Crash Test Love (8 page)

“No.”

“Good,” London says, sounding relieved. “That means you stil have the upper hand.” I don’t get why it’s so important to keep my knowledge of the rumor a secret. My instinct is to be completely transparent and curse him out.

“Wouldn’t he assume I know, though?”

London shakes her head. “Not necessarily. Henry lives in his own world. He thinks he’s, like, some kind of artist or something. But he’s not fooling me.”

I want to ask how wel London and Henry know each other, but the subject seems kind of taboo; I decide to wait for the right moment to bring it up—whenever that’l be.

“Who wants to go for iced co ees after school?” Jessica asks, chewing on the end of her braid. “I’m parched. And then mani/pedis?” London and Jyl ian both say, “Absolutely.” They look at me. “You’re coming, right?” I smile back, not because I want an iced co ee or to get my nails done, but because I have girlfriends inviting me to hang out with them. It feels almost too good to be true.

HENRY

INT.—HUNTINGTON CINEMAS BREAK ROOM, SUNDAY

It’s been a ful week since Garret landed a job at my movie theater, and I’m stil not used to having my private space invaded. Huntington Cinemas has been my hideaway since I was sixteen. I feel violated. Annoyed.

Also intrigued.

One of the guys I work with, Tony Macharet i, pats me on the shoulder as I stu my bag in my locker and put on my uniform.

TONY

Yo, Arlington. Good weekend so far?

ME

Sure. You?

TONY

My dog is sick. My ma fed him turkey meatballs and now he won’t stop bar ng. It’s gross.

Tony is a senior at West Shore, our rival high school. Not that I play into the rivalry.

TONY

Heard you crashed Lucia Bennett’s Sweet Sixteen last night.

ME

Oh?

I did crash Lucia Bennet ’s Sweet Sixteen, but I don’t know how Tony is aware of that. Lucia goes to school in Smithtown, which is at least an hour from us. Duke, Nigel, and I pretended to be visiting from England (every girl loves a British accent). We wore matching bow ties. It was awesome.

TONY

My friend Eric was there—he’s dating Lucia’s older sister—and he said this guy he’d never seen before was break-dancing like nobody’s business and got with this girl Michelle Kannin, who has a boyfriend in college.

ME

So you thought of me? I’m attered.

TONY

I’ve seen you dance, man. You’re wild. Remember the party last year?

Flashback to Huntington Cinemas’ Christmas party the year before, when I l ed a ask with Smirno , and Tony and I got so drunk that we stuck our heads into the cases of popcorn and ate until Roger made us stop.

TONY

Dude, by the way … have you seen the new chick?

Garret .

ME

What about her?

TONY

She’s bangin’. Think she’d be into me?

Something strange takes over me, a swirling in my stomach I’ve never felt before. I’m pret y sure it’s jealousy. I don’t want Tony to hit on Garret .

But why should I care? I don’t want to date her.

TONY

You’re supervising her, right? Put in a good word for me?

ME

Uh, okay. See ya later, Tony.

I head into the lobby, where I spot Garret , who has already taken her place behind the ticket machine. I sneak up behind her, trying not to draw any more at ention to myself than necessary.

GARRETT

Hey.

ME

Oh. Hey.

Smooth, Henry. She looks sil y in her uniform, but not in a bad way. In a cute way. She smel s good too, like the kind of tea my father keeps in the pantry and makes if he’s having trouble sleeping. Her hair is pul ed back and her neck is exposed. I have the sudden urge to kiss her.

GARRETT

Did you, um, have a nice weekend?

I debate whether to tel her about the party I crashed the night before. Not because she’l be impressed (I already know she won’t be; I can tel these kinds of things) but because she seems to, I don’t know, actual y like being around me, and that’s dangerous. For me and for her.

ME

Yeah. I had sex in the backseat of my car. It was hot.

GARRETT

(without inching)

Did you listen to music?

ME

What?

GARRETT

While you were doing it. Did you listen to any music?

I’m so surprised by her question that I am, momentarily, speechless. I also lied to her; I didn’t have sex. Al I could think about when I kissed Michel e was Garret . It was … weird. I drove home from the party without Duke and Nigel (Duke brought his own car), watched Gangs of New York, and fel asleep with my clothes stil on.

ME

Uh, no. Do you remember how to scan a ticket?

GARRETT

Yes. I’m not stupid.

ME

I never said you were.

GARRETT

You implied it.

ME

No, I didn’t.

GARRETT

All right. If you say so.

We continue working. I steal glances at her; every time I look, she looks away. She applies Chap Stick, like, ten mil ion times. If her goal is to draw at ention to her lips, it’s de nitely working.

GARRETT

Oh, my weekend? It was amazing—thank you so much for asking. What did I do? Well, I painted my nails and ate bonbons on Friday night. Saturday I went to a Jonas Brothers concert at Nassau Coliseum, and I don’t even like the Jonas Brothers but they called me up onstage and I performed an original song on the harpsichord, they just happened to have one, and people threw owers at me and now I have my own record deal.

I can’t help but laugh.

ME

Sounds eventful.

GARRETT

Yeah, it was. (Pause.) Are you really not going to ask me how my weekend was?

ME

Let’s start over. How was your weekend, Garrett?

GARRETT

Fine.

ME

You can’t just say ne. Not after whining about it.

GARRETT

(laughing)

Okay, okay. Last night I went to the mall with the J Squ—with Jyllian, Jessica, and London.

