True Colors (5 page)

****

The next day, Arianna told me Kyle called her last night for the homework. I wanted to tell her he had asked me first, but I didn't. She asked if I thought it would be weird if they started going together because he was so much shorter than her. I said height didn't matter, but I wondered why she was so sure he liked her. Kyle came into the room and ruffled my hair as he walked to his desk.

Later, Arianna ran up to me outside during lunch. “Guess what? Kyle just asked me to go out with him,” she said. Her skin was glowing from the cold. “If you hadn't talked me into it I never would have said yes, so thanks,” she said over her shoulder as she walked back to her friends. Um, how did I talk her into going out with the guy I liked? Could I be any more of a moron?

We got our reader response journals back in English, and I got an A+. Mrs. Kharrazi wrote I should start keeping a journal. Seemed like the thing to do since I only had two friends. Then I could end up like a crazy woman in the attic rocking back and forth with piles of journals around me. Good times, good times. I spent the entire gym class holding my stomach on the bleachers while everyone else got sweaty playing kickball. Once in a while Thalia and I had to duck as balls flew at our heads. The guys always have to show off how strong they are by kicking the ball as hard as they can so it bounces off the ceiling beams. Just once I'd like to go up to the plate and kick the stupid ball so hard it went through the wall and leave them all just staring. Of course, I couldn't even get the ball to go up in the air. Once I got the ball a foot off the ground and was so surprised I forgot to run to first base, and they got me out. I didn't mind since when I was on base, I never knew when to run and I'd have to ask someone on the other team to tell me when to go.

After we changed our clothes, we had to line up and wait for a teacher to walk us back because we're too stupid to find our classrooms by ourselves. It's so humiliating. In the public school they can do whatever they want, but we're herded like sheep from one field to the next. It's not like we could make a break for it since there's a twenty-foot high chain link fence surrounding the school. Plus, the grounds people patrol the area with walkie-talkies in case one of us gets out of line. One time I ran back to the gym because I forgot my gloves and this woman almost bit my head off. She actually called me a “smarty pants” when I said I didn't want to get frostbite.

When I got to lunch, Nikolas, this guy who rides my bus, said “hi” to me as I walked past him. He's sort of cute, and he sat with me on the bus one day. It was the first time a guy had sat with me because he wanted to instead of being forced to because there weren't any empty seats. I ate lunch with Ashanti and her friends, Maggie and Halle. Ashanti told me Nikolas had come up to them and asked her my name. I hadn't paid a lot of attention to him, but I knew his dad had been a professional soccer player, he was born in Toronto, moved here from Tampa, was into computer animation, only drank pineapple juice and hated beef jerky the first time he tried it.

In fifth hour, we had to go out in the parking lot because of an accident in the science lab. I was taking a test, and I had gotten as far as writing my name. I had been hoping for a fire drill, and when they told us to go outside, I thought I had become like the girl who could start fires with her mind. Mrs. Lacey said not to worry because we'd have plenty of time to finish our test.

I ran over to Ashanti in the parking lot, and we huddled together. I tried to pull my skirt down to cover my freezing legs and overheard Ericka ask what kind of moron wore a skirt in forty-degree weather. I pretended not to hear, and Ashanti rolled her eyes.

“Nikolas's looking over here,” she said.

I tried to turn my head slowly like those shampoo commercials where the girl's hair fans out all sexy. Unfortunately, I had used too much hairspray this morning so when I moved my head it looked like I had a tick. Nikolas was leaning against the parking barrier and smiled at me. He even touched my elbow and said “hey” as we were going back into the building. Ashanti grabbed my arm and squealed.

“I love foreign men. They're so… worldly,” she said. I pointed out Canada didn't count since it was attached.

Ashanti had her Franciszka T backpack on the seat when I got on the bus. She looked down and pretended to tie her shoe when I stood by her seat. At first, I thought she was mad at me, but then she whispered for me to sit behind her. I sat down and Nikolas moved up to the seat across from mine.

