Prom Kings and Drama Queens (8 page)

And being told you made the world more beautiful was a pretty big compliment.

It reminded me of a book my mother used to read to me when I was little—
Miss Rumphius
—about an old woman who throws seeds everywhere and eventually beautiful flowers grow all over the countryside. In the story, Miss Rumphius tells her niece that she should do something to make the world more beautiful, too. I remembered asking my mother what
she
wanted to do to make the world more beautiful.

“Take pictures of mountains and oceans,” she’d said.

Mom was a nature lover at heart.

71

Wow. How had she gotten from that to taking pictures of poultry painted with antiseptic ointment?

I used to try to think of something I could do to make the world more beautiful. But I hadn’t thought about it for a long time.

Lily opened a wooden box and pulled out a small envelope. “I guess I shouldn’t forget to give you this.” She placed the note firmly into the palm of my hand.

“Will you see that the captain gets it?”

“Sure,” I said, taking the envelope, which gave off a faint whiff of curry and cologne. “White Shoulders?” I said, recognizing the smell from my grandmother’s bedroom.

“You’ve got a good nose,” Lily said, adding, “it’s not what I’d choose, but Brian’s heart was in the right place.”

That’s for sure. His heart, his abs, his pecs, all his parts in the right place. Unfortunately, I couldn’t wait around for those parts to appear. I had homework to do.

I stuck the note in my pocket and thanked Lily and Evelyn for the food, or “cuisine” as they called it.

“I’ll be waiting for the captain’s response,” Lily called out as Evelyn led me across the patio toward the main house.

Another response? I hadn’t thought this out very well. If the captain had another note, then surely Lily would have another one, and then the captain would 72

have another one, and then . . . I could be doing this gig till I left for college!

Messenger girl for the aged was not what I signed up for. I was supposed to deliver a note, get Brian to notice me, and then live happily ever after with Brian and his abs. Instead I seemed destined to live happily ever after with the early bird dinner crowd.

The second I stepped on my porch, Brian’s car pulled into his driveway. We’d just missed each other. I thought about going back, but I wasn’t sure what I’d say. So far, the only thing we had in common was an attempted matchmaking and an attempted misde-meanor. Not the beginnings of a great relationship. At least not yet. Then suddenly I realized we did have something to talk about—Austin’s party.

I ran across the yard, nearly tripping over a sprin-kler head. “Hey, Brian,” I yelled, just as he put his key in the front door lock.

“Hey,” he said, turning around. Was that a smile on his face? Was he happy to see me?

“How’s it going?” I asked.

“Doin’ well,” he said. “Did you see Grams yet?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to know about Austin’s party.

When is it?” How lame! Talk about overanxious.

“Lindsay wanted to know,” I added quickly. “I think she’s got a piano thing or something coming up.” Brian took his key out of the lock and dropped his 73

gym bag on the porch. A good sign he wasn’t rushing to get away from me. “Good thing you asked,” he said.

“Austin changed it to this Friday night. His parents are going away for the weekend.”

“Cool,” I said. I wondered if he would have remembered to tell me if I hadn’t asked. “What time?” I added.

“About nine. And, just so you know, it’s a
G
party.”

“A
G
party?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s supposed to dress in something that begins with the letter
G
.” I must have had a puzzled look on my face because Brian started laughing. “It was Brandy’s idea.” Well, that explained it. She probably wanted to go as a G-string. “So what are you wearing?” I asked.

“I haven’t thought about it yet. Any ideas?” I paused. “A ghost?” I blurted. Talk about uncreative.

Brian laughed again. Sigh. I really loved the way the dimple below his right eye crinkled when he did that.

“Actually, I thought of that one.”

“Maybe Lily can help you come up with something.”

“Maybe,” Brian said, and then added, “Did she give you the note for that guy?”

I patted my pocket. “Yeah, it’s right here.”

“You gonna give it to him?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Was there a choice here that I was missing? “Why do you ask?”

Brian shrugged. “My parents are a little freaked out 74

that Grams might get into some weird relationship.”

“It didn’t seem like the captain was crazy or anything. Just that he liked her dancing.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Brian paused. “How’re you going to find him again?”

“I guess I’ll go back to the
Conga Queen
.”

“By yourself?”

Okay, Emily, slow down. “Um, I hadn’t really thought about it . . . You want to come, too? I mean to check out the captain again?”

“Sure,” he said. “When do you want to go?” I knew that the
Conga Queen
sailed on weekends at noon. “We could probably catch him before the boat goes out on Saturday—maybe about eleven thirty.” He shook his head. “I’ve got practice all day and the game against Saint Bart’s at night. Can we make it another day?”

The mere mention of Saint Bart’s made me even more nervous, but I didn’t want to lose this opportunity.

“Sure,” I said. “Sunday?”

Brian picked up his gym bag. “As long as it’s in the morning.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “Meet you here at eleven.” He nodded.

Maybe this matchmaking thing had potential after all.

75

TEN

Emily Full of Hot Air?

I was lying on my bed that evening, replaying the whole scene between Brian and me, when the phone rang.

“Hey, Emily.”

A guy’s voice. My stomach fluttered for a second, but then I realized it was too deep to be Brian’s.

“It’s Daniel.”

“Oh. Hi.” Jeez. You get hauled to jail with someone once and suddenly he’s your close friend, calling you during the most crucial part of your best daydream ever.

