Hilton saw her looking at the door and grinned. “Basketball callout. Didn’t you hear it on the announcements this morning? They start lifting soon, so they’re having a callout already.”
Jill was relieved. At least that meant he hadn’t switched sections. She gave Hilton an innocent smile. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” They both giggled.
On Friday night there was another away varsity football game, and afterward Jill, Sam, and Lorylyn all stayed at Hillary’s to catch up with each other.
Jill wasn’t very excited to talk about Todd anymore, because it didn’t seem like she had a chance of ever even talking to him, and when Hillary asked about him, she just shrugged and looked down at the pale pink carpet in Hillary’s bedroom. “Um, I don’t know. I don’t know if I really like him or not.”
“What about Bennett?” Lorylyn asked. “He’s pretty cute.”
Jill smiled at Lorylyn suggestively to draw the attention away from herself. “Do you like him?”
Hillary and Sam giggled and waited expectantly for Lorylyn’s answer.
Lorylyn shook her head easily. “No. I like somebody else.” She smiled secretively.
“Come on!” Hillary pounded her in the shoulder with a pillow. “You have to tell us!”
Lorylyn leaned away and giggled. “Okay, okay. I like Brady.”
“Ahhhh!” the girls all squealed, laughing.
“He’s so hot!” Hillary exclaimed, standing up and twirling around the room. “He flirts with you a lot at lunch too!”
“I don’t know,” Lorylyn said modestly, trying to hide the grin toying with the corners of her lips. “I think he likes Brooke. I mean, it’s really obvious.”
“Maybe,” Hillary said, still twirling. “But you have the advantage, ‘cause you have lunch with him!”
“So how’s Dirk? Anything new with him?” Jill asked Hillary.
“Yeah! He sat behind me in SRT again yesterday, but he didn’t say anything, but then today in art he was joking around with his friends and they were saying he would never make JV basketball this year, and he turned around, ‘cause I was sitting at the table like right in front of him, like his back was to me, and he was like, ‘Hey, do you think I’ll make JV?’ And I was like, ‘Sure.’ And then he shook my hand and he was like, ‘Hi, I’m Dirk.’ And then he turned back to his friends and was like, ‘See, she thinks I can make JV.’ And then he turned around and winked at me!”
“That’s so awesome!” Lorylyn cried. “Woohoo, Hill!” Then she turned to Sam. “Hey, what about Mike? That guy you made out with at Landon’s? I think he’s in our English class, right, Hill?” She glanced at Hillary, who nodded. “Have you talked to him at all?”
“No! I haven’t even seen him. I have, like, no hot guys in any of my classes!”
“Well, that’s okay,” Lorylyn said encouragingly. “He might be at the JV game tomorrow, and maybe you’ll see him again at Landon’s sometime or something.”
“Yeah, I hope so! He was cute!”
***
“Hey, where the hell were you guys Saturday?” Hilton exclaimed as Jill sat down at lunch the following Monday.
“Saturday?”
“Yeah, Landon’s! I can’t believe you guys didn’t come!”
“What?!” Jill cried, immediately upset. “Landon had a party?”
“Yeah! Didn’t you know? Oh my gosh, I feel so bad! I thought you knew!”
“No,” Jill said, feeling completely left out. “No one told us!”
“Oh my gosh! And Todd was there too!” Hilton’s face fell when she saw Jill’s devastated look. She reached over and put her arm around Jill’s shoulders. Cassidy joined them at the table. “But, hey, it’s okay, it wasn’t that great. Not as good as the ones this summer. We didn’t play spin the bottle.”
“Oh...” Jill couldn’t believe no one had told her or Hillary or Lorylyn or Sam. She felt overlooked and unimportant, and most of all, completely dejected about missing out on Todd being there.
“Yeah, we didn’t play spin the bottle, but Brooke had a good night,” Cassidy said with a wicked smile as Brooke came up and slid into her seat.
“Oh yeah, she did!” Hilton said, giggling, her arm still around Jill.
Brooke tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at Cassidy as she put her bag on the chair between herself and Hilton. “Whatever could you be talking about?” she asked innocently, but her chocolate-brown eyes flashed mischievously.
Jill looked at Brooke, eager to hear what had happened.
“Okay, okay,” Brooke said finally, drawing the words out with a sly, satisfied smile spreading across her face. “I may have made out with Brady just a little bit.”
“A little bit!” Hilton cried. “Like half an hour! They were all over each other!” she told Jill. “They were dancing on the patio for forever, and then they went off down by the lake; who knows what else was going on down there!” she teased Brooke.
“Nothing, just making out. I swear,” Brooke added when all three girls gave her doubtful looks. Then she grinned again. “Not that I would’ve minded doing more...”
Jill couldn’t help grinning too. She knew Lorylyn liked Brady, but Brady and Brooke were just so perfect together, the way they flirted. She thought they would make a really cute couple.
“Yeah, Sam had a good night too,” Hilton said. “She made out with Mike again.” Hilton frowned suddenly. “Yeah, I can’t believe you guys didn’t know, ‘cause Sam was even there! She came with you, right, Cassidy? I just figured she would tell you guys! Landon didn’t even plan the party till Friday ‘cause he thought his parents were gonna be using the cottage, but they decided not to go to the lake so he ended up having it. Sorry, I would’ve definitely called you if I thought you didn’t know.”
“It’s okay,” Jill said, boiling with anger inside. So Sam had known and not even bothered to tell them?! Jill wondered if she had known on Friday night at Hillary’s. Lorylyn had even mentioned something about Sam seeing Mike again at Landon’s! And Sam had probably known and not even said anything. What the hell?! Did she think she was too good for them now? Sam had so broken the forever friendship pact! Jill felt betrayed. She wished Hillary or Lorylyn were in this lunch, because she had to tell them. She didn’t know how she’d get through cheerleading practice with Sam before she had a chance to spill the news. Ugh!