“Enjoy the sulfur spill?” he asked.

“Um, yeah. I enjoy anything disrupting the learning process.”

“Huh? Can I get your e-mail address or something?” he asked. He didn't waste any time. I opened my backpack and searched for a pen. It was filled with three inches of tissues and gum wrappers, and I hated to stick my hand in there. Ashanti held up a lavender gel pen and a piece of notebook paper. I scribbled down my e-mail address and phone number. He went back to his seat, and I moved up to sit with Ashanti.

“Guys never ask girls for their numbers unless the girl is alone,” she said. “So? Do ya like him?”

“I don't know. He's kind of cute and he's got an okay personality, but…”

“Is it the weird hair?” she asked. “Would it help to know his dad drives an expensive car?”

“No, but what kind is it?”

“I'm not sure. It looks like a clown car, but my dad said it was expensive.”

“I dunno. Nikolas seems a little immature,” I said.

“Well, he acts kinda young, but my mom says girls mature faster, and the hair… it's either trendy or his mom does it for him. Maybe it's a style they do where he's from and it just hasn't hit here yet.”

I checked my messages fourteen times. I was still on Ericka and Tori's social media pages, and I forgot to switch my chat thing to “offline,” so they were probably laughing at me for being on-line all night. They always used to check their messages around eight o'clock, and they never pop up in my “chat list” anymore. I had no idea how they kept themselves hidden. If I were smarter I'd know how to change mine, too. Ashanti instant messaged me while I was checking my mail for the millionth time.

TI22: Anything yet?

Albright: No. You don't think he's some sort of master hacker and can read this?

TI22: Doubt it. Besides he wouldn't know who “he” was anyway
.

Albright: Good po
int. Hold up, I just got mail.
Not him :(

TI22:
Jay
and I worked
together in English today :0)
Crap, my mom's home and I was supposed to clean my room, b
ut I was too exhausted. See ya.

I looked at my clock, and it was after nine. Okay, this was just stupid. Why ask for my e-mail address if you're just going to use it for a bookmark? What was wrong with him? I was going to check my mail one more time and if he—
yes
-
yes
-
yes.
I had got mail! Life was good.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Hey

Hey. What's up? I had a ton of homework tonight. Are you riding the bus tomorrow?
–
Nikolas

My first e-mail from a guy, and this was the best he could do? I mean, you could send it to your grandfather or a nun or some homeless person you just saw on the street, although in retrospect, a homeless person wouldn't have a computer or e-mail access, but still.

Nikolas had lost his chance. I was not even going to respond. Let him sit up all night wondering if I'll be riding the bus.

I broke down fifteen minutes later and e-mailed him back. Maybe Ashanti can play hard to get with Jay, but some of us just didn't have those options.

To: [email protected]

From: Albright@ alphamail.com

Hey, I had a ton of homework, too. I may or may not ride the bus in the morning
.
Same goes for the afternoon. -Landry

And it took me ten minutes and five re-writes to come up with it. I used the same opener he used and didn't offer any more information than he did. It was simple, straight to the point, with a bit of mystery and a touch of, dare I say, intrigue?

****

I was at the bus stop early the next morning. I wanted to wear another skirt, but Ashanti hadn't said whether she was wearing one and I didn't want to be the only one wearing a skirt, like I was trying to show some leg. Tori didn't say anything to me, big shockerino. Nikolas tugged my hair as he got off the bus. I wasn't even sure if I liked Nikolas. He did annoy me when he got excited over video games or bragged about his soccer player dad, but it was nice to have somebody like me.

I was making a sundae when the phone rang. Ashanti usually calls me around four o'clock so we can talk about
As
the
Days Roll On
. I licked the ice cream off my spoon and answered the phone, and it was a guy calling… for me. It wasn't too hard to narrow it down since no guys (other than my dad) ever call me. I swallowed too fast and tried to ignore the ice cream headache taking over my brain.

“Uh, hi. How are you?” I said. Ugh, so unoriginal.

