My Life as the Ugly Stepsister (7 page)

The over-starched skirt was already itching me when Mom let me out of the car on the first day of school.

“Have a good day,” she called.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, looking around for my friends in the sea of green plaid.

“Ally,” MC called from behind me. “We’re over here!”

Thank God. I couldn’t begin to imagine facing high school without my best friends. If I moved to Seattle, that’s exactly what I’d be doing. “Hey guys,” I said, joining them near the flagpole in front of the dingy, old brick building.

“Listen, Ally,” MC said, motioning for me to lean in closer. “I’ve been thinking about your stepmother. Do you think she’s a lesbian?”

“No,” I answered honestly. “I think she’s just a freak.”

“Even if she were a lesbian,” Madison chimed in, “she wouldn’t hit on Ally and risk her husband finding out.”

“Okay, then, this plan only works if she’s not a lesbian,” MC said. “If you’re going to have to see her naked anyway, why not do something to make her look better.”

Huh? “Like what?”

“Like buy her a toning video, or some classes or something.”

“Eeww. I don’t care how toned she is! It’s major ick either way.”

MC shrugged. “Just trying to help.”

“Oh, oh!” Madison grabbed my arm. “I know. Give her the video anyway. To insult her. Now that you’ve seen her naked, it would be totally bitchy to do that. But what could she say?”

Now that was a plan I could embrace. To insult her. Call her old and flabby by giving her a workout video. What could she do to me? And even for a mega bitch like her, it would have to hurt. I grinned. “I would love that!”

“Really?” Madison acted shocked.

“You don’t think I can be obnoxious.”

MC snorted. “We know you can be! But not to an adult. Even your stepmonster.”

“We have to get it right after school, before you back out.” Madison clapped her hands. “This is going to be great!”

“Come on,” MC said. “We’ll be late.”

I followed them through the door of the school. We were supposed to go in the gym for homeroom assignments. We didn’t have our class schedules yet, so who knew if we’d be together at all. “Are your skirts making you itch?”

They answered a firm no, and I started to wonder if mine was infested with some kind of bug. Mom had washed it, hadn’t she? I’d be a big hit if I spent the first day of my freshmen year scratching myself. Hives would be even better. Or swarms of scary insects jumping off my skirt. Okay. I took a deep breath. No way was I giving Diane that video. I could barely cope with life now. A guilty conscience would do me in. Darn Catholic school!

I knew a few kids in my homeroom, but they had us sit in alphabetical order so it didn’t really matter. With my schedule in hand, I headed out to the hall. I popped my lock on my assigned locker outside homeroom. If only I had made plans to meet up with MC and Madison to compare schedules. We’d signed up for most of the same classes. Maybe we’d gotten lucky.

Geometry was my first class, which was good I guess because I’d be a little alert to do the math. I located the classroom and walked in with my fingers crossed. Well, mentally at least. I said hi to a couple of the brainy guys I knew from eighth grade. I grabbed three desks near the back, securing one with my purse and one with my backpack. I plunked my butt down in the third. Then, I waited. Several girls and guys came in who must’ve come from St. Luke.

My three least favorite girls from St. Catherine with the latest Coach bags, matching of course. And finally, MC and Madison. I held in my squeal.

They rushed back to me.

“This year is going to be awesome!” MC said with her typical optimism.

“New guys,” Madison whispered with a nod of her head.

She was right. Two cute guys had just walked in. Actually, they practically strutted with confidence. They must have been from St. Luke’s. I thought Jonathan was probably cuter though.

MC grinned. “Me like.”

I knew MC could get any guy she wanted. She just hadn’t wanted anyone at our old school. The youngest of four girls, MC was just a tiny bit spoiled and had years of training in the art of flirting. Her family wasn’t rich, but they adored MC. She had this sense of entitlement that I envied.

For now we had a mission. Find out who these guys were.

“After nine years of the same people, we finally have fresh…” Madison trailed off.

“Meat?” MC asked.

“Blood?” I offered.

“Boys,” Madison said with a big smile.

I relaxed in the old-fashioned wooden desk. Helping them stalk these guys would keep them from noticing my real crush. So far, they’d accepted my story that I didn’t care about Jonathan.

