“I’ll probably just wear a sweatshirt and jeans or something,” Hilton said. “I hadn’t really thought about it yet.”
“But don’t you wanna wear a cute shirt? I mean, to impress Landon or something?”
“Nah, whatever,” Hilton said carelessly. “He’s seen me in a swimsuit; he knows.”
Jill laughed, surprised. She wished she had Hilton’s easy confidence. But then Hilton would look gorgeous even in a sweatshirt, and Jill would probably look like a big tomboy or something. “I don’t know, I think I might just wear jeans and a long-sleeved shirt or something. Like something cute.” Jill went over to her closet and started looking through her shirts.
“Yeah, you should. That’d be cool. I’m so excited you broke up with Bennett!” Hilton grinned, and Jill grinned back over her shoulder while continuing to sort through her closet.
Hilton stretched in Jill’s green beanbag, her legs straight out in front of her and her hands over her head, then curled back up in a ball. “If I don’t get to kiss Landon at midnight, I hope I get to kiss Reed.”
Jill turned around in surprise. “You like Reed? I didn’t know that!” Reed Mitchell was a sophomore who already played on the varsity basketball team. He was about six feet tall and really muscular with long shaggy brown hair. He looked like he could be a senior. Jill didn’t know him at all; she only knew who he was from going to basketball games.
“Yeah, kinda. I just started noticing him during basketball cheerleading. Hey, are you coming to the Holiday Tourney tomorrow?”
“Um, I have gymnastics from eight to eleven. What time’s the tourney?”
“Well, the first two games are at nine and eleven, and then the winners of those two games play at three. We play in the second game in the morning. You should come.”
“Yeah, I’ll probably come after practice. Who’s all in it?”
“Um, the first game’s like Logan North against Western Pine. And we play Woodview.”
“That’s kinda a weird bunch of schools! They all suck except Logan North.”
“Yeah, well who really wants to play in a freakin’ tournament on New Year’s Eve! They probably had trouble getting teams.”
“True. Hey!” Jill had just thought of something. “Do you remember a few days ago at cheerleading practice if Brooke was talking about Brady at all? ‘Cause she came into the gym and waved Lindy over, and they were talking, then Lindy went right back and whispered something to Amy, and it looked like Amy looked over at Lorylyn.”
“No, I haven’t even heard her mention Brady since like, that day at lunch when she was telling us they were on Homecoming Court together.”
“Huh. Well maybe it was just random that Amy looked at Lorylyn then. Who knows.”
***
The next morning after practice, Jill threw a sweatshirt on over her leotard and shorts, pulled her leotard down around her waist, and shoved her feet into her flip-flops.
“Hey, are you going over to the game?” Lindy asked, coming up behind her.
“Yeah! Are you?”
“Yeah, I told Brooke I’d stop by for a while. I’ll walk over with you.”
Jill hadn’t really talked that much to Lindy in a long time, and she felt awkward. Lindy was always friendly to her and Lorylyn at practice, but ever since Brady had asked Lorylyn to the dance instead of Brooke, Jill wondered if Lindy was mad at Lorylyn or anything. She didn’t seem to be though; things at their lunch table on green days were as casual and lighthearted as ever. But Brooke and Lindy were best friends...
“So, are you going to Landon’s party tonight?” Lindy asked with a smile as they crossed the lobby between the gyms. Her sleek blonde ponytail swished as she walked.
“Yeah. Are you?”
“Yep.”
“I heard his New Year’s parties are even better than his other ones.”
“Yeah, they’re awesome. This one should be...I don’t know. We’ll see. Hopefully good.” Lindy shook her head a little as she pulled open the door to the varsity gym.
Jill wondered what she meant, but didn’t want to ask. The game had just started, and they sat down on the bleachers together. There were lots of parents here, but only a scattering of students. Usually varsity games were packed; Jill loved them. But it was eleven in the morning on New Year’s Eve.
Brooke spotted Lindy and waved, a cat-like smile on her face that seemed odd for the situation. Lindy smiled back halfheartedly, shaking her head slightly. Jill quickly looked out at the court and pretended not to see. Obviously Brooke and Lindy had some kind of inside joke going on or something.
