The next day I got up early to do my hair. I put the bracelet in my pocket so I could decide if I wanted to wear it after I saw Devon’s arm. Tori said I looked cute at the bus stop. I told her I was wearing Ashanti’s sweater. She said I should try pulling my hair up like Ashanti’s, but I said it wouldn’t hold.
Devon didn’t say much. She just talked about how cold it was, and she had her hands pulled inside her sleeves so I couldn’t see her wrists. Ashanti wasn’t on the bus, so I sat with Peyton.
“Oh, I love your sweater. The color looks so good on you,” Peyton said.
“It’s Ashanti’s.”
“Super cute,” Peyton said.
Thalia told me I looked good in homeroom, and Kyle rubbed my shoulders in math class and said, “Fuzzy.”
Thankfully Yasmin wasn’t in our class or she would have had me killed. Ashanti looked gorgeous in the white turtleneck sweater. It set off her dark hair and eyes and made her look like she should be at some rich ski resort or something. Even Jay told her she looked “hot.” On the way to class Peyton passed me a note.
Landry-
Do you have to work, or can you do something on Friday? We could go to the J.V. game and see Vladi or hang out at my house. I won’t say anything to Devon if you don’t want me to.
Got-to-go, Peyton
At lunch, Devon said we should all go to the game on Friday. I thought Peyton had meant for just the two of us to do something because she had written she wouldn’t say anything to Devon. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I told Peyton how Devon wanted us to go to the game.
“Oh, you told her?” she asked.
“No, I thought you did,” I said.
She shook her head. “No, but if you wanna go in a group…”
India walked in so we changed the subject and started talking about the assignment on the board. Peyton and I didn’t bring up the plans for Friday night, but on the ride home, Devon said her mom could drive us to the game. I asked Mom if I could go to the game, but she wanted to know who I was going with.
“Devon, India, and Peyton,” I said. “Devon said her mom could drop us off.”
Mom thought for a moment. “I can take you guys and pick you up. I’ll let you go to the J.V. game, but I don’t like the idea of you guys staying there later with the older kids,” she said.
“But everybody goes to the varsity game,” I said.
“I get nervous with you guys going over to the public high school. Besides, Devon is a little more, um, advanced than you,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s… more into boys,” she said.
“I’m into boys,” I said.
She sighed. “She’s more likely to give a guy her number.”
I went into the kitchen to call Devon, and she said she wanted everybody to come over to her house after the game. I told her my mom would only let me go to the J.V. game, but she said they were staying for the varsity game. I can’t believe Devon’s overprotective mother would let her go to the varsity game, while my mom wouldn’t. I went back in my mom’s room and flopped on her bed.
“I don’t want to leave by myself,” I said.
“And I don’t want you coming out of the gym alone at night. See if Peyton will go with you,” she said, handing me the cell phone.
Peyton was fine with my mom driving us. She said her parents weren’t crazy about her staying for the varsity game either.
“I have no idea what to wear to this thing. Can I wear jeans?” she asked. “Because Devon said something about a skirt.”
“I’ll wear jeans if you do so at least if we look dumb then we’ll look dumb together,” I said. “I’m going to see if Ashanti wants to come with us, too.”
Ashanti said she was in and she was fine with leaving early. I hung up the phone and wondered if going to this game was such a good idea after all. I wanted to see Vladi again, but did I want my friends around when he ignored me?