Текст книги "She's So Dead to Us"

Автор книги: Kieran Scott

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

jake

“Nice tits, Dorkus,” Hammond said, clapping David Drake on the back.

David gave us a tolerant look. Impressive, considering he was wearing a huge bra on the outside of his soccer jersey and that the bra was stuffed with rancid sweat socks from the locker room’s lost and found. He also had red lipstick on his lips and blue eyeliner around his eyes, plus a purple wig one of my teammates had borrowed from his little sister.

All Hammond’s idea. All his way of putting Drake in his place for taking my spot on the field. Which I was pissed about, but it wasn’t exactly his fault. Still, I guess it was better than the kick in the head Hammond was always threatening to give him.

“Can I get you anything, sirs?” David asked us bitterly.

“I could use a beer,” Hammond said as I tried not to laugh.

“I’m right on top of that, sir,” he said.

As soon as he was gone, Hammond and I both doubled over. “I’m a genius, dude,” Hammond said, smacking my hand, front and back. “The newbies look hilarious.”

“Yep,” I agreed with a nod. Once Hammond had come up with the idea to haze Drake, I’d insisted we make all the other new players dress up too. That was only fair. At least this way David wasn’t in it alone.

“So, dude, you figured out who you’re taking to the Harvest Ball yet?” Hammond asked me, taking out his BlackBerry to check his messages.

I automatically glanced across Hammond’s game room at Ally. A few people were starting to dance in the open space between the pool table and the arcade games, but she was hanging out by the wall, talking to Tommy Kopp. I was surprised she’d shown. Usually Norms didn’t come to these parties. But then, usually there were no Norm backslappers, either. She looked hot in her frayed jeans and OHH soccer T-shirt, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. The only question was, why the hell was she talking to Tommy Kopp? That guy had breath like a garbage dump and a face to match.

“Dude. Don’t go there,” he said. “Haven’t we had this conversation already?”

I tore my eyes away. “What? I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Good. Because Ally Ryan is off-limits,” Hammond said, pocketing his phone again.

“I know, man. Please. I’m not about spoiled goods.”

I felt guilty even as I said it.

“Spoiled goods.” He laughed shortly and slapped my chest with the back of his hand. “I’m totally using that.”

Shit, I hoped not. The thing was, I bet Ally Ryan could have made the boring-ass school dance at least semitolerable. The crap she’d pulled before the half tonight had been semicheesy, but it had worked. My head had been all over the place—my mom’s obsession with getting me an SAT tutor, my dad’s threat to take away my Xbox and cable if I didn’t get my grades up, that girl from Friday night who would not stop freaking calling me—and Ally’s antics had gotten it back in the game. “Anyway, I’m weighing my options. You?”

“Ha ha. You’re hilarious, man,” he said. His eyes flicked toward Ally. Or maybe he was just looking for Chloe. “Chloe already picked out my suit and my shoes.”

“Nice,” I chided, nudging him with my elbow. “She fit you for the leash yet?”

“Hammond!” Chloe called out from her spot behind the bar. Since we were at his place, she’d taken over as hostess. “We need more ice. Do you have more ice?”

“Duty calls, man,” Hammond said, rushing off.

I laughed and looked over at Ally again. My heart did that catching thing it had only ever done since she’d moved here. She was watching me. No. We were now watching each other. Screw Hammond and his warnings. I had to talk to this girl. What she’d done at the game was unexpected, to say the least. Especially after everything. What did it mean? Had she forgiven me for the almost-kiss thing? I had to know.

“Hey,” I said, joining her.

She didn’t look at me. “Hey.”

“I’m surprised you came,” I said.

Her eyes flashed. “Not you, too.”

“Not me too what?” I asked.

“This whole no-Norms thing?” she said.

“No. That’s not what I meant.” My face was getting hot. “I don’t think you shouldn’t be here. I mean—”

“Good. Because this is a party for the soccer team and the backslappers, and I am a backslapper, in case you haven’t noticed.”