It was a really boring game, but Jill felt cool sitting next to Lindy. Reed was playing really well; Jill figured Hilton was enjoying it from where she sat in the first row with the other JV cheerleaders. Landon had gotten to dress varsity for the game, but he didn’t play. The JV team was here, sitting behind the varsity bench keeping stats. Jill was surprised to see Dirk with them. He had been playing freshman ball so far. So I guess maybe he made JV after all, Jill thought with a small smile, remembering Hillary’s story about her first conversation with Dirk in art.
At halftime Lindy went down to talk to Brooke. Hilton flew up into the stands, plopping down beside Jill. Hillary didn’t come up with Hilton; she was working on a lift with some of the other cheerleaders. Hilton’s caramel-colored eyes were shining, and Jill could tell she had a story.
“So before the game we were all sitting there, and Brooke and Blake were sitting behind me, and Blake was like, ‘So Brooke, are you ready for tonight?’ in this really, like, smug voice. And then they both started laughing. And Blake was like, ‘This is gonna be great; she’s gonna be so upset. She has no clue.’ And then Brooke was like, ‘I know! I can’t wait! Stupid little bitch.’ ” Hilton stopped for breath and stared at Jill, her eyes wide.
Jill’s eyes widened too. “Oh my gosh! What do you think’s gonna happen?”
“I don’t know! It’s gotta be something with Lorylyn though.”
“Yeah! Do you think we should say something to her?”
“I don’t know...” Hilton paused. “No, probably not. I mean, what can Brooke really do, split them up for spin the bottle again? Lorylyn didn’t even care about that. It’s probably just that Brooke is gonna go up to Lorylyn and bitch her out or something. That might upset Lorylyn, but it’ll just make Brooke look like a total bitch, and it’s not gonna have any effect on Lorylyn and Brady. So I don’t think we should say anything and, like, get her worried over nothing. And she’ll probably be with Brady the whole time anyways, so when would Brooke even have the chance to come up to her? She’d never do it in front of Brady.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Good point. It’s probably better not to say anything then.”
***
Cassidy’s mom drove Cassidy, Sam, Kat, Hilton, and Jill to Landon’s that night. True to her word, Hilton wore jeans and an oversized hooded sweatshirt with a pair of huge silver hoop earrings that almost touched her shoulders. Her honey-colored hair was in a loose, messy ponytail, and she didn’t even look like she was wearing any makeup.
And she looks ten times sexier than me! Jill thought. Jill had decided to wear a tight black sweater with blue stripes around the elbows and a pair of jeans. She was glad to see Cassidy and Sam were dressed similarly to her in jeans and sweaters. But still, Jill wished she had her own sense of style like Hilton. Every time Jill was dressed differently, she felt stupid and embarrassed, but when Hilton dressed differently, it was on purpose…because she liked to be unique and knew she looked hot anyway.
When they got to the party, people were gathered mostly in Landon’s living room and garage. A keg and ping-pong table were set up in the garage, and the TV was on in the living room. Jill and Hilton headed inside. Lorylyn and Brady were sitting close together on the end of the couch, and Jill saw Brooke and Lindy standing in the middle of a group of girls over in the far corner of the room. She didn’t see Todd anywher
e. She hoped he hadn’t decided not to come.
After talking to Lorylyn and Brady for a while, Hilton got up from the couch. “Look, here comes Hillary and Dirk. Let’s let them sit. Come out to the garage with me.”
Jill stood up and followed Hilton out to the garage. Reed was standing near the keg with Landon and a few other guys, and as soon as Hilton grinned over her shoulder at Jill, Jill knew why she’d wanted to come out here.
“Let’s go say hi.”
As Hilton led the way, Jill glanced around, looking for Todd. She spotted him over by the ping-pong table with Bennett. He saw her and raised his plastic keg cup in her direction. She waved, hoping Bennett didn’t see. He didn’t look up from the ping-pong game they were watching.
“Hey, boys,” Hilton said playfully as she sidled up to the keg.
“Hey, hottie!” Landon, already drunk, put his arm around her and drew her close. “Want a beer?”
