What If ... Your Past Came Back to Haunt You (18 page)

LET HER ROT

Selfishness has a funny way of depriving you of what you want.

“M
ia's in big trouble,” Sasha said. “Maybe we should think of a way to help her out.”

“Yeah,” Whitney said. “A way that doesn't involve my dad.”

Haley had just found out that Mia Delgado had asked Whitney's father, Jerry Klein, to lend her money to pay off fashion photographer Philip Fogelman. The skanky Mr. Fogelman was threatening to post more humiliating sex videos of Mia on the Internet if she didn't come work for him—or pay up.

“I don't see any easy way to get her out of this,” Haley said, without giving the matter much thought. “The thing is, Mia's not worth it. She got herself into this. If she didn't sleep around, she wouldn't have this problem.”

“I guess you're right,” Whitney said. “I just wish my dad didn't have to use my future inheritance to pay off this jerk.”

So the girls said nothing and watched from the sidelines as Mr. Klein withdrew a large sum from his bank account and gave it to Mia. She paid Philip Fogelman and thought the whole scandal was over. No such luck.

When Philip Fogelman saw how quickly Mia had raised the money, he came right back and demanded more.

“That's it,” Mr. Klein said. “I'm hiring a lawyer to deal with this guy.” But before he had a chance to do that, Philip Fogelman posted a whole new series of provocative photos and videos of Mia on the Internet. Mia was devastated.

Haley saw Mia's close friend Sebastian Bodega at school the next day. The Spanish hottie was a star of the Hillsdale swim team, and Haley had always had a little thing for him. But he looked tired and upset.

“I saw those pictures of Mia and that photographer,” he told Haley. “Disgusting! I can't stand to look at my Mia anymore. It's too painful. So I am leaving. I'm leaving Hillsdale forever and going home to Seville. I hope she stays here so I never have to see her again.”

Haley felt terrible. She didn't realize Mia's fate in Hillsdale was so closely tied to Sebastian's. Hillsdale's swim team would never recover from the loss of its star. And, Haley was beginning to see, she might not recover from the loss either. She didn't realize until he was gone how much she liked Sebastian, and how much his presence meant to her. She'd hoped that someday they could be closer, but now that he was gone for good, that was impossible.

Hang your head and go back to
GOODNESS GRACIOUS.

GOING PUBLIC

During times of stress, slow down.

“C
ome on, Haley,” Reese said. He'd been hanging out in her room for hours, trying to coax her to show her face in public again after the release of her humiliating “Boob Tubing” video. “You can't stay in your room forever. That silly video is from the past, and people don't care about it nearly as much as you think.”

Haley lifted the pillow off her face. “I just know everybody is laughing about it behind my back—or worse.”

“No they're not,” Reese said. “Trust me, that video will be forgotten in a flash. Let's get out of here and go study at the library. We won't see anyone we know there.”

“That's for sure.” When Haley thought about it, maybe the public library wasn't such a bad idea. She was getting a little sick of staring at the walls of her room. And it was nice of Reese to care.

“All right,” she said. “Let's go.”

On their way out the door, Mitchell stopped them, wearing his winter coat. “Can I come with you?”

Haley looked at Reese. “Do you mind? It's nice to see him showing an interest in books instead of video games for a change.”

“No problem,” Reese said. “Let's go, buddy.”

“Dad, we're taking Mitchell with us!” Haley called.

“Great! Thanks, Haley,” her father replied.

They walked to the town library and headed straight for the kids' section—partly for Mitchell's sake, and partly because Haley knew there was even less chance of running into one of her schoolmates among the picture books.

Mitchell scanned the shelves while Reese and Haley settled down at a tiny little table to study. Haley's cell phone rang, and she switched it to Vibrate. She was getting a text every half hour from some random boy about the famous Boob Tubing video. She tried to ignore it, but her phone kept buzzing. Texts were pouring in, all commenting on the footage.

Great,
she thought.
I can't escape, even at the library.

Mitchell reappeared. “Haley, can you help me? I'm looking for a book about spaceships.”

“I'll help you, Mitchell,” Reese said. He got up and took Mitchell to the stacks.

Haley seized that moment of privacy to scan the incoming messages. One of them was from Alex Martin, and the subject line was “Ice-skating.” At least it didn't say “Boob Tubing Babe,” so she opened it.

“Major snowstorm coming,” Alex wrote. “I predict a snow day. Want to come to my house and ice-skate if we're off tomorrow? Annie and Dave will be there too.”

Haley glanced across the room. Reese pulled a book from the shelves and gave it to Mitchell. Very sweet. She smiled. That broken ankle had slowed him down a bit, after all—in the best possible way.

Outside, the first snowflakes were falling. Alex was right—a big storm was on its way.

Just when we think Reese is too self-centered for our Haley, he turns around and does something sweet like this: coaxing Haley out of her room and helping Mitchell find a book. If you think Haley completely adores Reese, stick close to home on,
LET IT SNOW.

Reese can run hot and cold, however, and Haley should know that by now. It's not always smart to put all your eggs in one basket. If you think she's curious about Alex Martin's invitation—maybe she can't resist the romantic idea of ice-skating on his backyard pond—go to,
HEARTH AND HOME.

Finally, if you think the best way to spend a snowy day is with girls only, watching movies, turn to,
ALL ABOUT AUDREY.

HEARTH AND HOME

Meeting a guy's family for the first time can be as risky as skating on thin ice.