I sighed. Two seconds of conversation, and I’d already stuck my foot in it deep. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure. Brilliant hazing,” she said. “Not cavemanish at all.”

My jaw clenched, but I let it roll off my back. “This is nothing. Last year they made me and Hammond jump up and down on a trampoline in our underwear for three hours just because we were the only sophomores to make varsity.”

“Oh, so you think this is better?” Ally asked.

“Believe me. It’s better.”

My face burned even hotter at the memory of every hot senior girl at OHH laughing at me while I tried to keep my junk from bouncing around in their faces. This was far better than that. I wanted to tell her that I was the one who kept her little friend David from being alone in drag, but it sounded too much like a pathetic plea, so I didn’t. But why was she friends with that guy, anyway? Every day I had to watch them eat lunch together, and he was always cracking her up even though he isn’t remotely funny. It was so annoying that he got to hang out with her and no one even cared. Meanwhile I was standing here feeling conspicuous for saying two words in her vicinity. I took a sip of my beer and tried not to look at my friends. But they were starting to notice.

“Why do you have to be so tense all the time?” I asked her. “It’s a party.”

She rolled her eyes and shoved a pretzel in her mouth. I sighed and looked where she was looking. Dorkus Drake was trying to talk to Shannen, who was only half acknowledging him—doing that tight smile thing she does when she wants someone to leave her alone but isn’t in the mood to humiliate them. As I watched, she looked up at me, then at Ally, like WTH?

Snagged.

“That’ll be the day,” I said, turning to the side to avoid further eye contact with Shannen.

“What? You don’t see it?” Ally asked.

“Shannen Moore and Dorkus Drake? Uh, no.” I downed the rest of my beer and placed it on the bar. “The guy’s a total loser.”

Ally bristled. “That loser was one of two people who lowered themselves to talk to me on the first day of school.”

“Hey. I talked to you,” I reminded her. “You just didn’t want to talk to me.”

She blinked. I had her. Ha. But then her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me. I’m going to go hang out with my friend now.” She stood up straight, dusted some salt off her fingers, and strode across the room, where she tugged Drake away from Shannen.

Two seconds later, she and Dorkus were slow dancing. They both looked ridiculous—him in his outfit, her with his boobs in her face. She stared at me over his shoulder, like she was trying to prove some point. Whatever. Like her walking away from me to dance with a dork was going to piss me off? And now Shannen was weaving her way through the crowd and around the pool table toward me like she was out for blood. Great. Now I was going to get the third degree over talking to Ally Ryan, when all she’d done was completely blow me off. Sometimes it sucked being best friends with a girl who had such serious opinions about everything. I turned around, grabbed Lacey Goodman by the wrist, and dragged her through the door into the theater room. When I glanced back, Shannen had frozen in her tracks, and as the door was closing, I saw Ally stop dancing and stare at me.

Mission accomplished.

“Hey, Jake. I didn’t even think you noticed I was here,” Lacey said, backing into the velvet-covered wall. Only the can lights over the screen were on, and I could barely see her in the dim glow.

“I noticed,” I said.

Even though I hadn’t really. When I went to kiss her she kissed me right back. No arguments, no ducking away. Easy.

I didn’t need Ally Ryan. I could have any girl, anytime. No strings. No guilt. No judging stares. And that was the way I liked it.

ally

On stage, David Drake was kinda hot. Well, not on stage really. It was more a cleared-out corner of Annie’s wood-paneled basement. But there was a spotlight on him and his band. And ten freshmen woo-woo girls screaming in his face. He was wearing a long-sleeved, gray waffle shirt under a black Doors T-shirt, distressed jeans, and a beanie cap, all of which worked for him. And he had the whole wide-stance guitar-playing thing down like nobody’s business.