Lucky for me, Nikolas likes to talk, and he took over the conversation telling me about his new computer game. I hit the mute button as I ate so he wouldn't hear. Then he did it—so fast I almost missed it. He asked me if I wanted to meet him and his friends at the mall on Saturday. I didn't know what to say. Did he mean I should come with my friends or did he mean it like a date? Did he like me, or did he just want to hang out at the mall? I said I'd check with my friends and told him I'd e-mail him.

I got off the phone and freaked out. Nikolas was the first guy who had ever asked me to do anything, and I might not be able to go because I had no one to go with me. My mom would never let me meet a group of guys by myself. I called Ashanti to see if she was free, but she wasn't home. I wanted Ashanti to go, but I was afraid she might already have plans. She was probably out with Halle and Maggie right now having a great time. I tried to focus on my math homework, and Mom brought home Chinese food for dinner. I cracked open my fortune cookie, but all I got was, “Patience is the greatest virtue.” Not exactly fame and fortune there. The phone rang, and I almost knocked my mom over to answer it.

It was Ashanti. “Hey, my mom said you called. Are you eating dinner?” she asked.

My mouth was half full, but I managed to swallow and say I wasn't. Mom tried to get me off the phone so I could finish eating, and I hit mute so Ashanti wouldn't hear her. I tuned mom out and told Ashanti how Nikolas wanted to meet at the mall this weekend.

“Are you gonna go?” she asked.

I said I wanted to, but I didn't want to go by myself.

“I'll go with you if you want,” she said. Happiness. I asked mom if she could drive us to the mall on Saturday, and she said she would if I got off the phone and finished my dinner. I got off the phone and dug into my food.

“I bet it's cold now,” Mom said. It was, but I didn't want to admit it to her. “Put it in the microwave,” she said, sighing.

Dad called after dinner, and I told him Nikolas asked me to meet him at the mall. He asked a million questions about Nikolas, his family, and his plans for the future.

“We're just going to meet up at the mall,” I said. “It's not a date or anything.”

“It better not be,” he said. “So all's right in the world then? How's math class going?”

I didn't want him to know I was barely squeaking by in math, so I focused on the “A+” I got on my English lit journal.

****

I was at my locker on Friday when Ashanti yelled to me from across the hall that she had to stay after, but to call her about this weekend. Ericka and Tori were standing nearby at their lockers.

“Okay, I'll let you know if Nikolas wants to get together earlier.”

I knew Nikolas wouldn't change the time, but I wanted Ericka and Tori to hear I was going to meet a guy at the mall. They just stared at me.

****

Saturday afternoon couldn't come fast enough. Ashanti and I decided what we were going to wear the night before, and we promised to call each other if either one of us changed our outfits. Ashanti had decided to wear the new jeans she had gotten for her birthday with a Franciszka T shirt. I was going to wear my jeans and a dark pink sweater.

****

I was having another bad hair day Saturday morning and ended up sticking it back in a bun. We picked Ashanti up ten minutes late and Mom lectured me about the importance of being on time up until Ashanti got in the car, and then Mom became all sweet and friendly.

Mom dropped us off, and we met Nikolas and his friend in front of the arcade. I thought we were just meeting there, but he wanted to go inside. The guys went to play a game which involved shooting the living dead. They thought it was tons of fun. The worst part was you couldn't just shoot a zombie and be done with it, you'd just shoot part of its face off or knock half a limb off and it was disgusting. Ashanti and I had a good time playing air hockey, even though Nikolas never paid any attention to us.

Ashanti and I told Nikolas we were going to the food court and he nodded, but kept his eyes on the screen. We bought tacos and tried to find a place to sit, but the food court was nearly full. We found an empty booth over near the Corn Dog Hut. Ashanti didn't talk much at lunch, and I was worried I was boring her. I asked her if everything was okay, and she said she was just tired. After we ate, we went back to the arcade, but Nikolas and his friend were still playing games, so we decided to ditch the guys and go shopping. We walked around until she said she was exhausted and called her mom to pick us up.