Rachel's Valentine Crush (5 page)

Ms. Gutierrez said something else, though Rachel couldn't hear her over the screams of excitement
echoing up and down the corridor. When the noise finally died down, Ms. Gutierrez continued with the rest of the announcements—but Rachel still couldn't hear a word. This time, though, she was distracted by her own thoughts.

Tickets for everyone!
Rachel thought gleefully.
I can't believe it! I've never been to a real concert before. This is going to be so, so, so amazing. . . . I have no idea what to wear
. . . . Oh wow, I'll finally get to go to one of Brody's concerts!

Then a frown crossed Rachel's face. She had forgotten one very important factor: her father.

Dad is not going to like this,
she thought.
I already know what he'll say: “Sorry, Rachel, but you're just not old enough to go to a concert like this.” This is going to be awful. Everybody will be there—except for me!

Determination flickered in Rachel's eyes.
Unless I can prove to Dad that I
am
mature enough,
she realized.
If I don't ask him right away—if I spend every day before the concert proving that I'm not a little kid anymore—then maybe he'll see my side. I mean, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm sure that all my friends will get to go. And besides, Dad knows Brody! He's known
Brody's family for years through church.

Rachel started scribbling a list on the back cover of her notebook:
Fold the laundry. Help Robbie pick up his toys. Make my bed every day. Put away the clean dishes without being asked.

As she wrote, Rachel thought of even more ways that she could help around the house—just like a responsible adult would. And she also realized that even though she'd always tried to take care of Robbie as much as she could, there was still more that she could do. That would make everybody's lives easier . . . and maybe show her dad, once and for all, that she wasn't a little girl anymore.

Near the end of the school day a bitter wind kicked up, and small icy chunks of snow began to fall. Rachel and Taylor had to wrap their scarves around their faces to keep out the cold, which meant that they couldn't chat like they usually did when they walked home from school together. When she finally made it into her house, Rachel breathed a sigh of relief as the comforting warmth enveloped her.

“Cocoa's on the stove,” Grandma Nellie said in a hushed voice as she helped Rachel unwrap her frozen
scarf. “Your dad's going to be pulling a double tonight, so he's resting before he heads out. Robbie's watching a video, if you have any interest in that one with the dancing ducks.”

Rachel giggled. “Maybe next time,” she replied. “I think I'll start my homework.”

But halfway to her bedroom, Rachel stopped. If her dad was going to plow for a double shift, that meant he'd be eating dinner on the road. And sometimes, if the snow was very heavy, he had trouble finding a drive-through that was still open.
I could make him dinner,
she realized.
I could pack an awesome dinner that he could take with him tonight!

Rachel went right to the kitchen and started a fresh pot of coffee. Then she scoured the pantry for something tasty and filling for her dad's dinner.
Chicken soup—perfect!
she thought.
And I could make a couple sandwiches, too. Maybe a banana . . . and an apple . . . and definitely a brownie. . . .

Rachel opened a can of chicken soup and dumped it into a bowl. Then she microwaved it for two minutes so that it would be nice and hot. When she carefully poured the soup into a thermos, though, Rachel frowned.
That's
a whole can of soup?
she wondered.
It doesn't look like enough. Maybe I should give him two.

Rachel warmed up another can of soup and added it to the thermos. Then she made some sandwiches and placed the rest of the food in a paper grocery bag. By the time she was finished, the coffee was ready, so Rachel poured it into a second thermos and added a spoonful of sugar, just the way her dad liked it. When Mr. Wilson came into the kitchen a few minutes later wearing his warmest flannel shirt, Rachel was ready for him.

“Don't forget your dinner!” she said proudly as she handed her dad the bag.

He looked surprised. “What's this?” he asked.

“I wanted to make sure you had something good to eat tonight,” Rachel explained. “There's soup and sandwiches, some fruit, a brownie . . . and coffee. With sugar.”

Mr. Wilson pulled Rachel into a hug. “Thanks a lot, kiddo,” he said. “That was very considerate of you.” He glanced out the window, where large fluffy flakes were swirling wildly. “Gonna be a long night, I think. We might get two feet—or more. But this great dinner will make it easier to handle.”

“Drive safely, Dad,” Rachel said as she stepped up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I love you!”

“Love you, too,” he replied with a big smile.

Rachel watched her dad walk into the storm. She wished that he didn't have to go, but at least he'd have something warm to eat and drink for the long night ahead.

Rachel woke up the next morning to a great surprise: a snow day! She cheered—quietly, of course, so that she wouldn't wake her dad—and got dressed as fast as she could. After she finished eating breakfast, Rachel decided to tackle the dishes. Then maybe she and Taylor could take Robbie sledding.

Rachel blitzed through the dishes and loaded the dishwasher in just a few minutes. There were only a few things she had to wash by hand—the oatmeal pot and the two thermoses she had packed for her dad. But to Rachel's surprise, the soup one was still full.

Why didn't Dad eat the soup I made him?
she wondered. Rachel sniffed it. The soup smelled fine. It was still warm, even. Chicken noodle was her dad's favorite. She had made the right flavor, right? She dug one of the
empty cans out of the recycle bin and saw that the label read
CONDENSED
. Somehow, she hadn't noticed it the night before.

