Holly's Heart Collection One (63 page)

I wanted to storm off to my next class, but I stayed put beside Jared, waiting for his response.

Jared merely nodded. “I’ll see you at your locker,” he said, like it was no big deal. But it was to
me,
and I was determined to find out what was going on.

At lunch Jared and I sat together as usual. Danny Myers joined us later, listening as I told Jared about my Christmas plans.

“So you’re going to California for Christmas,” Danny said, like he was very interested.

I swallowed a bite of hot dog and reached for a napkin. “My dad’s flying Carrie and me out.”

He took a drink of hot tea. Probably the decaffeinated, herbal kind. “Don’t forget who your friends are,” he said seriously.

“Don’t worry.” I glanced at Jared. “It’ll be fun—at least for a little while.”

Jared leaned his shoulder next to mine. “It’ll be fun for Holly, but…” and here he broke into song, “I’ll have a blue, blue Christmas without her.”

Danny chuckled. But his beaming eyes made me a tad suspicious. Was he happy for me because Jared and I were finally getting along? Or did he miss the days when we’d been closer friends?

“Well, I hate to leave you two alone like this,” Jared kidded, “but I have to meet someone before my next class.”

I swallowed hard, wishing Jared had forgotten about his prearranged meeting with Paula.

“See you after school, Holly-Heart,” he said, winking.

My heart fluttered only slightly. Why was he running off to meet her? I was jittery inside, wishing I could hurry out and spy on Jared. It bugged me sitting here making small talk with Danny.

Finally when I could stand it no longer, I made my move. “I’ve gotta run,” I said, excusing myself.

“No problem,” Danny said with a smile. “See you Friday at the party?”

“Yep.” I waved good-bye to him.

When I had deposited my tray, I noticed Danny’s table was suddenly surrounded by Kayla Miller—Paula’s twin—and two other girls. It made me feel a little better to know I wasn’t leaving Danny by himself. Now, on to spy on Jared’s locker rendezvous with Paula.

I dashed down the hall, past the main office. Hiding behind an open classroom door, I scanned the row of lockers. There they were, in front of Paula’s locker. Jared’s back was turned to me—thank goodness! Paula smiled up at Jared, flashing her perfect white teeth. She gestured as she spoke, and fluffed her hair.

I was boiling inside. How rude! Who did she think she was?

Paula reached up and took the gift out of her locker. It was lavishly wrapped with shiny striped paper and topped with a large green-and-white bow.

No way would Jared accept her gift. Not unless she actually lied about it. Maybe she was giving it to him early to trick him into thinking she had drawn his name. Desperately I tried to secondguess her plan. This was too weird!

Along with being angry, I was secretly amused. How would Paula react if Jared refused her gift? I was dying to know. After his refusal, Jared would set Paula straight about us. What a scene that would be.

I longed to hear their conversation. Paula held up the fancy gift, playing with the ribbon on the top, chattering incessantly. Inching closer, I noticed Jared turn slightly and glance at his watch. Yes! Just as I thought. He was going to leave her standing in the dust.

Then an incredible thing happened. Paula whispered something in Jared’s ear. Then she held the gift out, and Jared actually accepted it.

Strains of Christmas music began to flutter through the hall from the school office. Someone was playing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Probably the school secretary. The sentimental melody washed over me as Jared waved to Paula.

I wanted to cry. Instead, I turned and fled, searching frantically for my best friend.

CALIFORNIA CRAZY

Chapter 7

I found Andie in study hall working on last-minute math homework. “I have to talk to you,” I whispered, settling into the desk in front of hers. Then I spilled out the events I had just witnessed.

She stuck her pencil in her math book and closed it. “Holly, your friendship with Jared is at stake,” she said, as if I didn’t already know. “Listen to me, and do exactly what I tell you.”

“Okay, like what?”

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Trouble was brewing! “Prissy Paula has had her eyes on Jared ever since she and her twin sister moved to Dressel Hills. Here’s what you do—totally ignore her.”

“But how can I? She’s everywhere!”

Andie’s lips spread into a forced grin. “Pretend she doesn’t exist.”

“And then what?” I asked, dumbfounded at this ridiculous idea.

“If you act mature about the whole thing, Jared will be so impressed he’ll start ignoring Paula, too.”

“I, uh, don’t know about this.”

Andie nodded her head slowly. “Paula’s trying to make you mad. I think that’s part of what’s motivating her.” She crossed her arms deliberately and leaned on the desk. “She probably thinks you’ll confront Jared about this, and that could blow your relationship with him.”

“Really…you think so?”

“You betcha.” Suddenly she looked serious. “Nobody likes to be cornered, least of all Jared. It’s part of the game.” She picked up her pencil.

“Andie, you’re incredible!”

She relished the compliment. I could tell by the way she sat there grinning, her brown eyes sparkling.

Deep inside, I wondered about Jared. Why would he accept a Christmas gift from Paula unless she really did lie about getting his name? And if not, had he been fooling me all these weeks?

