If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period (12 page)

Matteo slams his gym locker. "I don't do whatever she wants."

"What do you call it, then?"

"I call it none of your business, Walk."

"I'm your friend, man. Don't you know that?"

Matteo ties his shoes slowly, methodically, like it requires all his attention to get the bow just so. Walk waits for him to answer. He doesn't.

"Does your mom know about this?"

Matteo pulls his shirtsleeves over his bulging arms. "My mom thinks you should believe the best of people. Brianna is a nice girl." He imitates a heavy Spanish accent. " 'Maybe your English not good,
mijo.
Maybe you don't understand.' "

"How does she figure you get straight As, man?"

Matteo shrugs.

"How about your dad?"

"He doesn't even think I should be at this school."

"Why?"

Matteo twirls the dial on his gym locker. "He thinks I'm going to forget who I am."

"When's Dolman's take-home due?"

"Third period tomorrow."

"Doesn't give you a lot of time."

"No kidding."

"So what are you gonna do?"

Matteo glares at him.

"Okay, okay." Walk raises his palms up. "I'll back off. I will."

When I call Walk he says: "I told Matteo I'd
▼ V
back off. He doesn't want help."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," he says.

"Really sure?"

"Really sure."

But after I hang up, I can't stop thinking about Matteo. Brianna can't do this. She just can't. Walk was right. She really is a snake—a boa that hugs you to death.

When I fall asleep, I dream of unicorns. Hundreds and hundreds of unicorns, each one asking, "What is my name?"

I wake up and decide I should talk to Rory. I don't know what I'll say exactly, but I can't leave this alone. I have to find out what she knows.

Rory's dad doesn't drive her all the way to the drop-off because he's always in a rush to get to work. He lets her out at the corner by the gas station and she walks from there. I don't have to wait long before Rory's dad's silver Lexus pulls up.

"Rory," I say as she gets out.

Rory checks to make sure no one else is here. I can't imagine Brianna or Madison ever meeting her at the gas station, but it still hurts. "Oh hi, Kirsten," she says when she's satisfied no one is around to see her talking to me.

"You and Brianna and Madison doing the talent show next week?"

"Yeah, if they let us."

"Why wouldn't they let you? You guys are doing the extra credit for Balderis."

"Brianna got a fail notice in Dolman's. She has to get an A on the take-home or she's sunk."

"Dolman's hard. I'm glad I didn't get her," I say as we start walking to school.

"Me too," she agrees.

"Matteo has been working like
crazy
on that take-home. And you know how smart he is."

"Wait. You aren't
really
friends with Matteo, are you? Do you know his mom is like a maid?" She coughs. Her voice gets high and wheezy.

I get her inhaler out of her backpack and hand it to her.

"Yep. Matteo's my friend," I say after she's taken a puff.

"
Boy
friend?"

"
No.
Look, I might be able to help with the Dolman take-home."

I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this. I don't want to get in the middle because if it blows up, Matteo and Walk will hate me. Walk told me not to get involved. I should just back off, but a plan is taking shape.

Rory's eyes key in on me. "Really?" she asks.

"Uh-huh," I say, "but this would be just, you know, for you. Not for Brianna, all right?"

"Brianna and I are just friends at school and stuff. You and I are best friends forever—"

"Sure." I cut her off and take a deep breath. "I saw Matteo put his Dolman take-home in his backpack. The front pocket. He has this, you know, Velcro organizer thing. It's, like, green and he keeps his highlighters in there and his money and stuff. The take-home's in there."

She nods. "Really? Oh. Thanks ... like, really, thanks! Come by at lunch, okay? I miss you." She smiles the old Rory smile.

Next thing I do is pay a visit to Dorarian the librarian.

"Dorarian," I tell her, "you have to do me a favor."

"And why is that?" she asks, looking at me over the top of her sparkly blue glasses.

"Because it's really for Matteo."

"Matteo?" She stops marking books and looks at me.

"Call Matteo out of Balderis's first period because he has an overdue library book. But it has to be right before the end of class. Like nine twenty-five."

"Matteo would never have an overdue library book," Dorarian informs me.

"You'll be wrong," I tell her.

"I'm never wrong."

"This time you will be."

"You want to tell me what you're up to, young lady?"

"I can't. You have to trust me."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm doing the right thing."

She takes off her glasses and starts chewing on them. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to think Matteo has an overdue library book and be
mistaken.
"

"Yes! Thank you!" My arms fly out like I'm going to hug her.

She puts her hands up like I shouldn't come near.

I can't help laughing at this. I don't know why. "Nine twenty-five, okay?" I tell her, half running down the hall.

I'm late when I get back to Balderis's class.

Balderis raps his knuckles on the table. "Ms. McKenna, I thought we were over the tardiness problem."

"Sorry," I mumble, hurrying to my seat.

Balderis makes a big theatrical sigh as he writes me a pinky. "Take it to the office after class. I don't want you to miss any of the lecture," he says, and continues on with his explanation.

Walk looks at me. His eyes ask what I'm up to. What if I blow this?

Brianna and Rory are giggling and whispering, watching me. When they see me look at them, they quick change to their pretend smiles and wave. I wave back, then I write a note to Matteo.
PUT YOUR TAKE-HOME IN YOUR HIGHLIGHTER PACK IN THE FRONT COMPARTMENT OF YOUR BACKPACK. THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO. I SWEAR, SWEAR, DOUBLE SWEAR
.

He shakes his head a tiny fierce no.

I write him another note. trust me.