ME

The mall? Wow … you guys are wild.

GARRETT

It was fun! Honestly.

ME

How fun can the mall possibly be? There’s nothing to do except walk around.

GARRETT

We can’t all party until three in the morning. Someone has to be a little boring to make up for your lifestyle, Mr. Arlington.

I know she’s kidding, and that she’s irting with me—at least, I think she’s irting with me. As much as I don’t want to like it, I do.

ME

What can I say? I like to keep things exciting.

We’re interrupted by a slew of moviegoers who want to buy tickets. Garret and I establish a kind of rhythm; before I know it, our shift is almost up. The night is almost over.

GARRETT

You don’t have to keep ignoring me at school, you know. It’s not that hard to say hello.

ME

(slightly taken aback)

It’s not you. I … I sort of keep to myself.

GARRETT

I’ve gathered. But you can still say hello. You act like we don’t even know each other.

How can I make her understand that it’s bet er this way? That I’l only wind up hurting her if we get close because I can tel she likes me and that’s what always happens to girls who like me. They get hurt.

ME

Yeah, you’re right.

Garret rests her hands on the cash register. I’m speechless at how beautiful she is. And how cool she is. I wonder if she’s heard the rumor about us hooking up. It’s al over school, or at least, it was; I don’t know if anyone’s talking about it anymore. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t have heard, but she hasn’t brought it up, and if I know anything about women, there’s no way she’d be able to bot le up al those emotions around me. Unless she’s insane …

ME

I gured you didn’t want to talk to me.

GARRETT

What?

ME

That’s why I’ve kept my distance. Well, one of the reasons.

GARRETT

Why would you think that?

ME

The J Squad aren’t exactly my biggest fans. Now that you’re friends with them … I’m sure they’ve lled your brain with all kinds of terrible stories.

Garret looks right at me.

GARRETT

We don’t really talk about you.

ME

Oh.

I can’t tel whether I’m upset or relieved.

ME (cont.)

You know … I didn’t have sex with that girl. From the party last night. (Garrett is silent.) Not that you care or that it matters at all, but in the spirit of honesty I just thought you should know.

GARRETT

Why did you lie?

ME

I guess … I wanted to impress you? Or scare you away? I honestly don’t know.

GARRETT

Well, you know, thanks for telling me the truth.

ME

Sure.

GARRETT

It’s good to know you’re not a total man-slut.

Before I can respond, Roger approaches us and shoos us away like we’re ies.

ROGER

Time to go home! Close up the registers!

He moves toward the concession stand, and I start counting out the money in my register.

ME

I guess, uh, I’ll see you at school tomorrow?

Garret smiles at me, an electric kind of smile that sets me o like a recracker. It’s as though the entire room has gone dark and we’re the only people in it, and there’s a spotlight on us and we are total y il uminated.

I see her so clearly.

“Yup,” she says, and then: “I’m glad you had a nice weekend, Henry.”

At home, my father is sit ing at the kitchen table reading a book and eating a bowl of pasta.

ME

Any good?

He looks up from the book (Crime and Punishment), swal ows, and nods.

DAD

Creepy.

ME

I read that in my English class last year. I really liked it.

He goes back to eating. So many questions are left unasked: How was your day, Henry? How are Duke and Nigel? Are you put ing together your col ege applications? Are you lonely? Sad? Happy? Do you miss your mother?

Some people I know curse their parents for being too involved in their lives, for not giving them independence.

It’s the opposite for me. I used to have two parents, and now, sometimes—most of the time—it feels like I have none. I decide not to wait for a question to be asked and to ask one myself. Something simple. E cient.

ME

Interesting day?

Dad looks surprised that I’m trying to make conversation. Not displeased. Just surprised.

DAD

I guess. You?

ME

Work was ne. There’s a new girl.

DAD

Pretty?

ME

Yeah.

DAD

The most dangerous kind.

I give a knowing smile and continue into less stable territory. I’m not sure why I suddenly feel so bold.

ME

She reminds me of Mom, actually. In a good way.

Creases immediately form in his forehead, and his lips press themselves into a thin red line.

DAD

I’m gonna grab a beer and get to bed, kid. Good night.

Just like that he is o .

My mother left when I was twelve and put thousands of miles between us. My father left me in a di erent way. He didn’t put miles between us, just wal s, and ve years later I’m stil not sure which is worse.

GARRETT

I am nal y beginning to tel Jessica and Jyl ian apart.

“I’m very knowledgeable about the things that are important to me,” Jessica assured me the other day in the cafeteria. “Brangelina and The Biggest Loser. And the entire country of Mexico. Do you even know how cheap Tijuana is? I went there with my parents last summer and we survived on less than ve hundred dol ars. And we were there for an entire week.”

“That’s disgusting. I’m surprised you weren’t kidnapped and forced to smuggle drugs in your own body,” London said.

“Like in Maria Ful of Grace,” I volunteered, remembering a movie my father made me watch with him in which a girl swal ows tiny bags ful of cocaine and crosses the border with them inside her.

Jyl ian shook her head. “Maria is such a fugly name.”

And then, of course, there’s Jessica’s purse—a purse that appears to have come straight out of Mary Poppins. It’s seemingly bot omless, and the random shit she pul s out of it always keeps me on my toes. Yesterday, she removed a live salamander, and the day before, a remote control. “Just in case,” she said.