The Pull of Destiny (22 page)

I didn’t even
bother thinking about it. Not that pretending to be in love with CiCi would be
hard, she had a certain something about her that I already liked. But Wendy’s
suggestion was anything but nice and I didn’t even want to contemplate it.

Joanna nodded
fervently. “Good idea! Your pops would flip over that.” She chuckled. “Or you
could pull a Carrie on her.”

I stared at
her, my eyes narrowed. “Pull a Carrie? Am I supposed to know what that means?”
I asked, confused as I stole a pretzel from Ahmed’s plate.

Wendy giggled,
her shoulders shaking. “You know, invite her to the gala and pour pigs blood
all over her.”

“But you better
make sure she doesn’t have supernatural powers before you do that, otherwise
you’re screwed,” Ahmed put in, his face perfectly serious.

“That’s disgusting!
Why would I want to do that?” I asked, looking incredulously around the table
at my friends.

“For fun, duh!”
Wendy rolled her eyes.

“He didn’t
watch Carrie coz he was sleeping when I watched it, so he has no idea what
we’re talking about.” Joanna patted my arm.

“I don’t have
to watch it to know that you guys are evil.” I stood up, shaking my head. “I
gotta go.”

“Go where?”
Joanna looked up at me, sounding desperate. “We’re having a conversation here!”

I needed some
fresh air. “I got some stuff to do,” I said vaguely, raising my hand in a
salute. “Later, guys.”

As I left the
canteen, I laughed to myself. Take CiCi to the gala? I wouldn’t wish that on my
biggest enemy!

***

About an hour
before school was out I found myself patrolling the hallways during study
period. I was bored and I didn’t have anything to study for. I guess I could
have called home for a ride but dad was staying at home today and I really
didn’t feel like having it out with him today. I was still pretty drained from
Saturday night’s back and forth. When dealing with him, you needed to be on top
of your game, both physically and mentally. I definitely hadn’t been, thanks to
watching Nate snap on CiCi.

At the thought
of Nate, an idea popped into my head. I didn’t have to go home. Why couldn’t I
just text CiCi, arrange a meet with her somewhere and ask her about her family
life as casually as I could? Hell, I could even kill two birds with one stone
and take her to Baskin Robbins for ice cream and also knock off another item
off my list.

Marveling at my
smart plan, I pulled out my cell phone and quickly texted CiCi, hoping her
phone was on vibrate. ‘
Hey CiCi, how you doing? You want to get ice cream at
Baskin Robbins after school? We can meet in Central Park. Text me back if that
sounds good.
’

I hummed along
to a song under my breath as I aimlessly walked down the hall, getting closer
to the art department as I waited for CiCi’s answer. Finally it came and I felt
a sudden eagerness as I read it.

‘
Sounds
great! About 3.45? Might be a bit late but I’ll be there for sure! See you
then!
’

Anticipation
swept through me but I barely had time to think about why I was so stoked to be
meeting with CiCi. As I passed an ordinary supply closet, a pair of hands
grabbed the front of my t-shirt and pulled me in.

I blinked, my
eyes adjusting to the light as I squinted at the person in front of me.

“Joanna?” It
was
her! She was glowering at me. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Since when do
you care?” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. I groaned. Great.

“You’re mad at
me.”

Her eyes
flashed. “Of course I’m mad at you, Luke! You shot me down in front of your
friends! How was I supposed to feel, happy that you don’t want to take me to
the gala?”

Everybody
needed to back off about the stupid gala!

“Jo, we both
know you weren’t serious about that.”

Or was she?
Judging from the irate expression on her face, she had been serious about me
taking her to the gala. But why?

“Yes I was.”

“Why do you
wanna go with me?” I had to ask. I cocked my head, staring at her. “You have a
boyfriend! Why don’t you just go with him?”

This was so 5
^th
grade.

“I just don’t
want to go with him,” Joanna said, sounding like a petulant child.

I shrugged. “If
you go with me Timothy will kill me. You’re a babe but- I don’t wanna risk my
life for you,” I joked, trying to make her laugh.

She scowled
harder. “Very funny.”

I sighed. “Just
go with the guy! You’ll have fun!” Running a hand through my hair, I bit my
lip. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“You’re the
problem,” Joanna blurted out, a defiant look on her face.

“How?”

Joanna closed
her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “He isn’t you! He’ll never be you
and I hate that!”

I moved closer
to her, running a finger down her cheek. “Jo,
you
dumped
me
,” I
reminded her softly. She looked up at me.

“And I regret
it,” she said, just as softly as she wrapped her arms around me, pressing her
lips against mine.

As we went
through the familiar motions, her hands fumbling with my belt, my hands tangled
in her thick hair as I kissed her back, I suddenly wondered what it would be
like to have CiCi in my arms. Holding her, touching her, making her moan softly
just like Joanna was doing right now. My eyes flew open and I jerked back,
pulling away from Joanna’s lips.

What.

 The.

 Fuck?

Why was I
thinking about CiCi when I was with Joanna? Why was I thinking about CiCi in
that way in the first place?

Joanna stared
up at me, her eyes hooded sexily. “You wanna take my top off or should I?” she
whispered.

“Jo, I gotta
go,” I said, running a finger over my slightly swollen lips as I buckled up my
belt.

“What? Are you
serious?” Joanna’s eyes widened dangerously and she put a hand on her hip.

“I gotta go do
something,” I lied.

Like maybe take
a long, cold shower.

“You’re really
blowing me off?” God. She did
not
sound happy.

