My Life With the Walter Boys (6 page)

“That’s horrible,” I said, feeling guilty. Maybe there was more to Cole Walter than girls and sex.

After our run, I went to shower, cranking the handle to cold in an attempt to cool off. The water did its job, and when I was done washing my hair, I hopped out with new life. Standing on the shower mat dripping wet, I looked around. The hook where my towel was supposed to be was empty. What the heck? I’d hung it up only moments before stepping into the shower.

A sudden thought crossed my mind, and I glanced at the counter. My heart hammered against my chest as dread surged through me—the pile of neatly folded clothes was missing. Someone must have snuck into the bathroom while I was showering and stolen my towel and clothes!

I flung open the bathroom cabinets in hopes that I would find something,
anything
I could use to cover myself up, but I knew that my search would be useless. The shelves were filled with toilet paper, soap, and washcloths, but nothing that could help me.

“No, no, no!” I muttered to myself. “This can’t be happening.” How in the world would I get to my room without one of the boys seeing me?

“Everything okay in there, Jackie?” Isaac asked, knocking on the bathroom door.

“Um, not exactly,” I said, my cheeks flaming. “There are no towels in here.”

“Why didn’t you bring one in with you?” he asked, trying to contain a snicker.

“I did! Someone took it. Do you mind running upstairs and grabbing me one?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why the heck not?”

“Because I bet Cole five dollars that you’d rather miss school than streak through the hallways. I don’t want to lose a Lincoln, now do I?”

What a complete pervert!

Although I wanted to avoid stepping on the boys’ toes so I could fit in more easily, there was no way I was going to let Isaac get away with this. “KATHERINE!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. With any luck she would hear me from the kitchen. “ISAAC STOLE MY TOWEL!”

“Sorry, Jackie, but my aunt took Zack and Benny to a dentist appointment, so she won’t be able to help you. Besides, I never said
I
took your towel. I just said I won’t be providing you with another one.”

“Please, Isaac,” I begged, my voice jumping up in desperation. “I don’t want to miss school.”

“Hey, I’m not stopping you. We’re leaving in ten, so you better hurry up.”

“Isaac!” I shouted, pounding on the door. “This isn’t funny.” When there was no response, I knew he’d left me stranded in the bathroom.

I slammed my fist into the door one last time before letting my forehead rest against the smooth wood in frustration. School was important—in fact, it was my life—but there was no way I would ever run through the Walters’ house completely nude. I was going to have to wait for Katherine to come home from the dentist, and by then the boys would already be at school.

Goose bumps swept up my arms as I stood in a puddle shivering. It looked like I was going to be stuck in the bathroom for a while, so I decided to step back into a hot shower to keep warm. I started to pull back the shower curtain when an idea came to me. The curtain had two parts: an inner layer of clear plastic to keep water from getting on the floor, and the second, a dark blue piece of fabric for privacy. Unfortunately, little silver rings were holding the fabric up. If only I could separate the fabric from the rest of the curtain. Maybe if I tugged hard enough…

Gripping the material in my hands, I yanked with all my strength, but instead of ripping down what I wanted, I felt the entire pole above the shower topple onto my head.

“Dang it!” I cursed as it clattered against the floor. Even though my head was throbbing, I quickly scooped the pole up and slid the curtain off. Then I tore the plastic section away from the rings and used the remaining blue fabric to form a makeshift towel. Since it was in the little kids’ bathroom, a hideous pattern of monkeys and bananas covered the curtain, but it would have to do. Hopefully Katherine won’t be mad at me, I thought, looking down at the mess I’d made. I could always replace whatever I’d ruined.

Instead of peeking into the hall to make sure the coast was clear, I threw open the door and rushed toward the stairs.

“Isaac, the pigeon has flown the coop! Repeat, pigeon flown coop!” Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Jack with a walkie-talkie. Next to him was Jordan with the video camera in his hands, green light blinking.

“She was supposed to be naked,” Jack said as if I’d caused him some type of inconvenience.

Not bothering to stop or even yell at the twins, I started taking the stairs two at a time, wanting to get to my room before someone else spotted me wearing the shower curtain. Isaac appeared at the top of the landing, the second walkie-talkie in hand and a wicked grin on his face.

