Brody mumbled under his breath and left. Some days, I wished he didn"t work at the restaurant just so I wouldn"t have to see Lanie. Those thoughts flew out the window really quick when I was around him. He was so much fun. I never thought I could feel so comfortable around such a cute guy.
"Stop day dreaming," Dean teased.
"Sorry. Just got a lot on my mind."
"Did you know next week is Brody"s birthday?" he asked.
I was surprised no one had told me. "We should get him a cake," I said.
"Let"s make him dinner and Mom"s famous tiramisu," Dean said with a grin.
I nodded. Brody closed on Sunday. That would be the perfect time because he came in late. I gave Dean a high five and grabbed the salads ready to go to the floor. Now, if only Lanie didn"t ruin it for us.
Dean and I planned the surprise all week. I think Brody was starting to get suspicious because we would stop talking when he came upon us whispering by the grill. I felt bad hiding things from him. But he"d understand Sunday.
Except he called in sick Sunday. Right before he was supposed to show up.
Dean had made Brody"s favorite--sun-dried tomato pesto and extra cheesy garlic bread. Mom brought in the tiramisu that she had labored over at home. Dad cut his poker game short to be there. I had spent two hours on my makeup and hair before coming to work. And no Brody.
We were all disappointed. Dean dished us all out a plate of pasta to eat in the kitchen. Better not to waste Dean"s efforts. Mom fought back tears. Maybe it was me who fought back tears. I was mad. I imagined him going on a last minute date with Lanie and I wanted to scream.
"It"s not like Brody to call in sick," Dad said. He was trying to be the voice of reason.
We heard the door open so Mom went to wait on the customer. A minute later, she came into the kitchen beaming. Brody was right behind her with a big smile plastered on his face.
"We thought you were sick," Dean said loudly, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the grill.
"I kind of suspected you guys were trying to pull something like this," Brody laughed. "I don"t like surprises, so I thought I"d get you instead."
I felt so relieved. Dean and I deserved that. Kind of. We spent the evening laughing over stupid stuff. Customers even seemed more forgiving for the night. By the time we gorged ourselves with Mom"s tiramisu, I decided it couldn"t have been a better evening.
Brody was so comfortable around my family. Dad even made the comment that he wouldn"t mind if Brody was his son-in-law. Brody had gotten so used to my father"s remarks that he just laughed. I would have died of embarra.s.sment several months ago, but somehow, it was easier to just laugh at Dad.
"This has been one of the best birthdays of my life," Brody sighed at the end of the evening. He gave each one of us a grateful hug. I savored the feel of his arms briefly wrapped around me.
That evening, I imagined his arms around me as I fell asleep. All that school drama washed away as my dreams were filled with images of Brody.
CHAPTER 11.
Triple chocolate fudge ice cream is the secret to chasing away self pity. With real chocolate chip cookie dough piled on top. And hot fudge topping poured over that. I should have stopped at two scoops. Five scoops later, I looked at the ice cream container. There wasn"t much left so I polished it off. Now I"m paying for it.
I unb.u.t.toned my jeans and sat down to watch a Monty Python movie. Nothing romantic. I didn"t want to be reminded that I was sitting miserably in front of my television while everyone I knew was having fun at Winter Formal. Besides, Monty Python was kind of like medicine in my family. I"d watched the movies with my dad since I was a little girl.
Johanna had called me to come over and help her get dressed for her first real date of the year. She looked stunning in her lavender dress, all puffy and silky. I helped her curl her hair and talked with her while she put on makeup. We avoided talking about my dateless evening. I left thirty minutes before Bradley was supposed to pick her up.
Thankfully, no one was around to witness my misery. I curled up in a ball on the sofa, holding my sick stomach. I should have left the cookie dough off the ice cream. I was starting to feel like I was going to seriously vomit when my phone rang. It was Johanna.
At first, I couldn"t understand what she was saying because she was blubbering so loud. When she calmed down, I finally got the reason she had called. Bradley had stood her up at the last minute. He had called her to cancel their date to Winter Formal.
I couldn"t believe it. I had a few choice words about Bradley Jones that I wanted to let loose from my mouth, but I held them in. Not the time. After about an hour, Johanna calmed down. I had forgotten about my sick stomach by the time I hung up.
I don"t think Johanna"s formula worked on Bradley. I wanted to find out where it went wrong because she sure hadn"t seen that coming. I mean, they had been holding hands the day before.
I needed to come up with my own plan. I really wanted a date for senior prom. d.i.c.kie seemed to be the best prospect right now so I had signed up for the wood working cla.s.s. I used all winter break to psych myself up to take it when school resumed.
Then I got the flu. A girl with white skin, red hair, and a red nose does not look good. After a week in bed, I pulled myself together to help out at the restaurant. Dad sent me right home after I coughed uncontrollably on the pot of spaghetti in the kitchen. I was glad because second semester started the next day.
I didn"t even have the energy to try to look good for our first day back to school. Winter break had brought the flu to just about the entire high school. I felt right at home with all the sniffles and coughs in English cla.s.s.
