The Secret Crush (16 page)

“Y
ou're not mad that Kathi locked you in that room?” Ally asked Zee at the cast party after the performance.

“I would have been surprised if she
hadn't
done something like that,” Zee said, laughing.

Conrad's father started out deejaying the party, but Conrad took over. Kathi hogged Landon on the dance floor, while Marcus, Missy, and Jen danced nearby, although Jen did not look happy about sharing Marcus.

“Okay,” Chloe said to Ally. “Remind me again how you got here without Zee knowing about it.”

“Ginny arranged it,” Ally said.

“Ginny?” Chloe looked shocked. “You call Zee's mom by her first name?”

“Yeah,” Zee said. “I guess because Ally's known my mom forever.”

Ally shrugged. “Anyway, I'm going to stay with Zee's family while my parents are traveling for two weeks for work.”

Zee gave Ally a playful shove. “And they kept it a secret from me. So when I didn't get an IM or email for two days, I thought Ally was ignoring me.” Then Zee leaned in to whisper, “The whole time Mom was trying to keep me and Landon apart, she was trying to get me and Ally together.”

“Uh…no whispering please,” Jasper said, joining the group.

“Oh, my gosh!” Chloe suddenly burst out laughing. “Did you see the look on Ms. Merriweather's face in the third scene? It was just like when the handle fell off the wheelbarrow during the garden workday.”

Zee, Chloe, and Jasper cracked up at the memory.

“I don't get it,” Ally said. “What happened?”

Chloe waved her hand in the air. “It's too complicated to explain.”

“What about when Missy hit that really high note?” Zee said. “I thought Conrad was going to do what he did at the ISC.”

“That was hilarious!” Chloe added.

“What was it?” Ally asked.

“Well, Missy was skating, and Conrad came up behind her….” Zee trailed off. “I think you had to be there.”

“Oh,” Ally said, hanging her head.

Zee felt bad. Ally had been at Brookdale Academy longer than Chloe or Jasper, yet she seemed like an outsider. “Hey, Jasper. Ally just went to London,” Zee said, hoping to save her friend.

“Really?” Jasper said. “Did you have tea with the queen?” As Ally cracked up, a smile spread across Jasper's face.

Ally told Jasper all about where she stayed, ate, and visited.

“I've always wanted to go to the Tower of London,” Zee put in.

Ally scrunched up her nose. “That's kind of touristy. I went to a lot of places no one's ever heard of”—she looked at Jasper—“except the natives.”

“I guess I'm not a very sophisticated traveler,” Zee mumbled.

“I think I'd like to freshen up my punch,” Jasper said. “Your cup looks empty, Ally. Would you like some more?”

“Yes, please,” Ally said, handing him her cup.

As Jasper walked to the refreshment table, Ally excitedly turned to Zee. “Does he like anyone?”

What was with everyone liking Jasper! A weird feeling wrapped around Zee's heart. Just as she was about to say, “No,” Jasper's eyes reached across the room—looking right past Ally at Zee. His mouth stretched into a wide smile before he picked up the clear plastic ladle and began pouring out the red punch.

Zee smiled back. As her stomach flipped, then flopped, she had a funny feeling she finally knew who had sent her the mysterious Friends' Day card.

 

 

Zee flipped back through her diary and looked at the list of names she had made on Friends' Day. Zee knew just what to add:

&
: and

@
: at

<3 (sideways heart)
: = love (<33 = extra love)

=
: equal

1
: one

1st
: first

2
: to; two; too

2day
: today

2-faced
: two-faced

2gether
: together

2morrow
: tomorrow

2nite
:tonight

4
: for

411
: information

4get
: forget

4give
: forgive

4gotten
: forgotten

ASAP
: as soon as possible

b
: be

b/c
: because

b/f
: boyfriend

b4
: before

BB4N
: bye-bye for now

BFF
: best friends forever

bz
: busy

c
: see

CA
: California

cld
: could

every1
: everyone

g/f
: girlfriend

gr8
: great

GTG
: gotta go

GTR
: gotta run

H&K
: hugs and kisses

LOL
: laughing out loud

LYLAS
: love you like a sister

mayb
: maybe

mins
: minutes

MUSM
: miss you so much

NK
: no kidding

no1
: no one

NP
: no problem

nt
: not

OMG
: oh, my God

OMGYG2BK
: oh, my God, you've got to be kidding

pic
: picture

pls
: please

r
: are

rm
: room

thm
: them

thx
: thanks

TTFN
: ta-ta for now

u
: you

u'll
: you'll

ur
: your; you're

urs
: yours

w
: with

w/o
: without

WB
: write back

WFM
: works for me

ws
: was

y
: why

Well, here we go again! I must first say a big thank-you to Mackenzie's godmothers, Catherine Onder and Tara Weikum. Special thanks to my entire HarperCollins team: Susan Katz, Elise Howard, Kate Jackson, Diane Naughton, Cristina Gilbert, and Laura Kaplan. You've made this experience such a pleasure.

 

To my A-Team: Kate Lee, words can't express the gratitude I have for all the work you've done on my behalf. It's such a pleasure to work with you. Andre Des Rochers, thank you for always making sure I'm heard—even when I'm not there. And, of course, a special thank-you goes out to my lifetime quarterback Marissa Nance, who always makes sure I'm surrounded by the best. Thank you for caring.

 

To my family: Mom, Dad, Adrianne, Erica, Marcus, Lisa, and William—thank you all for being there for me and supporting me through this process. I couldn't do it without you!

 

To my girls: Michelle Moragne, Nurys Iza, Monica Rush, Jackie Fucini, Suny Rodriguez, Karen Otero, Kimberly Lyons, Tia Williams, Stephanie Smith, Melissa Nasir, and my dearest friend, Tina Pittaoulis—thank you all for keeping me sane and making sure I'm taken care of every day. You're the smartest, most loving, most beautiful women I know! Love you all!

 

To Ross Martin, Dave Knox, and Marc Feuerstein: Thanks for all your support and great advice. It means a lot.

 

Finally, to my children from another mother: Azairea, Zoey, Daishawn, and RJ—thanks for listening to my stories and giving me great advice. Dayna and Rodney, thank you for letting me borrow your children. ;-)