The Swap (24 page)

Mackenzie looks me in the eye. “You ready?” she asks.

I slowly nod my head. Yes. There's nine of us pressed together in a clump, huddled by the back door. Whispering. Giggling. It's too late to turn back.

“Here goes nothing,” I say softly, mostly to myself. Then—

I step into the night and run.

It's all for one and one for all the way we bust across Claire's huge backyard and hurtle through the thick, scratchy bushes on the side of the house. You'd think we were running for our lives, the way we race right down the middle of the dark street! It's, like, two in the morning. There are no cars. The houses are all dark. It's so quiet. It seems like the entire world is asleep. Nothing is moving but the nine of us, giggling down the empty street in our pajamas.

By the time we slow down to a jog at the elementary school entrance, everyone just bursts out laughing. Not going to lie, I do too. In the middle of the night in the dark, things that usually aren't funny are. Do you know what I mean? I look up at the flickering stars. My mind is racing with so many thoughts. Thought number one? This is freakin' nuts! I'm running with a bunch of girls in borrowed drawstring purple pajama bottoms, Thunderbirds T-shirt, and Elle's sneakers. I put my hands on my knees and catch my breath. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that we're supposedly meeting all
my
friends—Sammy, Owen, Demaryius, Brayden, Dominic, Trey. I can't wait to see Sassy Gaines's dumb face when she realizes I'm not even there. Ellie, I mean. She won't be there. I'm positive. That's one thing I'm sure of. We shook on it, right? For a second I think about the fact that I promised her too, but—

No. No way. I'd bet on it. She'd be too freaked out to go to Owen's by herself. I picture Freckles safely tucked in my bed. I hope she made it through the workout today. Man! Saturday mornings are rough. Grueling. I picture her sound asleep in my room, with Stryker. I hope that made things a little less scary, to have someone there. To not be alone. Stryker can be a goof, but he's my brother, man, and I love him. I always feel better when my brothers are around. They're my best friends in the world. I lie awake a lot, worrying something bad will happen to my brothers or my dad. Lately I have all these things I do. Like, I have to put my hockey equipment on just a certain way or I have this bad feeling like something is going to go wrong. Something terrible will happen to my family. I don't have anybody else. They're all I've got. They're everything to me. I have to act tough. Man up. Keep it in. I've never even talked about it with anyone before, not my brothers, not my dad. They'd think I'm so soft. . . .

It's been a year and seven months since my mom died. I act like I'm okay all the time. Like I'm so strong. Nobody knows how much it hurts. I haven't told anyone how I feel. I don't want people treating me different—it will just make it worse.

I'm standing in the dark in the middle of the elementary school parking lot, suddenly worried about a million things:
Is Elle okay? How are we even going to switch back? What are we going to do . . . like, lie on the cots in the nurse's office and click our heels?
My head is spinning when I feel a hand slip around my arm—

“Hey, girlie.” I hear her voice before I see her eyes. When I turn and look, she's even prettier outside under the stars. Mackenzie.

“You okay?” she asks in a gentle voice, falling in step with me as we walk up the hill.

I let out a breath. “I'm fine,” I say, and crack a smile.

“Okay, just promise me you won't get into it with you-know-who.” She pulls me along, her arm in mine. “She's so not worth it. Promise, okay?”

“I'll try,” I answer with a shrug.

“Try hard.” Mackenzie smiles big. “We have too much fun, right? Life's too short for that stuff!”

“For sure.” I nod. “Couldn't have said it better,” I add, looking at her smiling.

Mackenzie returns my grin and shakes her head. “Seriously, girlie! You have the best smile ever!”

Blair, Tori, Sassy, Aspen, Sammie, and Kaitlin are waiting by the basketball court when Mackenzie and I walk up. I glance up at the net. The hoop is low enough that I can dunk with both hands. I've done it a few times, just messin' around. Sassy, of course, is talking loud, being as obnoxious as ever.

“Ahem,” she says, looking straight at me. “Not to be rude? But girls trying to show off and act like they are popular when they are clearly not is literally the most counterproductive thing possible. Seriously? Just stop.”

Man. I don't know how much longer I can take this before I snap. I just look at her in her dumb leopard-spotted pajamas and her tight cropped shirt and I shake my head.

Apparently she is not done. She won't quit. Sassy tosses her hair back and glances at me as she says, with a dumb half smile, “Do you think annoying people ever realize how annoying they are to everyone?”

“Come on, you guys.” Claire wiggles in between the bunch and throws her arms around both of us, me and Sassy, pulling us in. “Look, let's just have fun. We're meeting the boys, right? Where are they, anyhow?”

Yeah. Where are they?
I think, pulling away and looking around. Couldn't be better timing. I need to get away from this girl.
Man, I can't wait to see Sammy's face!
I think to myself, smiling and shaking my head.

Sassy sees me smile. “Oh, you think this is funny?” she asks. “You think I'm joking?” Her voice grows louder and louder, echoing across the empty basketball court. “Does anyone else feel like Ellie is going to
wow
The Prince on our starry night of adventure?”

She waits for a beat, and there's a hushed silence. “No?” She picks right back up. “Yeah, me neither!” She bursts out laughing.

“Sassy, come on,” says Mackenzie. “Be nice.”

