Teen Idol (23 page)

The second thing I’d abolish? The Spring Fling.

"I don’t get why it’s a big secret, though," Luke said.

I gave up the pretense. He knew. I was just going to have to deal.

"Oh." I shrugged. "That’s easy. Because if people knew who Ask Annie was, they wouldn’t necessarily trust her to be neutral."

"And you think that’s what you are?" Luke asked. "Neutral?"

Was he kidding? Did he not know that I was—or used to be, anyway—the most neutral person on the planet?

He had to be kidding.

He wasn’t kidding.

"Because I haven’t noticed you acting too neutral lately," he went on. "I mean, that thing with Cara—"

"She needed my help," I interrupted. I mean, this should have been obvious to him.

"And the Troubadours thing?"

"Troubadours wasn’t for me," I said. Duh.

"And Betty Ann? When you ruined the senior prank? How neutral was that?"

"Oh, well, that—"

And then I dropped my arms from around his neck and took a step backward so I could look at him . . .
really
look at him.

"Hey," I said. "How’d you know about Betty Ann?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Did Steve tell you?"

"Not Steve," Luke said. "But, like I said, I have my sources."

Around us, the music had stopped. Dr. Lewis and Juicy Lucy, who were—unfortunately—our chaperones for the evening, mounted the dais at the end of the room. Dr. Lewis tapped on the microphone in front of the dais.

"Testing," he said, and blew on it. "Testing. One. Two. Three."

"Let me ask you a question," Luke said, reaching out to take my hand. "And I don’t want neutrality. I want Ask Annie, who is about as neutral as nitroglycerin. I really want to know what you think about this."

"Um, hello, everyone, and welcome to Clayton High School’s annual Spring Fling," Dr. Lewis read into the microphone from an index card.

"Shoot," I said to Luke.

"Okay," Luke said. "Let’s say there was this guy. And he happened to be in love with this girl—"

"I don’t want to keep you all from the party," Dr. Lewis said. "So let’s get right down to it. The votes have been tallied for this year’s Spring Fling king and queen."

"—and let’s say that for some reason—never mind what that reason is—the girl decided to break up with him," Luke went on. "How long do you think he’d have to wait before he could move on to . . . someone else? And not, you know, risk being accused of being on the rebound?"

"I don’t know," I said. What was Luke talking about?
Who
was Luke talking about? Who had been dumped by a girl lately? No one I knew.

Then suddenly, my hands—including the one Luke was holding—began to sweat. Geri Lynn, I saw, had noticed us. She waved gaily. Scott was most definitely
not
with her. He might have been somewhere else in the room . . . but he wasn’t with Geri.

Was
that
who Luke was talking about? Scott, I mean? Scott had recently been dumped. . . .

That had to be who he was talking about. Scott. Scott Bennett. Scott had asked Luke to ask me how long he’d have to wait before he could ask out the mystery girl, the one he liked. Of course he had! He certainly couldn’t ask Annie. Not without my knowing it was him. So he’d had Luke do it for him.

"As you know," Dr. Lewis droned into the microphone, "there was a table set up in the cafeteria all week, where you could write in your votes for Spring Fling king and queen. Well, those votes have been tallied, and I’m happy to say, we have our winners?"

"Not winners," Juicy Lucy interrupted hastily. "Everyone here is a winner. Dr. Lewis meant to say we have our Spring Fling king and queen."

"Yes," Dr. Lewis said. "Yes, that’s what I meant. And the king and queen of the Clayton High School Spring Fling are . . . Oh, dear. Well, this is a bit unusual. One of the, er, members of the royal party isn’t exactly . . . I mean, doesn’t exactly go to Clayton High. . . ."

"I think," I said to Luke, even as Geri Lynn was making a beeline for us. "I think he should wait. I think he should wait a really,
really
long time. Because, you know, he wouldn’t want to rush into anything. The right girl might be right around the corner, you know. Maybe even closer than he thinks. And he should wait until he’s
totally sure
he’s found her. . . ."

"That’s what I was hoping you’d say," Luke said.

And then he dropped my hand, turned around, and scooped Geri Lynn up in his arms.

"Hi ya, babe," he said to her.

And kissed her.

