Bras & Broomsticks (29 page)

Quelle surprise
. At least she didn’t relegate us to behind the curtain.

Free lunch! Free lunch!

It’s Friday and this is the first lunch all week that I don’t have dance practice during! It’s my first real chance to sit at the A-list table. I search for Jewel in the caf. Where is she? I don’t see Doree, either. Or Stephy. Where are they? I don’t see Raf, but he normally leaves for lunch. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him all day.

Did everyone go out for lunch without me? I feel sick to my stomach, and I haven’t even eaten yet, so I know it’s not food poisoning. Maybe they don’t like me after all. I buy a grilled cheese and fries from the lunch ladies and then look for someone, anyone, to sit with. I spot Tammy at my old table, fourth from the back, eating with Janice, Annie, and Sherry. Oh, well.

I carry my tray to their table and sit next to Tammy. “Hi, girls.” I take a bite of my sandwich to make sitting here feel less weird.

Tammy squints at me. “Excuse me? Do I know you?”

“Do you want me to sit somewhere else?” I spit out, along with small crust remnants.

She stares at me for a long second and then pushes her hands down, her scuba way of telling me to relax. “I’m kidding. It’s just that I never see you anymore. Of course you can sit with us.”

Oops. I kind of overreacted there.

Sherry is giving me a strange wide-eyed smile from across the table. She pulls a sopping wet strand of hair from her mouth. “Hi, Rachel. Love-ee your sweater.”

My sweater? I’m wearing the green one I bought at Macy’s and have worn a million times. Is she kidding?

Annie is also smiling at me weirdly, and I squirm in my seat. What’s wrong with everyone?

Janice stares at me, her face all serious. “How is the fashion show?” she asks. She’s wearing faded jean overalls. “We’re looking forward to cheering for you.”

Ah. The fashion show. I’m a celebrity returning to her hometown. I give the group my most benevolent smile. “Hard work,” I say.

“What’s London Zeal like?” Annie asks, leaning toward me, squishing her supersized breasts together and giving the boys at the next table an eyeful.

“She’s a riot,” I say with a wave of my hand.

“Is it true you’re going to Spring Fling with Raf?” Sherry asks.

“Yup,” I say, then notice the confusion on Tammy’s face. “I think so. I had another event that night, but it’s off now.”

Tammy’s eyes bulge. “What? The wedding is off?”

I give her my best this-is-hard-for-me-can-we-talk-about-it-later? look. She nods, eyes still bulging. When the bell rings and my groupies disperse, Tammy pats me on the back. “What happened?”

“I’m not supposed to discuss it,” I say softly, lifting my legs onto the bench and hugging them into my chest. Probably bad luck to talk about the canceled wedding before it’s actually canceled, huh? Kind of like letting the groom see the wedding dress before the ceremony. In a twisted sort of way.

“I honestly understand. Nobody knows family politics better than I do. But if you need to talk, I’m a hundred percent here for you. I remember how screwed up I felt when my mother married my stepmother.”

My heart melts. Tammy is so nice. I’ve treated her horribly since I got into the fashion show. I should have Miri whip her up a happiness potion.

She smiles shyly. “So does that mean I can tell Aaron I can go to the dance with him? I told him I couldn’t because of the wedding.”

Omigod! “What? He asked you to Spring Fling?”

She pulls the elastic from her hair, fluffs the light brown strands, and lets them sit on her shoulders. I like when she wears her hair down. It makes her face look softer. “Yup, he finally asked me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He asked me last week and we weren’t exactly talking.” Her dark eyes cloud over. “Look, I’m sorry for not being more understanding about your work schedule. I know it’s tough, and I should be more supportive about something that’s so important to you.”

She is so cool. If there were an award for the world’s greatest friend, she would so win. She’s apologizing for my not making enough time for her. And she said no to Aaron even though she’s dying to go to the dance as much as I am. She would rather hang out with me at my dad’s lame-o wedding. She honestly deserves a medal. Maybe I’ll have Miri whip up one of those, too.

“Thanks, Tammy,” I say, overflowing with gratitude. Then I add, “And I should make more time for my friends.” With that, we link arms and head to our lockers.

On the stairs we run smack into an all-in-white London. She shakes her fist at me and screams, “Where were you?” at the top of her lungs.

Whoa. I slide backward in fear. “Where was I when?”

“Hello? At lunch? We had a meeting today. I took off class so I could meet with all the freshmen and sophomores to see the formal.”

What is she talking about? “I thought we were supposed to practice the formal dance on Sunday.”

“I changed my mind last night. I phoned Melissa and she said she would call the rest of you. She told me she spoke to you.”

What a witch. And I mean that in a positively negative way. Melissa purposefully didn’t tell me about the rehearsal so I’d look bad. Or maybe she didn’t want me dancing with Raf. She makes me want to puke. Maybe her bulimia is contagious. “I’m sorry,” I say. “But Melissa never told me.”

