Love is a Four-Letter Word (20 page)

“And that’s it,” I finish.

“What movie did you watch?” Benji asks.

“Some
Spy Kids
movie,” I admit. “His little brothers watched it with us, too.”

“Which one?” Charity asks. “A friend of mine did some extra work on the second one, but it went straight to DVD.”

I frown. “There’s more than one?”

“Did he at least try to hold your hand?” Mattie asks.

“Did you hear anything I just said? We’re not dating. Plus his brothers were there!”

Mattie sighs and flops back on the floor, hugging a throw cushion to her chest. “How tragic,” she moans. “It’s over before it even began.”

“Like Romeo and Juliet,” Charity adds.

“Or Bella and Jacob,” Mattie sighs.

Benji giggles and I snatch the throw cushion from Mattie’s arms, bopping her on the head with it. “Ugh! I can’t believe you read that vampire stuff!”

“It’s more than just vampire stuff,” she protests. “It’s a cultural phenomenon.”

I roll my eyes. “Sure.”

“Maybe you’ll end up together, years from now,” Mattie suggests.

“Stranger things have happened,” Charity adds.

At first I thought it would be weird, having Charity around. She’s two years older, after all. Why would she want to hang around a bunch of almost-niners? But it turns out Benji was right; she is nice. And funny. And she has great taste in movies. In fact, take her away from all those theatre kids and she’s almost normal. At least as normal as Mattie is, and I hang out with her all the time.

“Or maybe he’ll meet someone nicer and sweeter than me and forget all about me next year at high school.”

“I doubt it,” Benji says. “You’re his Annie.”

“His what?”

“His Annie, you know, like Doug and Annie.”

Barf.

“Okay the whole star-crossed lovers thing only applies to make-believe characters, not people I have to see every day,” I say. “And especially not to my mother.”

“So friends, then?” Benji says.

“Friends,” I agree.

“Friends is good!”

“Friends is great!”

Mattie is unconvinced. “Lovers is better,” she says.

Ugh. I cover my ears. “
Must
you use that word?”

Mattie blinks. “What word would you rather I use? Partners? Significant others? Steadies?”

Mom appears at the top of the stairs. She looks fresh and pretty in a yellow and white patterned sundress, hair parted to the side, and Doug’s pendant lying close to her heart. “Who’s going steady?” she asks.

We answer as one, sweet, innocent voice: “No one.”

“Where are you going?” I ask, noting her dress.

“Mini-golfing.”

Doug knocks on the screen door and lets himself in, giving my mom a quick kiss on her cheek. Beside me, Mattie sighs. “I miss Andrew,” she says.

“He’s only been gone for two days!” I complain. “He’ll be back on Monday.”

“Maybe he’ll bring you a present,” Charity says.

“I don’t think they have a gift shop at math camp,” I point out.

“Clarissa, is it all right if I whisk your lovely mother away for a few hours?” Doug asks.

I pretend to think about it before answering. “I guess so.”

Doug gives me a little bow. “Greatly appreciated.”

Things are good between Doug and me. When I talked to him about the chair thing, he thanked me for telling him and said he completely understood where I was coming from. It didn’t stop him from doling out his own particular brand of punishment, though. I have to walk Suzy after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sometimes Michael comes with me. It’s not so bad.

“Have fun, you two!” I call after them. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“Don’t worry,” Doug says with a wink, “I won’t break any hearts.”

Benji and Mattie burst out laughing. Charity pats my shoulder.

“Ha, ha,” I say sarcastically.

“I really like Doug,” Mattie says as we watch them walk down the driveway, hand in hand. Mom is laughing and Doug can’t stop smiling at her.

Maybe someday someone will smile at me like that. Maybe it will be Michael, or maybe it won’t be. Right now I’m not that concerned. I’ve got Benji, Mattie, and now Charity on my side, an entire box of microwave popcorn, and pay-per-view TV to watch. School is almost over and summer is just around the corner.

Life is good.

Deepest thanks to my inspiring friends and family who continue to offer unconditional support and encouragement. Writing can only be as rich as the life lived by the writer, so thank you for enriching my life. Special thanks to everyone at Scholastic Canada, my Flying Dragon family, my dearly beloved Spaduplexers, Anne Shone, Sally Harding, Kallie George (my second pair of eyes), and Rebecca Jess (my third pair of eyes). Love, love, love.

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ISBN: 978-1-4431-1930-6

Copyright © 2011 by Vikki VanSickle.
Cover image: bodhihill/istockphoto

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First eBook edition: March, 2012