“He’s awesome!” I shouted to Annie, who was bobbing her head in a noncommittal way to the beat. She was wearing a sleeveless, plaid wool dress with a lace top underneath and knee-high boots. Something no one else in the room could have pulled off but that looked perfect on her. It made my plain-old jeans and striped T-shirt look seriously blah in comparison.

“Not bad,” she said, lifting one shoulder.

Not bad was an understatement. Everyone loved the music, and the people-watching was a perfect distraction to keep me from obsessing about last night’s party. The one at Hammond’s. The one where none of my old friends had acknowledged my existence, David had gotten hazed, and Jake had ended up fooling around with some sophomore in the home theater.

Who was that girl? Was she his girlfriend or just some random hook-up? I glanced at Annie and thought about asking her. She, after all, knew all there was to know about the Cresties. She’d obviously know if Jake had a new girlfriend. But if I asked, she’d want to know why I cared, and that would open up a whole can of worms I did not want to deal with.

Someone stepped on my foot and muttered an apology, bringing me back to the now. My face burned even though no one here knew what I’d been thinking. So much for distraction. Controlled Chaos finished their song with a crash of drums and a peal from the guitar. Everyone in the packed basement cheered and whistled, lifting their cups.

“Whooo! Yeah, David!” I shouted, clapping my hands above my head.

“Thank you! We are Controlled Chaos!” David said into the microphone. Then he flung it on the ground, causing a loud wail of feedback, and loped out into the crowd. A few girls hugged him, and he slapped hands with some of his friends as he worked his way over to us.

“Hey, David! That was incredible!” I gushed.

He hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans, all casual. “Yeah. Thanks for coming.”

I blinked. This was not the excitable David I had come to know and was starting to like.

“Dude. Drop the rock-star act. You know you’re freaking out over all the groupies,” Annie said, shoving his shoulder.

David held his too-cool expression one second longer, then doubled over and snorted a laugh. “I know! Isn’t this insane?” he whispered to us. “That girl over there asked me to sign her bra!”

“Wow. Not bad for a first gig,” I joked as he leaned up against the wall next to me.

“Are you gonna do it?” Annie asked, taking a swig of her soda.

David’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? She’s in my youth group at church. I think that would buy me a ticket directly to hell.” I laughed, and David studied me with narrowed eyes. “I’m glad you came.”

“Are you surprised?” I asked.

“No,” he said quickly, glancing at Annie. “Well, yeah. I mean, we just weren’t sure you would. Since it’s a Norm party and all.”

My throat tightened, and I looked down at my cup for a second. For days I had actually gone back and forth over whether or not to come. I hadn’t been to a party on this side of town since I was in Brownies, and I’d been worried that Annie’s friends wouldn’t want me here. But so far, no one had given me a second glance. Unlike the two Crestie parties I’d attended where I’d been just about as welcome as the Orchard Hill police.

“Well, the Cresties don’t exactly want me around anymore—”

“Oh, so you’re just here by default,” Annie said, an edge to her joking tone.

“No! It’s not that. I’m just saying . . .”

I looked around at the couple of dozen people milling around the basement. A few girls had whipped out an old Mouse Trap board game and were attempting to put it together. A couple of guys in the corner were firing up the ancient Xbox on the even more ancient TV. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and I felt relaxed. The way you’re supposed to feel at a party. Even though my old friends probably would have either laughed or heaved if they could see what constituted a party on this side of town.

“I’m having fun,” I said finally. “This is way better than any Crestie thing I’ve been to.”

Annie grinned. “Way better.”

“Oh, but come on!” David said sarcastically. “They have bars and pools and bathrooms with two sinks!”

“Ah, but the company here is of a much higher quality,” I said with a smile. “Norms are far cooler than Cresties.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Annie said, raising her plastic cup.

“I would too, but I don’t have anything to drink,” David added.

Annie and I laughed and clicked our cups together. “So, Ally, since you’re such a Norm now, do you want to come over tomorrow and help me and David with the Fall Festival? I’m in serious need of volunteers.”