Even Brody seemed to be fighting it. He laid his head down on the desk for most of the cla.s.s. Ms. McEnroy didn"t say a word. She did wear a face mask. You know, like the ones from the nurse"s office? And lots of hand sanitizer. She made each of us get a squirt from the large bottle on her desk.
My next cla.s.s was at the metal building. I forced my feet to walk there. Somehow, when you"re sick, you really don"t care. That was my att.i.tude walking into wood working cla.s.s. Jared was absent with the flu, but d.i.c.kie greeted me with a whistle. The teacher, Mr. B., gave him a look. I was too sick to even appreciate the whistle. I just wanted to be in bed.
Mr. B. started a saw to show us different kinds of cuts. Sawdust started floating in the air. My nose started dripping. I pulled out a tissue and blew my nose. Hard. d.i.c.kie looked at me and I caught his expression. He was grossed out. That"s what it took to make him disgusted. So much for senior prom.
We each had to make a cut with the saw. Mr. B. didn"t want anyone to be scared of it. My hands trembled so bad from fear that I couldn"t even push the b.u.t.ton.
"Get your head down closer so you can see," Mr. B. yelled from behind me. "You"re in debate, right? Didn"t Bill ever teach you to overcome your fears?"
I briefly wondered how he knew I was in debate. And who was Bill? I didn"t have much time to think because I had to concentrate. What Mr. B. couldn"t see was the long drip of snot that threatened to pour out of my nostrils if I lowered my head. I wasn"t about to bend my head. I had just turned on the saw when the unthinkable happened. The dust particles started tickling my nose. I felt the itching in my nostrils and I couldn"t help myself. The sneeze came like a force from another world. I sneezed so hard that I stirred up even more dust. I grabbed a handful of the paper towels on Mr. B."s desk and blew my nose.
Everyone, including Mr. B. backed away from me. I looked at the wad of snotty paper towels in my hands and then at the saw that was still running. Nothing was worth wood working. Not even a date with d.i.c.kie. Not that I had a chance to anyway. His horrified expression pretty much sealed any hope I would have clung to.
Calmly, I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the door. I vowed never to set foot in the metal building again. Now, I had to fill that time slot with another cla.s.s. The only two options I had was music or detention. Since I didn"t get a good feel from Mrs. Whittaker, I opted to be teacher"s aid for second period detention.
Detention is overrated. Oh, my big fat mouth had landed me in it a couple of times, but did the school seriously think it did any good? I saw the same repeat offenders in detention week after week. Ray Boyle and Salty McSalty practically lived in detention.
I didn"t hold any expectations of being teacher"s aid in the cla.s.s. I was actually looking forward to catching up on some sleep second period. My plans flew out the window as soon as I walked in. Mrs. Tole was pretty fed up by the att.i.tudes of the kids. There were only six in there--of course, good old Salty was there--and they were giving her a hard time. I handed her my paper from the office showing my change of cla.s.s. She got a relieved look on her face.
"You"re here at just the right time," she said with a smile. "I need to run my reports to the princ.i.p.al, so you"ll watch the cla.s.s for me."
Before I could say anything, she grabbed some files and headed out the door. I looked at the grinning faces in front of me. What did she expect me to do?
I took a seat at her desk and crossed my arms. Salty let a huge spitball fly toward me. I ducked just in time and it splattered on the chalkboard behind me. He must have been sucking on that wad of paper for some time.
I stood up angrily. "That"s gross, Salty. Do it when Mrs. Tole gets back. Right now, I"m not feeling good and I just want to sleep."
He actually sat back down and mumbled "sorry." I took Mrs. Tole"s seat again and put my feet on her desk. I closed my eyes and could hear commotion from the kids in the room. I didn"t care what they did as long as they were all there when Mrs. Tole got back.
I was dozing in and out when a girl yelled, "She"s coming!"
My eyes flew open and I swung my feet off the desk just in time. Everyone had just slid back into their seats when the door opened. Mrs. Tole eyed us suspiciously when she entered. Not one of us said a peep. We only had a couple of minutes left before the bell rang.
I was the first to get out the door. I heard Mrs. Tole call my name, but I just kept moving. That was going to be a long cla.s.s period. Salty dashed past me, flicking my ear as he pa.s.sed. I ran behind him and pushed him, making him trip on the ground. He grinned at me and held up his hands in surrender.
"Jerk," I muttered as I stepped over him.
I was almost to debate cla.s.s when I saw them. Lanie and Bradley were hiding in between lockers and were kissing. Kissing! I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. No one was paying attention. I stood in shock as Lanie gave him a last kiss and left the lockers.
I wondered briefly if she and Brody had broken up. I got my answer when I saw her just a few minutes later running up to him and wrapping her arm through his. Brody smiled down at her, talking as though he was unaware of what she had just done. Lanie was cheating on him. With Bradley. No wonder Bradley had dumped Johanna at Winter Formal.
I was so mad at Lanie for doing that to Brody that it was all I could do not to confront her. Of course, her group of skinny, beautiful friends were enough to keep me away. They seemed to flock around her all the time. I"d have to think long and hard whether I should tell Brody about her and Bradley.
