What If... All Your Friends Turned On You (17 page)

“I thought I saw a red gleam in them before he conked out,” Dave said in a panicky voice. “Oh no! What have I done?”

Haley didn't know who was crazier, Mitchell for his wild imagination or Dave for taking it all seriously. But the mood in the room was so tense, and RoBro! clearly meant so much to Dave, she felt she had to play along. Besides, she had total faith in Mitchell's ability to fix the bot.

He unscrewed RoBro!'s chest panel and opened it up. “Haley, my drill, please. Stand back, everybody. This could throw some sparks.”

The group gave Mitchell his space while he drilled and hammered and tinkered with the robot. “Your brother is quite a character,” Alex whispered to Haley.

“Yup,” she replied. “Straight out of a bad science fiction movie.”

Forty-five minutes later, Mitchell pulled down his mask and stepped away from the robot. “I think I've done it. We'll find out in a minute. Dave, why don't you try turning him on?”

Dave stepped forward and pressed RoBro!'s on button. Everyone watched breathlessly. Nothing happened for a second. Then RoBro! hummed to life. His metallic body shifted, almost as if he were
breathing. Suddenly, he sat up, lifted his arms and laid them over Dave's shoulders in a robot hug.

“I am. Feeling much. Better now,” RoBro! said in his robot voice. Everyone gasped in amazement.

“He's well!” Dave cried. “He's alive!”

“Thank you. Brother David,” RoBro! finished.

Dave wiped tears from his eyes and hugged the robot. Annie, Hannah, Alex and Haley applauded. Mitchell nodded his head modestly.

“What can I say? I hate to lose a patient,” he said.

“That was very stirring,” Alex said.

“Really touching,” Annie added.

“We should celebrate RoBro!'s return to life,” Haley said. “Anybody want some ice cream?”

“I do!” Annie said.

“Well, sorry, we don't have any ice cream,” Haley said. “But we do have zucchini bread.”

They all trooped upstairs to the kitchen. Haley sliced and toasted the mildly sweet veggie bread for all of her guests. Dave requested a small piece for RoBro!—“Just a teensy one, since he's still recovering. He can't eat it, of course, but he does like to smell things.”

“There's been so much drama, I almost forgot about your big news, Alex,” Haley said as she finally settled down at the table. Earlier that evening they'd all been celebrating Alex's acceptance to Georgetown, though that felt like ages ago now.

“It's a good night for everyone, isn't it?” Alex said.

“It certainly is!” Annie said. “So how are things going for Team Eton? And can you get me one of those Devon McKnight T-shirts? They're the hottest thing at school right now.”

Eleanor Eton had recently charged Alex with renewing Spencer's social standing, which had plummeted after Coco De Clerq publicly dumped him. So Alex had hired the talented artist Devon McKnight to design a pro-Spencer shirt to counteract Coco's smear campaign. Devon had created an edgy instant classic, and soon everybody at school was wearing them—if they weren't sporting a preppier Team Coco shirt.

At the mere mention of Devon's name, Haley felt a pang in her stomach. Those Team Eton T-shirts had brought her scruffy classmate into the limelight and made the artsy/creative junior suddenly cool. Haley had been spending so much time with these science and political brainiacs lately that she sometimes felt she was neglecting her artistic side, and to her, Devon represented this freer, alternate version of her life. Plus, he was way cute. She thought she'd stomped out the flame of that old crush a while ago, but maybe not. Clearly, there was still a kernel of feeling intact.

“That reminds me, I've got to ask Devon to make some more,” Alex said. “I'm giving them away for
free but at this point I could sell them, they're so popular.”

“Is Mrs. Eton really paying you to make Spencer a teen idol again?” Hannah asked. “Don't you think that's kind of unethical?”

“It's hard to say,” Alex said evasively. “But it's good experience for me. It's like a microcosm of a political campaign. I try to look at Spencer as a candidate. I don't have to like him personally. I just have to convince the voters—or the kids at school—to like him.”

Just then, Joan Miller came in and sliced herself a nibble of zucchini bread. “Sorry to break up the party, but I've got to march your mechanic off to bed now. It's getting very late.”

“Thanks for saving RoBro!, Mitchell,” Dave said. “You're a genius, and I don't use that term lightly.”

“No problem,” Mitchell said. “I was only doing my duty. I took an oath; I must do everything in my power to save a sick machine. Good night, everyone.”

Haley and Alex helped Dave and Hannah load the revived RoBro! into Annie's car. After they drove away, Alex lingered in the driveway.

“I'm very impressed by your brother's electronic skills,” Alex said. “That was amazing, what he did tonight.”

“I just feel lucky to have a real brother, and not one I had to build out of scrap metal.”

“Me too,” Alex said. “I can't imagine being an only child. No wonder Dave and Annie are so … odd.” He leaned against his car, not quite ready to leave yet. “So listen—what are you doing on Valentine's Day?”

Valentine's Day, eh? Interesting question
, Haley thought. She felt her cheeks heat up. “Actually, that's my birthday. I'm turning seventeen.”

“Easy birthday to remember,” Alex said. “I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner at my house. A special dinner in honor of your birthday and the day of hearts. I'll cook. I'll take a stab at it, anyway. You will be witness to my very first steak au poivre.”

