How To Be A Perfect Girl (27 page)

Val stifled a yawn; all the first meetings
were starting to bleed together. She was sure that next Jessie
would talk about what the club did, and so instead she searched the
crowd for familiar faces.

She locked eyes with Derrick, who gave a
small smile and nod of acknowledgement. Val made her way over to
the dark-haired boy and waited until Jessie finished speaking
before striking up a conversation with him. “Hey Derrick.”

“Val,” the senior tipped his head
politely.

A few seconds of silence
passed; Val looked around the room, and saw no more familiar faces.
She looked back at Derrick, a thought occurring to her:
he might know how Porter really feels about
me,
she realized,
and he could at least explain what was going on in Flag
Football.
“So why is Porter mad at me?”
Val blurted out.

Derrick grimaced and scratched his neck, “I
wouldn’t say he’s mad at you, Val. He just—doesn’t know how to
handle you.”

“What do you mean? I’m pretty sure he is mad
at me,” she pressed, “He was ignoring me all during gym, and
normally he’s like really nice to me.”

“Oh, he was?” Derrick frowned, “Well, maybe
he thinks by ignoring you he can convince Avery that nothing
actually happened between you, and get back with her. She broke up
with him, you know.”

“I heard. But why would he want to get back
with her, and why would he think how he acts in gym would affect
that? Avery’s not even in that class.”

“Yeah, but Avery has her ear to the ground,
you know? She hears all the rumors at this school—mostly cause she
starts most of them—so I have no doubt her friends are watching you
and Porter closely, to see if you act like two people who’ve hooked
up.”

Jessie approached the pair, “Good to see you
again, Derrick. Thanks for offering to bring pizza—I just didn’t
feel this was the right time for it, but we’ll definitely take you
up on that sometime. And you,” he turned to Val, flashing a smile,
“I haven’t seen you before. You look like a freshman.”

Val nodded, “That’s cause I am.”

“I knew it!” Jessie nudged Derrick in the
ribs, “Jailbait, eh? She looks so much like Avery back in freshman
year, before she became a colossal—well, before she got so
conceited.” Val flushed; she tried not to let her displeasure at
the comparison show.

“I wouldn’t say she looks like Avery used
to,” Derrick replied, “She hasn’t got the same predatory look.
Avery always looked wolfish to me—“

Jessie nodded, “Yeah,
you’ve got a point. Plus,
she”
he gestured to Val, “is more—developed than Avery
was.”

“Excuse me?” Val let her
shock show on her face;
Why is everyone at
this school so forward?

Jessie laughed, “You heard me. Anyways, I’m
Jessie. And you are—?” he didn’t wait for Val’s response,
“Nevermind, from now on you’re Jailbait.”

“Jailbait?” Val asked; Derrick shook his
head, but too late.

“Yeah, a young girl who hangs around older
guys and entices them to do—statutory things. Poor Derrick here,
I’m sure you’re causing him no end of distress.”

“You’re not,” Derrick shrugged. “She’s just
my friend,” he explained to Jessie.

“Oh—Well whose idea was that?”

“No one’s idea; it just sort of
happened.”

“Ah. Well, we can’t all be as smooth as your
friend Porter, eh Derrick? You know, I heard he got a freshman
to—hang on, cover your ears Jailbait—“ Val snorted and walked away
before he could finish his sentence; “Hey, come back Jailbait!” she
heard him call after her.

Even though she didn’t feel like a soda, Val
headed to the line of two-liters on a table placed against a side
wall of the room.

“Well hello,” a strange voice said behind
her; Val didn’t turn to greet the stranger.

“I swear to God, if you’re gonna hit on me,
or make fun of me or something, just don’t.” She huffed with
frustration, “Actually, I was just leaving anyway,” she turned
around and bumped into Logan.

“Whoa, that’s quite the greeting,” Alex’s
friend said, “I voted for you for class President, you know.”

Val sighed, “Sorry, I’ve just been having a
rough day.”

“Apparently,” Logan laughed, “I hope you
didn’t mean you were leaving the club—I know it seems like a nerd
fest, but FBLA looks really good on college applications.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted to join.”

