Parallel Parking (18 page)

“Yes,” she said.

“You’ve made me the happiest guy in school,” Sebastiano said. The sweet thing was, he meant it.

To:     mad4u

From: your daily horoscope

HERE IS TODAY’S HOROSCOPE: VIRGO: Things are looking up. Or, rather, you should be, because pianos are dropping out of the
sky today.

I
n spite of the peace, Mads felt guilty. She’d forced Holly into another breakup, right before a big dance. Sure, Holly was
happy to go to the dance with Sebastiano, but it wasn’t the same as having a real date—a real date with the cutest boy in
the whole school. If it hadn’t been for Mads and the kiss, Holly would have gone to the Hap with Sean. She might have dumped
him later, but she’d always have a special memory of that night.

On the other hand… now that Holly had broken up with Sean, he was free to ask another girl to the Hap. And Mads was primed
to be that girl. The way she figured it, she was first in line. He’d just kissed her, after all! And she knew he liked her;
she could feel it. So when would he ask her? What was taking him so long? Every night she lay in bed, wondering
When? When? When?
She couldn’t sleep. Her nerves were buzzing.

She’d have to do something about Stephen, of course, once Sean asked her. But until then, she decided to wait. Something told
her to be careful and play her cards close to her chest.

To speed things along, she tried to put herself in Sean’s path. After school she sat on a bench between the main school building
and the swim center, waiting for Sean to pass. The first day she tried this, he didn’t walk by. She’d missed him. The next
day she went a few minutes earlier. It worked. He was walking right toward her.
Now
.

She pretended to read her biology textbook. She looked up, timing it for when he was only a few steps away and most likely
to notice her. He did.

“Hey, kid,” he said. “How’s the driving going?”

“Great,” she said. “Ever since my lesson with you, driving’s been excellent. I’m taking the driver’s ed test again on Friday.
This time I think I’ll pass. And it’s only my third try.”

“Awesome,” he said. “And then you’ll get your license?”

“No,” she said. “I can’t get it until my birthday. In August.”

“Well, good luck in August,” he said, hoisting his backpack over one shoulder. “Later.”

“Bye,” she said.

He walked down the path. He looked back at her, caught her watching him, smiled, and waved. Then he went into the swim center.

That had been the perfect chance for him to ask her to the dance, and he didn’t take it. Mads gritted her teeth in frustration.
What was he waiting for? The Hap was next Friday—only a week and a half away. If she was going to go with Sean, she’d need
at least a little time to warn Stephen… .

The next day, she spent every free period hanging out in the hall near the senior lockers. She even ate her lunch there, sitting
on the floor, pretending to be studying.

“What are you doing?” Autumn sat down next to her.

“Nothing,” Mads said. “What are
you
doing?”

“Nothing,” Autumn said.

“You must be doing something. Your locker’s not on this hall.”

“
You
must be doing something, too, then,” Autumn said. “Your locker’s not on this hall, either.”

“I’m studying for a Spanish test,” Mads said.

“We have a Spanish test?”

“Well, next week,” Mads said. “I’m getting a head start.”

“I know what you’re really doing,” Autumn said. “Here he comes.”

Sean sauntered down the hall. He stopped and touched the top of Mads’ head. She happened to be sitting right in front of his
locker. She wished Autumn would go away. What if he was too shy to ask her to the Hap in front of another girl? Though shyness
wasn’t usually a problem for him.

“Hi, Sean,” Autumn said.

“Hi, Sean,” Mads said.

“Hi, girls.” Sean smiled down at them. He twirled the dial on his combination lock, hinting that he needed to get inside.

“Oh, am I in your way?” Mads asked. “Move over, Autumn.”

“You move.”

“You both need to move,” Sean said.

Mads pushed Autumn, and they slid down a few lockers so Sean could open his. He put some books in and
took some books out. He grabbed a couple of pens. Then he slammed his locker shut.

He turned toward the girls. Mads tensed up. Was this the moment? Was he going to ask her now?

“Bye, girls,” he said. Then he left.

Mads drooped. Another opportunity lost.

“That was thrilling,” Autumn said.

Mads looked at her. “Why are you here, really?”

“I like to watch the seniors,” Autumn said. “See if I can pick up any good gossip or fashion tips.” She stared after Sean
as he turned a corner. “And an occasional Sean sighting doesn’t hurt. Kind of perks up my day.”

“I know what you mean,” Mads said.

“Did you hear he asked Natasha Brearly to the Hap?” Autumn said.

Mads heart stopped. “No! How do you know?”

“It’s the kind of thing you hear when you hang out in the senior hall,” Autumn said. “That’s why I do it.”

Mads let the bad news sink in. Natasha Brearly? That witch! Why would he ask
her?
Why not Mads? Why? Why? Why?

What about that beautiful afternoon in the car? The driving lesson? The kiss? Did it all mean nothing to him?

That was impossible. It was the highlight of her life.
It had to have meant a lot to him, too. It
had
to.

Wait. Maybe it wasn’t true. “But Natasha has a boyfriend!” Mads said.

“I know,” Autumn said. “She dumped him to go to the dance with Sean. Who wouldn’t?”

Who wouldn’t? Holly wouldn’t. But Mads would. And she was an idiot.

