Can True Love Survive High School? (8 page)

From the beginning, Jane had been aloof. Mads was starting to think Jane would never confide anything to her. But if she didn't, Mads was putting herself through this torture for nothing, and that was too terrible to think about.

“I want to be free—as a butterfly.” This time Audrey whispered the end of the sentence.

“Um, okay, let's take a fifteen-minute break,” Charles said.

The cast noisily pushed their chairs from the table. M.C. came up to Mads and Audrey and hugged them. “Isn't this is exciting? It's so exciting! People are actually speaking the words that I wrote! I can't stand it!”

She ran after Charles to ask him something. The grin on her face looked tense and frozen.

“Bet you twenty bucks she cracks by opening night,” Mads said.

“You're on,” Audrey said. “Mama!” she called, running after M.C. Both M.C. and Kendall turned around.

“So that's your little sister, huh,” Damien said.

“Yep,” Mads said.

“And M.C.'s your mom?”

“That's what it says on my birth certificate.”

“They're cool. So what happened to you?” Mads was startled for a second—who was he to insult her? He hardly knew her. But the grin on his face told her he was just joking around. “Guess you take after your dad.”

“At least my parents didn't name me after a psycho,” Mads teased, thinking of an old movie she once saw about a crazed kid named Damien.

“No, they just named you after a president. Or an avenue. Or a basketball arena in New York.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“Better watch out,” Damien said. “They named me Damien for a reason.” He made a face and pretended to grab at her neck. Instead he tickled her, and Mads laughed.

“You all ready for our big lip-lock, Teen Mariah?” he asked. Damien was cute, a college freshman, but he could pass for younger. So he was playing both Teen Buck and Grown-up Buck. Mads would have to kiss him at the end of Act I. Looking him over, she decided not to mind.

“I'm ready, but can you handle it, Buck?” she said.

“Don't worry about me. I've got the kissing thing
down
,” Damien said.

“Madison?” Jane came over to them. “Don't take offense but I think your mother is losing it already.”

She pointed into the wings, where M.C. was hyperventilating and Charles was helping her sit down. M.C. leaned against the curtain, breathing easier now.

“Is everything all right?” Jane said.

“She's just the anxious type,” Mads said.

“I'll say,” Jane said. “And what's with your sister? Act much?”

Jane clearly had no fear of offending Mads anymore. Mads decided to take it as a sign of confidence in her. Straight talk.

“She's a big ham. We're just lucky the theater isn't doing a musical.
Annie
would be especially deadly,” Mads said.

“I know the type,” Jane said. “My boyfriend is a big show-off. He'll do almost anything for attention.”

Aha. This was what Mads had signed on for. Although she already knew Sean liked attention. But it was interesting to hear Jane say it this way. Almost as if she were putting him down. Just a little.

“Really?” Mads said, as if she didn't know.

“Oh yeah. He's got copies of every video his mother ever shot of him, lined up in chronological order on his bookcase. If you go to his house he makes you watch them. It's pretty funny. Here's little Sean getting potty-trained, here's little Sean learning to swim, here's little Sean modeling his new school clothes …”

“Talk about ego,” Damien said.

“He's not embarrassed about it at all,” Jane said. “I mean, he has no sense of irony. It's endearing, in a way.”

“Till you get tired of it,” Damien said.

“And he's superstitious,” Jane said. “Do you know that on the day of a swim meet he
has
to wear these goofy boxer shorts with candy canes on them? Because he wore them the day he won some big meet. If he can't wear them he goes crazy. But they're worn to shreds. There's a big hole in the back….”

Wow
, Mads thought. Imagine knowing Sean so well you knew that he had a hole in his underwear. She tried to think of something she could say about Stephen, something intimate like that. But she didn't know him that well yet.

Damien was laughing, and Mads couldn't help wondering if some of this talk was for his benefit. Jane seemed to be making gentle fun of a boy she cared about, but in another way it was as if she were roasting him and serving him up to be attacked by Damien. Like she was sending Damien a secret message: Yes, I date the very hot Sean (of course, because I'm so beautiful), but that doesn't mean he's not vulnerable to a hostile takeover. Or that I'm not open to a friendly one.

“My boyfriend is actually kind of quiet,” Mads said. “He's not very attention-grabby at all. Although he did make a big splash at the art fair, so I guess he doesn't
mind
attention….”