“Sure.” She held her hand out to accept the cup Reed was offering her. “Thanks. Jill, do you want one?”
“Um, no thanks.” Jill stood awkwardly in the circle. All the guys were talking to Hilton but not to her. She decided to go talk to Todd.
“Hey,” she said, walking up beside him and punching him lightly on the arm. “What’s up?” She positioned herself so Todd was blocking her view of Bennett on his other side.
“Hey, Jilly.” Todd ruffled her hair and then put his hand in his pocket. “Not much, just watchin’ some ping-pong.”
“Cool.” Jill stood uncomfortably beside him, thinking maybe she shouldn’t have come over. He was being kind of distant; maybe he was mad at her for breaking up with Bennett. She glanced back at Hilton. Landon’s arm was still around her shoulders, and she was looking at Reed and laughing animatedly. This was where Jill needed Hillary! Normally the two of them always had each other in awkward situations like this where they had no one else to talk to. But now Jill was on her own.
“Hey, you wanna go outside?” Todd asked suddenly, turning to look at her. “It’s gettin’ kinda hot in here.”
“All right.” Jill tried to sound nonchalant, but she was thrilled. Bennett didn’t even look at them as they walked away, and Jill wondered if he even cared she was going off with Todd.
Todd led the way, and they walked around to the back of the house and down to the stone wall. It was freezing out, and Jill crossed her arms over her chest as she followed him. Todd hoisted himself up on the wall facing the lake, and Jill climbed up beside him.
“So I hear you and Bennett broke up.” Todd took a drink of his beer.
“Yeah...I don’t know...I guess I just didn’t like him that much anymore.”
“That’s cool. I understand.”
Jill was relieved. She didn’t want him mad at her. “Is he like, okay about it?”
“Yeah, I think he’s cool.”
“That’s good.” She looked at Todd. He was staring out at the lake. She felt like his mind was a million miles away. He wasn’t goofy like normal. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He took another long drink of beer. Then he turned to look at her. She waited, but he didn’t say anything for a while.
Jill was suddenly self-conscious because of the way he was staring at her, even though it was so dark he probably couldn’t see her in too much detail. Did she look okay? Why was he being so weird?
“So we’re like, pretty good friends, right?” Todd asked, still looking at her.
“Yeah, why?” Jill was thrilled he considered her a good friend, and she wondered where he was going with this conversation. Oh my gosh! she thought. Maybe he likes me! Maybe he’s gonna tell me! She knew that probably wasn’t it, but her hopes were up now. Could that be it?!
Todd turned away and faced the lake again. “So don’t tell anyone I told you this, but my parents just started counseling.”
“What?” Jill leaned forward to get a better look at his face. That was definitely not what she’d been expecting. At the same moment her heart sank that he hadn’t been going to tell her he liked her, she felt privileged he was telling her this. “Like, marriage counseling?”
“Yeah, like couples’ counseling or something. I don’t know. They just had their first session yesterday.”
“Oh my gosh, Todd, I’m so sorry.” Jill wanted to touch his arm, to comfort him somehow, but she wasn’t sure whether she should or not.
“Yeah, I know. It sucks.” His voice was flat, and Jill could tell he was trying to hide his emotions.
“Did you like, realize anything was wrong? Or was it just kinda sudden?”
“I don’t know, I mean they fight sometimes and stuff, but I figured they were just like everybody else’s parents.” He shrugged, still not looking at her.
“Well, at least they’re not getting a divorce or anything, right? I mean, if they’re going to counseling they must be trying to work things out.” Jill tried to sound hopeful.
“Yeah, maybe.” Todd shrugged again.
“And, you know, maybe it’s not even that they’re having a problem in their marriage. Maybe they’re just going for something else.”
“Yeah right, like what?”
“I don’t know, maybe just something less serious. Maybe just to strengthen their marriage or something, but maybe it’s really not even that bad; they just want it to be even better.” Jill knew she was rambling, and it didn’t sound very convincing, even to her.
“Yeah, I doubt it.”
Jill touched his arm because she didn’t know what else to do. “I’m sorry, Todd.”
