How To Be A Perfect Girl (12 page)

“No need. You’re my gf after all. Does
Chinese sound good?”

Val frowned; Chinese for lunch definitely
didn’t sound good, but she didn’t want to seem picky. “Sure,” she
texted back.

“Great! A and I will be there in a few.” It
was obvious ‘A’ meant Alex. Val groaned; she’d been hoping to hang
out with Keenan, and only Keenan. She was starting to feel like she
was really dating the pair of them; at any rate, they had yet to go
on a date he wasn’t a part of.

The doorbell rang. Val rose from the chair
she’d settled into, and reached the door as Keenan rang the bell
again; she opened it, “Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good,” Keenan smiled. He held up
plastic bag, “We brought the food.”

“Good,” Val pointed toward the kitchen, “I
was thinking we could just eat in there.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll go set this down.”
Keenan headed to the kitchen; Alex followed him in.

“Is Daddy home?” Alex asked. Val shook her
head. “Awesome! We can do whatever we want then!”

“Uh, I guess—“ Val didn’t know what Alex was
planning.

Alex nodded as Val closed the door behind
him and they made their way to where Keenan was opening the boxes
of Chinese food, “By the way, you look beautiful.” He looked her up
and down to emphasize the statement.

Val blushed, “Thank you. Keenan didn’t
notice.” She tried to make it sound like a joke.

Keenan looked up from a medium-sized box of
chow mein, “Oh, yeah. Sorry. You look great.”

“Doesn’t she?” Alex batted his eyelashes at
Val, laughing, “I think she looks—edible.”

Val giggled, “Edible? You want to eat me?
What are you, a cannibal?”

“You know what I meant,” Alex winked at her,
“I only want to eat certain parts of you.” He paused for a moment
while Val processed the joke. “Like your brains,” he finished; they
all laughed.

“Oh, so you’re a zombie. So much better.”
Val showed Alex and Keenan where the plates and utensils were, and
they each helped themselves to some of the food.

“How’s your Sunday been?” Keenan asked,
“Alex and I spent the whole morning trying to come up with viable
excuses for getting out of classes at a moment’s notice.”

“It was—“Val searched for the right word,
“—it was strange. I went to church, and had to play tag. And Dylan
was there—“ Val remembered the question she wanted to ask Alex,
“—by the way, what happened last year?”

“Why were you crying when we picked you up?”
Alex echoed his friend’s question-for-a-question from earlier that
week.

Val sighed; there was no point in hiding it.
“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine,” she said.

“Deal,” the boys both leaned forward,
expecting a good story.

“My best friend for a decade dumped me,” Val
admitted; it seemed like such a small thing when summarized that
way, but she figured that was the best way to phrase it.

“No way!” Keenan looked genuinely concerned,
“Why?”

“Because of—this,” Val gestured to the house
around them.

“Because of your house?”

“Well, not just the house. She said that it
was like, cause I was always luckier than her. Like I don’t even
think it was anything I did.” Even thinking about last Wednesday
was bringing tears to her eyes, “Your turn.”

Keenan turned to Alex, who shrugged before
replying. “I got someone kicked out of the school.”

“But—why would that frighten Dylan?” Val
asked.

“Because it was his best friend who Alex got
kicked out,” Keenan answered, “That’s probably why he was giving
you shit. He knows you’re friends with Alex.”

“Hold on,” Val was confused, “How would he
know that?”

“Palm Lake’s not exactly a huge school. I’m
sure he saw you two talking at some point and made the
connection—it might not even be that, though. Could be he likes
you, and making fun of you is his screwed up way of showing
it.”

Val coughed; she hated the whole ‘he hit
you, so he must like you’ idea. It was a philosophy her parents
espoused, even though she’d never bought into it; abuse just wasn’t
an acceptable way of showing affection in her mind. “How’d you get
Dylan’s friend kicked out?” she asked.

“Oh, well that’s a long story. Let’s just
say that Miro was involved,” Alex replied mischievously. “Look
guys, I actually have to go. You two will be alright without
me?”

Yes!
Val schooled her initial response, “Oh, that’s too bad. But
yeah, I think we’ll survive without a chaperone.” Keenan nodded,
giving his friend a good-natured shove towards the door.