He cleared his throat. “My dad wanted me to call you to figure out a time to start working on our community service project.”

76

Somehow I must have been sleeping through a chapter of my life. “We have a community service project
together
?”

“Uh, yeah,” Daniel said. “Remember last night? The handcuffs. The cops.”

I sat straight up in bed. That was one Sunday mem-ory I was hoping to replace soon.

“When my dad was talking to the cops, he told them he’d see that we did community service.”

“You mean, you and me, together?” I knew I’d agreed to community service, but
with
Daniel?

“Yeah, apparently your parents were all for it, too.” My parents probably would have agreed to anything to get me out of the police station that night. “Do we have to do it now? I mean, can’t we put it off for a while?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel said. “My dad says he wants us to get started.”

Daniel’s father was an intimidating guy. And Daniel wasn’t likely to be less annoying in the future, so I gave in. “What do you want to do?” I walked to my window and watched the light go on in Brian’s room.

“I was thinking—there’s a nursing home not too far from Crestview. You want to go there after school on Friday?”

I tried to pay attention to Daniel, but Brian’s silhou-ette was way more interesting. I watched his shadowy 77

outline go from the closet to his computer. “Um, yeah, sounds great,” I said mechanically.

“Okay, then, you want to meet in the school parking lot?”

Suddenly Daniel’s words registered. “Did you say Friday?” I said. “That’s no good.”

Daniel paused. “You just said it sounded great.” He sounded irritated.

“Well, yeah,” I said, trying to make it seem like he’d misunderstood me. “Friday’s are good, but not this Friday. I’m going to a party that night. I need time to get ready.”

“I almost forgot—Austin’s.”

“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment that Daniel had been invited, too. I’d thought it was kind of an exclusive thing. “You’re going?”

“Yeah, you know it’s the whole cheerleader-slash-sister connection. How’d you get invited?” Was that an insult? Was Daniel implying that I was out of my league?

“I didn’t mean that how it sounded,” Daniel said, before I could respond.

“Oh, really?”

“No, I mean, yes. I just meant there’s usually a certain crowd that goes to those parties—the same people all the time. I’ve never seen you there before.” I guess I could forgive him. “Well, there’s nothing 78

like almost being arrested to bump you up the status stepladder.”

Daniel laughed. “Crazy how it works, huh? So what are you going as?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it yet,” I said. “How about you?”

Without a pause, Daniel answered, “A Goober.”

“A what?”

“You know those chocolate-covered peanuts you eat at the movie theater.”

Leave it to a guy who buys his clothes at the thrift store to come up with an outrageous idea like that.

“How’re you going to find a Goober costume?” Even the thrift stores wouldn’t have something like that.

“I’m making it,” he said, “out of a big brown garbage bag. I already cut a hole in the bottom for my head to go through. Before the party, I’ll stuff it with newspaper and pull the ties around my legs. I can make one for you, too.”

“I think I’ll stick to something more conventional.” I was pretty sure a Goober costume was not going to show off my best assets to Brian.

“Suit yourself,” Daniel said. Then added with a chuckle, “literally.”

“Please,” I said. “If you come up with any ideas that don’t involve me going as a huge brown ball, let me know.”

79

“Hmm, I’ll have to think about it. In the meantime, what about Saturday for the nursing home?”

“That’s fine,” I answered, but my mind was already miles away, trying to come up with a costume that would be clever, cute, and not mistaken for the daily trash.

My eyes crossed as I watched the green balloon grow bigger before my eyes.

“Too big, too big,” Lindsay yelled. “It’s ready to pop.” I pulled the balloon from my lips, let a little bit of air out, and knotted the end. “How many of these things do you think I’ll need?”

Lindsay looked down at the small pile of balloons bouncing between the two beds in my room. “Stand up and let me take a look at you,” she said.

I twirled around like a runway model.

“In my professional opinion,” Lindsay said, “about ten more.”

I picked up another balloon. “And which profession would that be?” I asked before taking a deep breath.

“Grape expert,” Lindsay said. She balanced a balloon in the palm of her hand and gently slapped it in the air several times. “Tell me again how you’re going to wear these to the party tomorrow night?” I tried to remember what I’d originally envisioned when I decided it was a good idea to go as grapes. “I’m 80

not sure. I just know I have to attach them to something so I can put them on at the last minute—or else I won’t be able to sit in the car.”

“Yeah,” Lindsay said. “We’ll have to do a last-minute thing in the parking lot for me, too. You’ve got to wrap me in aluminum foil.”

I laughed. “That did
not
sound right. Please promise me you will never ever say that in public.” Lindsay held up her right hand. “Promise. But you have to promise me that you won’t leave me alone at the party.”

Lindsay hadn’t been too thrilled about going to Austin’s. The athletes and cheerleaders weren’t exactly our crowd. But after I talked her into it, she got excited about the costume. She’d decided to go as a stick of gum. She planned to wear a pink turtleneck that would peek out of the aluminum foil wrapping. We both thought we were pretty clever.

Lindsay blew up a few more balloons as I looked through my closet for something to attach them to. I finally found an old green T-shirt and held it up for Lindsay to inspect. “What if we pin the balloons to this shirt and then I’ll put it on at the last minute?” Lindsay shrugged. “Works for me. But what about the bottom? Do you have any green pants?”