“Whatever. It’s too late now. But you’d better not miss any more rehearsals or you’re out of the show. I don’t care how good you are,” she growls before stomping off.

I lean against the wall, shell-shocked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tammy says, patting me on the back. “They can’t kick you out now. The show’s in two weeks. And you’re too good.” She tries to make me feel better all the way to our lockers, but I’m too busy steaming to pay attention. I hate Melissa. If only I were the witch instead of Miri. I’d put a hex on her for sure. Turn her into a mouse. No, too cute. A rat. Or a frog. Or a tuna fish that I can mash up and feed to Tigger.

“What are you doing tonight?” Tammy asks as she spins her lock combination.

Should I invite Tammy to come with me to Mick’s? He’s having another party. I probably should. But then I’ll have to hang out with her, and I would rather spend the evening flirting with Raf than, sorry, babysitting Tammy. I open my locker and pull out my books. “I don’t know. I’m usually really tired after rehearsal. I’ll probably just crash.”

“I understand. Call me if you want to hang out. I could just come by. We don’t have to do anything crazy.”

“Why don’t we see how the day goes? Oh hey, wait a sec.” I hand her one of the fashion show tickets. “I don’t know if you want to sit with my family, but I got six awesome seats.”

“Thank you!” she says, and gives me the okay sign.

I charged my family for the tickets, I had to— London was very clear that we were responsible for the cost. I’m not made of money. But I owe Tammy.

After school, I head to the cafeteria for the all-girls dance rehearsal and make a beeline for Melissa. She’s in her pretend tanning position. But this time she’s wearing sunglasses.

We’re inside. There’s no sun.

I loom over her, so that if there
were
sun, I’d be blocking it. “Thanks a lot for telling me about the lunch practice.”

She lifts her shades and bats her eyelashes. “Didn’t I?”

Of course her eyes are blue. Why aren’t my eyes blue? It’s so unfair. She gets red hair and blue eyes. “No, you didn’t. I missed it and got told off by London.”

“That’s too bad.” She flicks her sunglasses back down.

Loathing overwhelms me like nausea. Maybe this intense emotion is enough to spark my long-overdue powers. I close my eyes, purse my lips, and focus.

Next time this chick
Is on her way back from class,
Give her a push . . . no . . . a
kick, yeah, a kick,
And make her fall on her—

Jewel pinches my waist before I can finish the thought. Hey, that was pretty good. If this witch thing doesn’t work out, I can always become a poet.

I’m sitting with Jewel, Melissa, Doree, and Stephy on the living room couch at Mick’s, and Melissa is making fun of all the people who were not lucky enough to be invited.

“Oh, shut up,” Jewel says, and rolls her eyes. “Not everyone can be as fabulous as you, Melissa.”

“As fabulous as us,” Stephy says, giggling.

That’s me. Fabulous. Part of the fabulous group. Fabulous and miserable. Miserable because Raf isn’t here. I’m wearing my good jeans and a great silver V-neck top I borrowed from Jewel. And I spent twenty minutes doing my eyeliner.

And then I got here and ran straight into Will, who told me that Raf is sick at home with a fever.

I should bring him chicken soup. Does it count if it’s instant?

Melissa kicks the marble coffee table. “Did you guys see what Janice Cooper was wearing today?”

Stephy cracks up. “Yes! Overalls. What, is she a farmer?”

And that’s when the worst thing in the world happens.

Before I left the apartment, I gave Miri two instructions. One, if Raf calls, tell him I’ll be at Mick’s and I’ll see him there. Two, if Tammy calls, tell her I was really tired and went to sleep.

So here I am, cross-legged next to Jewel on the couch, when Jeffrey Stars walks into the living room. Followed by Aaron Jacobs. Followed by . . . Tammy.

What is she doing here?

Her mouth drops open when she sees me. And then she just stares.

“Hi,” I choke out. I want to sink into the couch pillows. I want to disappear. I really wish I had that invisibility cloak. Maybe she didn’t call my house. Maybe I can tell her I called her, and her moms told me she was here.

“I just spoke to your sister,” she says. Her top teeth grind into her bottom teeth. “I guess you woke up.”

“Yeah,” I say, and slump deeper into the couch. I played Russian roulette and lost.

She turns to Aaron. “I want to go home.” Aaron puts his arm around her, and without looking back, the two of them leave.

I should chase her. But what would I say? I didn’t want to babysit you? I wanted to hang out with Raf? With Jewel?

The girls beside me immediately crack up. “What was that?” Melissa shrieks.

“Are they a couple?” Doree asks.

“Shnoz and Acne?” Melissa says, then laughs.

My mouth drops open. “Why do you call them that?” I ask.