Annie had mentioned the Fall Fest before. It was a fund-raiser she organized every year to raise money for the underfunded arts programs at school. Apparently most of our extracurricular cash went to the athletic teams.

“You should totally come,” David said. “She promised me free pizza.”

“Oh, well, if there’s free pizza, I’m in,” I said.

“There’s the most beautiful girl in the room!” Logan Pincus, the burly, curly-haired drummer from David’s band, came loping over and threw his arms around Annie, lifting her off the ground in a sideways bear hug. She rolled her eyes, and her whole body stiffened. David pressed his lips together as if to keep from laughing.

“Logan? Remember our chat about personal space?” Annie said.

He replaced her on the ground. “Right. Sorry.”

Annie took a step back as Logan shoved his huge hands under his arms. “So? What do you think? We rocked, right? Didn’t we rock?”

“Come on, Annie. You’ve gotta admit we rocked,” David said, rubbing his hands together.

The two guys exchanged a conspiratorial look, and I got the distinct feeling there was something going on here that I didn’t know about.

“I don’t know. I think we should ask Ally,” Annie said, looking at me pleadingly. “Ally? Do you think they rocked?”

I stared back at her. Clearly there was a right answer to this question, but I had no idea what it was. The two guys watched me expectantly. What was I going to say? That they didn’t rock their first gig?

“Um, yeah. They totally rocked,” I said.

Annie groaned, leaning backward. David and Logan bounced up and down so boisterously the bookshelves along the walls started to shake.

“We’re going to the Harvest Ba-all!” Logan sang, grabbing Annie and dancing her around. “We’re going to the Harvest Ba-all!”

“Thanks a lot!” Annie said to me, her head lolling around as Logan manhandled her.

“What just happened?” I asked David with a laugh.

“Logan’s been asking Annie to every dance for the past two years, and she always says no, but last week they made a deal that if we rocked our first gig, she’d go with him,” David explained. “You just sealed it.”

“Oh. Oops.” I bit my lip and smiled an apology as Logan twirled Annie past us toward the far wall. The other party-goers scrambled out of their way to keep from getting their toes crushed. “Sorry, Annie!”

“You’re going to make this up to me!” she shouted back. “Tomorrow you’re on glitter duty!”

“Glitter duty?” I asked David.

“She loves to have glittery signs for the Harvest Fest but hates dealing with glitter,” he replied. He looped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “Aren’t you so glad we crashed your table on the first day of school?”

I rolled my eyes as he headed off to the bookshelf that was serving as a makeshift bar. Someone turned up the music, and a few of the freshmen girls started to dance with the other members of David’s band. As the party swelled around me, my heart fluttered with excitement. The truth was, I couldn’t have been happier that Annie and David had crashed my table that first day. And I was psyched that Annie had invited me over to hang out with her and David tomorrow. For the first time, I was starting to believe that I could make new friends in Orchard Hill. That I could have a life here.

A life that was Crestie free.

october

You guys! I think Jake Graydon is going to ask me to the Harvest Ball!

Why would you think that?

Well, you know, after Friday night . . . plus he totally

just smiled at me in the hall.

Well, I heard he already asked Lacey Goodman.

What? Lacey? Why?

She’s Lacey Goodman. Do you really have to ask?

Ew. Really?

No. Lacey’s going with Chris Harrington. I heard Jake was gonna ask Cori Ranger.

But Cori doesn’t even hook up!

She didn’t used to. Before she met Jake at

Josh Schwartz’s Saturday.

I think I’m gonna throw up.

Don’t worry. You still have a chance.

You think?

It’s Jake Graydon. Pretty soon he’s going to have

worked his way through the entire school and

he’ll have to make a second round.

jake

The door to my room opened and I dropped my Xbox controller and lifted my Physics text onto my lap. Then I saw it was Shannen and let the book slide to the floor.

“Nice try, Graydon, but even your mom would’ve caught that one,” she said.