“Then don’t leave quite so soon,” Logan
smiled awkwardly, “You’re the only person I know here.”

“Really?” that surprised Val. She’d thought
everyone at Palm Lake knew everyone else; either through family
connections, like Alex, or through years of going to the same
school, like Derrick.

“Really,” Logan admitted, “I was going to
meet some new people, but I always get scared at these types of
events.”

At least he’s
honest,
Val thought. “Well let’s meet some
new people then.” She grabbed him by the arm and walked up to a
group of younger-looking girls. When the girls were less than
welcoming, Val left the group, and led the way to a smaller group
in the corner.

“Hi guys,” Val greeted, “I’m Val, and this
is Logan.”

A couple of them tipped their cups in
greeting. “Nice to meet you,” one said. They struck up a halting
conversation about the weather, which Val didn’t really participate
in; she checked her phone every few seconds, trying to decide
whether it would be appropriate to leave the club twenty minutes
early.

Val felt a light tap on her upper back; “Hey
again,” Jessie said, “I wanted to apologize for how I came off.
Derrick explained why you walked off—I didn’t mean to make you feel
uncomfortable. I just wanted you to feel at home here.”

Val raised an eyebrow, “And you thought the
best way to do that was by nicknaming me Jailbait and spreading the
rumor about me and Porter?”

Jessie shrugged sheepishly, “I was trying to
be funny. But I’ll admit, it was in poor taste, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Val sighed, “I just don’t get why
everyone is like that to me.”

“Like what?” Jessie seemed genuinely
confused.

“Doing things like calling me jailbait and
making sexual jokes.”

Jessie laughed, “Isn’t the answer obvious?
It’s because you just look and act so innocent, which makes it fun
to mess with you.”

Val snorted, “I’m not innocent.”

“Uh huh,” Jessie smiled dubiously, “So
you’ve slept with—how many guys, exactly?”

“Three,” Val lied.

“And what were their names?”

“Um—I dunno.”

Jessie laughed, “So you’ve only slept with
three guys, but you can’t remember any of their names?”

“I—well, ok, maybe I didn’t really sleep
with three guys.”

“Awh, that’s so cute.”

“What is?”

“You, trying to pretend you have more
experience than you do. If anything, I bet you’re a virgin,” Jessie
smirked.

Color filled Val’s cheeks, “Maybe, maybe
not. It’s not your business.” She checked her phone to avoid
looking at him. Fortunately, whether because he sensed her
discomfort or was getting bored of their conversation, Jessie
clapped Logan on the back; “Hey buddy,” he said, “Are you a
freshman too?”

Logan turned from his conversation with the
four students in the corner. “Yeah.”

“Cool, cool. So you’ve met Val, then?”

“Yeah,” Logan smiled at Val, “We’re actually
friends.”

“Nice. Are you one of the three guys?” Val
shot an angry look Jessie’s way; he noticed and grinned widely.

“No, um—what?”

“Nothing, nothing. So what are you looking
for in this club?”

Val couldn’t hold her tongue, “So you’re
just gonna have a normal conversation with him? No ridiculously
personal questions?”

“Hold on a sec,” Jessie said to Logan; to
Val, he said, “Yes. My new friend Logan and I are having a serious
discussion about his future with FBLA.”

“Why don’t I get a serious
conversation about
my
future with FBLA?” Val asked.

Jessie let out an exasperated sigh,
“Alright, what are you looking to accomplish during your tenure at
FBLA, Jailbait?”

“You said you would stop using that
nickname!” Val complained.

“Actually, I didn’t. Besides, if you’re
gonna insist that I talk to you about mundane topics, I’m gonna
call you Jailbait, because heaven knows I’ve had enough boring
conversations today.”

“Fine, then I’m going. I have to get ready
for soccer practice anyway.”

Jessie rubbed his temples, “Look, it’s just
a funny nickname. I don’t mean anything by it. Don’t get so
uptight.”

“I really do have to go to soccer practice,”
Val replied, “I guess I might come back next week, though.”

“Guess you might?” Jessie laughed, “That’s
pretty noncommittal. What if I promised to memorize your real name,
and only call you by that? And I won’t make any sexual jokes; I
know it’s unprofessional of me, even though I might let one slip
every now and then.”