H
aley woke up to the sound of a loud siren—the fire whistles were blowing. She jumped out of bed and ran to the window. Her dream had come true: it had snowed overnight. Almost a foot! Surely schools were closed. Trees and houses and cars were all blanketed in white, which brought a hush over the neighborhood. She'd never seen anything so beautiful.

She pulled on thick socks, two pairs of jeans, a turtleneck sweater and her warmest jacket. She ran downstairs, where her father was scrambling eggs. “Can I get a ride to Alex's house?” she asked. “He invited me over to go ice-skating.”

“I'm going into work late today,” Joan said. “I'll drop you off on the way.”

“Great! I'll be ready in a minute.” Haley put on her snow boots and went into the garage to get her old ice skates. She'd skated before, plenty of times, but always on an indoor rink. She'd never been ice-skating on someone's pond before, and the idea of spending a snowy day with Alex instead of at school was just thrilling.

Joan dropped Haley off in front of the Martins' traditional gray shingle colonial house, surrounded by tall pine trees. Haley slung her skates over her shoulder and walked down the long snowy driveway and around the house to the lovely frozen pond in the back. Alex, Annie, Dave and two younger boys were already skittering happily over the ice.

“Haley! You made it!” Alex skated over to her and hugged her hello. “Here, I'll help you put on your skates.”

He brushed some snow off a bench and Haley sat down to change her shoes. Then she glided onto the pond. It took a few laps to get her legs to stop wobbling, but soon she was keeping up with Alex, who grabbed her mittened hands and swung her around. Dave wobbled into them and fell on his butt. Annie skated over to help him up.

“That's fall number four,” Dave said.

“He's going for a record,” Annie joked.

Alex introduced Haley to the two younger boys zipping easily across the ice. “These are my brothers, Christian and Calvin.”

“Hello.” Christian appeared to be about ten, and Calvin, who looked like a mini-Alex, was about the same size as Haley's brother, Mitchell.

“How old are you, Calvin?” Haley asked.

“Seven,” Calvin said.

“My brother's your age. Do you know him? His name is Mitchell Miller.”

“Sure, I know him,” Calvin said. “He's sort of a freak.” Calvin skated away, saying, “My. Name. Is. Mitchell. I. Am. A. Freak.”

Haley flinched. She tried to blow it off, but Calvin's insult stung. Until recently Mitchell had a habit of talking like a robot, and Calvin was making fun of him.

Poor Mitchell,
Haley thought, imagining how hard it must be for her sensitive little brother to deal with such an obnoxious boy at school. She felt like belting Calvin with a snowball, but realized she couldn't do that to a little kid. He was probably just following the other boys in his grade. He didn't look like a bully.

They skated and threw snowballs for a couple of hours until they were too cold and wanted to go inside. In the Martins' warm kitchen, Alex's mother had steaming mugs of hot cocoa ready and waiting for all the kids.

“Mom, I'd like you to meet my friend Haley,” Alex said. “You already know Annie and Dave, of course.”

“Of course,” Mrs. Martin said. “I know all the good students at your school, Alex. Hello, Haley. Here's some cocoa.”

She gave Haley a mug and sent the kids into the den, where a fire crackled in the fireplace. Haley thought Mrs. Martin's greeting could have been warmer. Was she implying that Haley wasn't a good student? How could she possibly know?

Maybe Alex's mother doesn't like the idea of her son spending time with a girl,
Haley thought.
That, or she's always uptight.
Either was a bad opinion.

“How's the ice?” Alex's father, Peter, walked into the den wearing a white lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck. He had glasses and a nice head of thick, glossy hair.

“The pond is perfect, Dad,” Alex said. “You should come out for a game of ice hockey.”

“Wish I could, Alex, but I've got to get to the hospital,” Dr. Martin said. “Enjoy your snow day!”

Interesting,
Haley thought.
Alex gets his conservative, uptight tendencies from his mom, and his intellectual, good-hearted side from his dad.
His brother Calvin seemed to take after snippy Mom, while the jury was still out on quiet Christian.

“Now that it's snowed, it finally feels like Christmas is coming,” Annie said.

“I can't wait to give you your present, Haley,” Alex said.

Haley put down her mug in surprise. Alex had gotten her a Christmas present? It hadn't even occurred to her to get him one. But it would have been rude to let him know that, so she bluffed.

“I haven't gotten your gift yet,” she said. “But I know what it is, and I think you'll really like it.”
Now if I can just think of something good to get him . . .

“I can't wait for all the holiday parties,” Annie said. “I hear Sasha Lewis is throwing a big bash at her mom's house, with a live jazz band. Doesn't that sound fun? I hope she invites me.”

“I'm sure she'll invite all of us,” Haley said. “Sasha's not a snob like Coco.”

So, Alex has already gotten Haley a Christmas present. He must really like her. Boys don't buy gifts for no reason. Too bad his mother seems like the disapproving type. How much more of her do you think Haley can stand? And what about the bratty little brother?

If you think Haley should get Alex a Christmas gift so that she's not in the awkward position of receiving with nothing to give in return, go to
GIFT SWAP
. If you think Haley would much rather avoid the Martin clan and buy Devon McKnight a gift instead, turn to,
PRESENT TENSE.
Finally, if you think Haley definitely should swing by Sasha's holiday fete, go
UNDER THE MISTLETOE.