Daddy's Little Angel (11 page)

The room went from warm to hot to ice-cold to burning up. I shook my head no. I could feel Gabi staring at me, but I had no choice. This was Cole, and it sounded like he was asking me to work with him.

“I’ll grab the microscope,” he said, and headed to the table where Mrs. Laurel kept them.

I let out a big breath.
Yes!
We were partners. Only how could I fully enjoy it? Gabi was still looking right at me. I turned to her. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “But it’s Cole.” She had to understand. It wasn’t like I picked Courtney or Jaydin or Lana over her.

As I stood waiting for her to tell me it was okay, Max trudged over. “I guess it’s you and me, Gabi.” His eyes turned to me, and his arms swung so much he ended up knocking over all of Gabi’s papers. As they both bent down to pick them up, they knocked heads.

“
Aww
, look at the losers falling all over each other,” Courtney chimed in from her desk.

Gabi glared at me and then Courtney before storming away to get her microscope.

“Wait,” I called after her, but she didn’t look back. Great. Just one more thing to make Gabi hate me. This was horrible.

A thought flashed in my head. I pushed it aside, but it kept reappearing.
Try to see if you have powers.
After all, with the use of powers, I would have been able to make everyone (besides Cole of course) want to work with Gabi. I could have made them all adore her, in fact, and then she could have been popular. She wouldn’t have been mad at me anymore, and I wouldn’t have had to feel guilty about working with Cole. It would have been perfect. Well, aside from the whole evil thing. And the potential for me to turn all my classmates into frogs. Or killer sharks. I couldn’t go through with it. It was just wrong. It would have been a slippery slope to darkness as a way of life. I would just have to apologize a bazillion times to Gabi and pray she’d understand why I didn’t partner up with her.

When Cole came back with the microscope, we huddled around his desk. We were so close, the right side of my body was touching the left side of his. I thought I was going to go into shock from the awesomeness of it all.

As Mrs. Laurel instructed us to put the slide of a dog’s fur under the microscope, Cole turned to me. “It’s really cool that you know Mara’s Daughters.”

I didn’t know what to say—it wasn’t like I really knew them. So instead of answering, I concentrated on the microscope.

But Cole didn’t drop the subject. “Do you hang out with them a lot?”

“Not really,” I said, switching the slides around.

“Oh.”

He looked disappointed. Then I had a thought—one I really didn’t want to have. What if Cole was just being nice to me to get to the band? Maybe he was crushing on Beleth or one of the twins. If he thought he couldn’t meet them, would he just drop me? I didn’t want him out of my life.

“They are family friends, though,” I quickly added.

“Yeah?” he asked, his expression perking up.

“Something with my dad.” Even I wasn’t quite sure what.

“Sweet,” he said. “I wish
my
dad had those kinds of connections. I love Mara’s Daughters.”

He went on about Mara’s Daughters for so long, I was relieved when the bell rang. The conversation about the band was getting annoying. I didn’t want to hear about Cole loving Vale, Vinea, and Beleth. I wanted to hear about him loving
me
.

“See ya later,” he said as he made his way to the door.

I gave a small wave. I was an idiot to think that a guy as cute as Cole would ever like a girl like me. Now it made sense—he was just chatting me up as a way in with Mara’s Daughters. And now I had gotten Gabi mad at me for nothing. I rushed over to her to try and fix things. She was shoving her stuff into her backpack. “Do you hate me?”

“I can’t believe you did that to me,” she answered, not looking up.

“It wasn’t something I did
to
you. Come on,” I whispered. “It was a chance at one-on-one time with Cole.” I didn’t bother telling her about my suspicions. “And I promise, I’m going to make everything up to you Friday night. You’ll see.” Her face seemed to lighten up a tiny bit.

“You can’t do Friday night,” Courtney said, butting in from behind us. “You said you’d come to my sleepover.”

Courtney never mentioned having a party. In fact, she probably didn’t even decide until that second that she was going to throw one. I was torn. I really wanted to go.
Everybody
talked about Courtney’s sleepovers and how getting an invitation was a huge deal, but I couldn’t ditch Gabi. She’d never forgive me. “I forgot,” I said, playing along.