“For now,” Andie added quietly, “be cool and see what happens at the party.”

I rummaged through my bag and found my locked diary. It was time to transfer
A Heart Full of Poetry
to the red-and-greenplaid covered book—for Jared. As I copied the first poem in my best handwriting, I thought about Jared Wilkins. True, we’d had a parade of ups and downs in our friendship, but I thought things were settled between us. I
wanted
to trust him. And only something like this thing with Paula could make me doubt him.

I ran to catch the city bus after school. If I hurried, I could get home before the snoopers invaded my territory. I needed some privacy while I wrapped Jared’s gift.

After hopping off the bus, I heard loud hammering coming from halfway down the street. I paused to listen. It was coming from behind my house. Thanks to a lack of normally heavy snows, our two-room addition was already coming along nicely.

Inside the house, I hurried to the crawl space, my backpack still slung over my shoulder. Spotting the box overflowing with Christmas wrap and ribbons, I chose the prettiest paper I could find and a bright red bow to match. I hurried to my room.

Bam! Bam!
The hammering continued.

Upstairs I found Carrie and Stephie building something out of Legos that resembled a spaceship.

“What are you two doing home?” I asked.

“Early dismissal,” Carrie said.

I looked at the Lego chaos everywhere. “This room is a massive mess!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll clean it up,” Carrie said absentmindedly.

“Do it now,” I said.

The girls looked up at me. “We were here first,” Stephie said.

I closed the door. Stephie was wrong again;
I
was here first! Her snide remark echoed in my brain to the beat of the hammering outside. “Sassy little girl,” I muttered, hurrying to the kitchen for some tape and a scissors. “I was born first, inhabited that room first, and…”

“Hey, Holly, you’re talking to yourself again,” Stan said, coming in the back door.

“Trying for some sanity,” I said, hoping he’d make himself scarce and leave me alone to wrap my present in peace.

“Hungry?” he asked. He tossed his jacket on the counter beside my Christmas wrap.

I sighed.

“Not talking to me today?” He made a beeline to the refrigerator. “How about a sandwich?”

Bam! Bam!
The pounding was getting to me. Really getting to me.

“Turkey and cheese okay?” he yelled over the noise, holding the refrigerator door open, waiting for my response.

“No mustard, please,” I mumbled.

“Man, something’s really got to you.” Stan poured a glass of milk.

I didn’t dare tell him what was bugging me. He might mention it to Billy Hill, or worse, Danny Myers, and it would get back to Jared. I was determined to stick with Andie’s plan and pretend Paula and Jared had never met today at her locker.

I thanked Stan when he presented a sandwich to me on a napkin. Then he disappeared down the stairs to the family room-turned-bedroom.

Must be nice having the largest room in the house,
I thought.

I was struggling with that old familiar feeling—jealousy. And I was dealing with it on more than one level these days. But Stan and his cozy retreat downstairs were easier to handle than Paula and her sneaky tactics.

I grabbed three grapes and popped them into my mouth as I reached for the dishcloth. Draping Stan’s jacket over a stool, I wiped the top of the bar. Next, I dried the area, then began to unroll the wrapping paper, eager to make Jared’s gift as dazzling as possible. No question, it would be better than Paula’s any day.

Once the poetry book was neatly wrapped, I carried my school bag upstairs to the communal bedroom. I decided not to comment again on the Lego disaster as I tiptoed around the maze of tiny pieces to the closet. On days like this, I’d have given my right arm for a walk-in closet. Privacy was more important than ever, now that I had none at all.

Searching through my end of the closet, I found the rosy-pink blouse I had described to Jared. It would look fabulous with my new black pants. I whisked the blouse out of the closet and grabbed my backpack, heading for Mom’s bedroom.

Closing the door, I posed in Mom’s tall mirror behind the door. I held the silky blouse under my neck, staring at my reflection. If everything went well, the party was going to be so perfect. A night to remember.

Just then I heard the mail truck pull up. Peeking through the lace curtains, I saw the mail carrier climb out of the white truck and head up the walk toward the house.

I dropped my backpack and laid the blouse on Mom’s bed. I ran downstairs, arriving at the door just as the postman rang the bell.

“Here you are, missy.” He held out a stack of mail. One was marked Express Mail.

“Thanks,” I said, eager to open the large white envelope with my name on it. I ran to the kitchen, grabbed the letter opener out of the drawer, and sliced into the envelope.

Inside, I found two sets of airplane tickets. One for Carrie, and one for me. And there was a letter from Daddy. I began to read.

Dear Holly,

You and Carrie are booked to leave this Friday night at nine-thirty.

“Oh no, he’s got it all wrong,” I whispered, my heart pounding.

I realize you preferred to leave Saturday, but holiday schedules are tight, so I took what my travel agent could arrange. Hopefully this won’t cause any hardship on your end.

We’ll see you in two days.

Love, Daddy

“Hardship? This is horrible!” I shouted, punching the air. “How could he mess up like this?”