I ducked into debate cla.s.s before Brody saw me. Mr. Robarb looked up from the book he was reading at his desk. Then it hit me. Mr. B. had called Mr. Robarb Bill. Was it possible this was the Bill the man in the restaurant was talking to when he was trying to teach me a lesson on pride. As sick as I was feeling, I had to know.
"Call me, crazy, Mr. Robarb, but I had no idea your name was Bill."
He looked up from his book again. "Well, it"s really William, but my friends call me Bill."
I crossed my arms defensively. "Mm hmm," I said knowingly.
Mr. Robarb laid his book down on the desk. "What"s going on, Beatrice? Why the sudden interest in my name?"
I stuck out my finger and pointed it accusingly at him. "You sent a man into my daddy"s restaurant to spy on me. Try to make me mess up in debate."
Mr. Robarb sighed and stood up. "Not to make you mess up, Beatrice, but to help you. I"ve noticed how you have a problem with building relationships with other kids. I was honestly just trying to help you. I thought if you heard it from a stranger, you might be more receptive."
"Receptive to what? That my teacher thinks I have a problem with pride?"
"Well, don"t you?" he retorted.
"I deserve every win I"ve had, Mr. Robarb," I said firmly. My head was starting to throb and I kept having to sniff from my runny nose.
"No one can argue about that, Beatrice. But the way you win turns everyone else off."
"The way I win or the way I prepare and debate? Maybe if you had different expectations from the other kids, we wouldn"t be having this conversation. Furthermore, you allow them to treat me the way they do, Mr. Robarb. So you take a little responsibility in how turned off everyone is."
Mr. Robarb honestly did not know how to respond. He stood with his mouth slightly open and just looked at me with wide eyes. I took my seat as the kids started filing into the cla.s.sroom. I loved debate, but there was so much unnecessary drama that it made the team almost intolerable.
I heard the whispers about Jared and Sue now dating. I wasn"t surprised. Jared had taken my advice and gotten her two dozen red roses for Winter Formal. That pretty much landed him the girl. I shuddered to think what would have happened if he had given her the doll bed.
After suffering through all the petty debate talk, I decided to go home for the day. My first day back from winter break had already been more than I could take. I was supposed to meet Johanna for lunch, but she would have to eat alone today.
I drove straight to the restaurant to talk to Dean. I couldn"t get Lanie kissing another guy off my mind. Dean would know if I should tell Brody.
The restaurant was crazy busy. It usually was on senior citizen day. They got to eat for half price. I waved to a few regulars and made my way to Dean in the kitchen. He barely had time to look up from the grill. I watched him for a few minutes in silence before he finally gave in and turned to me.
"What"s going on, Bea? You can see I"m busy."
"I need to ask your advice. About Brody."
He shook his head and reached over to flip some vegetables grilling on the side. "What"s with Brody?"
"I saw Lanie kissing another guy at school," I said in a loud voice.
Dean just frowned and glanced at me. "So?"
"So--Lanie is dating Brody."
"You keep saying that, but I don"t see it," Dean said, shuffling around me to grab some seasoning off a shelf.
"Do I tell him, Dean, or keep my mouth shut?"
"I"m telling you, Brody isn"t dating anyone," Dean insisted.
"Oh, yeah? Why did he take her to Homecoming and to Winter Formal?"
"I know they live by each other. Maybe that"s why he took her to Homecoming. But Brody didn"t go to Winter Formal."
"Yes, he did," I insisted.
"Uh, no, Bea," Dean said with an att.i.tude, "he was working here at the restaurant."
That shut my mouth. I didn"t know how to react. Dean looked at me and gave a small smile of victory. How did I not know that Brody was working during Winter Formal? And why didn"t he take Lanie?
"Look," Dean said in a quiet voice, "you have a tendency to jump to conclusions, Bea. Incorrect conclusions. I think you just don"t say anything to Brody. If he"s dating Lanie, and I really don"t think he is, then he"ll find out some other way. Brody"s a smart guy."
I nodded in agreement and suddenly felt relieved. Who was I to try to save Brody from a cheating girlfriend anyway?
"Thanks, Dean," I said softly and walked out of the kitchen.
Aunt Roma pa.s.sed by and paused to press her wrist to my forehead. "You don"t look so good, honey. You better get back in bed."
"That"s where I"m headed," I said and left the restaurant.
Johanna called me later to check on me. "I had to eat alone," she whined on the phone.
"Sorry," I mumbled sleepily.
"How was wood working?" Johanna asked. She knew I had signed up because of d.i.c.kie.
"Let"s just say I lasted ten minutes of cla.s.s. I had to switch to detention."
"Yuck," she said. "Any potentials in there?"
I had to laugh. Detention wasn"t where I wanted to find a date. Most of the guys were losers. Sure, a few cool kids were put in detention for minor occurrences, but it happened so rarely that I doubted I would see one.
"I haven"t found anyone yet," I told her. "Who"s your next victim?"
I heard Johanna sigh over the phone. "I don"t know. I"ve been working on the diagram. I mean, everything was so right with Bradley, and yet, I can"t figure out where it went wrong."
"Lanie," I blurted out. There was moment of silence on the phone.