“Wow,” Haley said. “What a lovely invitation.” In the background she heard the sound of a basketball bouncing on asphalt. She glanced across the yard to her next-door neighbors' driveway. The light was on over the Highlands' garage, and there was Reese practicing free throws in a ski hat, hoodie and his varsity basketball shorts. He bounced the ball twice, shot and
whoosh
, made it in.

Haley knew the basketball team had a major game coming up. It was kind of sweet to see Reese working so hard for it, practicing by himself late at night in the freezing cold.

“My parents will be out of town with both my brothers,” Alex said. “So if you don't come, I'll be all alone on Valentine's Day.”

Haley smiled. “Now, that would be a shame.”

“A terrible shame,” Alex said. “So what do you say?”

Hmm … Haley could have her birthday plans all sewn up—if she wants to. A boy has just offered to cook dinner for her—what could be better? Still, a combo seventeenth birthday/Valentine's Day is a big event. Haley is sure to get other offers for that evening, at least from her friends. What should she do?

The big basketball game against Ridgewood is coming up. It must be important if Reese is so worried about it he's shooting free throws in the middle of the night. Maybe he could use Haley's support. They haven't really been talking lately, but that could change if Haley shows up at the game. Then again, maybe he doesn't want any distractions
.

Then there's Devon and his cool new T-shirt business. Haley has always had a little thing for him, and for a time, he seemed to like her too, but lately he's been so passive about it. Maybe his association with Alex is a sign that he's finally gotten his act together. Maybe, if Haley makes a little effort now, things could be different between them
.

If you're sure Haley would love to have Alex cook dinner for her on her birthday, especially if his parents aren't home, turn to,
CANDLELIT BIRTHDAY
If you think Haley should support Reese at his game
,
turn to,
RIDGEWOOD RIVALS
. Finally, if you think Haley thinks Devon's new T-shirt business is the coolest thing at school, go find out how he's feeling about Haley these days,
HOT PURSUIT
.

Boys, boys, boys! It's a tough job to choose, but somebody has to do it
.

“D
oesn't Coco look great?” Whitney said. “She's so skinny!”

“I don't know …,” Haley said. They watched Coco sashay down the hall, surprisingly full of pep for a girl who'd hardly eaten in more than a week. As far as Haley was concerned, Coco had gone from skinny to too skinny to waaaay too skinny since she'd broken up with Spencer. It was typical of Whitney to think “the skinnier the better” when it came to Coco's looks. Whitney had once been a rabid
binge-and-purger, and even though she'd recovered, Haley wasn't sure her body-image issues were fully resolved yet.

“Are you going to the big basketball game?” Whitney asked, bouncing from subject to subject in her usual spacy manner. “I really want to go, but since half the boys on the team are our enemies now, I'm not sure what to do.”

“Me either,” Haley said. The Hillsdale varsity boys' team had a major game coming up against their rival, Ridgewood High, on February 14, and Haley hated to miss it—even though that night was not only Valentine's Day but also her birthday, and there were sure to be other fun things to do. To complicate matters, she and Reese were on the outs lately. She just wasn't sure the game was worth the angst.

“Now that you guys dumped your boyfriends, it feels like there are no boys left in school to talk to,” Whitney complained. “I wish we could meet some new boys and start over.”

“I know what you mean,” Haley said.

Coco stopped to chat with a few senior girls, who were clearly complimenting her on her appearance. Haley had to admit that lately, Coco was looking more and more like the twig-thin models her ex-boyfriend Spencer had gotten caught with over winter break.

“I wonder how many calories she eats a day,” Whitney said, spooning raspberry yogurt into her mouth.

“So do I,” Haley said. “In fact, I think I'll try to find out.” Haley had a bad feeling Coco was dropping pounds in a very unhealthy way. She decided to trail her and find out just how Coco was shedding so much weight so quickly, with so much peppy energy to spare.
No time like the present
, Haley thought, following Coco into the cafeteria to see what her friend would choose to eat. Coco sat down with Sasha, then pulled a bottle of cloudy liquid from her bag. When Sasha wasn't looking, Coco proceeded to pop several multicolored capsules into her mouth.

“Ahem, what is that stuff?” Haley asked, sitting down with them.

“What, this? It's just part of my cleansing program,” Coco said defensively. “Hot water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and a little maple syrup for energy. You should try it—it's great.”

“No thanks,” Haley said. “And that's not what I meant.”

Coco shot Haley a threatening glance that said,
Mind your own business
.

“What are you talking about, Haley?” Sasha asked, mildly annoyed. “Don't be vague, please? All this dieting has wreaked havoc on my ability to concentrate.”

“I saw Coco taking pills,” Haley revealed.

“What are you, the lunch police?” Coco snapped. “Don't worry, this is all perfectly healthy. My trainer at the gym gave them to me.”

“They're from Trainer Bobby? Then they must be okay,” Sasha said sarcastically. “That guy sells steroids to half the football team.”

“Haley the whole point of a cleanse is the special chemical reaction certain ingredients have on your system,” Coco insisted. “I know what I'm doing.”

Coco could say “Don't worry” all she wanted, but Haley and Sasha were officially worried. This cleanse was obviously a front for a starvation diet with chemical enhancement. Haley was afraid that Coco might have entered an early stage of anorexia. Not eating at all seemed even more pernicious than Whitney's flirtation with bulimia.

Should I do something about this?
Haley wondered.
But if so, what? And what if getting involved means causing more harm than good?