“Are you okay, Mads?” Autumn asked. “You look kind of gray. Maybe you’d better go to the nurse’s office.”

Mads closed her eyes. She felt dizzy. But she knew she wasn’t sick. Not in the physical sense. “I’m okay,” she said.

She didn’t feel okay. She felt crushed, and ashamed of herself, and exhausted.

She’d been willing to sacrifice everything for Sean: her friendship with Holly, Stephen….
How could he ask Natasha Brearly?

“You’re turning kind of whitish now,” Autumn said. “It really looks bad.”

Mads clutched her stomach. There was that pain in her gut again. Worse than ever.

So he’d kissed her. He kissed lots of girls. She shouldn’t have taken it so seriously. She saw that now.

I’m the stupidest, worst person on the face of the Earth
, she thought.

“If you’re sure you’re okay, I’m out of here,” Autumn said.

Mads hardly heard her. The pain in her gut subsided. Her strength was slowly returning.

Thank god I made up with Holly
, she thought.
Thank god I didn’t lose her
.

But what about Stephen? What should she do about him?

She’d been all set to dump him for Sean. It was as if she’d already cheated on him. Would this come between them now, this
roller coaster ride with Sean?

Stephen would probably never know about it. But Mads would. Would it settle in the air between them, like an odorless poisonous
gas? Undetectable, no color, no smell—but deadly all the same?

To:     linaonme

From: your daily horoscope

HERE IS TODAY’S HOROSCOPE: CANCER: You haven’t been paying enough attention to your boyfriend. He told me to tell you that.

W
ho’s kicking me?” Holly said.

Lina and Mads sat across the lunch table from Holly on Friday afternoon. Lina was nervously jiggling her leg.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It must be me.” She held her leg down with one hand to keep it still.

“Ow! Someone is still kicking me,” Holly said.

“Sorry,” Mads said. “I jiggle my legs when I get nervous.”

“So do I,” Lina said.

“Well, both of you, stop,” Holly said. “What are you so nervous about?”

“My driver’s ed test,” Mads said.

“Ramona,” Lina said.

“Mads, you’ve got to relax,” Holly said. “You tighten up when you’re tense. That’s when you make mistakes.”

“But how can I relax?” Mads said. “My entire life depends on this test!”

“That’s not true,” Holly said. “It’s only driver’s ed. I got through it. Lina got through it. We all get through it.”

“I wore my new biker boots for luck,” Mads said. She lifted one foot to show off her black boots. “And to help me feel cool.
Sean said there’s no point in driving if you don’t look cool.”

Holly shook her head. “That is so Sean. It’s all about the look.”

“You’ll pass this time, Mads,” Lina said. “I can feel it.” She started jiggling a leg again.

“And what about you?” Holly asked. “What’s with Ramona?”

“She’s asking Rex to the Hap,” Lina said. “Right now. I’m waiting for her to come in and tell me what he says.”

“Why does that make you nervous?” Mads asked.

“I’m worried what she’ll do if he says no,” Lina said.
“I’m the one who convinced her to ask him. What if she takes out her misery on me? She’ll be impossible to be around. And
we’re lab partners.”

“Here she comes,” Holly said.

Ramona sat down at the table. Her expression was grim, but that wasn’t unusual for her.

“Well?” Lina said. “Did you ask him?”

“Uh-huh,” Ramona said.

“And what did he say?”

“He said no.”

“Oh, no,” Lina said. Some self-protective instinct made her shield her face.

“Put your hands down, I’m not going to hurt you,” Ramona said. “He said no at first.”

Lina let her hands drop. “Yeah?”

“But I wasn’t about to let him get away with that,” Ramona said. “So I said, ‘Listen, Bub, you’re going to the dance with
me, one way or another. Which way will it be? We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way. I’m kind of partial
to the hard way myself.’”

“You said that?” Mads said.

“What’s the hard way?” Holly asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Ramona said.

“So then what did he say?” Lina asked.

“He said yes,” Ramona said. “He said, ‘Yes, Ramona. I
hear you, and I will obey.’”

“He said that?” Mads said.

“Then he kissed my hand,” Ramona said. She held out her hand and touched the spot where he’d kissed it. “I think he likes
being bossed around.”

“He’s perfect for you,” Holly said.

“You live in a weird universe, Ramona,” Mads said.

“No, I don’t,” Ramona said.

“Yes,” Lina said. “You do.”

QUIZ: WHO’S THE BOSS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

Circle the answers that are true for you.

1. It’s Friday night. You want to go to a concert. Your honey wants to go to a basketball game. You:
   

   a
   flip for it.
   

   b
   compromise: You’ll go to the game if you get your way next time.
   

   c
   go your separate ways.
   

   d
   threaten to break up with him if you don’t get your way.
   

   e
   do as you’re told.
   

2. Your honey is wearing an ugly shirt. You:
   

   a
   tell him never to wear it in your presence again.
   

   b
   let it pass.
   

   c
   give him a new one that you like better
   .
   

3. If someone loves you, he or she should make pleasing you his/her first priority.
   

   True
   False
   

4. Your parents:
   

   a
   always let you have your way.
   

   b
   never let you do what you want.
   

   c
   sometimes let you have your way.
   

5. Your position in the family is:
   

   a
   oldest or only child
   

   b
   middle child
   

   c
   youngest child