On the lips.

And didn’t stop kissing her, even after Dr. Lewis said into the microphone, "Oh, what the hay. I’d be proud to call him an honorary Clayton Rooster. This year’s Clayton High Spring Fling king and queen are . . .
Luke Striker and Jenny Greenley
!"

Ask Annie

Ask Annie your most complex interpersonal relationship questions.

Go on, we dare you!

All letters to Annie are subject to publication in the Clayton High School
Register
.

Names and e-mail addresses of correspondents guaranteed confidential.

Dear Annie,

I love him. He doesn’t know I’m alive. What do I do now
?

Desperate

Dear Desperate,

When you find out, will you let me know
?

Because I haven’t the foggiest idea
.

Annie

"I
t’s just
. . .",
Luke
said, as we shared our spotlight dance—a requisite part, it turned out, of our coronation ceremony—"I was so sure after Angelique left me that I’d never love again. And then I met Geri Lynn, and . . . I don’t know. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything. I swear it. It happened gradually."

Right. Gradually, over a period of less than two weeks—most of which he’d spent in Los Angeles.

"I know we’re completely different," he went on—probably the first Spring Fling king in the history of Clayton High to spend his entire dance with the queen talking instead of making out, like a normal guy—"I mean, she wants to be a
reporter
. And you know how I hate the stalkarazzi. But some of the things she said in that essay—you know, the pro-con one Scott had us write?—got me thinking. She’s not like other girls, you know. She’s not afraid to speak her mind."

Wasn’t
that
the truth.

"There may be some truth to the fact that we celebrities need the media. And of course they need us. It’s a symbiotic relationship I’d never given much thought to before. But Geri
made
me think about it," Luke explained. "That’s what I like so much about her. She makes me think, you know? When she gave me her number, that day at the car wash, I wasn’t going to call her. But then . . . I don’t know. I thought I’d been a little rough on you that day at the condo. You know, about the whole special sauce thing. So I phoned Geri and asked her to look out for you . . . just to give me a call if she thought you were getting in over your head with the reporters or whatever. I figured if anyone would know whether they were being too rough with you, it was her. I started calling her a couple times a day, just to touch base about you . . . and pretty soon, you know, we went from talking about you . . . to talking about her . . . to talking about me and her. . . .Well, you know how it goes."

Oh, I
definitely
know how it goes. Geri Lynn is a total expert at snagging boys out from under my nose.

No. That wasn’t fair. I’d never wanted Luke.

And I was happy for him. I really was. For him and for Geri Lynn. They made a nice couple. He was totally gorgeous, and so was Geri. He was only a year older than she was, after all. And she was heading off for college in L.A., where Luke happened to live.

True, Geri was going to major in journalism, and Luke didn’t happen to be all that fond of journalists. But Geri didn’t seem all that fond of "theater types." So maybe they were even.

Whatever. What did they need
my
blessing for?

"It’s just that you’re so incredible," Luke droned on, the fake jewels in his oversize Spring Fling king crown winking in the spotlight. "Really, really incredible, Jen. What you did, in just a week, at that school . . . it’s unbelievable. Geri thinks you should run for student body president next year. I couldn’t agree more."

"I don’t know," I said. "I’m not all that interested in politics."

"Well, get interested," Luke said. "Because you’re a natural. At least promise me you’ll think about it."

"Yeah," I said, mostly to get him off my back. "Okay, I’ll think about it. Listen. About the Ask Annie thing. Did you really just figure that one out? Or did Geri find out somehow—" Um, because Scott, her boyfriend, told her, for instance? "—and tell you?"

"Figured it out myself," Luke said. "And don’t worry. I won’t tell her. Just like I’m not going to tell her about the other thing."

"What other thing?" I asked him, not for one iota of a second expecting him to say what he did next, which was:

"You know. That you’re in love with her ex."

It was a good thing our spotlight dance ended just then, or everyone at the Clayton High School Spring Fling might have gotten a real good look at my tonsils. Because I’m pretty sure that’s how wide my mouth fell open at the words
in love with her ex
.

"I am not," I stood there and blathered like an idiot. "I most certainly am not. . . in love . . . with . . . Scott Bennett."