“Well, now you remember, and you better be there,” Courtney said, tossing her bag over one shoulder.

I looked back at Gabi. “Can we do Saturday instead?”

She shook her head no. “Forget it. Do whatever you want.” She started to leave.

“Wait,” I called after her. “We’ll hang out first, and then I’ll go to the sleepover.”

Neither Gabi nor Courtney looked happy with that idea. “You can’t come late to
my
party,” Courtney said. “Nobody does that.”

“But, I already promised Gabi I’d hang out with her.” I looked at Courtney and pleaded with my eyes. I knew she hated Gabi, but I hoped she liked me enough to give in on this one thing.

Then a miracle happened. Courtney smiled and said, “I was planning for us all to go to a movie that night, anyway. Gabi can meet us at the Multiplex, but just that. She’s
not
coming to my house.”

That was a start. “Thank you,” I said and ran over to Gabi who was now by the door.

“Please,” I begged her. “Come meet us at the Multiplex. Then they’ll get to know you and see how fabulous you are.”

Gabi looked skeptical. “Courtney and her friends don’t want me there.” She started yanking at her braid.

“I do. And they do, too. Besides, you promised me ages ago you’d give them a chance. You said if they invited you to join them, you’d do it. Remember? Come on. Please? Do it for me.”

“Fine,” Gabi said. She didn’t look happy, but I did—enough for the two of us.

I was sure that when Courtney got to know Gabi in a setting outside of school, she’d like her as much as I did. It was perfect. Pretty soon all of my friends would want to hang out together.

“You’re late,” Courtney said when I got to her house.

“Sorry.” I stood in her doorway rocking back and forth in my combat boots. Sure she had said no one arrived late to her parties, but I thought that was just a test. An article in
Teen Style
, her favorite magazine, said nobody went to parties on time, and that you were expected to arrive thirty minutes to an hour after the start time. I royally messed up. “It was my mom’s fault,” I lied. “She had to finish up some work before she could drive me over.”

Courtney stared me down for what felt like eight lifetimes, before finally moving out of the way to let me come in. I was super-relieved. There were seven of us there including Courtney and me. Pretty much all of the girls who sat with us at lunch were there
.

Jaydin and Bronwyn slid over, and I stuffed myself into the couch between them.

“Now where was I, before I was interrupted?” Courtney asked, shooting me a nasty look. I prayed she wouldn’t hold a grudge all night. I needed her in a good mood, so I could talk up Gabi.

“You just finished your Leslie impersonation,” Lana offered. “Perfect as usual,” she added, kissing Courtney’s butt.

“Of course it was,” Courtney said, standing up on her big, cushy recliner (aka her throne for the night). “Okay, one more,” she exclaimed. Then she started talking superfast and bossing everyone around. “Bronwyn, stand over there and make sure to project your voice. They need to hear you in the back of the auditorium. And Jaydin, since I know you won’t listen to a word I say anyway, just keep sitting there looking pretty. Lana, ditto for you. Thank goodness Mrs. Torin let me pretend to be assistant director. I try to do seven hundred and ninety-eight activities a year. Funny, after all that, I still don’t have any friends.” Then Courtney took a curtsy and looked right at me. “So, Angel, who am I?”

I didn’t really want to play in to Courtney’s little game, but I also didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so I just answered her. “Gabi?”

Courtney smiled. “Very good. Even you admit she doesn’t have any friends.”

“I never said that. And I thought you said she could hang out with us any—”

“Puh-lease,”
Courtney interrupted me. “Relax yourself. I was just giving you a hard time. Heard of a sense of humor? You need to get one. And don’t worry. I won’t say one bad word to Gabi tonight. Everyone will be on their best behavior. Right girls?”

Everyone nodded, and Lana let out a few giggles. “Sorry, of course I will. We should probably go. We don’t want to keep her waiting.”

We piled into Courtney’s mom’s SUV. I got in the way back with Lana and Jaydin. They were totally cool again and even said some nice things about Gabi. That made me feel better about the rest of the evening. That is, until we pulled in to the parking lot. I thought Courtney’s mother was just taking a different route than the one I was used to. Boy was I wrong. Courtney’s mom was dropping us off at the movie theater at the mall. Gabi was waiting for us at the Multiplex—on the other side of town.