“Everything okay?” I asked. Usually when Shannen came barreling into my room unannounced, it was because her dad was on a bender and she needed to escape. “Your dad?”

“Oh, he did the ‘come home and pass out’ thing tonight. I’m just bored.” She shoved her hands under my arms from behind to lift me up. “Come on. Hammond and the Idiot Twins are downstairs harassing your brother, and Chloe’s in the car.”

I shut off the TV. “The car?”

She shot me a wicked look over her shoulder. None of us had our licenses, but that never stopped Shannen when she had a plan. And when Shannen had a plan, it usually meant a good time.

I followed her down the stairs at a jog and into the kitchen, where Jonah sat at the counter trying to do his algebra homework. The Idiot Twins were sandwiching him between them, shouting numbers in his ears so he couldn’t concentrate, while Hammond stood across the room, throwing popcorn from our popcorn machine at all three of them. The popcorn machine was right next to our sundae bar. Mom had it all installed over the summer in an attempt to turn our house into party central. She loved it when my friends were around.

“Quit it,” Jonah complained, trying not to whine. He elbowed the twins on either side, but they clung to him as Hammond laughed.

“Dude. Not cool.” I grabbed the back of his polo shirt to drag him out of there. With my free hand I slapped Trevor on the back. “Let’s go.”

Hammond launched one more shot at Jonah, and Todd gave my brother a world-class noogie as we walked out. Still, Jonah somehow managed to snatch the popcorn out of the air and eat it.

“Nice,” I said to him.

He grinned in reply. “Quit letting those assholes into our house.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The side door opened before we could escape, and my mom walked in wearing her tennis whites. She’d been over at Chloe’s house playing against Mrs. Appleby. There was sweat on her chest below her diamond pendant, but her strawberry blond hair looked perfectly poofy as always.

“Hello, Shannen . . . boys,” she sang, swinging her racket. “Jake.” Her eyes flicked toward the door. “Where are you going?”

“Out,” I replied.

“Have you done your homework?” she asked.

“Yes,” I lied.

“Jake.” She already seemed exasperated. “We made a deal at the beginning of the year, remember? If you want to go to Fordham like your father, you have to get your grades up.”

“Mom,” I said through my teeth, “I swear.”

“We’re just going out for ice cream, Mrs. Graydon,” Shannen piped up. “Everyone’s gonna be there.”

I held back a smile. My mother was all about grades, but she was even more about looking like the cool mom in front of my friends, and Shannen knew it. It was totally lame, but I had used it to my advantage more than once.

“All right, all right,” my mother said. Suddenly it was no big deal. “Have fun. There’s always tomorrow for homework.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Let’s go.”

“Ice cream! Sweet! I didn’t know we were going for ice cream!” Todd cheered, jumping up and down with his hands on Hammond’s shoulders.

“Dude, take some Ritalin,” Hammond groused.

We all laughed as we piled through the double doors. Shannen’s mother’s Land Rover was in the driveway, and Chloe waved at us from the backseat.

“Nice work,” I said to Shannen, giving her a shove. “Way to play my mom.”

“Oh, please. If I hadn’t done it, you would,” she said, shoving me back. “Here, you guys. Help me get this in the truck.”

She bent at the waist and wrapped her arms around the legs of the lawn jockey that stood at the foot of the stairs. The twins clapped their hands in unison, rubbed them together, then crouched down without so much as a question.

“Um, why?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

She rolled her eyes up at me. “You hate this thing, don’t you?”

I did. It had been there when we moved in, and I’d always thought it was the ugliest thing ever, but my mother loved it. She thought it made us look wealthy or something. As if the eight-bedroom house with resort-style pool, full outdoor basketball court, completely stocked library, and gym didn’t cover that already.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“So help me get it in the car.”

Hammond and I shrugged. The thing was way heavier than it looked, and it was a struggle for all five of us to lift it over the rear bumper and into the trunk. We laid it down on its side and it stared out at me, holding its lantern like an accusing finger.