“What?” She laughs. “Everyone was thinking it, I just said it!”

Man, every time Sassy talks, I just shake my head.

“Come on.” Mackenzie places her hand on my elbow and pulls me forward. “Seriously, Elle, I can't take her anymore, really. Let's just start walking. They'll catch up.”

At first I can't see anyone. I just see the jungle gym, the slide, the baby swings.

Then I see a bunch of—

“Sammy!” I say. I don't even realize it comes out of my mouth.

Mackenzie stops and turns back to the other girls. “Sammie!” she calls out to Girl Sammie. “Come join us!”

Girl Sammie runs to us and grabs my other arm. “Yay! Adventure!” she squeals as we walk toward the boys.

This time I say it my head. Sammy, I think, and look at his silhouette across the playground. With each step I take, we get closer and closer and I'm grinning big as if he'd somehow recognize that it's me. I smile. I shake my head, I give him a nod.

Sammy, man! Owen! Demaryius! Trey, Dominic, Brayden! Little reunion tonight with the boys!

Oh, man. My heart drops.

I stop.

“No worries, Elle,” Mackenzie whispers. “We'll have fun, I promise!”

Noooo
. Please tell me I'm not seeing what I think I see.

“My hair,” I say. I say it out loud, in disbelief.

“What? What about your hair?” asks Mackenzie. “Your hair looks totally gorgeous, Elle, I love it. Don't listen to anything you-know-who says. Really, seriously. Are you okay?”

I'm at a loss for words right now. I honestly don't know what to say.

Elle is standing across from me, six feet away, in my black Bruins hoodie and jeans.

“You shaved my head?” The words slip out.

“Wait, what?” asks Mackenzie, looking confused.

“My hair, it's—” I stop before I say the word “gone.”

But trust me.

I'm speechless.

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HarperCollins Publishers

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I ALMOST DON'T RECOGNIZE MYSELF. I
have no idea what Jack has done, but I look like . . . I don't know. Something is going on with my hair. It looks—

“Wow,” I say softly into the dark. Our eyes meet. Mine and Jack's.

I guess I look pretty shocked.

Dominic grins. “I know, man,” he whispers, staring at the girls too. “Some hotties, right?”

“No, it's, um,” I stammer and scan the line of faces standing six feet away—

Kaitlin.

Blair.

Claire.

Aspen.

Tori.

Sassy.

Mackenzie . . .

Jack!

Sammie.

What I'm thinking specifically is:
This can't be good
.

Sammy hits me with his elbow. “Dude,” he whispers, staring at Aspen. “I got to wife that!”

“Huh?” I say. What does that even mean?

“Jacko!” Sammy is shaking his head. “You don't understand, man! I'm seriously in love!”

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HarperCollins Publishers

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WE ALL STAND ON THE
playground, staring at each other. The girls and I in our pajamas, the boys in jeans and sweatshirts, lined up facing each other with nervous starlit smiles on the Riverside Elementary School playground. We're on the little kids' side. Short, fat slides, baby swings, wood chips, jungle gym. Everybody is checking each other out. I have to continually remember that Sammy, Owen, Demaryius, Dom, and the rest of the boys . . . they have no idea it's really
me
over here, staring at them, smiling.

You're Freckles, remember? Thirty-six more hours, at least.

I can't help but look at her—or me, I guess—across the way. My eye and my nose look a little bit better, but man, I'm pretty ugly without hair. No flow. Dang. It's really gone. Like, no hair. None. Right down to the wood.

Well, I won't have to comb it, I guess
.

I try and picture who convinced her to do that. My money's on Gunner. I bet they went to Geno's. No doubt. Gunner probably ordered up a fade and got one too.

I can't believe how ugly I look.

Mackenzie leans over. “Wow, The Prince got a little haircut, huh?” She giggles.

“Yeah, looks brutal, right?” I laugh nervously.

“No, not at all. I think it looks good, actually. Manly!”

I turn to her. “Yeah?”

“Totally, right?” asks Mackenzie.

I shrug and smile. “If you say so.”

Sassy overhears us talking and decides to put on a show. She clears her throat. “Okay, everyone, question!” she says. She's not really talking loud enough for the guys to hear. Just the girls. “What does it take for a hopeless girl to realize someone doesn't like them and it's time to give it up?”

“Sassy, really, stop,” Girl Sammie speaks up. “If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.”

“Everyone honestly just needs to relax.” Sassy laughs. “It's a joke, obviously. Just proving a point!” Sassy turns to me with a big fake grin and whispers over Mackenzie, “Ellie, seriously, you're probably the biggest scaredy cat alive!” She pauses. “
You
, friends with The Prince?” She rolls her eyes and lets out a loud laugh. “You're a pathetic little liar.”

Oh, it's gonna be like that, huh? I think.

I'd be lying if I said this girl doesn't rattle me. I'm fired up. My fists are clenched. I'm not going to stand here and let Elle get ripped like this. I have to do something—

I step forward, pulling away from Mackenzie. It all happens quickly, before I lose my nerve. I catch Freckles's eye and, with a nod, signal her to follow my lead.

She does, thank god. She steps forward too. We meet in the middle, the boys behind her, the girls behind me. I can feel everyone's eyes on us.

Elle is looking at me like I'm nuts. “Are you crazy? What are you doing!” she whispers.