The Truth About Faking (4 page)

So she admits Ricky’s better-looking than the others. “I guess not,” I say.

“
Well, I would hope not.” Then she starts talking under her breath. “You can’t live your life worrying about small-minded people with big imaginations.”

“
But the appearance… you know. Like Dad says.” I try reminding her one of his favorite sermon texts.

Mom braids a few seconds in silence. “Harley, do you know what stereotypes are?”

“
Yes.” I roll my eyes.
Here we go.
Stereotypes are one of my mom’s pet peeves. The other’s eavesdropping. Oh, and gossip. But Mom has a lot of wild ideas about how people should act and what they should believe.

“
They’re tools ignorant people use to make sense of the world,” she continues.

“
I know.”

“
They’re perpetuated by fear and a reluctance to learn and grow—”

“
I know, I know!” I interrupt.
Jeez, now I’ve done it.
 

“
People see a young man like Ricky under my instruction, and immediately they assume the most stereotypical thing in the world,” she continues.

“
I was just saying—” I try interrupting again.

“
Is it so hard to believe that I could actually teach him something?” Her voice is angry, and she’s pulling my braid too tight.

“
I wanted you to do my hair like this for a guy!” I blurt.

“
What?”

Lecture effectively derailed. “There’s this guy at school? Trent? I’m hoping he asks me out today.”

Mom smiles and pulls my head toward her as she ties off the end of my braid. “Any boy would be lucky to go out with you.” Her voice is warm now.

“
So I gotta go,” I say. “And I think it’s wonderful that a nice young man like Ricky has such a smart, professional woman to instruct him in massage therapy.”

She shakes her head and smiles, and I run back to my room to slip on the dress I bought yesterday, right before the collision.

Three

The bell signals the end of second period, and I realize I’ve forgotten my notebook in my locker. Precious seconds are passing as I stop to get it, and I’m so flustered, my hands are shaking. It’s all been building to this. Operation Luau—the weeks of meeting him after class with warm smiles and encouraging hellos, the getting up early so Mom could give me Greek goddess braids, the dress I bought. And now Shelly tells me he asked Brian what I was like in August! Of course, that was a whole semester ago. Before Stephanie…

My fingers are trembling so hard, I can barely dial my combination, and my heart’s just thumping. Right then, I hear a familiar voice behind me.

“
Harley Davidson!” Jason.

“
Hey,” I breathe, jerking the door open. I push my other books out of the way and grab my notebook. I can feel the seconds ticking away.

“
I think I’ll just call you H.D.,” he continues.

“
Whatever. Bye, Jason.” I slam my locker and take off toward Mrs. Gipson’s room, glancing at the large clocks suspended throughout the hall as I run. Seconds make all the difference when we only have eight minutes between classes.

I dash around the corner just in time to see Trent walking toward the door, then I hop back and smooth my dress. I catch my breath and try to look cool as I walk casually toward our classroom.

“
Oh!” I say as I almost bump into him. Accidentally, of course.

“
Oh,” he smiles. My heart does a little flutter. He really does have the sweetest smile. “Hey, Harley.”

“
Hey,” I breathe. He always dresses like a model. Today, he’s wearing cuffed khakis and a long-sleeved navy polo, and his hair’s styled in a short, retro cut.
Stupid Stephanie Miller.
 

We stand for a second in front of each other. I look around and try to figure out how to get us on the subject of the luau. I’ve daydreamed this moment a million times, and now I’m completely blanking.

“
How’s it going?” I stall.

“
Okay,” he says. “Basketball season’s starting. Heads up!”

“
Right,” I laugh a little, seriously wishing he’d forget that part of our close encounter at the gym. How humiliating. “So did you have a fun weekend?”

He shrugs. “Sure.”

“
Me, too.” I smile thinking… thinking… Then I look up and see a poster for the luau.
Yes!
 

“
Oh, look,” I say pointing to it. “The luau’s Friday.”