"Why don’t you take your own advice, Jen?" Luke asked me, as we were joined on the dance floor by dozens of other couples. "Why don’t you let him know how you feel?"

"Th-that was my advice for
you
," I stammered. "I mean, for Scott. I mean . . . Oh, I don’t know
what
I mean."

"Well," Luke said, as Geri Lynn suddenly appeared, beaming, at his side "I don’t know what you mean, either. But I do know one thing."

"What’s that?" I asked him.

"There’s a limo waiting outside that will take you anywhere you want to go."

"Huh," I said, because that information was of absolutely no use to me whatsoever. "Thanks."

And then he drifted off to sign a few autographs for some people who simply couldn’t help themselves and came up with their Spring Fling programs, begging.

"Look, are you really okay about this?" Geri asked me, as soon as he was gone. "I mean, about Luke and me?"

"Oh God, yes," I said, meaning it. "I told you, we’re just friends."

"You’re the best, Jen," Geri said, giving my hand a squeeze. "None of this would have happened without you. I’m just so happy! I can’t thank you enough. Like Luke said, you really are special."

Yeah. I was special all right. That’s why my date for the Spring Fling had walked out on me.

I told Geri I was happy for her (again) and drifted back to our table, where Steve was giving Trina a foot rub. Apparently it’s possible to get blisters on Spring Fling night even if your new shoes happen to be sneakers.

"Geri Lynn is such a skank," were the cheerful words with which I was greeted by Trina. "Imagine her scamming on your man. And right in front of you!"

"Relax, Trina," I said. "I told them both it was all right. Luke and I are—"

"Just friends," echoed Trina, Steve, Bored Liz, Tough Brenda, and their dates.

"Well, we are," I said a little defensively. Why wouldn’t anyone believe me?

"The Spring Fling sucks," Trina observed a second later. "You know what I wish? I wish we hadn’t even come to this stupid thing. I wish we had gone to Kwang’s anti-Spring Fling party instead. I bet those guys are having a lot more fun than we are."

And that was when it hit me.

What Luke had said about using the limo, I mean.

"Why don’t we?" I said, my heart thumping a little uncomfortably beneath Luke’s corsage. "Go to Kwang’s party. It’s early—only ten o'clock. The party’s probably just getting started."

"I heard he was going to have a campfire," Bored Liz said, looking visibly less bored.

"I heard he was gonna have illegal fireworks," Tough Brenda said with relish.

"Let’s go," I said. "Luke said we could take the limo."

Trina blinked. "Are you serious?"

"Sure," I said. "What does he need the limo for? He’s got the Harley."

"Time," Steve said, putting down Trina’s foot, "to motor."

We didn’t bother saying good-bye to Luke and Geri. That’s because they were too busy making out on the dance floor to be interrupted. I could see Dr. Lewis eyeing them uncertainly.

There wasn’t much he could do about the situation, of course. Geri was eighteen, a legal adult. If she and Luke wanted to rent a room at the inn later—hey, who could stop them?

Still, I would lay money on Juicy Lucy trying to.

I thought a little dejectedly of tomorrow’s headlines. You know, when the press found out I’d been ditched by Luke for another girl.

Or maybe they’d work it from the other angle. You know, the one where I’d ditched Luke at the Spring Fling to go to another party. You never know. It could happen.

When the limo driver pulled up in front of Kwang’s place—which was this huge white farmhouse way out in the country with a big barn and cornfields and its own woods with a stream running through it and everything . . . the perfect place to have loud parties complete with campfires and illegal fireworks—he said kind of skeptically, "Is this really where you want to be?"

Our only response was an enthusiastic, "Yes, thanks!" as we tumbled out of the car and ran for the distant glow of the campfire.

Everybody was there. Well, everybody who hadn’t been at the Spring Fling, anyway. There were long picnic tables piled high with chips and sodas, and a stereo system attached to two enormous speakers booming loudly enough to be heard by over half the county, practically.

Kwang was sitting in front of the roaring campfire with a stick in his hand. At the end of the stick was a marshmallow. Seated beside Kwang was Cara Schlosburg. In her lap was an opened packet of graham crackers and some half-eaten chocolate bars. They giggled guiltily as we came up.