“Honestly, why do you care if I come?”

“Cause I think you could be a good addition
to the club. Like I said, Derrick told me a lot about you; you’re
the kind of person who would excel at FBLA. And you could probably
get other freshmen to join too.”

Val cocked her head confusedly, “Why does
that matter?”

“One freshman’s not enough—no offense,
Logan. Look around; this club’s mostly juniors and seniors. If we
don’t start recruiting better, in a few years FBLA at Palm Lake
will be finished. And I have a feeling you could convince people to
join.”

“So you want me to be a—like a
recruiter?”

Jessie nodded, “Exactly. If you get some
more freshmen to join, I’ll set you up with a leadership role.”

“I thought we voted on those.”

“Not every club is run like Student Gov.
Here, the President makes suggestions for who he wants for certain
positions, and unless someone comes forth with a legitimate reason
why the nominee can’t fulfil the duties of the post, it goes to
that person.” Jessie shrugged, “It’s not exactly democratic, but it
does free up a lot of our time to focus on more important
things.”

“Fine,” Val said, “I’ll
think about your offer.
If
you can stop with the joking and Jailbait
nickname.”

“Deal. Alright, negotiation over—go to your
soccer practice.”

“Thank you,” Val wanted to say goodbye to
Derrick before leaving, but he was engaged in a loud conversation
with Selin from soccer; Val satisfied herself with a wave, and then
left for soccer practice.

Val was worried about what
Avery’s retaliation would be for the events with Porter; she waited
all practice for the older girl to do or say something, but Avery
ignored her just as Porter had during gym. It was surprising; after
the confrontation yesterday, Val had expected Avery to do
everything she could to make life miserable, but Avery seemed
content to act as if she didn’t exist.
Maybe having her and Porter ignore me isn’t a bad
thing,
Val reasoned,
At least it makes my life simpler.

But Avery obviously hadn’t forgotten or
forgiven Val; “I’m going to destroy you,” she whispered as the team
was changing after practice.

“Huh?” Val turned around. Avery didn’t
repeat the words or explain herself; she just stood there with the
most innocent smile Val had ever seen.

Chapter 18

“I’ve decided not to give you a quiz at the
end of this week,” Miss Andrews announced, “Instead, I will add the
questions that would have been on it to your first test.”

Val was not the only one who visibly sighed
at the news; to her right, Miro poked her in the ribs. “Good luck
on that test, though. ‘If I had a purple-based painting and I
wanted to make it brighter, then what advice would Vincent Van Gogh
have given?’” Both he and Val laughed.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this test
is not something to be taken lightly,” Miss Andrews warned, “I’ve
had students get F’s and D’s before.”

Val raised her hand; when the teacher nodded
in her direction, she took it as permission to speak, “So, if
everyone does really bad, will there be a curve?”

Miss Andrews shook her head, “My dear, you
do not want me to start curving tests, because if I curve up then I
must also curve down, no? To use your hypothetical, if you all
decide you want a curve, and everyone does well, then I would be
forced to take points off everyone’s tests to bring the scale back
to normal.”

Miro laughed, “But what are the odds of
everyone doing well?” he asked loud enough for their teacher to
hear.

“That is—hmm, a fair
point. Very well, I will give the decision to you. Who wants me to
curve the test?” Val, Miro, and the majority of the students raised
their hands; Sophia kept hers down, and Val understood why.
She probably won’t even need a curve.

“Hmm, it would appear we will have a curve
on this test,” Miss Andrews nodded to herself, “A most interesting
decision.” She swept to the front of the classroom; Val groaned
inwardly, readying herself for another boring lesson. Instead,
their teacher announced that they would be working on their first
piece for their portfolios—peach-colored folders that they’d made
the first day of class but hadn’t touched since—and that the period
was to be spent sketching ideas for designs that would later be
recreated in ink.

“I think I’m gonna do an arm—nothing else,
just a floating arm,” Miro joked.

“Yeah, that would be a great way to get an
A. Good luck explaining that,” Val laughed as she imagined Miro
explaining such a drawing to their uptight teacher, “I think you’d
be lucky if Miss Andrews didn’t throw you out of class.”