WHEN I GOT HOME, I found Tracy and Mary Dole in my kitchen with Angie. I wasn’t happy to see Tracy, but I wasn’t feeling up to another confrontation. Greg was in the living room giving a massage. The three women were sitting around drinking iced tea. Mary was waiting for me to make dinner.
I got out my tablet. I’d found a new recipe app that I wanted to try out. Mary pulled out her dad’s recipe cards. She allowed me to copy them into the program. What I liked about it was that I could take short videos and pictures of whatever we made. I stored it all out in the cloud.
We made pork chops with a cornbread dressing that had apples and onions in it. Mary and I made a slaw with broccoli and cabbage. We also had lima beans. For dessert, I made a chia pudding with coconut milk and lemon zest. Chia seeds are small, somewhat like poppy seeds, and become plump and soft when soaked.
Tracy and I seemed to call a truce to our hostilities. By the time Tom arrived from work, everyone was getting along on the surface. There was still tension, but I was hopeful that I could eventually be in the same room as Tracy and still be okay. I might someday forgive her, but I doubted I would ever forget. We would never get back together in a romantic way.
I spent some time talking to Tom and Mary after dinner. I thanked them for coming over. This was why I love living in a small town in the Midwest: people look out for each other. I was sure a big part of Mary and Tom coming over was because of what was going on with Mom and Dad.
After dinner, I convinced Greg to give me a massage. I fell asleep on the table. They left me there and I woke up, very confused, at two in the morning. I finally figured it out and went to bed.
Tuesday January 14
BEFORE SCHOOL, I GOT a text to call Kara. She was in Europe doing a commercial. She was several hours ahead so I needed to call her now. After school would be too late.
“Hey, stranger, how’s Europe?”
“Not the same without you here. I had to fight off another model today. I swear they think I’m easy or something. However, I didn’t have you call me to complain about jerks. I wanted to let you know that the two shoots are set up, and we’re doing them in New York. You’ll be coming in late Friday so you don’t miss school. I’ll be there Saturday morning.”
“Can you email me everything?”
“I already sent it to Kendal. Ask her for a copy,” she said, and then changed the subject. “You know that Adrienne lives in New York. My publicist wants to do something to get us some PR. See if she has some ideas.”
I snorted.
“We should call Sunny Skye and have her come out and interview us all. That way we can clear up my three faux-girlfriend relationships.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Kara asked.
“Ah, it was fun, but we need to do something different. I’ll think about it over the next few days, and let you know. I look forward to seeing you.”
“How’s Tracy doing?”
“She came to dinner at our house with her mom and dad last night. It was a little awkward. If I didn’t know she was so messed up, I might’ve strangled her.”
I heard voices in the background.
“Hey, I have to get back to work. Hang in there, and I’ll see you soon.”
She hung up. I sat on the edge of my bed, contemplating my life. I wanted to see my mom. I jumped online and made flight reservations for California. I sent Dad an email to get directions to where they were staying. I planned to fly out Friday and get back Sunday afternoon.
BY LUNCH, ALL THE FOOTBALL players had been told about my plans to have Cassidy help us get in shape. We were sitting at our three tables, goofing off, when Brad and one of the junior ass-hats, Tommy Cox, walked up. Tommy thought he was the heir apparent to the middle linebacker position. If that happened, Brad and Tommy would be the captains of the football team.
“I hear you wusses are getting a girl to help you work out. What’s next, you’ll have the model-boy teach you how to take a shower? Don’t drop your soap,” Tommy crowed.
I hate cowards. Tommy Cox was the worst kind. He would do nothing unless he felt he had the upper hand. He thought he had Brad as backup, so he was making an ass out of himself. His normal tactic was to get on social media and trash you. It takes a real man to denigrate people on the Internet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow behind me. I turned around to find Jim Ball standing there.
“You have a problem with that?” Jim asked.
The smile faded from Tommy’s face. I didn’t want to tell him, but I was more scared of Cassidy than of Jim. Cassidy got up and got into Tommy’s face.
“If you think you’re such a big man, come to one of my workouts. You’ll be crying like a little baby before it’s done.”
“Back off, bitch,” Tommy said, and he pushed Cassidy back.
Two things happened at the same time: Brad got an ‘Oh, Shit!’ look on his face, and Cassidy put Tommy into an armbar and had him face down on the floor, squealing. I copied her dad.
“Release!” I yelled.
Cassidy let him go and gave me a smirk. I crouched down next to Tommy, so only he could hear me.
“You better get with the program and become a team player.”
He glared at me.
“This is my team,” he hissed.
That pissed me off. We were not going to win with pigheaded jerks like that. If that meant me playing middle linebacker, so be it.
I stood up and shook my head.
“No, it’s not. You need to talk to Coach Hope. I think he’ll straighten you out on whose team it is.” I turned to Brad and said, “I don’t know what your problem with me is, and don’t really care. Just know this: next time your little sister’s choking you out, no one’s going to stop her.”
He turned bright red and walked away. Tommy scrambled up and followed him. That ‘team-building’ session could have gone better.
I sat back down next to April. She had a basketball game tonight that I’d promised to attend. She was looking at me funny again.
Out of nowhere, I had gas. I cut a tremendous fart. I snapped my head around at April and scooted my chair away from her.
She saw what I was doing and gave me a look that said I was dead meat. Everyone was chuckling until the smell hit them.
“April, did a gerbil crawl up your butt and die?” Jeff asked her.
Of course, we all knew who did it. Thankfully, April had a little brother, so she knew what total jerks boys could be. She just gave us all a superior look.
“You might want to check that, it smells pure,” Alan advised.
“I have one. What’s the definition of surprise?” Cassidy asked us. “A fart with a lump in it.”
“Confucius say: ‘Man who fart in church sit in own pew,’” Gina said. We all booed her.
“What did the maxi-pad say to the fart?” April asked. “You are the wind beneath my wings.”
April was a good sport. I liked her a bit more after that. Of course, no one wanted to sit near me.
I FINALLY GOT TO SEE April in something other than a baggy sweatshirt and jeans because she had on her basketball uniform. I was surprised at how nice her body was; I had imagined that she was on the thicker side. I was seated next to Cassidy and Beth when April came out for the tip-off. Up to that point, she’d been in her warm-up. Cassidy nudged me when she saw the look on my face.
“I didn’t steer you wrong. Wait till you find out her big surprise,” Cassidy taunted me.
I could tell she was baiting me, but I was intrigued. Did that mean she had a large rack under her sports bra? Maybe that was why she wore baggy tops all the time.
“Come on, Cassidy, you can tell me,” I said.
Beth giggled as she gave me a knowing look. I glared at her to let her know that she should quit teasing me.
“Yep, I have gym with her and have seen her in the shower. You’re in for a surprise,” Beth teased.