His eyes literally brighten. “Yeah,” he says. “I was thinking about that—”

But at that moment, a loud voice comes up behind me. “You know, it’s not cool to walk off when someone’s talking.” I freeze. It’s Jason again.

“
Oh, hey. Trent?” he says, like he’s trying to remember.

“
Jason, right? Hey, man,” Trent says. They give each other a fist bump.

“
You two… know each other?” I look from one to the other.

“
Met at the park Saturday,” Jason says. Then he points at Trent. “Ultimate Frisbee.”

“
Yeah,” Trent smiles. Then he motions to me and Jason. “Do you two know each other?”

“
Oh, well…” I stumble, trying to think of a neutral response.

“
Saved her life yesterday,” Jason says, draping his arm across my shoulders. My eyes widen. “Now it’s my job to keep her safe.”

Trent frowns. “What? Another accident?” I’m about to die.

“
It wasn’t really that big a deal,” I say, trying to slip out from under Jason’s arm.
What is he doing?
 

“
It was,” Jason argues. “And now, I have to keep my eye on you.”

“
What—”

“
Ancient Chinese tradition,” he interrupts me. “You save somebody’s life, you become responsible for it.”

At that Trent grins, clearly thinking Teen Menace is a great guy. “Oh, sure. I’ve heard of that.” Then he starts moving away from us. “Well, I’d better take off. Class.”

I panic. I’ve got to stop him, but my throat’s constricted.

“
Later,” Jason says to Trent. Then he turns to me. “So you’ve got to go to the luau with me Friday. How else can I ensure your safety?”

I shake my head as I watch Trent leaving. My brain’s spinning, and I’m grasping for anything to make him stop walking away.

“
Wait… Trent…” is all I come up with.

He looks back and smiles, and I know he’s conceding to Jason. But then…

“
Oh, Harley.” He stops and takes a step back toward me as if suddenly remembering something. My heart rises… “Does Shelly have a date to the luau?”

“
Shelly?”
Oh. My. God.
 

“
Yeah. I was thinking I’d… well,” he glances at Jason. “Maybe she’d like to go to the luau with me?”

“
Go for it, Big T!” Jason is so encouraging, I can’t wait to hit him over the head with my books.

“
I don’t think she has a date.” I think I might cry.

“
Okay.” Trent gives me a small smile. Yes. Definitely cry. “Maybe you could put in a good word for me?”

“
I’d love to…” I start, but I can’t finish.

I’d been planning to say, “I’d love to go with you to the luau,” but it’s all wrong. He smiles and says something about being late as he does a little wave and walks away. I do a little wave back and turn slowly toward algebra, shoulders drooping.

“
Are you in here next period?” Jason asks. I nod, unable to speak. My whole plan. Out the window.

“
That’s awesome! So am I.”

“
Awesome,” I mumble.

He laughs. “Somehow, I don’t think you mean it. What’s the matter?”

I look up at him standing there all smiling and happy, and for some reason that does it. “You just ruined everything!”

“
What?”

“
You ruined it. All of it!” I storm through the door, Jason right behind me.

“
I don’t get you, H.D.”

“
I was trying to get Trent to ask me to the luau,” I lower my voice. “And you just big fat came up and ruined everything!”

His smile disappears. “You wanted Trent to ask you to the luau?”

“
You might be fascinated to learn that I had a life before you rammed me with your car yesterday.”

“
I figured that—”

“
And you didn’t save my life, you nearly took it,” I continue, irritation surging through me. “I feel like taking yours.”

He smiles and leans forward. “I love feisty women.”

My lips clench and I try to shove him, but my bag strap falls and I trip over his stupid foot instead. He catches me. Strong arms. I quickly push away and sink into my chair.

“
Just leave me alone.” I drop my elbows on the desk and my face in my hands.

“
Look,” Jason’s tone softens and he takes the seat right beside me. “I’ll talk to Trent and tell him it was all a misunderstanding. Tell him to ask you to the luau… or something.”

I think about that. Then I drop my hands and shake my head. “That would just make me look pathetic. Or desperate. Or not good enough for you of all people.”

