| |
Caitlyn
The school day dragged. Caitlyn couldn’t wait to talk to Zoe. Due to the nice weather, she expected to find her outside with Jarret at the picnic tables. When lunch break finally came, she snatched her lunch from her locker, tied her sweater, and bolted out the back doors of the school.
The sudden burst of sunlight dazzled her, but she didn’t mind. She relished every opportunity to eat lunch outside. The cool air carried the scent of burning wood, making her breathe deep and reminding her of camping. Oh, she hoped this would all work out.
It was already the middle of October, and they still didn’t know whose house they could use for the Halloween party. Mya had asked Zoe. Zoe was supposed to ask Jarret. And Caitlyn was dying to know the answer. If Jarret didn’t like the idea, they would resort to the original plan and throw it at Zoe’s house. Time was running short, and they needed better plans if they were going to do it.
Caitlyn had already begun work on her costume, though it wouldn’t come close to what she originally envisioned. She wanted a big, frilly 17th century European dress with ruffles, embroidery, and full skirts. But she had a single old-fashioned square-dance dress to work with and no money for extras. The fabric was sky-blue, shiny, and big enough to make the pleats she wanted in the back. At the second-hand store, she’d found a white linen shirt with puffy sleeves that would work perfectly under a dark blue shirt that she had torn apart and turned into a vest. And an old white sheet would make a good enough slip. She could do wonders with a sewing machine and old clothes.
Weaving around a group of girls, the picnic tables came into view. Zoe sat facing Caitlyn, Jarret across from her. They didn’t look at each other. He stared out at the farmland that bordered the school grounds. She stared ahead, without appearing to see Caitlyn.
Caitlyn reached the picnic table and climbed onto the bench on the same side as Jarret so she could face Zoe.
Zoe’s eyelids flickered. She turned to Caitlyn and flashed a weak smile. “Hi.”
Jarret gave Caitlyn a casual glance and a nod then returned his gaze to the farms.
“What’s wrong?” she mouthed to Zoe.
Zoe shrugged, the gloom in her eyes deepening.
“Are you fighting?” Caitlyn mouthed, glancing at the back of Jarret’s head. The last word came out as a whisper, but Jarret didn’t twitch.
She mouthed back something like, “I might.”
Caitlyn squinted. I might didn’t make sense. She must’ve said something else. Caitlyn was lousy at reading lips, signs, or gestures. People always got what she said, but she never got them.
Zoe turned to Jarret. “Just go over there. Talk to him instead of staring at him all day.”
Jarret snapped his attention to her. “What? Go talk to who?” He glanced at Caitlyn, his look less friendly this time.
“You know who,” she said. “How long can you be mad at him for cutting his hair?”
He glanced at Caitlyn again, giving her the distinct impression he wished she would go. She wished she would go, too, but she had already dumped her lunch onto the table, and she couldn’t think of a single reasonable excuse for leaving.
“You don’t understand me,” Jarret said to Zoe.
Zoe rolled her eyes.
His jaw twitched, and he rocked forward as if he had something to say but thought better of it. Maybe because Caitlyn was there.
Again, Caitlyn wanted to get up and leave, but she really wanted the answer to her question first. Maybe she could speak in code.
“So, Zoe,” she began, slow and awkward. “Mya said she asked you a question . . . that you were going to ask someone . . . about doing something, somewhere.”
Zoe and Jarret both looked at her through squinty eyes, but then Zoe dipped her head and laughed.
“Oh, I forgot to ask him,” she said. “I’ve had something on my mind.”
Jarret rocked forward again. “Ask who? Who’s him?”
“You,” she said.
“Ask me what?”
She leaned toward him, tilted her head, and spoke in a flirty way. “We want to have a costume party for Halloween . . .” She touched his arm. “. . . at your house.”
Caitlyn couldn’t believe Zoe asked him in front of her. He was so touchy. And now he just stared at Zoe. Maybe he needed time to process the idea, but every second he delayed giving his answer increased Caitlyn’s anxiety.
“I’ve been working on my dress,” Caitlyn said, just to have something to say.
