The Real Me (13 page)

"Fine," said Walt. "I'll be over right after dinner."

After Walt left, I continued working on what I knew would be Kevin's crown. Even though he would wear it for only a few minutes, I wanted it to be special. I used only shells that were in perfect condition, arranging them with great care. When I was almost done I took the piece of blue glass I'd found at the beach, touched a drop of glue to it, and tucked it in among the shells. I filled in a few spaces with the tiniest shells I could find, and then I was done.

I picked up the crown Walt had been working on and tried it on. If only I'd be the one to wear it at the prom. But everyone always voted for two juniors who attended the prom together. I knew that couple would be Nicole and Kevin. There was no way it would be Kevin and me, even though that was how I had decided to vote. The ballots for king and queen were separate and secret, so no one would know.

After dinner my folks went to the movies.

"Anything to get out of packing," Dad teased.

Walt came over and he and I packed what decorations we could into boxes. The chariot and seahorses would have to go as they were in the back of the Turner's pickup truck.

"I can't believe it," I said finally. "We're done."

"At last," Walt rubbed his hands together.

"How about some lemonade to celebrate?"

"Sounds good." Walt wiped his brow. Though it was almost dark, it was still warm.

I went in the house. As I put ice into tall glasses and poured the lemonade, I heard someone pull into the driveway. When I went out back with the lemonade, I saw George, Carl, and Phil talking with Walt. Walt looked upset.

"Hi, guys," I said. "How about some lemonade?"

"Lemonade?" George snickered. "We don't need any lemonade."

I put down the tray and pulled Walt aside.

"What's going on?" I whispered.

"They've been drinking," Walt said. "They want to go pick up the rest of the decorations."

"The rest?"

"Those seahorses don't look right." George staggered over to me. "We're going to get the pair over at the Surfside Inn."

"Don't be crazy," I said. "You can't do that."

"Sure we can." George spun around and weaved his way to the pickup.

"Walt, we've got to stop them."

"I don't think they'll get very far."

"They shouldn't go anywhere at all," I said. "Not in their condition. We can't let them leave."

"I don't think the two of us can stop the three of them."

"Oh, for--" I ran to the driver's side of the truck and yanked the door open. "George!" I flashed him a big smile. "Why don't you stay here and … and help us?"

George grabbed me and pulled me half way into the truck. "Why don't you come with us? You can sit on my lap." He puckered his lips at me and almost knocked me out of the truck with his breath.

I yanked myself free. "Walt! Do something!"

Walt walked calmly to the truck. "Move over, George. I'm driving."

George giggled insanely. "You can ride in back."

"I'm the chairman of this decoration committee. I know a shortcut. I'll drive," Walt commanded. "Now move over!"

George squished over, spilling onto Carl's lap, as Walt forced himself into the driver's seat.

I watched helplessly as the truck disappeared down the road. I should have done something. I prayed that Walt would be careful.

I tried to watch television, but I couldn't concentrate. If only Walt would call and let me know what happened!

There was a crash of thunder. Then lightning and pouring rain. I checked the clock. It was a few minutes after ten. A car pulled into the driveway. But it was only my parents. They ran in through the back door, shaking off the rain.

"Whew! It's awful out there," Mom said.

"At least the umbrella is warm and dry in the hall closet," Dad replied.

I wanted to ask if they'd seen any accidents involving a pickup truck on the way home. Instead, I asked, "H how was the movie?"

"It was funny," Dad said. "Did you and Walt finish packing the decorations?"

I nodded. "He, um, left over an hour ago."

"Good work," Dad said. "Grace, let's call it a night."

"I'm ready." Mom yawned. "Goodnight, Mattie."

"I think I'll go to bed, too," I said. In my room I peered out the front window. It was raining so hard that the street looked like a blurry photograph.

Where was Walt? Why didn't he call? Text? Send smoke signals? Something! Had there been an accident? Were they all at the hospital? The police station?

I crawled into bed and lay awake for a long time. Eventually I drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Chapter
Thirteen

I woke up, a streak of sunlight across my face. It was six forty five. I turned on the radio and listened to the news. No reports of accidents or unusual robberies.

I wanted to talk to Walt. I grabbed my phone, started to call, then stopped. I wondered if I should call the local hospitals first. Or the county jail.

I picked up Parmesan from the foot of my bed and cuddled him. "Oh, Parmesan, if anything has happened to Walt, it's all my fault!"

The phone rang. I almost dropped both it and Parmesan.

 
"H hello?"

"Hi. It's me."

"Walt! What happened? How are you? Where are you?"

"I'm at the clinic."

"The clinic? Oh, no!"

"Relax. I have good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"We didn't go to the Surfside Inn."

"And the bad news?"

"We never got there because of a little accident."

"Accident? A wreck? On, no! George? Carl? Phil? Are they all right? What about you?"

"Hold it. They're all fine. It wasn't a car accident. I kept driving around saying I knew a shortcut to, you know, stall for time. Then, a stroke of luck. We got a flat tire."

"Luck?"

"Right. We couldn't go anywhere with a flat tire."

"Ah."

"Well, we started to fix it. But George dropped the jack on my feet. He couldn't stop apologizing. I finally convinced him the best thing he could do was call my parents. They came. My mother took me to the clinic, while my father helped change the tire and get the other guys home. I'm all right, except for two broken bones."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"No, it's not. And I'm the one who should be sorry, because this means I can't take you to the prom. It was one bone in each foot. Both feet are in casts!"