Overall the day went pretty well. I met a girl named Katelyn in my French class. She seemed pretty nice. I knew someone to sit with in all my other classes. I had four with Madison and three with MC. By the time school ended, they’d forgotten the insulting present for Diane.

Soccer tryouts were next week, and I hadn’t decided what to do yet.

Tonight I made my semi-permanent move to Dad’s. Mom was taking a flight out first thing in the morning. My nerves about the first day of school had kept my mind off my domestic issues. But as I walked to Mom’s car in the car pool lane, the doubts and fears crept back in.

How was I going to survive four months in the den of the naked stepmonster?

Three boxes and two large suitcases were crammed in the backseat of Mom’s car when she picked me up. “You loaded all my stuff?”

“I hope you don’t mind. I’ll stay at your father’s for a while and help you unpack,” she said pulling away from the curb.

“You don’t have to.”

She put her hand on my knee. “Yes, I do. You’ll know if I forgot anything. Plus, my flight isn’t until midnight.”

“Hey,” I said as I realized my dog wasn’t there. “Where’s Mojo?”

“He’s fine. I went ahead and dropped him off. I couldn’t fit everything in the car with him along.”

“He’s at Dad’s?”

“No. He’s at Jonathan’s. I made arrangements with his mother, and she put water and food out back for him. They’re keeping Buddy in until Jonathan gets home.”

I thought of Mojo all alone in a strange back yard and felt like I might throw up.

“He’ll be fine.” Mom patted my leg again. “Really. You’ll be there soon. He’s going to adjust to the situation. We all will.” She sounded kind of wistful as she said it. “I made sure they had all my contact info and Mojo’s vet records. I also put a copy in the box for you.”

How very paralegal of her.

When we pulled up at my dad’s, Diane opened the door and came out. “Make yourselves at home,” she called. “I’m going to run over to the school and get Caroline.”

I was glad to see she had clothes on, but her top had a plunging neckline that belonged in a nightclub and not a carpool lane. My mom had on a trendy black track suit with pink piping. Mom looked casual but sophisticated and very much like a mother. Her breasts wouldn’t tumble out while she helped me unpack.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mom said. “Did we hold you up?”

“Oh no,” she waved away Mom’s concern. “I’ll be back in about thirty minutes.”

I watched her climb in her car and back out of the driveway. “I think she was running away from you, Mom.”

“Good,” Mom said. “Uh, I mean, don’t be silly.” She gave a little fake laugh.

“Pretend you never said that?” I asked.

“Please.” She scooped up my laptop and a big suitcase and headed into the house.

Mojo must have heard us, because I heard whining and scratching on the nearby fence.

“Go ahead and check on him,” Mom called over her shoulder. “I’ll unload the car.”

“I’m coming Mo,” I said. I set down my backpack and purse and stepped into Jonathan’s yard to the gate.

I couldn’t see him behind the tall, cedar fence, but I was already smiling at his greeting. I opened the gate and slipped in. Mojo jumped up putting his front paws on my waist. He wasn’t supposed to do that, but I didn’t mind.

“Hey baby,” I said, leaning down to hug him. He kept wiggling around excitedly. “Do you like it here?”

In response, he ran to the gate and jumped up like he was ready to go.

Oops. “No, sweetie. You’re staying here.”

I guess I was totally wrapped up in comforting Mojo because I didn’t notice Jonathan until he was right beside me.

Jonathan had his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “He settling in?” he asked.

“Hard to say,” I answered, suddenly aware that I still had my uniform on. Oh, right. It didn’t matter anyway. He had a thing for Caroline. I could relax. He would never look at me that way.

Mom chose that moment to open the fence and peek in. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah, Mom. Just a minute.” I motioned to Jonathan. “Have you met Jonathan yet?”

“No. Nice to meet you,” my mother said, her big smile showing off her newly whitened teeth. “I’ll take another load up, but we need to get you settled. Then you can see to Mojo.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll throw a ball with him and Buddy while you do that,” Jonathan said. “Maybe it’ll distract him.”

I smiled at him. “Thanks. I guess I can’t do everything at once.”

“C’mon, Mojo,” he called. “Let’s play.” He started walking across the yard and Mojo followed before he noticed that I was slipping out the gate.

I heard him run after me with a bark of dismay. “Be right back, boy.”

When I got upstairs, Mom said, “You didn’t tell me he was cute!”