He glares at me, but he unzips the front pocket of his backpack and starts digging in it.

Then I write a note to Balderis.
BRIANNA HAS STOLEN MATTEO'S HIGHLIGHTER PACK WITH HIS MONEY IN IT.—ANONYMOUS

Now I have to wait and just hope. What a crappy plan. Too many things have to happen for this to work. What was I thinking?

Balderis lectures until 9:15, then he takes questions until 9:20. I draw one hangman, but I can't finish. I'm too nervous to draw.

"Okay, extra-credit groups, five minutes to get your act together," Balderis announces at 9:20.

But Brianna is across the room from Matteo. What's she doing way over there? She has to move closer. I get together with Rory and keep my eyes peeled for Dorarian. This is never going to work. I may as well kill myself now.

The clock ticks 9:22. Rory is telling me about her costume for the talent show.

9:23. "Want to see the fabric?" Rory asks.

9:24.
Please, Dorarian. Please.

9:25. What will I do if she doesn't show?

9:26. "You wouldn't believe how amazing it is to get a dress made for you—Kirsten, are you even listening?"

"Oh, sorry," I say. Why did I ever think I could do this?

And then Dorarian's blue glasses peer through the window. She strides confidently into class. "Matteo, I need to talk to you, sir." Her voice is irritated like it always is when a book is way overdue. There isn't the slightest hint she doesn't mean it.

Matteo's face caves. Oops. I forgot to tell him this part. He hurries after Dorarian with his head down like a bad dog.

Brianna is standing by Matteo's backpack. But so is Hair Boy. Will she steal it with Hair Boy standing right there?

I wave my arm wildly in the air. "Mr. Balderis, I think I'm supposed to be working with Hair Boy," I say.

"Kirsten!" Rory whispers. "Hello? We're working together? Where have you been?"

Hair Boy looks at me like I'm nuts. "I'm not doing extra credit," he tells Balderis. "I don't even know what she's talking about."

Balderis checks his book. "I've got you down with Rory."

"Oh. Yeah, that's right," I mutter.

9:28. When Hair Boy goes back to his desk, I have to believe Brianna's done. I take a deep breath, walk up to Balderis's desk, leave my note, and sit down.

Balderis doesn't see. He's busy arguing with Sophie about how many points she has. "I have the second assignment as late." He taps his book. "And that's twenty points off."

9:29. "It was not late," Sophie says.

"Sophie, it was late. End of discussion," Balderis says.

Good, yeah. End of discussion. Read it. Read it. Read it. He's never going to see it.

9:30. The bell rings. Brianna heads for the door.
Balderis, come on. The note!

"Brianna," Balderis calls as she breezes past.

"What?"

"I need to check your backpack."

"Why?"

"I believe I saw you taking something that wasn't yours. I'm probably wrong. Humor me."

"You can't check my backpack," Brianna says, her tan skin suddenly going pale. "That's not right."

"Yes," Balderis says, "I can."

He takes her backpack and unzips it. Nothing in the front pocket. Nothing in the middle part. Nothing in the back part.

I dig my pen point into my leg.

"Your sweater, please?" he asks.

"Are you going to make me strip?" Brianna spits at him. "Because that's, like, illegal."

"No ... but I do want to see your sweater." He holds his hand out.

Her face gets red. She does nothing.

"
Your sweater,
Brianna," Balderis says.

Brianna slips off her sweater and hands it to Balderis. Balderis puts his hand in the pocket. He pulls out a battered green organizer. He opens it up: Two quarters and Matteo's library card fall out.

Back in English class, two elbows are on Walk's desk even before the bell rings.

"You think I don't know you set me up?" Brianna asks.

"What are you talking about?" Walk says.

"Matteo would never do this. It was you who told Kirsten what to do."

"Nobody set you up. You stole Matteo's test and you got caught," Walk whispers.

"Do you know how much I've been looking forward to the talent show? It is my whole life. You don't know. I have
nothing
without this," she says in one sobby breath; her eyes well up, tears roll down her cheeks.

"Oh, boo-hoo, boo-hoo, Brianna." Walk rolls his eyes.

She stops crying. Her eyes narrow. "I can make Matteo do whatever I want, you know."

"Oh, really? Well, if that's true, why'd you have to steal the test? Why didn't he just give it to you?"

She glares at Walk, grabs her pencil, and stalks off to the pencil sharpener.

When she comes back, she leans in real close. "I would be careful if I were you," she whispers.

"You do anything to Matteo's mom and I will—"

"What? What will you do?" She runs her hand along Walk's arm.

"Get off me." He shakes her hand away.

My mom has a headache again today. She must feel really lousy to let me make dinner again. Usually she does everything in her power to keep me away from the refrigerator. I check on her, but she's lying on her bed with the blinds pulled.

I find some frozen taquitos in the back of the freezer and zap them in the microwave. Kippy and I take them to the basement to eat. We spend all evening down there until I see her with her eyes closed and her cheek glued with drool to her
Life Cycle of Trees
book. I get her up to her room and she crashes on her bed.

My dad comes home just after that. I tell him Mom is sick again and he goes up to their room and closes the door. He doesn't come out, so I head for the garage to the Costco stash.

My mouth is spicy, salty, corny, happy as I munch on Barb-B-Q flavored Fritos. I cram a bag of Ruffles potato chips in my pocket for later. I wonder if Dr. Markovitz could prescribe diet pills? I'm just imagining myself in a size three bikini when I hear voices. I dive behind my dad's new hybrid SUV, the crinkling and crumpling of the potato chip bag loud in my ears.