Todd sat there awhile longer, drinking his beer and staring out at the water. After a minute, Jill’s hand dropped from his arm and she sat beside him in silence, looking at the lake as well.
“Well, hey, we should probably go back in,” Todd said suddenly, jumping down from the wall. He offered Jill his hand.
She took it and hopped down reluctantly, not wanting this private moment to end. She felt like she hadn’t said anything right or been able to help at all, and she wanted to be able to do something for him.
“Thanks for listening,” Todd said. “I just felt like I could tell you ‘cause I didn’t really wanna talk to any of the guys about it, ya know. Don’t say anything, ‘cause I haven’t told anybody else.”
“Oh, don’t worry! I won’t,” Jill said quickly, knowing there was no way she would ever betray Todd’s trust. Right now she would’ve done anything for him. He looked so vulnerable standing there with the moonlight accenting his face. His dark eyes looked sad. But he was trying to act like it didn’t matter that much to him, and Jill knew it’d been hard for him to tell her. She wanted more than anything to hug him, but she figured he probably didn’t want that.
So she walked beside him silently back to the garage, and he went right to the keg to refill his cup. Then he left Jill and headed back to the ping-pong table, loudly declaring, “I call next game! Me and Bennett have the winners!”
“No time for another game!” Landon called from near the keg, where he was still standing with Reed and Hilton and some other guys. He removed his arm from Hilton’s shoulders and stepped into the middle of the garage. “All the guys inside!” He, Reed, and several other guys were grinning.
Jill looked at Hilton with a frown. Hilton frowned back and shrugged. They stood and watched as Landon ushered all the boys toward the living room. Jill saw Bennett saying something quietly to Todd. Todd grinned and they high-fived. A minute later several girls started coming out from the living room, including Brooke, Lindy, Hillary, and Lorylyn.
“What the hell’s going on?” Brooke asked Landon.
“Sorry, no can tell. It’s a guy thing.”
“Well aren’t we gonna play spin the bottle?”
“Nope, not tonight. We have somethin’ else we have to do. But you girls can do whatever you want out here. We won’t be gone long.”
“Uh!” Brooke huffed at Landon. “No secrets!”
&
nbsp; “Sorry,” Landon called, heading into the house behind the last of the guys. “We’ll be back later.”
“What the hell!” Brooke cried indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. “What are they doing?”
Jill’s eyes darted around the garage. No one seemed to know.
“All right,” Brooke said. “Who’s coming with me to find out?”
“I’ll come!” Blake Bishop said eagerly.
Brooke glanced at her. “Ooohh, I have a better idea! Let’s play spin the bottle. I’ll spin, and whoever I land on has to come with me.” She grinned devilishly.
“We don’t have a bottle,” someone said. “We’ll have to use a keg cup.”
“Hmm.” Brooke’s eyes scanned the garage, then she walked over to a large fridge by the door to the house. She pulled the fridge open and studied the contents inside. “Yes!” she exclaimed triumphantly, turning around to face the rest of the girls and raising a bottle of Miller Lite in her hand. She grinned again. “Who wants to time me?”
She twisted the cap off in her shirt and then proceeded to chug the whole bottle. Jill was amazed.
“Fifteen seconds!” Blake shouted.
Brooke shrugged, raising her eyebrows sassily. “Not too bad. Okay.” She squatted down, placing the empty bottle on the floor and spinning it hard. When it stopped it was pointing right at Jill. Brooke looked up. “Yay! Jill! Come on, let’s go see what those boys are up to!”
Jill looked back at Hilton with wide eyes. There was no way she could sneak into Landon’s house; she barely knew him! It was one thing for Brooke to do it…
Hilton was cracking up laughing, as were Hillary and Lorylyn.
“Come on, Jill!” Brooke cried, already halfway to the door.
Jill followed her reluctantly, because she knew if she protested everyone would think she was no fun.
As they stepped into the house and Brooke placed her finger over her lips, Jill actually felt a thrill race through her body. This was kind of fun! Then Brooke turned to her with a wicked smile and did the knuckle-to-nose gesture. Jill giggled and felt much better.