Don't Bet On Love (5 page)

Gary was absent the next afternoon because he had an appointment to be fitted for new contacts. After a week of playing fai
r
y godmother
,
I thought I would be ready for a break, but oddly enough I sort of missed him. During algebra class I decided to take the opportunity to have a few words with Colette myself on Gary’s behalf. When the bell rang, I waited for her, and we left the room together.

“
What do you think of Mr. Mitchell?
”
I asked as we walked down the hall, referring to our algebra teacher.

“
I try not to think of him at all,
”
Colette replied with a grimace.
“
I’m terrible at algebra. If I didn’t need the math credit, I wouldn't be taking this stupid class.
”

“
I know the feeling,
”
I said, a little surprised to f
ind that I had something in com
mon with the divine Colette Carroll.
“
But if you ever need a tutor, I know a guy who’s really good.
”

“
Oh, really?
”
Colette asked, looking inter
ested.
“
Who?
”

“
Gary Hadley,
”
I said casually.

Colette’s delicately arched eyebrows drew together in a puzzled frown.
“
Who?
”

“
Gary Hadley,
”
I repeated.
“
He’s in your history class.
”

Colette's brow cleared.
“
Oh, now I know who you mean! The tall, gawky guy with the dorky glasses.
”
She gave a short laugh.
“
I'll keep him in mind, if I ever get
really
desperate!
”

As I watched her make her way down the hall, a sudden surge of anger flooded through me. Of course, she hadn’t said anything about Gary that I hadn't said myself. But somehow it was different now. At that moment I wished I
could
turn Gary into a real dreamboat, just to show Colette what she was missing!

Gary was back in school the following morning, this time without his glasses. I saw him in the hall, but he walked right past me without
speaking. I guessed he had some
thing on his mind—or, rather, some
body
. Colette Carroll, most likely.

“
Gary?
”
I
called after him.

He turned quickly at the sound of my voice, and tho
se gorgeous eyes, still so unex
pected, hit me with their full force.
“
Oh, hi, Molly,
”
he said.
“
I didn’t see you.
”

“
So, how was your visit to the doctor?
”

“
Okay,
”
he answered, falling into step beside me.
“
Did anything interesting happen while I was out?
”

I
dec
ided not to mention my brief en
counter with Colette.
“
Are you kidding? Does anything interesting ever happen around here?
”

“
Last night I had a brilliant idea,
”
Gary an
nounced.
“
Since I missed history yesterday, I could ask Colette if I can borrow her notes! Think that’ll work?
”

“
I don’t see why not,
”
I said without enthusiasm.

He smiled dreamily.
“
I’ll bet even her handwriting is beautiful!
”

I was getting pretty sick of hearing about how perfect Colette Carroll was, and I was sorely tempted to tell Gary a thing or two about his precious Colette. But I bit back the nasty remark on the tip of my tongue. It would only hurt his feelings if he knew what she’d said. Besides, he was bound to find out sooner or later that
she had absolutely no interest i
n him whatsoever.

“
That’s what I’ll do,
”
Gary said decisively as we started down the stairs.
“
I’ll go right up
to her before class starts and—
aaaggghhh
!
”

I watched in horror and several kids shrieked a
s Gary lost his balance and tum
bled headlong down the stairs, his books flying in all directions.

“
Gary!
”
I cried, hurrying down the stairs to where he lay in a tangled heap at the bottom. Dropping to my knees beside him, I asked,
“
Gary, are you all right?
”

“
Well, I’ve been better,
”
he said, cautiously sitting upright on the bottom step.

“
What happened?
”

“
I kind of missed the first step. I guess I didn't see it.
”

“
Didn’t see it?
”
I echoed indignantly.
“
But you just got new contacts! Where did that doctor of yours get his degree? Mail-order med school?
”

“
I'm not wearing my contacts,
”
Gary an
swered, rubbing the back of his head.
“
They won't be available for two more weeks.
”

I stared at him.
“
You mean you've been running around school half blind? How have you managed?
”

“
Not too great,
”
he confessed.
“
Once I al
most went into the girls' rest room by mistake, and then I got chewed out for not paying attention in class when I couldn’t see what was written on the blackboard.
”

“
But if you can’t see any better than that, why on earth didn’t you just wear your glasses?
”

“
Well, you said they were ugly, and you seemed to think it was so important to make a big impression on Colette, and—
”

“
Oh, you’ll make a big impression on her when you show up at school in a body cast!
”
I said sharply.
“
What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?
”

I guess
I came down pretty hard on him—
too hard, maybe. But as long as I was scolding Gary, I didn’t have to analyze the feeling of sheer terror that had come over me when I saw him fall, or my overwhelming sense of relief when I knew he hadn't been hurt.

“
I thought I was doing the right thing,
”
Gary mumbled.
“
Guess I was wrong.
”

I had started to gather his scattered books, but something about the tone of Gary's voice made me turn back. With his disheveled hair and long-lashed brown eyes he looked so much like a sorrowful little boy that all my anger melted away.