“Text me when you’re ready to go,” Alex
called as he opened the front door, “And don’t forget to tell your
girlfriend how beautiful she is!”

“I won’t!” Keenan called back; he turned to
Val, “You do look amazing, you know.”

“Thank you,” Val looked at her plate, “And
thanks for lunch, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You wanna go--?” Val let the sentence trail
off while she thought of something to suggest, “You wanna go down
to my basement and watch a movie? We have Netflix.”

“Sure,” Keenan smiled, “I’m game for
anything, as long as I’m doing it with you.”

“Awh,” Val blushed, “That’s a great
line.”

“It’s not just a line. I really mean
it.”

“Well in that case—“ Val leaned closer, “I’m
gonna make you put on one of my dresses and go to the mall.”

Keenan’s eyes widened in alarm, “What?”

Val chortled as she cleared their plates
from the table, “Just kidding.”

“Thank God. You had me worried for a second
there.”

“I just wanted to see what your reaction
would be,” Val winked. “Come on; let’s go find something to
watch.”

“Sounds good to me,” Keenan replied as Val
took his hand. She led the way to the main room of her family’s
basement, where a fifty-inch tv stood in pride of place. A
lava-colored couch sat twenty-five feet away; the perfect viewing
distance, according to Dad.

“So, what do you wanna watch?” Val asked as
they plopped down on the sofa.

“I don’t know.” Keenan smiled, “Are there
any new comedies out?”

“Not that I know of,” Val flicked through
the queue, “Oh, hey! The Breakfast Club!”

“The Breakfast Club? Is that a comedy?”

“No, it’s—have you never seen it?”

Keenan shook his head, “Nope. It looks
old.”

“It’s not that old,” Val defended, “Plus
it’s like the best movie ever made. Ok, it’s settled; that’s what
we’re watching.” She selected the movie and started it.

“So what’s this about?” Keenan asked as he
snaked an arm over Valentina’s shoulder.

“You’ll see,” she snuggled up against
him.

An hour and a half later, the movie
finished. Val sniffled; she reached a hand up to wipe her eyes.

“Are you crying?” Keenan seemed genuinely
concerned.

“Yeah,” Val admitted, “It’s just so—“

“So—what? It’s a happy ending; they all
understand each other now.”

“I know,” Val looked up at Keenan, “But
nothing’s really changed. I dunno, it just seems kind of sad.”

Keenan smiled, “I think we need to cheer you
up. How about some ice cream?”

“We don’t have any. We do have frozen yogurt
though.”

“Just as good. You wanna get it or do you
want me to?”

“I’ll get it,” Val left her spot on the
couch, “Do you want cookies and cream or strawberry?”

“Cookies and cream, please.”

“Ok, I’ll go get it,” Val started up the
stairs.

“Hey Val,” she stopped. Keenan grinned,
“Would it be wrong to say I like the way your butt looks in those
jeans?”

“Yes,” Val stuck her tongue out at him, “But
I’ll take it as a compliment.” She continued up the stairs. The
frozen yogurt was in their kitchen fridge, in a drawer kept at just
above freezing, so it was always soft. She spooned out a bowl’s
worth of cookies and cream, and grabbed a couple of spoons before
replacing the frozen yogurt and heading back to the basement.

Keenan had started playing with the pool
table; it had its own room in Val’s basement even though her family
never used it. The doors and walls were made of glass, making it
feel like part of the living room, even though technically it
wasn’t. Val opened the door and set the bowl on one corner.

“Hey!” Keenan stood up, pointing his pool
cue at Val like a poker, “How can I sink the eight ball when your
frozen yogurt’s in the way?”

“Our frozen yogurt,” Val corrected, “And
you’re not supposed to sink the eight ball until all the others are
in.” She laughed.

“Oh. Well—“ Keenan shrugged, “I was just
passing time anyway.”

“You wanna play a game?” Val asked.

“Sure. I haven’t played pool since I was a
little kid.”

“Me either,” Val smiled. “So first, I need
to find somewhere for this to go,” she looked around for a place to
set the bowl; there was nowhere in the room for it to sit that
wouldn’t interfere with their game. She settled for an empty space
on the television’s entertainment stand.

“Alright, so do you know how to set it up?”
Val asked, returning to the pool room.