“I can’t wait to see it.” Zoe’s eyes lit up. “Is it fancy?”
“Fancy? No. It’s nothing like what I wanted. I don’t have that kind of money. I’m a peasant in real life and a peasant in make-believe.” She sighed. “But it’s still a 17th century, medieval sort of thing. I’m hoping Roland will want to be a musketeer.”
Jarret smirked. “A musketeer?”
“What’s wrong with that? Musketeers are cool.” Caitlyn sounded defensive. “Don’t they carry swords?”
“That’s gonna be my costume.”
Zoe grabbed his arm. Her eyes popped. “You and your brothers can be The Three Musketeers.”
He flinched. “No. Just me. They can be waifs. I’ll get your costume, too. You’ll be my lady.” He took her hand and kissed it.
“So, we can do it?” Caitlyn’s whole body tingled with anticipation. They were going to throw a party!
“Yeah. We can do it.” He sounded matter-of-fact.
“Don’t you have to ask?” Zoe said.
“No. We had to skip our annual end-of-summer competitions, so this can make up for it.”
“Your what?” Caitlyn said.
“It’s just something we do every year,” he said. “Family and friends come from all across the country, and we compete in archery, fencing, sprinting . . . That kind of stuff. We had to skip it this year due to my father’s schedule.” He grinned and gave Caitlyn a flirty look that made her uncomfortable. “So he owes us.”
Turning to Zoe, he continued. “We’ll have a pig roast and a band. Someone will have to be in charge of decorations. I like those white Christmas lights. Yeah. I want them everywhere.” Smiling, he reached for the cell phone on his belt and walked away.
“Where are you going?” Zoe said.
“I’m gonna tell my father. We’ll have to get started on all the arrangements.” Phone to his ear, he strode in the direction of the old maple tree, but then he veered and headed for the smokers’ corner of the building.
“Wow,” Caitlyn said. “That was easy. And don’t you love how every other teen has to ask, but he calls home to tell his father?”
“I don’t think so.” Zoe’s eyes sparkled. “He’s probably begging right now. That’s why he’s walking to where we can’t hear him.”
They both giggled.
“I wonder where Roland is. I can’t wait to tell him.” Caitlyn scanned the school grounds, her gaze skimming over groups and slowing over shadows.
“He’s over there.” Zoe pointed to the old, thick-trunked maple in the strip of grass between the school grounds and the farmland. “He’s with Keefe. That’s why Jarret’s been staring over there. Didn’t you notice?”
The hint of a jacket stuck out from behind the tree trunk.
“Keefe’s over there, too?” She wanted to find out about the miracle he’d witnessed. She could probably walk right over there and ask him. Her palms sweated at the thought. What would she say? Would she sound nosy? Did he even know who she was? She’d have to begin with an introduction. Hi, I’m Caitlyn, Roland’s friend, but not his girlfriend because he doesn’t want a girlfriend. I go to school here. You’re in my study hall. Anyway, I overheard Roland talking to you on the phone one day. . . No. That just wouldn’t work.
“So, did you understand what I said, what I whispered?” Zoe said.
“What?”
“You asked me what was wrong. I told you I’m late.”
“You did? Late for what?”
Zoe huffed and shook her head. Then she glanced to either side, leaned forward, and whispered, “You know, that time.”
“What do you mean, that time?”
“Of the month, dummy.”
Oh. That. Caitlyn ripped open a bag of cookies. “I’m always late. Sometimes I skip a month.”
“Well, I’m never late, so I got a pregnancy test. But I’m afraid to take it.”
Caitlyn stopped chewing and swallowed the cookie dry. “Why would you be pregnant?” She grabbed her water bottle.
“Why do you think?” Zoe stared off into the distance, combing her fingers through her silky curtain of hair.
Caitlyn sat frozen. Were they actually . . . doing it? Her mind reeled at the thought.
Zoe broke her gaze and glanced. “We’ll talk about it later. Jarret’s coming back.”
“Doesn’t he know?”
She shook her head then smiled up at him.
Jarret sat down next to Caitlyn, grinning. “It’s a go. Better make up a guest list.”