“Sorry, dude. I’m sure you’re going to a far better place,” I said. Shannen slammed the door and we got in the car.

“Where’re we going?” I asked.

“That’s for me and Chloe to know,” Shannen replied, her eyes sparkling.

As always. Chloe, who was sitting on Hammond’s lap, sighed.

“Wait. We’re not going for ice cream?” Trevor asked.

Todd slapped him on the back of the head.

“Where’s Faith?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder at Hammond.

“She’s working with her vocal coach,” Chloe answered. “But she made me promise we’d take pictures.”

“Pictures, huh? This is gonna be good,” Trevor said.

“You guys have no idea,” Shannen said, smiling at Chloe in the rearview.

I pushed the button on the automatic window, letting the cool fall air whip my face. Shannen accelerated down the hill at Harvest Lane and hooked a left toward town.

“Are we going to leave him in the park?” Hammond asked.

“Nope.”

Shannen zoomed past Van Houten Square at the center of the shopping area. A bunch of kids we knew were hanging around outside Jump, the local coffee place. They shot us quizzical looks when they saw Shannen behind the wheel.

“Are we going to the club?” Trevor asked.

“No.”

“The farm,” Hammond said. “Are we putting him in the pumpkin patch?”

“No. No way. Trevor’s scared of the pumpkin patch at night,” Todd said, leaning forward in his seat.

“The pumpkins have eyes,” Trevor said ominously.

“Don’t worry, you freak. We’re not going to the farm.”

“Oh! The new annex?” Todd said, bouncing up and down. He gripped the back of Shannen’s headrest with both hands. “Oh, dude! Are we sinking him to the bottom of the pool?”

The annex was this monstrous addition being built onto our school to house the new Olympic-size pool. The swim team had always used the country club’s indoor facility, but by this winter we were going to have our own pool in which to dominate the division. Just like we had last year.

Shannen tilted her head, like this was something she might consider. “No.”

“Oh, wait. I know where we’re going,” I said, feeling triumphant at having figured Shannen out. “We’re going to Coach Harrison’s house.” Shannen had been pissed at Coach Harrison ever since she quit her job at the high school to coach basketball at one of the state schools. Maybe it was redemption time.

“How does that make any sense?” Shannen asked.

“I guess it doesn’t,” I replied. But how did any of this make sense? Who would make sense as the recipient of my mom’s ugly-ass lawn jockey?

She slammed on the brakes at the stoplight at the bottom of the hill. An Orchard Hill police cruiser rolled past us, and I held my breath. The cop glanced up at Shannen and blinked, but he kept driving. The light turned green and we bucked forward.

“You’re really not going to tell us where—”

The words died in my mouth as Shannen turned right, the tires squealing, and raced past the sign for the Orchard View Condominiums. My question had just been answered. We were going to Ally Ryan’s house. A hard stone formed inside my gut. I looked over my shoulder at Hammond. He stared out the window, his nostrils flared.

“Welcome to the OVC, baby!” Trevor cackled.

“Shannen, what’re we doing?” I asked.

She squinted at the quaint street signs and made a sudden right, so late that she almost ran over the opposite curb. “It’s perfect. Mrs. Ryan bought this thing at an antiques auction for, like, a zillion dollars when we were in fourth grade. It was, like, her pride and joy. We’re just returning it to its rightful owner.”

No, you’re not. You’re taunting Ally. Reminding her that she no longer lives in the house she grew up in. That she no longer belongs. “I don’t know about this.”

“It’s just a prank,” Shannen said. “Why do you care? Do you like her or something?” She glanced over at me, flicking her bangs from her eyes like a challenge.

“No.” I stared straight ahead. “It’s just . . . isn’t this kind of, I don’t know, childish?”

“God. Lighten up,” Shannen said. “This is it.”