“I didn’t think she’d actually—” He stopped when he saw me. “Oh, aren’t you clever? I didn’t even think about the shower curtain.”

“Move,” I said and shoved past him.

“Jackie, wait!” Jordan called, chasing me with the camera. “Can you answer a few questions for our film? For starters, do girls ever play with their boobs?”

The twins followed me down the hall to my room, bombarding me with ridiculous questions until I slipped inside and locked the door. Leaning against the wood, I closed my eyes and slid to the floor.

“Can you explain girls’ obsession with shoes?” I heard Jack saying from the other side. “Why do you need so many?”

“Ask the bathroom question. That one’s good.”

“Yeah, it is. Jackie, why do girls always go to the bathroom in groups?”

I realized then that I was never going to have a moment of peace again.

***

“All right, people, listen up. I need you to partner with two friends,” said Mrs. Hanks.

I looked around the room, biting hard on my lip. We were starting a new group project in art class, and friends were a commodity I was currently lacking. Chairs scraped across the floor, and everyone moved toward someone they knew. Knowing that no one was going to want to partner with me, I stayed in my spot, wondering which unlucky group the teacher would stick me with. I noticed the redheaded girl from the day before as she stood and made her way across the room. When she waved, it took me a second to realize that she was waving at me. I lifted my hand in a small greeting as she came to a stop at my table.

“Howdy, Jackie. My name’s Riley,” she said in a thick Southern accent. “Would you like to join my group?”

“You know my name?” I asked in surprise.

She smiled. “Everyone knows your name. You’re the new girl who sat with Cole Walter on her first day here.” Riley pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. “So how about it? Partners?”

Thank
you, Cole Walter!
Apparently he was useful for something other than making me feel nervous. “Yes, please. I was thinking I might have to work alone.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. Heather and I never would’ve left you by your lonesome,” Riley said, mentioning a girl I had yet to see. “She’ll be joining us soon. Probably late because she’s flirting in the halls.”

On cue, a girl with long sandy hair twisted up in a bun hurried into the room and headed straight for Riley.

“You will never believe what I just found out,” she exclaimed, pulling out the chair next to her friend. “You know that new girl Jackie who was sitting with Cole the other day? Apparently her dad was some New York businessman worth billions and her mother was a famous fashion designer. Her whole family just died in a car accident—”

“Heather?” Riley hissed, trying to cut her off.

“—and there was a whole article about it on that one gossip website I like. You know, the one that posted nude pictures of that hot British actor I was telling you about? Anyway, can you imagine being that rich?”

“Heather!” Riley said again, this time with more force. She pointed in my direction.

Heather followed Riley’s finger with her eyes. “Holy heck,” she said when she noticed me.

“What she means is, ‘Sorry,’” Riley said, giving her friend a look. When Heather said nothing, Riley elbowed her in the side.

“Oh, right! I’m super sorry. That was so tactless of me. I didn’t realize you were sitting there.” Heather didn’t look the least bit sorry. Her lips twitched as she tried to contain a smile that was threatening to break across her face. Instead of embarrassed, she looked thrilled to see me.

“It’s fine,” I responded, my shoulders stiffening.

A minute of uncomfortable silence passed as Heather danced on the edge of her seat. The girl looked like she was about to explode, and finally she couldn’t contain her questions any longer.

“So how do you know Cole? Are you related or something?” The words burst from her mouth, the last part sounding hopeful.

“No, we just met a few days ago.”

“And he just invited you to sit with him?” Heather’s forehead crinkled in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“Ugh, I’m so jealous.”

“Why would you be jealous?”

“Because,” Heather said, rolling her eyes, “Cole doesn’t let just any girl sit with him at lunch. Only girls he’s
interested
in.”

Cole was the furthest thing from being interested in me. In the parking lot this morning, he’d snatched Olivia by the waist and swirled her around before dipping down into a kiss. Nothing says “I want you” like being romantic with another girl, right? But then Nathan’s words came back to me in a rush, about how Cole liked to bounce from girl to girl. I laughed nervously. “You’re wrong. He’s just being nice.”