“We’re supposed to be at the Multiplex,” I shrieked. I could not believe this was happening.

“Change of plans,” Courtney said and walked toward the theater.

I chased after her. “But Gabi’s waiting for us.”

Courtney shrugged her shoulders and smirked. Imagining Gabi standing alone and wondering what was going on was giving me one of those shooting headaches, like when you drink a Slurpee too fast. I had to call Gabi and explain everything, but when I went through my bag to look for my phone, I couldn’t find it.

Then I heard a giggle. It was Lana. “Missing something?” She was dangling my phone by two fingers.

I went to grab it, but she tossed it to Jaydin. When I ran up to her, she flung it back to Lana. I was stuck like a monkey in the middle game and in no mood to play. “Give it to me,” I said. They, of course, refused.

My phone started ringing. Lana looked at the caller ID and answered it. “Get a clue,” she said into the receiver. “We’re not coming. Angel wants nothing to do with you.” I tried to yell out so Gabi could hear me, but Lana snapped the phone shut.

I was panicked. I asked a couple of strangers if I could borrow their phones, but Jaydin managed to scare them away. She told one woman I was a kleptomaniac and that she shouldn’t trust me. Another time she just started a scene. She came up to me and yelled, “I can’t believe you threw my phone in the toilet. Get it out now.”

There was no use competing with them. I walked over to the bench in front of the theater and flung myself down. Bronwyn, Allison, and Brooke went inside to save seats, while the others stayed in the lobby to watch me. I didn’t say a word. I just stared at my shoes.

Right before the movie was about to start, Courtney came up to me. In one hand she had my movie ticket (her mother had bought them all ahead of time) and in the other my cell phone. “You have a choice,” she said. “This,” she held up the ticket, “means you’re truly one of us. This,” she raised my phone, “well, I think you can figure that one out. But once you make up your mind, there’s no going back.”

If I took the phone, my life at Goode Middle School was over. Courtney would make my life a constant misery. Not only would I be giving up any popularity that I had, but I would be the school joke, and I could forget ever having a chance with Cole. All I had to do was take the ticket. Then everyone would still like me. Everyone but Gabi.

My eyes went back and forth between Courtney’s hands. There really wasn’t a question about what I had to do.

I reached for my phone.

“Wrong choice,” Courtney said, pulling back her hand. She flung my phone and the ticket in the garbage can. Then she took Lana’s soda and poured it in over them. “Let’s go, girls.”

I glared at her as she made her way into the theater, and then I shoved my hand in the trash. That was it. Courtney Lourde was going down.

My phone, while incredibly sticky and gross, still worked, but Gabi wouldn’t answer my calls. I left her three voicemails, but she didn’t respond, and then I tried her at her house, but her mom said she was sleeping.

I decided to walk home, since I couldn’t really wait for Courtney’s mom, and I didn’t want to explain the situation to mine.

I only made it a few blocks when a streak of light flashed by me. It came to a halt a few yards in front of me. At first I thought it was a bolt of lightning. But I was wrong. It was Lou in a bright red convertible with the headlights on. “Can I give you a lift?” he asked.

“No thanks,” I answered and continued to trudge home. I was regretting my choice of the combat boots. If I had known I’d get abandoned at the theater, I really would have worn my Vans. At least they weren’t a half-size too small.

Lou continued to drive slowly alongside me. “I don’t think your mother would like you walking home alone at this hour.”

He was right. She’d never let me go out again if she found out, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I had anywhere to go, anyway. I didn’t have any friends left. I didn’t bother answering him, I just kept walking.

“Angel, please,” he said. “Listen to me. I know you don’t want anything to do with me as long as I’m the devil. So I’ve quit.”

I stopped walking. I was afraid to look at him. Was this just another one of his tricks to win me over? Or was it possible that he was being straight with me? “Really?” I asked, studying the crack in the sidewalk.

“Really,” he said, without missing a beat. “You’re much more important to me than a job.”