my brow at her.
“
I’m sure you do.” She raises her brow right back at me. “Are you and Travis going out or what?”
I replay my night with Alex in my head, and think about the possibilities. “No, just friends. Maybe someday we’ll be more than that. The girls and I are trying to do the …”
She cuts me off, “Single ladies year?”
“
Oh my gosh. You’re like a freaking mind reader. Are you some sort of powerful superhero? A vampire maybe?” I joke.
“
Neither,” she says with a chuckle. “You forget your friends T.A. for my friends.”
“
Oh yeah,” I say. “Mr. Fuller is cute, Ms. G. You should go for it.”
“
Maybe I will,” she responds with a wink. Woowoo. Go, Ms. Gelson. Get your man. “I have to tell you. I think it’s a good thing what you, Keesha, and Stephanie are doing. You’re too young to be stuck with the same boyfriends all your lives. Have some fun. If things are meant to be, Travis will still be there when you’re done. And so will Jonathan.”
I want to add and so will Alex, but I don’t. “Jon? You do know that Jon moved, right?” I ask her, trying to get my mind off of my ex.
“
Yes. But something tells me that boy is going to come right back here as soon as he gets his chance so he can stake his claim on his high school sweetheart. There is something about the way he and Keesha were together that was so sweet and pure.”
“
You think so?” Sweet and pure? Not exactly what comes to mind when I think of my two friends.
She smiles and nods. “I think so. He really loved Keesha. And the way he looked at her… you don’t see that every day.”
“
Hmm,” is all that comes out.
“
Let’s just keep that between you and me. Keesha deserves to have a fun year too.”
“
Yeah, there’s no way I’m letting that cat out of the bag. She would totally freak out if she ever thought he’d come back. She doesn’t talk about it much, but I know she still misses him.”
“
And what about Grand Slam?” she asks.
“
Wow, you really do know everything.”
She giggles.
“
That was just a little fling. I don’t think either of them really thinks of the other like that. They’d both lost their best friend and just felt comfortable with each other. Probably easier than finding someone new. I think they’ve gotten over that though because Josh was getting freaky with some new girl the other night. And Keesh is always talking to different boys.”
“
And how are you?”
I take a second to ponder this simple question. “I’m okay. Alex and I had a really good talk the other night. As much as we’d like to get back together, we both know it’s not going to happen. We need to move on. For now anyway.”
Deadlines suck. Between parties, Strip Twister, and football games, I’ve been trying to squeeze in studying and homework any chance I can get. I thought last year was tough. Junior year is loaded with essays, essays, and more essays. Essays in English. Essays in chem. Essays in AP U.S. history. I even had an essay in pre-calculus chronicling the major mathematicians throughout history. I thought math was about calculations. I thought history was about people, events, and timelines. Why in the hell do we have to keep writing paper after paper in each of our classes? It’s not like we can just throw something down about the Vietnam War and how it changed the way we’ve treated veterans in the wars since then. No way. We have to provide evidence from a variety of sources and then cite those sources in MLA format. Who’s MLA? What’s MLA? I want to kick MLA’s ass.
So, here we are. Books flipped open. Laptops on, scouring the internet and pages of notes scattered around my room. At least, Mr. Erickson has the decency to let us work together on the four essays he assigned. Yes. Four. All at one time.
Keesh, Steph, and I are working together, of course. We invited Travis since we have the same teacher, but he said he’d rather work alone. Crazy kid. This is going to take forever, and that’s with three of us working on it. He’s one of those people who has to read everything himself to make it sink in. Oh well, if that’s what he wants to do, then so be it.
Steph stretches her hands over her head and yawns. “I’m falling asleep. Let’s turn on some music.”
“
Go for it,” I tell her. She leans over and turns the volume up on the dock for my iPod. JoJo on the radio, as usual.
We continue to work, bobbing our heads to the music. For every question, we need five sources with concrete evidence to prove our points. We’re allowed to share our sources and evidence but we each have to write the paper in our own voice and styles.
I continue jotting down notes. Keesh is frantically scribbling something from a website. And Steph looks like she’s daydreaming.
“
What’s up, Steph?” I ask, waving my hand. “You awake?”
She snaps her head toward me, her eyes wide. “Yeah. I was just thinking.”
Keesh smacks at her gum. While her pencil still moves across the paper, she asks, “What about?”
Steph lets out a sigh and tosses her books out of her lap. “So, chicas, I have a date for homecoming already.”
“
What?” Keesh and I shout at the same time.
She puts her head down, trying to hide the blush spreading over her face, but it’s not working.
“
Don’t get all shy on us. Who asked you?” I question.
She looks up, batting her eyelashes. “Ethan,” she says.
“
I knew it,” Keesh shouts. “You’ve been talking to him since the Twister game, haven’t you?”
“
Yeah.” She pauses. “A few times.”
“
A few times?” I say. “I hope you’re not making a boyfriend out of him.”
“
I’m not,” she says quietly.
“
What’s wrong?” Keesh asks. “Aren’t you excited?”
“
Yes, I’m totally happy. I’m kinda shocked he’d even go for me. I mean, look at him. He’s super cute, and he’s an amazing football player. He could go with anyone he wants to Homecoming.”
I cut her off. “And he is. He wants to go with you. So what’s the problem?”
“
Dominic,” Keesh responds for her.
She nods and her eyes get glassy.