Shannen put the car in park, perpendicular to two other cars in their assigned spots, but kept the engine running. She jumped out and left the door yawning open as she popped the trunk. The Idiot Twins scrambled right out, already laughing under their breath. Jerks. I knew they liked Ally too, but they never said no to anything. Chloe hopped out of the backseat after them. She smoothed her skirt and opened the lens on her camera.

“Are you marys gonna help or what?” Shannen asked.

I looked back at Hammond again. Neither of us moved. I was surprised. This was the kind of jackassery he was normally totally up for. But then, so was I. And I hadn’t moved yet either.

“You can’t back out on us,” Shannen hissed. “We can’t move this thing on our own.”

“Shit,” Hammond said under his breath. He shoved his door open and got out. “Jake. Let’s go.”

I swallowed hard. I should just get out of the car and help them. If I didn’t, I’d never hear the end of it.

“What’s your problem?” Shannen asked, coming to my window. “What happened to Up the Stakes Jake? This is nothing compared with some of the crap we’ve pulled.”

The half-wits behind the car started to try to remove the ten-ton statue themselves. There was a bang and a tumble, and Todd let out a string of curses worthy of a New York cab driver stuck in traffic at the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Chloe shushed them and giggled. A flash popped.

I glanced up at the windows on the row of identical condos, wondering which was Ally’s. If she looked out right now, she would see this. All of us out here being juvenile delinquent losers.

“Jake? Hello? What’s the problem? You don’t even know the girl,” Shannen said. “What, she’s such an incredible backslapper you’ve developed some kind of soft spot for her?”

Sometimes every word out of Shannen’s mouth sounded like a judgment.

“No,” I said.

“Then let’s go already!” She yanked open my door and watched me expectantly.

Shannen was going to do this anyway, that much I knew. The best thing was to get it over with and get us all out of here as quickly as possible. Before Ally could see us. Before she could see I had anything to do with it. Before all her opinions of me could be confirmed.

“All right, all right,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

It took about thirty seconds of grunting and sweaty-handed shifting to deposit the lawn jockey on the small square of cement outside Ally’s front door. Right in front of the obviously new and obviously cheap welcome mat, which was decorated with happy strands of sunflowers. Next to it were two small pumpkins waiting to be carved. I felt like I was going to hurl.

“Remember how Ally’s dad used to have a whole truckload of pumpkins delivered to their house?” Chloe whispered. She was looking down at the pumpkins too, the camera hanging from a string around her wrist. She glanced at Shannen wistfully. “And we’d all come over to carve them the night before Halloween?”

Shannen rolled her eyes, but I could tell she wasn’t unaffected by the memory.

“Pumpkin gut fight!” Trevor and Todd shouted way too loudly.

“Dudes! Shut it!” Hammond whispered, which made them double over laughing.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Chloe asked.

Finally Do-the-Right-Thing Appleby had arrived.

“Chloe! Come on!” Shannen hissed. “This was practically your idea.”

“I just said I bet her mom misses the lawn jockey,” Chloe said, wide-eyed. “I didn’t mean we should bring it over here! I mean, look how sad it looks.”

We all stared down at the lawn jockey. It was so massive it took up almost the entire step. Suddenly a light flicked on overhead.

“Shit!” the Idiot Twins whispered in unison, and ran.

Chloe was right on their heels, carefully but quickly picking her way down the steps. Hammond, Shannen, and I froze.

“Let’s get out of here,” I hissed, my heart in my throat.

“Wait. There’s one more thing,” Shannen said. And she rang the doorbell.

“Dammit!”

Shannen laughed and sprinted for the car. Hammond launched himself face-first into the backseat. My gut stone was now choking all air supply as I fumbled with the handle and ducked inside. Shannen hit the gas and peeled out. Hammond kept repeating “shit, shit, shit” over and over and over again while Chloe hid her face in her hands and the Idiot Twins whooped and cheered. I told myself not to look back. That it was a huge mistake to look back. But I did anyway.

I looked back to find Ally Ryan’s stricken face staring after me.