Girls Acting Catty (13 page)

“And now you,” Taylor said, fake-sweetly as she put her arm around Jesse.

“I'm almost done. Only two weeks to go.” Jesse giggled nervously and shrugged away from Taylor.

“I don't think I could do that for three months,” I said.

“Not even for an awesome vacation?” asked Jesse.

“Have you ever
been
to Rosarito?” asked Nikki.

I shook my head no.

“It's like, the best place ever,” said Taylor. “My parents take me there every year for Spring Break and we always rent a condo, right on the beach. And since I'm an only child and would be totally bored with just them, they let me bring a friend. But only one and it's so hard to decide. Hannah and Nikki have already been, but we've been friends forever. Jesse's still kind of new. We only just started letting her hang out with us last year and she still has to prove herself. But, Annabelle, you can't tell anyone, okay? That's part of the fun. No one else at school can know.”

“But why?” I didn't mean to be rude. The question just popped into my head and I really wanted to know.

Taylor and her friends all stared at me. They seemed shocked that I'd asked.

“What do you mean, why?” Taylor asked, carefully.

“Um, why would you make her do that? I'm just curious.” I shrugged a tiny shrug. “Why not just let her have a turn.”

Taylor smiled. “Well, that wouldn't be any fun! Anyway, it's important to be able to laugh at yourself. You know?”

I glanced toward Jesse, who squirmed in her seat. She wasn't anywhere near laughing. In fact, I'd hardly seen her crack a smile since I'd known her. I'd always figured it was just her personality— or lack thereof. But maybe she just felt super-embarrassed, on account of the fact that she was forced to wear clothes she didn't like every single school day.

The whole thing made me feel uneasy, but I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind. It was flattering that Taylor trusted me with the truth, even though that truth was pretty wacky. None of my friends ever would've guessed that this whole green kick of Jesse's was all because of some bribe. Too bad I couldn't tell them.

“Anyway, if word gets out, the deal's off,” Taylor said.

“But that's not fair,” Jesse argued. “You said she had immunity.”

“She does, but no one else does. I mean where's the fun in that?”

Jesse looked worried.

“I won't tell,” I said. “I promise.”

“You swear?”

“Pinky swear.” I held up my finger.

“I remember pinky swears from the third grade,” Nikki said, and laughed until Taylor shot her a dirty look.

“Thanks,” said Jesse, as she took a bite of seaweed salad.

“That looks nasty,” said Taylor.

Jesse scrunched up her nose. “Well, it tastes even worse.”

I glanced at my friends on the other side of the cafeteria. Claire was telling some story that involved lots of arm waving and fake choking and everyone giggling.

“Hey, does Jason have a girlfriend?” asked Taylor.

“Jason Weeble? My almost-stepbrother?”

“Duh.” Taylor laughed. “What other Jason is there?”

“Aren't there, like, three in our grade?”

“Four, but none of those guys is worth talking about,” said Taylor. “So does he?”

“I don't know.”

“Annabelle, how can you not know these pertinent details?”

“Um, I guess it never came up? I never see him with any girls, though. Usually he just hangs out at home with my dog, Pepper. But I guess he could have a girlfriend in Switzerland. How come?”

“No reason. Is he picking you up from school again?” asked Taylor.

“Again?”

“I saw you in the parking lot that day,” Taylor said, and turned to her friends. “Jason has the coolest car.”

“It's his mom's actually.”

“Well, whatever. If he is, can you give me a ride home?”

“You're supposed to come to my house,” said Nikki. “My mom is taking us out for manicures, remember?”

“Duh!” said Taylor. “I didn't forget. It's just, if I have the option of seeing Jason, I can't pass that up.”

“Not even for a manicure? She said we could get French ones.” Nikki turned to me and said, “French manis cost ten dollars extra.”

As if I didn't know.

Okay, I didn't, but so what?

“You wouldn't understand. Jason and I go way back. I've known him since forever.” Taylor turned to me. “So what's his deal?”

“His deal?”

Just then the bell rang, which was lucky because I'd no idea what Taylor was talking about. And by the time I saw her next, she must've forgotten.

As soon as I got to PE that afternoon, she came up to me. “Isn't it so annoying, how Ms. Meyers never lets us sing good songs in chorus? I'm worried that it's getting in the way of my singing career.”

“Um, what do you want to sing instead?” I asked.

“You know—real music that people actually listen to.” Taylor flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Pop and hip-hop. Or at least songs from cool musicals like
Wicked
and
Hairspray
instead of boring old
Phantom
of the Opera
and folk songs. I'm thinking of starting a petition. Would you sign it?”

“Um, I guess so.”

I'd never thought to complain about what a teacher taught and had to admire Taylor for being so bold.

As soon as we split up into volleyball teams, Rachel asked, “Okay, what's going on?”

I played dumb. “What do you mean?”

“Lunching with the enemy?”

“She's not that bad. We kind of hung out on Thanksgiving.”

“No way!” Rachel yelled.

“Shh! I didn't know it was going to happen. We just ended up at her parents' house. Her dad and Dweeble went to college together.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Or maybe they just work together. I don't really know.”

“Not that,” said Rachel. “I can't believe you got stuck hanging out with Taylor Stansfield and you didn't even tell me.”

Yeah, there was a reason I didn't tell Rachel right away. It's because I knew she'd freak out like this.

I shrugged like it wasn't any big deal. “There's not much to tell. She's not so bad. I mean it was weird at first, especially since Nikki was there too. But in the end it was fun.”

“How is that possible?” asked Rachel.

“Once you get to know her, she's not so bad.” I glanced across the blacktop to where Taylor was talking to Robbie.