Darn her for noticing. “He is?” I tried to sound vague and detached. I don’t think I quite got there.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, Ally. You’ll have Caroline and then there’s a boy handy to drool over—”

“Mom! I don’t drool over boys.”

She shrugged as she folded one of my shirts. “Whatever you want to call it these days, girls will always have a thing for cute boys.”

“I don’t have a thing,” I stammered. “He seems nice enough, but he’s just watching my dog. Besides, he’s slobbering all over Caroline.”

Mom slid a pile of clothes into one of the dresser drawers. “He isn’t watching Caroline’s dog.”

“What? Was that some kind of marriage contract in the medieval village you grew up in? Watch the dog, marry the girl?”

Mom couldn’t help laughing. “Me thinks thou dost protest too much.”

I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not discussing this matter any further.”

With a grin, she straightened the clothes on the hangers. “I want you to be happy.”

“I know.” Then because she seemed to be getting melancholy again, I said, “He is a little bit cute.”

“I knew it!”

Mom had just pulled away when Diane drove up with Caroline. I wondered if maybe she had hidden down the street like Mom. Nah. Diane had no shame. Plus, Caroline would totally bust her.

Caroline ran through the door and gave me a quick hug. “I made the cheer squad!”

“That’s great!” I pushed the words out, trying for some enthusiasm. I had a lifelong problem with sounding excited. I don’t know why, but I freeze up when I know I’m supposed to gush. “I knew you could do it.”

Caroline seemed to think I did well enough. She dashed down the hall to her room. “I have four more phone calls to make. Then we’ll catch up.”

Her door closed, and Diane came in. “I thought she’d bounce right out of the car.”

“She’s pretty happy.”

Diane’s thin fish lips curved into a smile. Her eyes lit with pride. “She sure is.”

I guess Caroline never mentioned the part about wanting to stay in Atlanta. As I walked back to my room, I realized I had several weapons I could use to make Diane feel like crap. I wouldn’t use them, but it was nice to have options.

“I’m going to run next door and check on Mojo,” I told Diane after changing into shorts.

“Tell Jonathan hello for me,” she said in this teasing voice.

For a minute, I wondered if maybe she was trying to fix me up with Jonathan. Then I realized that she was actually just trying to make me think she was cool enough to kick my dog out as part of a matchmaking scheme. Pretty crafty, but I wasn’t buying it.

I opened the gate expecting to see Jonathan and the two dogs. Since I’d be over here a lot, I needed to get used to talking to him. I could talk to one average guy, right?

But the one guy had turned into three. Jonathan had two of his buds sitting with him on the porch. Mojo was soaking up the attention from the tall blond. I wasn’t ready to face three teenage guys. I wasn’t Caroline.

“Hey, Ally,” Jonathan called. He’d probably noticed me backing toward the gate. “C’mon over and meet Dave and Colin.”

I managed to get out a “Hey,” and the two guys answered with heys of their own.

Mojo left his new best friend and ran up to me. I leaned down to hug him.

“Your dog’s cool,” Dave said.

“Thanks.” Maybe this wouldn’t be so impossible after all. The guys weren’t the least bit uncomfortable having me there. They seemed very cocky.

“So, dude,” Colin said. “She’s here now, so can we hit the PS3?”

Jonathan turned to me and back to his friends.

“I’ll take over here,” I said. “I’ll make sure these guys,” I gestured to the dogs, “are okay.”

“Thanks,” Jonathan said with relief.

Was he relieved because he didn’t have to stall his friends any more or because he could ditch me?

They went inside and I picked up the discarded tennis ball. I threw it, and Buddy got there first. Instead of bringing it back to me, he ran in circles while Mojo chased him barking at the top of his lungs. They were having a blast, but my head was starting to pound. My dog was really causing a commotion.

I heard the sliding glass door behind me and thought Jonathan had returned. Instead, I found Ben slipping out the door.

“What are they doing?” he asked in his baby-like voice as he tugged at his Spiderman t-shirt. “They’re driving me crazy.”

I laughed at his pained expression. “I think they’re playing keep away.”

Buddy finally noticed Ben and ran over to greet him. Mojo took advantage of his distraction by stealing the ball. Buddy ran after him barking like Mojo had done.

“Ouch,” Ben said.