“
No, no, no,” I tell her. “Don’t do this. We have to stop doing this to ourselves. We make the shittiest single ladies ever. We need to get rid of consciences and enjoy the possibilities. I doubt the guys are fretting over us when they go out on dates. And believe me, they are.”
Keesh finally puts her pencil down. “What do you know?”
I chuckle at the sight of their faces. “You guys are funny. You look like my mom right now when she’s getting ready to watch a new New Kids appearance on TV.”
Keesh leans back, wincing. “Oh, that’s bad.” She sits up all straight and proper, trying to appear casual. “So, what have you heard?”
Steph pretends to file her nails. Keesh straightens out her clothes. “Much better.” We all giggle. “Okay. Here it goes. I called Ben last night.”
“
You still call him?” Keesh questions.
“
Yeah. We talk a lot, or text. It’s no big deal. Do you want to know what happened or not?”
“
Okay, tell us,” Steph says, leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
“
They all went out Saturday night.”
“
Who went out?”
“
Ben, Dominic, and Frankie were going out. Eric wanted to go and he asked if he could bring Travis and Josh. Of course they agreed. They’re all friends anyway.”
“
And then what?” Steph asks.
There’s a knock at my door before my mom pops her head in.
“
Hey, ladies, you ready for a study break?” she starts. “My friend sent me some videos from the cruise and I’m about to watch them. I can make you some popcorn if you want to join me.”
I don’t know if I should be worried about my mother’s psychological wellbeing or if I should just be happy for her. The smile on her face is so cute. Her eyes twinkle whenever she talks about her favorite boy band. “No thanks, Mom. We’re already behind. Have fun though.”
She holds her giddy smile and says, “Maybe next time.” She pops her head back out and closes the door.
“
Your mom is crazy,” Steph says. “I can’t believe she paid a million dollars to go on a cruise with five guys she used to cry over when she was fourteen.”
“
What do you mean ‘used to’?” Keesh laughs. “Our moms still cry over them. It wasn’t quite a million dollars, but I heard my dad say it was money well spent.”
“
Huh. I thought our dads were pissed they’re spending so much money on New Kids,” I say.
“
One night my dad had the guys over for poker night, including your dad, Meg, and they were talking about how all the money our moms are spending on The Block was worth all the sex they’re having.”
“
Ewww,” I squeal, feeling my face bunch up in disgust.
“
Yeah, they were all saying they could get their wives to do anything after a concert. I guess our moms come home and get a little freaky-deaky in the sheets.”
“
I think I’m gonna be sick.” Keesh so did not have to tell me this. I could have gone the rest of my life not knowing my mom comes home from her NKOTB events and pretends my dad is one of those guys, or maybe all of them. Gross. So gross.
Nine
“
Okay, enough about the Beantown boys. Tell us what Ben said,” Keesh says. I can’t help but laugh at the way we know all the New Kid lingo, and we weren’t even born when they hit it big. Our moms have completely brainwashed us.
Shaking my head, I snap myself from my thoughts. “Oh yeah. Okay, the boys went bowling together.”
“
Bowling? That’s the big secret? I thought you meant they were hooking up with girls,” Keesh responds.
“
I’m not done,” I tell her. “They went bowling and there were a group of girls there too. Five to be exact. And guess who was one of them?”
“
Amy?” Steph says.
“
You mention her name in my house again and I’ll take out your eye with that nail file.” I glare at her, and she smiles. “No, Thelma. And guess which two of the boys she took care of, if you know what I mean?”
“
Oh my gosh. Seriously, Meg. Please tell me she didn’t hook up with Josh or Trav. You know she’s been with so many guys, and maybe some chicks too, that you can do the whole six degrees of separation with her.” Keesh shakes her head. She’s really bothered by this.
“
What’s that?” Steph asks, looking up with a raised brow.
“
It’s this idea that everyone is connected within six people from each other. But with Thelma, it’s like three. Name a person,” Keesh says.
“
Amy,” Steph replies.
“
Are you kidding me?” I yelp.
Steph grimaces. “Sorry.”
“
Okay, so I don’t think Thelma’s ever hooked up with Amy. But Amy knows Jacob, and he did her on multiple occasions. That wasn’t even three. Only two degrees of separation.”
“
That’s gross,” I tell them. “But no, she didn’t get with Trav or Josh. She tag-teamed the brothers. Ben said she started with Eric, moved on to Frankie, and then finished off with Eric again. Sick, huh?”
“
Well, they
are
siblings. I bet their momma always told them to share,” Keesh jokes.
We all bust up laughing, amused by our jokes.
“
Wait, that’s not all. Travis and Josh made out with some girls at the park,” I say.
“
At the park?” Steph says.
“
Yeah, I guess they all wanted to go somewhere where they could get nasty, so they left the bowling alley and went to a park.”
“
What about Ben and Dominic?” Keesh asks.
“
Ben said he fooled around with one of the girls in his car, while the others went off to find dark secluded spots. And Dom left with another chick in his van. He didn’t go to the park with them.”
Steph bows her head and starts filing her nails again. But this time, for real. And she’s getting a little rough.
“
Hey, stop. You’re going to draw blood,” I tell her.
“
I feel like such an ass. Here I’m feeling all guilty about going with Ethan to the dance and Dominic is actually dating. And I know what he can do in that van. I haven’t gone out with anybody else. Shit, I haven’t kissed anyone but him.”