“Kinda,” Keenan frowned, “I use this thing,
right?” he pointed to the plastic triangle on the wall.

Val laughed, “Yes. Here, let me do it.” She
grabbed the triangle and maneuvered the balls to the correct side
of the table. “You wanna break?”

“Ladies first.”

Val grinned, “Alright then.” She replaced
the triangle and retrieved a pool cue. “Fair warning, I’m horrible
at this.”

Keenan won the first game, when Val
accidentally hit the eight ball into one of the pockets. They
played another, and another; the sun was starting to set and Val’s
stomach growled.

“Do you wanna get some dinner?” Keenan
asked, “I should probably get home soon, but I could stay for like
another half hour if you wanted me to.”

Val put away her pool cue and picked up the
completely melted bowl of frozen yogurt on their way up the stairs;
they’d forgotten about it in the midst of their pool playing.
“That’s alright,” she said, “I’ll probably just have some leftovers
or something. If you want to go home—“ They stopped in the front
entryway.

Keenan nodded, “Ok, I’ll check with Alex to
see if he can give me a ride.” He sent a text.

Val sighed, “I can’t wait till get our own
licenses—and cars.”

Keenan’s phone vibrated; he pulled it out.
“I know,” he said as he typed a response.

“So—“ Val stared at the hallway floor
awkwardly. She felt like Keenan was more involved in his text
conversation than in the conversation with her.

“Yeah?”

Val looked up at Keenan, “Is Alex going to
be able to pick you up?”

Keenan’s phone buzzed again; he checked it.
“Yeah. He says he should be here in fifteen. What do you want to do
until then?”

Val smiled; she could think of a perfect way
to spend the fifteen minutes. She just had to plant the idea in
Keenan’s mind too. Val wrapped his arms around his neck and batted
her eyelashes, “I had a great time today. Thanks for coming
over.”

Keenan didn’t seem to get the hint, “Of
course. Any time.”

Maybe I need to be more
forward
, “You know, we haven’t had our
first kiss yet. And I mean like, I don’t even know if we can call
ourselves a couple until we do that.” Val laughed in an attempt to
break the mounting tension.

“Oh,” Keenan locked eyes with Val. “So do
you want to--?”

“Only if you do.” Val was
almost frustrated by Keenan’s reticence;
do
I have to initiate this myself?
She
wondered. Before she could worry too much, Keenan leaned in and
pecked her on the lips. He pulled away quickly.

“You call that a kiss?” Val meant it as a
joke, but as she said it she realized it sounded more like an
accusation. She bridged the gap between them and gave him a kiss of
her own; as she pressed her lips against his and explored Keenan’s
mouth with her tongue, he gradually returned the gesture. They
maintained the kiss for what felt like a blissful lifetime, until
Alex’s cough from the doorway alerted them to his presence.

“Well aren’t you two quite the happy
couple!” he joked, “I take it Keenan took my advice then?’

“What advice was that?” Keenan asked; he
slipped an arm around Val’s waist. It felt nice, like he was
protecting her somehow.

“To tell her how beautiful she is,” Alex
winked, “It’s a trick that works every time.”

“Trick?” Val frowned indignantly, “You were
tricking me?”

“No,” Keenan assured, “No. I meant what I
said, and I’d never try to trick you.”

“Well then,” Val returned his peck from
earlier, “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!” Keenan
gave her one last squeeze before leaving with Alex. Val thought
Alex looked almost uncomfortable to see them displaying their
affection before him;
maybe I’m reading too
much into nothing.

Chapter 10

Val’s Geography teacher passed back their
first quiz of the year second period—Val had earned a
ninety-percent. She wanted to go over the answers she’d gotten
wrong during homeroom, but Dylan and his friends seemed to take
pleasure in making it as difficult as possible.

“Tisk tisk, only a ninety percent? That’s
what you get for being so nosy; should’ve paid more attention to
your teacher.”

“Go away, Dylan.”

Dylan took a seat on top of the desk in
front of Val, facing her. “I don’t think I will. What, you don’t
wanna talk now? Why not?”

“Because I’m studying,” Val fixed the
black-haired boy with her most withering glare.

“It’s obviously not doing you much good. A
minus—might as well be a C, right guys?” Dylan’s friends
nodded.

“Right,” Val tried to return to her
geography terms.