Rachel followed my gaze. “He's probably only hanging out with her because he wants to see her underwear.”

“Come on,” I said.

Rachel shrugged. “Hey, you're the one who told me they're always showing.”

“I didn't say always.”

“Are you sure?” asked Rachel. “Because I think you did.”

I guess I'd said a lot of mean things. But after Taylor made me feel bad about my hairy legs, it had been fun, putting her down. And okay, there was something exciting about getting caught up in the drama. Obviously Rachel wanted to continue this big huge fight, but I didn't want to hold a grudge forever. Anyway, Taylor was nice now.

Just then Taylor looked up, noticed us watching her, and waved. I waved back.

“What are you doing?” asked Rachel.

“Nothing,” I said. “Can we play volleyball now?”

“Sure,” said Rachel. “And thanks for asking me how I'm feeling.”

“Huh?” I asked.

Rachel parted her lips and pointed to her teeth. Her braces! How could I have forgotten? She'd just gotten them yesterday.

“Omigosh, Rachel. I'm so sorry! I totally spaced.”

“So I noticed.” Rachel huffed.

“Do they hurt?”

“Yes, they do.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, they ache a little.”

“They look cute,” I said.

“Yeah, right.”

“No, seriously. Plenty of kids have braces. It's not that big a deal.”

“Not for you. Your teeth are perfectly straight.”

“How long will you have them?”

“Too soon to tell, but maybe two years if I'm lucky.”

“That's not so bad,” I said.

“That's forever.” Her shoulders slumped. “Jackson's already come up with a huge list of awful nicknames: Train Tracks, Tinsel Mouth, Metal-Mouth Maguire.”

“Maguire?”

“They don't have to make sense. They only have to annoy me,” said Rachel. “Which they totally do. And as if that weren't bad enough, now you're ditching me for the Terrible T.”

“I'm not ditching you and she's not terrible.”

“That's what you think,” said Rachel. “But just wait.”

chapter fourteen
sticky questions

M
om and Dweeble had all their wedding invitations spread out on the dining room table that night after dinner. I picked one up. The paper was thick and cream colored and the edges were soft and frayed—like they'd been torn by someone wearing white gloves and a ball gown.

Seeing the details written out in fancy handwriting made the wedding seem so real, at least until my mom and Dweeble started in, again.

“Do we really have to invite all of the partners at your firm?” my mom asked. “I've never even heard of Davis Patterson.”

“Honey, there are only four of us and I can't invite Larry and Brenda without Davis. Anyway, there are plenty of people on your list that I don't know.”

The phone rang before they could argue any further, and my mom got up and answered. “It's for you, Annabelle.”

“I'll take it upstairs,” I said, happy to flee the scene.

“Hello?” I asked, a minute later, sitting cross-legged on my bed.

“Hey, it's Taylor.”

“Really?”

“Um, yeah.” Taylor laughed. “I forgot my assignment book and I'm wondering if we had any homework in English.”

“But we're not in the same class,” I blurted out, without thinking.

“I know, but you have Mr. Beller too, remember?”

“How could I forget?”

“You're so funny, Annabelle. You know he gives all his sixth-grade classes the same homework, right?”

I didn't know that, but it made sense. “Hold on. Let me find my assignment book.”

When I got back on the phone, Taylor asked, “Hey, I need to ask you something. Do you know if Joe and Emma are serious?”

“Huh?” I asked.

“Well, they've been going out for over three weeks, so I was just wondering . . . Are they serious? Because I know someone else who's really into Joe. I can't tell you who, but she asked me to find out.”

I didn't know what to say, so I kept quiet.

“Well?” Taylor pressed.

“I really don't know.” This seemed like the safest answer.

She sighed, like this wasn't what she wanted to hear. “I just don't get what they have in common. Emma is so studious and Joe's a total goofball.”

“He's not a goofball.”

“Well, I know he's smart, but he's also cool, you know?” she asked.

“I guess.” I didn't like where this was going. She seemed to be saying that Emma wasn't cool, which put me in a weird position. I felt like I should be defending my friend, but it was hard because Taylor hadn't insulted her, exactly.

“I just don't get what the attraction is. For her, I mean. Don't you think she'd be better off with someone more . . . serious?”

“Joe is plenty serious,” I said. “Did you know that he cuffs his jeans three quarters of an inch every day. He actually measures.”

“What?” From the sharp tone of Taylor's voice, I realized this was the type of thing I should've kept to myself.

“I thought it was weird at first, too, but when you think about it, it's totally sweet.”

“You're telling me that she likes him because of how he cuffs his jeans?”

When Taylor said it, it seemed dorky, but that's not how I'd meant it.

“It's not the only reason she likes him,” I said. “It's just one thing that she finds cute.”

The silence on the other end of the line made me nervous.

“Look, forget about what I said about his jeans, okay? I probably didn't hear her right.”

“Whatever. It's just this other girl I know, she and Joe would be perfect together.”

It sounded like Taylor was telling me that Jesse still liked Joe. I thought about the note that Jesse handed him at lunch that day. And how I'd seen them talking in the hallway after math this afternoon. Was something going on between them?

Suddenly I wasn't so excited about this phone call.

“So who do you think is prettier, Emma or Jesse?” Taylor asked.

I didn't want to talk about Emma behind her back, but I had to answer. “I can't really say. They're so different looking.” This was true, and better yet— safe. Jesse had dark hair with chunky blond streaks, and blue eyes, and she was short, like me. Emma had naturally dark hair and big brown eyes and she wasn't really tall or short—just average. They're both pretty quiet. But Jesse is quiet and sullen while Emma is quiet and thoughtful.