“Oh my lord, you are so toast,” Riley said, sounding sympathetic as she shook her head. “Cole Walter doesn’t do nice unless he’s getting something out of it. That’s boy’s gonna eat you alive, and you won’t see it coming.”

“I wouldn’t mind if he ate me alive,” Heather said, her eyebrows waggling.

“Would you keep your dirty thoughts to yourself?” Riley wrinkled her nose in disgust. She turned back to me. “Jackie, you should sit with us at lunch today. We’ll fill you in on everything you need to know ’bout that boy.”

I nodded eagerly. Riley was sweet, and I could use as much education as possible about Cole Water if I was going to figure him out. On top of that, it was the perfect excuse to avoid Erin and her hateful glares. “That sounds great.”

Heather squealed and clapped her hands. As brazen as she was, I decided I liked her. She reminded me a bit of Sammy and somehow that made me relax, even though I wasn’t completely comfortable.

“Perfect,” Riley said, leaning forward on the table. “I can’t wait.”

***

Just like the day before, Cole walked me to the cafeteria after math class. This time when we reached the front of the lunch line, I grabbed my own tray. After paying for my food, I stood on my tiptoes, scanning the tables for Riley, and finally spotted a flash of bright red hair.

I started off in her direction, but Cole reached out and grabbed my shoulder. “Hey, where you going, Jackie? The table is this way.” He pointed to where we sat yesterday, and I noticed Erin watching me.

“Sorry, Cole. I promised my new friend Riley that I would sit with her.”

Cole hesitated, almost as if he was surprised. “Okay then, Miss Popular, but you have to promise you’ll join me tomorrow.”

“Maybe I can pencil you in,” I joked.

“Fine,” he said, laughing. “At least let me walk you to your table.”

“Sure.”

I led the way through the crowded room, Cole following me. The rows between the tables were so congested that sometimes Cole’s elbow bumped into mine as people shoved by us, sending goose bumps up my arm.

“Hey, girls,” I said and set down my tray. Riley and Heather both stared up at Cole without responding.

“See you after school, New York,” Cole told me. He nodded in Riley and Heather’s direction. “Ladies.” He flashed them a grin before walking away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Riley began to babble. “Oh, my word! That boy just walked you to lunch. I can’t believe it.”

“Can’t believe what?” I asked.

The two girls looked at me like I was clueless, which I probably was, but it was only my second day. They needed to give me a break.

“The god of all guys is flirting with you,” interjected a boy who appeared out of nowhere and dropped his tray on the table. “And not just casual flirting. More like
I
want
you
in
my
pants
flirting.”

The new boy was wearing a crisp blue shirt with a red bow tie. His flawless blond hair was combed to the side, and by flawless I mean like Fabio,
Baywatch
, or Ford models. “You must be Jackie,” he said. “I’m Skylar, Valley View High’s fashion expert. I run the style blog for the school newspaper. If you’re interested in an editing position, I’d love to work with you. Your East Coast look is so chic.”

“What? No business card?” Riley said, laughing.

Skylar rolled his eyes and turned to me. “She loves making fun of me, but at least I don’t look like a hick,” he mocked in a terrible Southern accent.

“Would you two stop?” Heather said as she flipped the page of the
People
magazine in front of her. “I wanna hear juicy details about Cole.”

Everyone turned to me.

“What?” I asked, looking back at them. I hadn’t realized they were expecting something from me. I barely knew the guy.

“So?” asked Skylar. “What happened?”

Why did everyone care so much about Cole? He was just one guy.

“He’s in my class before lunch, so he walked me to the cafeteria,” I responded, not knowing what else to tell them. I wasn’t good with all this boy gossip, and I could tell right away that Heather wasn’t happy with my answer.

“But what did you guys talk about?” she demanded. To show she was dedicated to the conversation, she pushed her magazine off to the side. “Did he compliment you? Maybe he touched your arm?”

“Are you talking about Walter
again
?” asked another girl who plopped down onto the bench next to Skylar. “Sorry I’m late. I got caught up in the computer lab.”

“This is our pet nerd, Kim,” Riley said, introducing her to me. Kim was a slender girl whose long, flowing hair and flawless skin reminded me of an elf. “As long as you don’t make fun of her little computer game or whatnot where she battles mythical creatures, she won’t bite.”