“
Just take it easy, okay?
”
I said, smiling
“
You don’t want to break a leg this close to prom night. How would you dance with Colette?
”

“
Dance?
”
Gary looked horrified.
“
Do you mean I’ll have to
dance
?
”

“
That’s what people usually do at a prom you know,
”
I pointed out.

“
Well, yeah, but I don’t know how,
”
he confessed.
“
I thought maybe we could just
sit on the sidelines and watch.”

“
If you try that with Colette, you’ll find yourself sitting alone while she dances with everybody else.
”
I said firmly.
“
Look, since you don’t know how to dance, I’ll teach you. Come over to my house Saturday morning at about eleven, okay? There's nothing to
it,
I promise. You’ll be surprised at how easy it
i
s.
”

“
I
have a feeling
you'll
be the one who’s surprised
”
—
Gary
sighed—
“
but if you say so, I guess I’ll be there.
”

He rose stiffly to his feet, and I frowned, noticing the way he winced.
“
Are you sure you’re okay?
”

“
I’m positive,
”
he said, taking the books I held out to him.
“
Come on. I’ll walk you to class so you can see for yourself that I’m still in one piece.
”

“
But shouldn’t you go home and get your glasses?
”

“
I’ve got them right here.
”
He reached into his shirt pocke
t, pulled out his glasses, and i
nspected them for damage.
“
How about that?
”
he remarked, grinning at me as he pushed them up on the bridge of his nose.
“
These things really
are
unbreakable!
”

“
Do you mean to tell me that after watching Gary Hadley trip over his own two feet and tumble down a flight of stairs, you volunteered to teach him to
dance
?
”
Jan asked incredulously when I reported the episode to her and Beth at lunch.
“
Don't you think that sounds a little dangerous?
”

“
Not really,
”
I
answered.
“
Not as long as he wears his glasses, anyway.
”

“
Then you think Colette might actually go to the prom with him?
”
Beth asked eagerly.

I shook my head.
“
Not a chance.
”

“
Then why bother with the dancing lessons?
”
Jan put in.

I hesitated for a moment before answering. I’d been asking myself the same question for the past two hours. Finally I said,
“
I can’t tell Gary he’s wasting his time on Colette, especially when he’s risking life and limb just to get her to notice him. It would break his heart.
”

“
I don’t know, Molly,
”
Beth said, frowning.
“
It might be best to level with him right away. How do you know you’re not setting him up for a bigger disappointment later on?
”

“
I've thought about that,
”
I replied.
“
But I
promised
Gary
I'd help him. I can't go back on my word no matter how hopeless it seems. Besides, I feel kind of responsible for
him.
”

Jan spoke up.
“
Can I tell you what I think?
”
I h
ad to smile at her question. No
body had ever been able to stop Jan from speaking her mind before.
“
I think you’re taking the whole thing too personally, Molly.
Gary
’s seventeen years old—he’s not a little kid. He’s certainly old enough to take care of himself. In my opinion, you ought to be thinking about getting yourself a date for the prom instead of playing cupid for Gary Hadley.
”

Beth and Jan left the cafeteria fifteen minutes later, leaving me to finish my lunch alone. As always, Jan had made a strong case for her point of view. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was getting too personally involved.
That would explain why I’d over
reacted, first to Colette's remarks about Gary and then to Gary’s fall. As for my own dateless state, I couldn’t have cared less.

Gazing across the cafeteria, I saw Colette at her usual table, presiding over a group of the school’s
“
beautiful people.
”
She looked
chic and lovely and totally oblivious of the fact that a s
weet, clumsy boy had nearly bro
ken his neck in a misguided effort to impress her. I had to admit that Beth was right, too. There was a big difference between building Gary’s confidence and raising false hopes.

Lost in thought, I didn’t even notice when Eddie and Steve sat down on either side of me until Steve spoke.

“
Scouting her out
,
huh, Molly?
”
he asked.
“
How’s our man doing, anyway?
”

“
Well, he’s improving,
”
I said slowly.
“
Of course, that's not saying much—there was plenty of room for improvement. There still is, for that matter.
”

“
So Mark isn't counting his money yet?
”
Eddie asked, grinning broadly.

I shook my head.
“
No. I w
ouldn't count mine, either, if I
were you. But I’d say the odds are definitely in your favor.
”

Steve chuckled.
“
I tried to warn him, but you know what Mark’s like once he gets an idea into his head.
”

“
Yeah, I know,
”
I said, dismissing Mark with a shrug.
“
But listen, guys,
I’ve been thinking. Let's assume that you two win the bet and Mark pays up. Then what?
”

They both looked completely blank.

“
What do you mean?
”
Steve asked.

“
What happens to Gary?
”
I asked ear
nestly.
“
He's really crazy about Colette—you know that. If she turns him down, he could really be hurt.
How about calling off this stu
pid bet?
”

“
No way!
”
Eddie said.
“
You'
re thinking like a girl,
Molly.
”

“
Yeah,
Molly,
”
Steve added.
“
Gary's tougher than that. Guys j
ust aren't that sensitive about that sort of thing.
”

“
Well, I guess you know him better than I do,
”
I said. But I wasn't at all sure they did.