“
I’d never say any of that about you,” Jason smiles, glancing at my hair and dress. “You clean up real nice.”

My eyes narrow. “Just let me think about it. I’ll figure out something.”

The bell rings, and Mrs. Gipson calls class to order. But I can’t concentrate on algebra. I can’t concentrate on anything but how Jason just wrecked everything again, and now I have to figure out how to fix this, to salvage my plan.

I plot out several different scenarios as I watch the second-hand tick. Somehow I have to go to the luau with Jason and appear to be having a super-fun time without also seeming like I like him too much. I watch Mrs. Gipson scribble out a formula she says we should memorize for the SATs, and it hits me. Stephanie dumped Trent because she’s going away to college in California. She doesn’t want a long-distance boyfriend, so she callously broke his heart. What if my heart is callously broken in the same way? It’ll give Trent and me something in common, and since he’s so wonderful, he’ll naturally want to comfort me!

I take a deep breath as a smile spreads across my face. It’s the perfect plan. I can’t wait for the bell to ring.

Lunch follows third period, and of course, Jason and I have the same lunch shift. Sadly, Trent and I do not. But today it doesn’t matter because we need to strategize.

“
How great is it that we have lunch together?” Jason asks as we walk toward the cafeteria.

“
It’s a fluke,” I say. My plan is awesome, but I’m still annoyed with him for making it necessary.

He ignores my tone. “So what have you decided about Friday?”

“
Well, I’ve been thinking,” I say as he holds the cafeteria door for me. “I’ve got an idea for how you can help me.”

“
Let’s hear it.”

He hands me a tray as I stop and swipe my lunch card, then I walk over to the salad bar while Jason grabs a bowl of chicken nuggets.

“
OK,” I say, once he’s beside me again. I glance around to make sure no one’s listening. “Here’s the plan. We’ll go to the luau together, then pretend-date for a few days, and then you’ll dump me.”

Jason snorts. “What?”

“
You want to pay me back for nearly killing me—which is idiotic, by the way—you can help me get Trent.”

“
I saved your life,” Jason corrects. “And how is dumping you going to help you get Trent?”

“
Because,” I motion with the salad tongs. “It’ll put us in the same boat. I’m all broken hearted, he’s all broken hearted, we turn to each other for comfort. It’s perfect!”

“
But why would I dump you?” Jason smiles as he watches me, and I mentally concede that he
is
cute. But that just makes it easier for me to pretend we’re dating.

“
It doesn’t matter. You’re going back to New Mexico once we graduate or something. You don’t want any long-distance relationships.”

“
But I’m just a junior. And I kind of like it here.” He follows me to the drink station.

“
It doesn’t have to be true!” I lower my voice again and get close to him. “You can change your mind later. It’s just so Trent’ll ask me out.”

He looks down at me, and that silly smile returns. “I don’t like it.”

“
What’s the problem?”

“
Well, what if dating you’s fun? I mean, you might not be so bad to go out with.”

“
You’re joking, right? I’m great to go out with, but more importantly, we are
not
dating. It’s all fake.”

“
But what if you change your mind? I mean, I’ve heard I’m pretty great to go out with, too.”

I see Robin waving at me from the cheerleaders’ table in the center of the room. I always sit with them at lunch, but I can’t today. I gesture towards Jason. Thank goodness he sees what I’m doing and steers me in the opposite direction. Robin’s eyebrows pull together, but I shrug and follow him.

“
OK. So fill in the blanks,” he says. “How long are we dating?”

“
Fake dating, and I don’t know.” I look around and spot an empty table in a far corner where no one’ll overhear us. “Look, we can sit there.”

We go to the table and put our trays down. Jason pulls up a chair, and I scoot close to him. He smiles again, and I notice he’s wearing cologne that smells kind-of woodsy and a little citrusey.

“
You smell nice,” I say, opening my water. Then I notice he’s wearing better jeans and a light-brown polo. His hair’s also neater. It’s like he planned to look cute today or something.