All Pepped Up (Pepper Jones) (16 page)

“What the?
” Picking up my pace, I run toward the van.

Sure enough, my spikes are sitting on the hood. With a sign in front of
them that says “slut.” How original.

I hear the girls murmuring behind me.

“Who do you think would do this?” Claire asks. “Everyone likes you.”

“Not everyone,” I say through clenched teeth. This is petty and ridiculous but it’s getting its intended effect. I’m angry. Hurt. Annoyed. Embarrassed. And definitely on edge about what’s coming next.

“It was Dorothy!” Zoe exclaims. “I knew it! She’s always been jealous of you, Pepper. And did you know the tennis team is here today? She totally took those photos of you and Ryan in the fall and was hoping to have an opportunity to use them.”

Zoe is pacing and throwing her arms in the air.

“What a schemer!” she exclaims.

“We should do something to get
back at her,” Jenny says with a nod.

“I’m kind of hoping if I just ignore her it will go away,” I tell them.

“Fat chance,” Zoe says with a huff. She snags the sign off the hood and rips it up before throwing it in a nearby trash can.

I grab my spikes a
nd carry them while we jog back to the track.

“You really aren’t going to do anything about this?” Zoe asks.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.
Let’s come up with a prank. It’ll be fun!”

“You don’t really want to go there, do you? Stoop to her level? Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s doing this under Madeline Brescoll’s direction.”

“Madeline Brescoll? Why?” Claire asks.

“Madeline wants Jace,” Zoe explains.

“Even I know to avoid messing with Madeline Brescoll,” Jenny says. “Half of the freshman girls idolize her and half are terrified of her.”

“She doesn’t even go to our school,” Claire reflects. “Who cares about her?”

“The Barbies care,” I tell them. “They were anticipating something like this, and they seemed almost excited about it. They want to shut her down. Show her they’re more powerful or something.”

“You should tell them about your spikes,” Zoe says. “That will help fire them up. Don’t want nobody messing with our Brockton High
Phenomenon.” She nudges me in the ribs.

“Don’t call me that,” I say moodily. “And I’m not telling them. Let’s keep it on the DL.”

“DL?” Claire asks.

“Down low,” Jenny
says, indulging our nerdy friend with an explanation.

As we near the track, I
spot Lisa and Andrea walking away from the tennis courts and toward the locker room doors. This might be my only opportunity to talk to Lisa about the photos.

“I need to talk to Lisa about something
, guys, I’ll be back in a few.” More drama is the last thing I need right now, but I need to do this for Ryan.

I reach the girls as they open the door to the high school.

“Hey, um, Lisa, I was hoping I could talk to you. Do you have a couple of minutes?”

Lisa crosses her arm
s. “What do you want to talk about?”

Andrea saves me from responding. “We just finished our matches so we’re hanging out waiting on the rest of the games. You two go chat,” she says with a wave of her hand.

“Why don’t you come with?” Lisa asks her.

Andrea raises her eyebrows in question to me.

I shrug. “Sure.” It might be good to have a third person there.

As we make our way to a bench in the empty hallway, I turn to Lisa. “I just wanted to explain to you that those photos are from months ago.”

“That’s what Ryan said too. But some of the photos look recent, Pepper. Care to explain that?”

I hadn’t spent much time looking at them.

Andrea takes out her phone and hands it to Lisa. “Here, show her why you think so.”

We sit down on the bench and I end up sandwiched between them, the photo of Ryan and me kissing in our running clothes shoved in front of me.

“See? You guys are wearing hats and are covered in snow. We didn’t get snow like that in the fall.”

Frowning, I try to remember when this happened. Ryan and I weren’t exactly kissing in public all the time, and this must have been after one of the practices in December, when everyone else was done with their season and we were training for Nationals together. Because it was early December, most fall sports were over and we could get away with a kiss by the locker
rooms without an audience.

“It was in December,” I explain to Lisa. “Our season went later than everyone
else’s because of Nationals. We had some snow one afternoon.”

I glance at her and she seems to accept my answer. She scrolls to the next one. Ryan and I are lying on the grass, and my head is on his chest. “See that Spanish book opened next to Ryan? He
just started taking Spanish this semester.”

Suppressing my smile, I tell her, “I take Spanish. That’s my book.”

She scrolls through a couple more photos, pointing out the length of his haircut or an outfit as evidence that the photo was taken more recently. Eventually, she gives up.

“Okay, now I feel stupid,” she says with a laugh. “I’ll stop now.”

I sigh with relief, happy that someone else’s relationship isn’t going to get messed up because of me.

“Sorry I’ve been such a bitch to you, Pepper,” Lisa says quietly. “It’s just, I’ve like
d Ryan since he moved here and, well, he picked you first. Which sucked.”

“That’s okay. I mean, I get why you didn’t want to like me. You haven’t been mean or anything.”

Andrea giggles at that.

“What? She hasn’t. Just not super nice, that’s all. Whoever sent these photos is mean. Big difference.”

“Don’t worry,” Andrea says. “If they want to play this game, we’ll play. Kayla’s already got some ideas up her sleeves.”

“What do you mean? You know who did this?” I ask.

Andrea gives me a doubtful look. “Come on, there aren’t many people obsessed enough to get these photos, save them, and use them. Dorothy Sandoval has been scheming to be friends with us since junior high. Who knows what she originally had planned when she took these photos? But I can’t think of anyone else weird enough to do it.”

“What about Madeline?” I ask.

“She’s the reason Dorothy sent them. Dorothy must have given up on being our friend since we’re graduating soon, and figured she’d try to get in with Madeline’s group instead,” Lisa says.