“That guy is your boyfriend?” Jane asked. “The one who did the giant installation of a bedroom?” Mads nodded. “That was cool. There's something about that guy. He's kind of sexy,” Jane said.

Mads clenched her teeth to keep her jaw from dropping open in shock. Jane thought Stephen was sexy? Sean's girlfriend thought Mads' boyfriend was sexy? Stephen suddenly gained a new stature in Mads' imagination. A golden aura glowed around him. Not as strong as Sean's, but it was there. He was sexy. If Jane thought so, it had to be true.

mad4u: guess what jane told me today? Sean wears boxer shorts with candy canes on them! and a big hole in the back!

linaonme: gross.

mad4u: where's holly? I can't wait 2 tell her.

linaonme: don't know. I tried to call her a while ago but she was out.

mad4u: I want 2 write about the stuff jane said in my blog diary—but what if sean reads it? he might get mad.

linaonme: use fake names. Like the blind items in a gossip column.

mad4u: hmmm … maybe. But sean will still know it's him.

linaonme: but he'll never admit it, so he won't tell anyone. except maybe jane. He might get mad at her.

mad4u: that might be good … can't decide. What have u been up 2?

linaonme: ramona and I made a plan to get dan. After the writers dinner I hide in his closet and come out when everyone's gone. What do u think?

mad4u: interesting. Wacky, yet clever. If it doesn't backfire. linaonme: there's always that.

mad4u: what r u doing 2nite?

llinaonme: nothing. Walker asked me to go to the movies but I told him I had 2 much homework.

mad4u: the movies? Was it a date?

linaonme: no. just a friend thing. with a group. But now that we're talking about movies, I feel like going out. kiss me stinky!

mad4u: I'm dying to see it. let's go 2nite. I'll call holly.

Holly wasn't online, so Mads tried her cell. She got voice mail. She tried Holly at home and Jen answered.

“Hi, honey,” Jen said. “Holly's not here. She's out with Britta tonight.”

Britta again? Mads said, “Thanks, Jen,” and hung up. Then she dialed Lina.

“Holly's not home. She's doing something with Britta.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lina said. “She's always with Britta. We were supposed to get together after school yesterday but she canceled on me to help Britta shop for a new dress.”

“Oh, right—because Ed was taking her to Le Mas for their two-week anniversary.” Le Mas was a very romantic, fancy restaurant in an old farmhouse just outside of town. “I wish Stephen would take me there, but it's so expensive.”

Lina sighed. “My parents took me there once. It's beautiful, but you don't want to be there with your parents.”

“Britta is so lucky,” Mads said. “But I wish she wouldn't hog Holly so much.”

“I really want to see that movie tonight,” Lina said.

“Me, too,” Mads said. “But we promised Holly we'd see it with her.”

“How can we if she's always busy with Britta? She can see it with Britta if she wants,” Lina said.

“I guess,” Mads said. “It's not so terrible if we go without her, is it?”

“No one is keeping her from seeing the movie,” Lina said.

“Okay,” Mads said. “Let's go.”

12

The Love Nest

To: hollygolitely

From: your daily horoscope

HERE IS TODAY'S HOROSCOPE: CAPRICORN: If you wear sticky-sweet perfume, you attract sticky-sweet people.

I
know it's dark out, but we can't turn on the flashlight until we get inside,” Ed whispered. He led Holly, Rob, and Britta through the dark down a stone path to a small beach house. The nearest house was a quarter of a mile away, but Ed didn't want them to be seen from the road.

Holly stumbled on a rock and fell against Rob, who put his arm around her. In his other hand he carried a cooler full of food and drinks. Ed carried a pizza. Holly and Rob were double-dating with Britta and Ed, and Britta had suggested showing them their secret hideaway.

The door was unlocked. Once inside the house Ed turned on his flashlight. The electricity had been shut off. It was spooky. All the shades were drawn on the roadside windows, but the seaside part of the house was open to the water. Holly could hear the waves lapping on the shore.

Britta bustled around lighting candles and lanterns. “Isn't it beautiful?” she said.