"Yikes! Walt, I feel just terrible."

"Me, too. I was really looking forward to the prom."

"Not the prom. That doesn't matter. I feel so guilty about what happened to you. I made you go after George."

"I would have done something anyway. I just waited until the last minute because I kept hoping George would sober up, or at least come to his senses."

I sat up. "When are visiting hours?"

"I'm already home. I'm not sick. I just won't be walking around for a while."

"Walt, I feel totally awful about this."

"Relax, will you? This means I get to take my finals in the comfort of my own bed."

"I'll bring your homework to you every day!"

"Don't worry. Arrangements for that have already been made."

"I'll visit you this afternoon."

"That'd be great."

"See you then."

"Fine."

I relayed the news about Walt to my parents and then to Erwina. She offered to round up a cousin as a last minute date for the prom, but I refused. I decided I deserved to go to the prom alone. I'd foolishly spent weeks hoping Kevin would ask me. When he didn't, I'd asked Walt at the last minute, as if he was an old standby just waiting for me.

Well, I'd make it up to him. After lunch I cut some flowers from the yard, then went to Sweet Stuff and bought a one pound box of chocolate covered cherries--Walt's favorite.

I was relieved when Walt's mother seemed glad to see me. I tiptoed down the hall and knocked timidly on Walt's bedroom door.

"Come on in!" he called.

I opened the door and saw Walt in bed with his cast covered feet propped up on pillows. Sitting on the edge of the bed was Laura Arsenault, next to a two pound box of chocolate-covered cherries.

Walt held out the box to me. "Want one? Laura brought them?"

"Uh, no thanks." Without ceremony I handed my box of candy to Walt. He accepted it with a smile. I turned to Laura. "Hi."

"Hi, Mattie." Laura glanced briefly at me, then turned back to Walt. "Are you comfortable? Can I fluff your pillows?"

"You've done more than enough already, Laura." Walt gazed intently into her eyes.

"I, uh, brought these, too." I handed my bouquet to Walt.

"Thank you," said Walt. "Just put them on my dresser. My Mom will get a vase for them later."

As I placed my flowers on Walt's dresser I saw a huge formal arrangement of yellow roses. "Oh! These roses are beautiful!"

"Laura gave them to me." Walt smiled and Laura blushed.

"Oh. Well." I was rapidly starting to feel out of place. "Um, I guess I'd better be going now."

Walt and Laura looked at me, said goodbye in unison, then gazed into each other's eyes.

"Bye," I said, not sure that anyone had heard me.

On my way home I tried to work up some jealousy over Laura and Walt. But the fact was that I just wasn't jealous. Probably Walt's first instinct was right--going to prom together might have ruined our friendship. Especially in light of my feelings for Kevin. And Walt's apparently growing interest in Laura.

When I got to school the next morning, I found Laura taking books out of Walt's locker.

"Hi, Mattie," Laura said shyly. "I'm just getting some stuff that Walt will need. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Um, I didn't really think you would. Walt explained how you're just friends. I mean, I always saw you two together and thought, well, you know."

"We're just friends." I smiled. "Believe me."

"Oh, good." Laura gave a big sigh of relief. "See you."

"Bye." As I turned to leave, I saw Kevin walking down the hall with Nicole. He saw me and smiled. That was the only sort of contact I'd had with him since we were together at the beach. He would see me and smile, or wink, or maybe say hello, but he was always with Nicole. I had hoped he would call, but he never did. I even tried to call him a couple of times, but always got voice mail, and I didn't want to leave a message. I figured he was probably talking to Nicole.

Sometimes I felt as if Erwina's party and the afternoon at the beach were all just a dream.

All week I explained to sympathetic friends who expressed their sorrow about me not attending the prom because of Walt's accident that I, in fact, would be going to the prom. Alone. Supervising the refreshments. Then the sympathy turned to pity. It didn't bother me as much as it once might have.

I'd gone through nearly three years of high school without a date. What did one dance matter? I would go alone and have a good time. Or at least try.

I even decided to wear my new dress to the prom rather than save it for another occasion. I had worked hard to lose weight, after all. I'd finally gotten the nerve to do something with my hair and try to look nice. And I was attractive. I could see that now, because I was also more confident and outgoing. I was not going to retreat at this point. There was no reason for me to hide in the kitchen all night. It was my prom. I was going to dress right for it.

If Kevin was only using me somehow, it would hurt, but I had to find out. I'd never know for sure what his feelings were if I avoided him because I was embarrassed. I'd rather lose him to Nicole than to my own insecurities. I had to take the risk of getting close to someone.

The morning of the prom I awoke feeling jittery. Without Walt to help I would have to take charge completely. When George had not arrived at my house with his pickup by nine o'clock as he'd promised, I called him. I knew a timid approach would not prod George into action, so when he answered I was polite but firm.

"George, it's nine fifteen. I need you here right away."

"But--"

"If we get behind schedule now, we'll never be finished on time."

"I--"

"Some people still have to do their hair today, you know."

"I'll--"

"See you in fifteen minutes." I hung up.

George pulled into the driveway at nine thirty-two, apologizing for being late.

The rest of the committee was waiting for George and me when we arrived at the lunchroom. The eighth graders, three girls and three guys who would be serving the refreshments, were there, too.