“They’re just using her
,” Andrea adds.

“I’m sure she knows that. She seems to be enjoying herself, though,” I say bitterly, remembering the
smirk she gave me earlier today.

“We’ll deal with her,”
Andrea says as we make our way back outside.

“Well, it’s Pepper this was aimed at. Maybe Pepper wants to be involved,” Lisa says.

“No, I really don’t.” I’m thankful to have the opportunity to make that clear. Still, I’m not about to get on my high horse and try to talk them out of retaliating. I have a feeling it won’t do any good anyway.

After
the meet, Zoe drives us over to Brockton Public to catch the tail end of a home baseball game. I see Jim sitting with his girlfriend Sheila on one side and Annie and Helen on the other, so we grab an empty row in the bleachers behind them and between innings I introduce them to my friends.

With a hot dog in one hand and a
Coke in the other, I’m able to relax and momentarily forget about the attack that’s been launched against me by Madeline and Dorothy.

Jace
glances my way when he steps up to the plate and I can’t help grinning like a fool. The dirt-streaked uniform emphasizes his athletic build. He looks intimidating as he grips the bat, and it contrasts with the soft, knowing smile he gives me. I’m filled with a rush of adoration for this boy, who loves me unconditionally.

It
doesn’t come as a surprise that he’s the star of the game. I feel a distinct sense of pride when he hits a grand slam.

Jace is in a great mood after the game. It’s strange watching him with Annie and Jim. He
looks happy, and they are both so proud of him. I hate the ugly tug of emotion in my gut. It’s not jealousy, because I’m happy for Jace. But it hurts. I guess it’s always comforted me that my best friend shared a loss like me. Now he has a complete family. Even a brother.

The dark feelings quickly evaporate when he picks me up and swing
s me around. His good mood is contagious.

“Let’s get you home to shower.
I’m cooking you dinner tonight,” he announces.

“Oh?” Jace can cook breakfast, but I’ve never seen him cook dinner. “Let me guess. Breakfast for dinner?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he says before kissing me and setting me down.

“Are you saying I stink? Maybe I want to come over now and I don’t want a shower.”

“You always smell good, Pep. I swear, it’s like an ocean smell or something.” He nestles his head in my neck and inhales.

“You know, you said that once before, but you were kind of messed up at the time.” It was back in the fall when he’d been rolling
on ecstasy and Wes had convinced me he needed an intervention. I’m so glad he didn’t continue down that path. That time feels very long ago.

It’s almost three hours
later when I finally make it to Jace’s. Gran talked me into getting a pedicure with her, and Jace said he still had to run to the grocery store anyway.

I
walk down the street to his place with a couple of movies and a puzzle. I’ve got on my favorite pair of yoga pants, a cotton tee shirt, and flip flops. Jace and I have had many nights like this over the years, but it’s so much better now that he’s my boyfriend. I love the intimacies we can share now – like cuddling during a movie, or a kiss to celebrate finding the right puzzle piece.

Jace’s house is dark when I open the front door and kick off my flip flops.

“Jace?” I call out.

Frowning, I sta
rt to walk up the stairs toward the kitchen. I nearly tumble back down when the lights switch on and a dozen familiar voices shout, “SURPRISE!”

Loud music blares and confetti fills the air around me. I’m still clutching my chest and trying to breathe when
Jace picks me up for a kiss. “It’s an early birthday party.” I turn seventeen in a few days.

I can’t stop
smiling as I take in the streamers and decorations. “You did all this?”

“I had some help,” he tells me. Looking at those familiar green eyes, I can’t help the wetness filling my
own.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Jace wipes the
tears away.

I sniff. “I don’t know why I’m crying. They’re happy tears.” I laugh when I hear Katy Perry. “Nice tunes, Jace. Was Zoe in charge of
the music?”

He smiles sheepishly. “Well, I know how much you like your girly music.”

“Stop stealing the birthday girl, Jace!” Zoe pulls me in for a hug and hands me a glass of champagne.

Wesley is the next to lift me in a bear hug before I’m passed around like a teddy bear.

All my buddies are here – Jenny, Claire, Rollie, Charlie and Omar. Jace’s friends, who I guess are also my friends now, greet me with hugs too – Remy, Connor, Ben, and even Ryan. The Barbies are dolled up, as usual, but my lack of appropriate attire doesn’t faze me. Lisa must have come around at the last minute, after our conversation this afternoon.

It’s awesome to have everyone together like this. They have me and Jace in common, and without other people around, it’s easy to ignore the social classifications that normally divide us.

As the night goes on, I’m impressed with the excellent selection of music. Jace proudly admits to his friends that he is responsible for the mix that includes all of my favorites – Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga. The guys give him a hard time, but it only makes the girls crush on him harder. One girl in particular. I am so crazy about him.

Jace lied about cooking, but he ordered plenty of pizza and I’m not complaining. Claire even baked a cake. I couldn’t have asked for a better
seventeenth birthday party.

Jace is attentive, but less possessive than he is at the bigger parties. He knows I know everyone here, and that I’m comfortable. It’s nice not to worry about the likes of Madeline Brescoll showing up, or to deal with people I don’t know constantly seeking Jace’s attention.

I’m really able to let my guard down.

There’s an awkward moment when Zoe lets it slip that she calls Kayla, Andrea and L
isa the Barbies, but she manages to smooth it over. Zoe explains that they are just so beautiful and since they’re all blonde, it’s a fitting title. Only Zoe can turn an insult into a compliment. And now she’s bonding with her new friends, her arms slung around Andrea’s and Kayla’s shoulders as they sway back and forth singing “Here’s my number, so call me maybe,” at the top of their lungs.