“Grandma Nellie?” Rachel asked as she wandered into the living room. “What does ‘condensed' mean? On a can of soup?”

Grandma Nellie glanced up from her scrapbook page. “Oh, that just means it's concentrated. You have to add water before you eat it.”

“You do?” Rachel asked with a sinking feeling.

Grandma Nellie nodded. “Otherwise, it's too salty and thick to eat.”

“Oh,” Rachel said. “Okay. Thanks.”

But as she walked back into the kitchen, Rachel was so mad at herself that she felt like kicking the empty can across the floor.
That was so dumb,
she thought.
Why didn't I read the directions on the label? I'm sure Dad really loved having a big thermos full of nasty salty soup that was too goopy to eat! So much for acting like a responsible adult!

Rachel tried to forget about her mistake while she and Taylor played in the snow with Robbie for most of the afternoon. When they went inside to warm up, Rachel
decided to check her LifeChat page to see how her other friends were spending the snow day. The posts were flying across the screen so fast that Rachel knew something big must've happened.

Grace Everett: Not a rumor!!!

Nevaeh Fry: but who told u?

Amber Jones: I heard it 2

Charlotte Chang: I heard it from Jessie so u know it's true

“T, you better check this out,” Rachel called as she stared at her computer.

Taylor leaned over Rachel's shoulder and read all the posts. “What's going on?” she asked excitedly.

“Don't know yet,” Rachel replied as her fingers flew across the keyboard. “Let's find out!”

Rachel Wilson: just logged on. What's up??

Charlotte Chang: OMG, rach, BIG BIG BIG news

Rachel Wilson: spill!

Becca Morrison: there is going 2 be a dance after brody's concert!

Nevaeh Fry: maybe. we don't know 4 sure

Amber Jones: i heard it from madison. she should know, she is bff with student council pres

Giada Lough: me too. there was a student council mtg after school yesterday

Giada Lough: it was supposed to be announced today but school got canceled

Giada Lough: they will tell us tmrw

Amber Jones: this is the best part—madison said that jessie emailed brody to invite him & his secret crush!

Grace Everett: TO THE DANCE?!?!?!

Amber Jones: YES!!!

Taylor gasped. “Rachel! Brody is going to be at the Valentine's dance! Are you freaking out?”

“No.” Rachel laughed. “I mean, he
might
be at the dance.
If
there's even going to be a dance. I'll believe it when I hear Ms. Gutierrez say it in homeroom announcements.”

“Don't be like that,” Taylor replied. “Come on, aren't you excited? Just a little?”

“But what's the point of getting excited if it might not even happen?” Rachel asked. She remembered how thrilled she was to listen to “Secret Crush”—and how terrible she'd felt when she realized that practically every single girl at school wanted to be Brody's crush too. “You'll just feel more disappointed later.”

“But Archer is the most boring place in the world. Nothing exciting ever happens here . . . until
now
 . . . and I want to enjoy it! And you should too!” Taylor replied. “Here, let me play with your hair. It would look so awesome
with a purple streak in the front, especially if you pull it back. We could use that temporary hair spray stuff. But would your dad let you do that? Or I guess maybe we should figure out what to wear first? I think we should both wear red for Valentine's Day. You have a red tunic in your closet somewhere, right . . . ?”

Rachel grinned in spite of herself and watched as her best friend started rummaging through her closet. Taylor's enthusiasm was contagious, as usual. Rachel knew that convincing her dad to let her go to the dance—if it actually happened—wasn't going to be easy. But she vowed to herself right then and there that, no matter what, she'd figure out a way to make her dad let her go.

TAYLOR HAD AN ORTHODONTIST APPOINTMENT
the next morning, so Rachel didn't see her best friend until lunchtime.

“Told you so! Told you so! Told you so!” Taylor cried as she patted the chair next to her. She always sounded a little different after she got her braces tightened. “Here, I saved you a seat. So? Are you excited now?”

“Excited?” Rachel repeated. She pretended to look confused. “About what? Oh, the dance?”

Taylor's eyes grew wide. “Of course about the dance!” she said. “Don't tell me that you forgot about it. I was sure you'd be flipping out—”

“I'm just messing with you,” Rachel interrupted, grinning at Taylor.

“So the craziest thing happened in science today,” Taylor said. “Brian asked Emily to go to the dance with
him! I thought I was going to fall off my chair! And then, like, ten minutes later, Colin asked Samantha.”

“In my English class, Lauren asked Henry,” Rachel said.

Taylor's mouth dropped open. “
Lauren
and
Henry
!” she exclaimed. “I never would have guessed. That's crazy.”

“It's kind of weird, huh?” Rachel asked. “I mean, usually nobody even goes to the dances at school. And now, all of a sudden,
everybody
wants to go. And with a date, too! That never happens.”

“What never happens?” the girls' friend Shane Allen asked as he sat down across from them.

“Hey, Shane,” Taylor said. “We were just talking about the Valentine's dance.”

Shane rolled his eyes a little. “Yeah, you and the rest of the school,” he said.

“I know, right?” Rachel exclaimed. “It's weird, huh? And now all these people are going together—like as a date!”