“It's so sweet,” Holly said. “Like a playhouse for grown-ups.” The house was unfurnished, but Britta and Ed had made a low table out of bricks and a board and set out a thick blanket on the floor with cushions to sit on. They had a boom box for music. There were ashes in the fireplace; it had obviously been used very recently. And spread out near the fireplace was another blanket and some pillows, set up like a bed. They had made the house their own. It was bare but so cozy. Holly felt as if she were in a fairy tale cottage in an enchanted forest.

Britta kept a stack of plastic plates and cups and knives and forks under the makeshift table. Ed opened a bottle of wine. Holly admired the way they each knew what to do without having to speak. They were one unit, a real couple.
It must feel so nice,
she thought.

Ed set the bottle on the low table. He leaned across it and kissed Britta, long and slow and deeply. Their faces were illuminated by the candles. Holly stared for a second; she felt as if she were watching a romantic movie. But then she remembered this was real and maybe she shouldn't stare. She glanced at Rob. He was looking at his hands in his lap, where he was trying to wage a thumb war with himself. His left thumb was severely handicapped, however, since he was a righty.

“Who wants pizza?” Britta finally disengaged herself and asked.

“I do,” Rob said. “I'm starving.”

They gathered on cushions around the table. Britta put some soft music on the box. They couldn't make too much noise or they might get caught.

Britta gleamed in the candlelight. Her hair was tied back with a scarf, and she wore mascara, lipstick, and a low-cut blouse. Holly couldn't get over it. Every time she saw Britta she seemed more womanly and more beautiful. She caught Ed staring at Britta with admiration in his eyes. Britta looked back at him and flushed. Holly reached for Rob's hand. Thumb war over. It was time for love.

With his free hand Rob lifted the top of the pizza box. “So, what kind did we get? Looks like half-mushroom, half-pepperoni. Excellent. Half-mush, half-pep, we call it at my house.” He took a pepperoni slice and plopped it onto his plate. “What kind do you want, Holly?”

Holly was watching Ed and Britta gaze into each other's eyes. Ed obviously didn't care about food—all he cared about was Britta. Holly wondered what it felt like to have a boy look at you that way, as if you were the most beautiful person in the world.

“Holly? You're a mushroom girl, usually,” Rob said. He gave Holly a slice of mushroom. “Ed? Britta? You eating?”

Ed dragged his eyes away from Britta's face to look at Rob, then the pizza. “What would you like, love?” He had a faint English accent.

“Wait—” Britta picked up a slice of mushroom. “Here.” She held the dripping pizza for him and fed him a bite. A string of mozzarella stretched between his teeth and the slice, then snapped and landed on his chin. Britta gently plucked it off and popped it into his mouth. They were so intimate with each other. Holly longed to have that same feeling with Rob. At least he knew what kind of pizza she liked. Ed served a slice to Britta and they started eating.

“Don't you love this house?” Holly said to Rob. “It's so cozy, even without electricity.” He nodded.

“I hope no one ever buys it,” Britta said. “I feel like it's ours. I hate to think of some family moving in here and bickering over what TV show to watch or yelling at their kids to do their homework. You know? It would drive out the love vibe.”

“The love vibe?” Rob said. “What are you talking about? You don't want the people who live here to watch TV? If you lived here long enough, you'd get around to watching TV at some point, I bet.”

“I know what you mean, Britta,” Holly said. “This house shouldn't have to see petty, everyday problems. It's a love house.”

“That reminds me.” Ed rummaged through his backpack until he found a package wrapped in tissue paper. “Britta, I made this for you. I didn't mean to give it to you in front of anyone else, but … well, I think your friends will understand. I can't wait to see how you like it.”

Britta tore off the paper. Inside was a framed drawing of the house they were all sitting in at that moment, styled so it looked even more like a sweet, cozy cottage than it really was. Smoke curled out of the chimney, a dog slept peacefully on the front step, and the welcome mat read “Bless Our House and Its Heart So Savage.”

“Oh, Ed, it's beautiful,” Britta said. “You made this? I didn't even know you could draw.” She studied it again, and tears sprang to her eyes. “It looks as if we live here. Or at least someone very happy lives here.” She put the picture on the table and they kissed again, a good three minutes this time.

Rob picked up the picture and stared at it. “‘Heart So Savage’? What's that supposed to mean?” he whispered to Holly.

“Like, true love,” Holly said. “Fierce and passionate. Like a wild animal.”

Rob made a face. “This guy is too much,” he whispered.