That same afternoon, Miley’s brother, Jackson, was at the Surf Shack, a beach-side snack stand where he worked parttime. The Surf Shack was owned by the father of a kid named Rico, who was in Miley’s grade because he had skipped a few years of school.
Rico was Jackson’s worst nightmare. Just because his dad was Jackson’s boss, he thought he could order Jackson around. As far as Jackson was concerned, a day without Rico was a beautiful day indeed.
So Jackson’s heart sank when he looked up from cleaning the counter to see Rico approaching. He was wearing a costume that made him look like a cross between a matador and a flamenco dancer. He was also wearing a fake mustache. In other words, he looked ridiculous.
But even though he was younger and shorter than everyone else in his grade, Rico wore the bold costume with pride. When he saw a girl staring at him, he struck a pose.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding grandly. “Go ahead and look, but you can’t touch.”
“Dude, what happened to you?” Jackson asked, trying not to laugh. “Did you get lost on the way to a bullfight?”
“Go ahead and joke, but my father won my mother’s heart dressed like this,” Rico said.
Jackson shook his head at this logic.
“Your father’s a billionaire,” he pointed out. “He could’ve dressed like a duck and won her heart.” He leaned in a little closer to examine Rico’s face. “And what died on your lip?” he asked, reaching out to touch Rico’s mustache.
Rico pulled away, embarrassed. He glanced over at a group of girls nearby. “Stop it!” he hissed to Jackson. “She’ll see.”
He nodded toward a girl who was sitting on a mat, doing a yoga pose. Her eyes were closed and her expression was very calm.
Jackson raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew that girl. Her name was Sarah and she was in Miley and Rico’s grade. She was known as “Saint Sarah” for her do-good ways and her determination to save the world.
“This is all for Sarah?” Jackson asked incredulously. “Oh, come on, Rico, what did that poor girl ever do to you?”
“She stole my heart!” Rico said dramatically. Then a crafty look appeared in his eyes. “I just wish I had someone who could find out if she likes me, too. A friend, a pal”—he gave Jackson a meaningful glance—“an easily replaceable employee.”
It was clear who Rico was referring to. Jackson thought about refusing. After all, he didn’t work for Rico. He wasn’t friends with Rico. He should just tell Rico to get lost.
But then he had second thoughts. He knew from experience that Rico could make a guy’s life miserable. He was very creative that way.
“All right, fine,” Jackson said. “But lose the ’stache!” Then he sighed and walked over to Sarah. “Hey, Sarah. Nice pose,” he said to her.
“Thanks,” Sarah said brightly. “It aligns my chakras.”
Jackson had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. He thought people that did yoga were so weird!
“Well, you’re going to be in for chakra”— as a joke, Jackson pronounced it shock-ra —“when you hear what I have to say.”
Sarah’s face lit up with anticipation. She jumped up from her mat. “The president got my letter and agreed to give Arizona back to the Apaches?”
Jackson heaved a deep sigh. Sometime he’d like to visit the dream world Sarah lived in. It was so bizarrely different from the real world. But right now, he had a job to do. “This’ll go a lot faster if you just stop talking,” he said.
“Okay,” Sarah said, nodding.
“Look,” Jackson said. He put his arm around her shoulders and began slowly leading her in Rico’s direction. “There’s this guy who really likes you, but he’s kind of shy and he doesn’t want to say anything until he knows whether you like him, too.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Sarah was beside herself with delight. “Does ‘this guy’ go to my school?”
“Yeah,” Jackson said, pleased that she was getting the point without too much work on his part. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rico nervously preening himself as he waited to talk to the girl of his dreams.
“And is he maybe not the tallest guy around?” Sarah asked coyly.
Jackson thought for a second. No doubt about it, Rico was height-challenged. Once in a while, Jackson felt some empathy toward the guy, since Jackson was the tiniest bit on the short side himself. “Yeah!” Jackson answered enthusiastically. “Oh, Jackson!” Sarah squealed. “I like you, too!” She threw her arms around him.
“Huh?” Jackson’s eyes widened with shock. He ran back over their conversation in his mind. Okay, yes, he could see how she had gotten the wrong idea. Now, how could he break the bad news to her? “No, I—”
But before he could explain the mistake, he glanced over at Rico, who had watched the scene unfold. And he did not look happy.
Rico ripped the fake mustache off his upper lip in despair.
“Ow!” he cried out, his eyes watering. Then he stomped away.
Jackson let out a sigh. This was definitely not how the plan was supposed to go!