I reached in
and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Rain check, babe.”

I almost fell
out of the closet in my hurry to leave and collect my racing thoughts.

Thinking about
CiCi when I was making out with Joanna was strange. Liking it was stranger. But
wishing it could happen was just plain weird.

CHAPTER 11

turning point.

Celsi’s
Point of View

My meeting with
the Financial Aid officer at school lasted far longer than I thought it would.
Usually, he just told me what I needed to know, exchanged a few pleasantries
about the weather, and then I was free to go.
I had no idea Mr. Johnson was
such a hardcore Red Sox fan.
Yup, you read right. A Red Sox fan. Meaning
that he had kept me in his office for a full 20 minutes after our scheduled
meeting simply because he wanted to talk about the recent game. And since I
could never resist a chance to open my mouth...you know the score.

It was after
4pm when I finally managed to get away from Mr. Johnson and I arrived at
Central Park out of breath, hoping that Luke hadn’t upped and left. Sure, I was
only 20 minutes late, but I knew from experience that some guys just didn’t
like to be kept waiting. Take Ahmed, for example. One night, the El Hamed
family invited me out to a restaurant for dinner. Shazia took about ten minutes
to get ready in the bathroom and Ahmed practically beat the door down.

Hopefully
Luke isn’t that impatient.
Because the ice cream offer definitely sounded good, it could be just the thing
to lift me out of the dark cloud that Mr. Johnson had set over my head. All
that I could think of as I walked to the park was what he’d had to say. Tuition
at Dalton was being raised but the organization that contributed to my fees
wasn’t planning to increase the amount of money it already forked out.
Therefore, it fell to Aunt Kelly to pay the remainder. I cringed, holding my
jacket shut as I thought about it. I wasn’t relishing telling her the news. We
were already struggling right now, even with Aunt Kelly working two jobs to
support us.
Maybe I’ll have to drop out.
I wasn’t looking forward to
that prospect. I’d been a Dalton student since 8
^th
grade and while I
didn’t consider myself too good for public school, I was a little nervous about
making new friends and leaving my old ones behind.
Change is good!
Telling myself that didn’t work.
Then stop thinking about it, Celsi. Happy
thoughts!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have too many happy thoughts to grab hold
of.

I spotted Luke,
who was bent over a patch of grass by Turtle Pond, immediately and smiled
thankfully.
He’s still here!
That was a happy thought right there!

When Luke
texted me in the middle of Math, asking me to meet him here, I had actually
heaved a sigh of relief so loud that my teacher actually laughed at me and said
that the problems on the board weren’t
that
hard. How was she to know
that after the drama at the deli, I had stayed up most of the night, sure that
Luke would never talk to me again and that he would tell everyone what an
insanely overprotective cousin I had? Nobody but Shaz, Robyn and Mrs. Williams
knew about Nate’s violent outbursts and I definitely hadn’t wanted Luke to
witness them firsthand. I especially hadn’t thought he’d bear the brunt of one.
So when I got the text I could barely contain myself.

As for the
electrified eye contact at lunch- I had stored that in my mental scrap book of
Luke moments (yes, I do have one) to go over when I was alone. I didn’t think
Luke noticed anything out of the ordinary during that intense look (I doubt it,
boys were so oblivious) but what I had felt send a jolt right through me. And
even though it meant nothing, I intended to remember it.
Maybe it meant
something, Celsi. Maybe he felt what you felt too!

Shaking my head
to get rid of these distracting thoughts, I made my way over to Luke, who was
still scrutinizing the ground intently, a wooly hat jammed over his unruly
hair. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, looking unbelievably cute as a
preoccupied look flitted over his face, that he didn’t even notice I was there
till I spoke.

“Did you drop
something?” I asked cheerfully, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jacket
as I stopped beside him.

He glanced
quickly up at me, his eyes widening, and stared blankly at me for a second.
Deer
caught in headlights.
Unfortunately, even with such a vacant look on his
face, he still looked sexy.
Does he ever
not
look sexy?
How
infuriating! “What?” he said, snapping out of it.

I gestured at
the ground by his Converses. “Well, you’re staring at the ground so I thought
maybe you dropped something,” I elaborated, shrugging. “A pen. Piece of candy.
A ring.”

Once again, my
inability to just stop talking got the better of me as I babbled on while Luke
just looked at me expressionlessly.

 He shook his
head. “Nope, I didn’t drop anything,” he replied, looking down at his feet.

I twiddled my
fingers inside my pockets.
Okay.
“So what’s interesting you over here?”
I asked, moving to look over his shoulder. “You see a bunch of fairies?”

My hair
accidentally brushed against his cheek and he recoiled visibly, taking a step
back. I shot him an embarrassed glance.
Didn’t I wash my hair this morning?
“I’m sorry, I should probably just tie it back,” I apologized, searching for a
hair tie. I usually had one conveniently on my wrist but today I clearly
remembered thinking I wouldn’t need one. Then this happened.
Only to you,
Celsi.

“No, it’s okay.
I’m just- it’s nothing.” Luke sighed as he finished ‘explaining’ himself. “I’m
looking for a four leaf clover.”

That was
unexpected.

I raised my
eyebrows. “Why?”

“They’re lucky.
You know what each leaf represents?” Luke asked.

I shook my
head, even though Luke couldn’t see because he was avoiding looking at me for
some unknown reason. I mean, sure, I had a pimple on my forehead, but it wasn’t
that disgusting!
Talking to someone without eye contact makes me feel very
nervous.