“Please guys,” Scarlet said, grabbing Maria’s shoulder and guiding her away, ushering them down the hall.
They turned the corner and reached their lockers, and Scarlet hurried over to hers, quickly opening the lock, throwing her books in and taking out other books she needed. The inside of her locker was covered with cutouts from magazines, a huge collage of pictures that she loved.
Scarlet sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. This day was already ridiculous. It was like a whirlwind. She just wanted to get home, get into bed, curl up with a book, Ruth by her side, and not think about any of this. She felt like she was in a white-hot spotlight, and just wanted to get out of it.
The bell rang, and as Scarlet closed her locker she spotted Blake. Her heart beat faster. He was standing at his locker, about ten rows away. He still hadn’t noticed her.
“Go talk to him,” whispered Jasmin, gently prodding her back.
That was the prod that Scarlet needed. Without thinking, she took a few steps his way. Her heart was racing.
They’d had such a nice night at the movies. Blake had bought her popcorn and had walked her home, like a gentleman. Scarlet had wondered if he was going to kiss her, and for a moment it seemed like he would. But then it seemed like he’d gotten nervous, and at the last second he kissed her on the cheek instead.
It left Scarlet wondering if he was really into her. Apparently, Scarlet discovered later, he had texted her the following day – but of course, that was the day, of all days, that she had to get sick and go AWOL. She was suddenly flooded with panic as she just realized she’d never replied to his text. Now he must think she’d blown him off.
“Hey,” she said, and could hear her own voice trembling.
A few feet away, he turned and looked at her. For a moment, his eyes lit up with joy; but then they clouded over with something like confusion, or hesitation. She couldn’t tell what.
“Hey,” he said back, sounding surprised. “Are you okay?”
Scarlet felt herself flush.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I heard you were like missing or something.”
“No, just my mom freaking out,” Scarlet said, putting on her best smile. “Parents.”
Blake nodded, and slowly smiled. But his expression was inscrutable, and she couldn’t tell if he bought it or not. He stood there kind of silent, not igniting any more conversation. She began to worry.
“I texted you yesterday,” he said.
Scarlet’s heart pounded. He was upset about that.
“Yeah I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t have my phone all day,” she said.
But she feared he might think she was lying. Who didn’t have their phone on them all day? She hoped he believed her.
“Well yeah, that’s cool,” he said, sounding noncommittal.
They stood there in silence, and it was getting awkward. On the one hand, she sensed that he liked her; on the other, he seemed unsure, maybe still hurt about the text. She wanted to make things right, but she didn’t know how. Most of all, she wanted to go to the dance with him on Friday – and really wanted him to ask her, and for it to be official that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Especially before Vivian could try anything.
Scarlet stood there, silently willing for him to say the words: Will you go to the dance with me on Friday? She imagined the sound of his voice, his expression as he asked it.
But as they stood, there was just more silence. She felt herself filling with dread.
The bell rang again, and kids began to disperse in every direction. Scarlet’s heart sank, as she sensed he was about to head off to class.
But to her surprise, he didn’t leave. Instead, he stood there, even as everyone else was swarming around him. He cleared his throat.
“So… um… are you like going to the dance on Friday?” he asked.
Scarlet’s heart swelled with relief. It was a huge moment for her, the moment she finally realized he liked her. She heard the shaking in his voice and she realized that he was just nervous. Just like her.
“Well, I – ” she began.
“There you are,” came the voice.
Scarlet wanted to die. There, in front of her, appeared Vivian, slithering up to Blake, wrapping one arm around his.
Blake looked over at her, surprised, ambivalent, clearly unsure how to react.
“I have something really important to talk to you about,” Vivian said. “Will you walk me to class?”
Blake stood there, looking back and forth between Vivian and Scarlet, looking trapped, like a deer in the headlights. He looked like he didn’t know what to do.
Scarlet could hardly blame him. Vivian stood there, looking so tall, so gorgeous, so perfect, in her perfect makeup and tight-fitting clothes, like a real-life Barbie doll. Beside her, Scarlet felt inadequate. She didn’t have her money, or her clothes, or her style, or her perfect, flawless looks. How could she blame Blake for not saying no?
At the same time, Scarlet wanted to scream. Why now, of all times? Why did this creature seem to plague her at every turn? It was almost too much for her to bear. Vivian had everything. Couldn’t she just let Scarlet have Blake?
“Um… okay I guess,” Blake said to her.
Scarlet examined Blake, looking for any signs of his disliking Vivian. But she couldn’t tell; he seemed on the fence, as if he were split right down the middle between Vivian and Scarlet. And that, more than anything, broke Scarlet’s heart.
“I guess we’ll talk later,” he muttered to Scarlet, sounding apologetic as Vivian literally dragged him away.
In moments, the two of them were walking away, down the hall. As they went, Vivian turned and looked back at Scarlet with a mean, victorious smile.
Scarlet stood there and watched them disappear and as she did, she felt her whole world sinking out from under her. She felt as if she had just lost Blake for good.
Chapter Eight
Scarlet sat in class, fuming. It was so unfair. She wanted to yell at the world. Why couldn’t she just have had thirty more seconds with Blake? Why couldn’t she have had just enough time for him to respond, for him to ask her to the dance? That was all she needed. Then it would have been too late for Vivian – there was nothing she could have said or done. Now, anything could happen.
God, she hated her. More than anything. She literally stole Blake out from under her, with a second left to go.
And even worse, as luck would have it, Scarlet knew that Blake and Vivian had their next class together. Another stroke of bad luck. If they had just separated after that, if Blake had been in Scarlet’s class, then she would have at least had had a chance to set things right. But now Vivian had a full 40 minutes to convince him. Who knew what they were talking about; who knew what she was saying about her. Scarlet felt sure that she wasn’t wasting any time, that somehow she would convince Blake to ask her to the dance. Would he?
The thought burned Scarlet up inside. She kept replaying in her head all the details of her and Blake’s date together. At various points in the movie their elbows and arms had touched, and he hadn’t backed away. Neither had she. She felt that he wanted to be closer; but she also felt that he was really nervous. So was she. She wondered once again if she messed up by introducing him to her family as her “boyfriend.” Maybe she should have just introduced him as “her friend.” But that seemed so awkward and childish, like she was in third grade. Plus, she hadn’t wanted them to look at and treat him like any other friend. She had felt a need to draw a line, to be a bit independent, especially from her dad, who could be super protective.