Her day didn’t get any better when SRT was full again and not only did she not get to sit by Todd, but she didn’t even get to sit by Hilton. She spent the whole ninety minutes sulking over missing Landon’s party, and her anger at Sam kept growing. She wrote a three-page note to Hillary, but didn’t even see her after school to give it to her. This whole day just totally sucked!
When Jill and Hilton got to the locker room, Jill was irritated to see Sam was already there, so she wouldn’t have a chance to tell Hillary or Lorylyn now either.
“Hey,” Sam said as Jill dropped her bag on the bench in front of her locker without saying hi to anyone. “I was just telling Hillary and Lorylyn, I’m so sorry I didn’t call you guys about Landon’s on Saturday. Cassidy called me at the last minute and I just figured someone called you guys too.”
Jill was sure Sam’s tone contained a hint of smugness when she reminded them of the fact that no one had called them.
“Whatever, no big deal,” Jill said, trying to sound as if she couldn’t care less. She tossed a glance at Hillary, who was sitting on the bench next to her, and Hillary’s green eyes narrowed to show Jill she was pissed too.
***
Later, Jill and Hillary bitched about Sam on the phone for over an hour.
“I cannot believe her!” Hillary cried. “She just doesn’t want us there ‘cause she knows we’re all cuter than her and would get all the guys! Why would any of the guys even want her? She’s like, short and fat!” Her voice was hot with anger and hurt. “And Mike so isn’t even cute!”
“I just can’t b
elieve it,” Jill agreed, shaking her head even though Hillary couldn’t see her. She knew Hillary was exaggerating about Sam being fat, but it made Jill feel good to hear Sam insulted. “I never thought she’d do something like that!”
“Yeah, well we’ll be at the next Landon party!” Hillary stated adamantly. “And we’ll get guys way hotter than Mike! Screw her! She’s no longer part of the pact! It’s down to three of us now.”
***
On Tuesday things got better again. In Jill’s English class they had a free period to read Great Expectations, and Jill sat against the wall under the window with her knees drawn up to her chest. At one point Todd left the room with a bathroom pass, and when he came back, rather than cutting across the room directly to Mr. Grayson’s desk to return the pass, he walked past Jill. Right as he passed her, he dropped the laminated red pass on the floor.
“Oops, sorry,” he said loudly as he bent down to retrieve it. He flashed Jill a grin, and she immediately had butterflies in her stomach.
“It’s okay.” She gave him a hesitant smile. As he continued toward Mr. Grayson’s desk, Jill stretched her legs out and looked back at her book, pretending the encounter had had no effect on her.
All of a sudden, she felt someone trip over her feet and looked up to see Todd sprawl out on his stomach in front of her.
“Oops, sorry,” he said again, then looked across the room to where Bennett was sitting, and they both cracked up laughing. Jill realized he had done it on purpose. She wasn’t sure if he was flirting with her or teasing her for his and Bennett’s enjoyment.
Todd remained sprawled on the floor. “I’m Todd.” He held his hand out to her.
Jill raised her eyebrows in what she hoped was a “you’re weird” look and gave him a limp-fish handshake, trying to come off as slightly amused but unimpressed. She hoped he couldn’t tell how nervous she was. “Jill,” she replied in a dry tone.
“Yeah, Bennett told me. He said he eats lunch with you.” Todd, still lying on the floor, called over to Bennett. “Hey, dude, bring me my book. Come read with me and Jill.”
Jill loved how he’d said “me and Jill.” It was like they were friends, and they always read together. She looked up at Mr. Grayson to see if they were going to get in trouble for being so loud. He had his feet up on his desk and was holding a book up so close to his face Jill wasn’t even sure he could see around it. He didn’t even seem like he’d heard them. Jill looked back at Todd, then at Bennett.
“Nah, just come back over here. I don’t feel like getting up,” Bennett said.
“Fine, man, whatever. I’m reading with Jill. Hey, Jill, I guess I have to share your book.” Todd pushed himself up to his knees, then turned over into a sitting position and scooted up right next to Jill so their shoulders were at the same level and their bodies were touching all the way down to their legs. The whole right side of Jill’s body tingled. She moved away and laughed.
“No way. Get your own book.”
“Actually, I’d rather just sleep.” Todd dropped his head onto Jill’s shoulder, shocking her. “Hide me from Grayson,” he whispered loudly.
Jill stared at him a moment, noting his baggy jeans, Nike shoes, and Cubs T-shirt. His hair was touching her bare arm because she had a sleeveless shirt on, and his eyes were closed. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Giddy, thinking of what she’d tell Hillary and Lorylyn and Hilton, she tried to shove his head off her shoulder. “Get off me!” she hissed, trying to be quiet but giggling as she put her hands under his head and tried to push it up. But he was a dead weight, acting as if he were passed out. Jill giggled. “Fine,” she said, and scooted away from him so his head flopped to the side.
He opened his eyes and sat up. “Hey, that was really cool,” he said, pretending to be upset. Then he looked over at Bennett again. “Hey, at least throw the damn book over here.”
Jill looked toward Mr. Grayson again. He hadn’t budged.
Finally Bennett got up grudgingly and came over to join Jill and Todd, shaking his head the whole way over, but laughing as he sat down. “Here’s your frickin’ book!” He threw it at Todd’s face from two feet away, and Todd laughed and ducked.
Jill laughed again. This was such a great day!
***
The next afternoon, Hilton and Jill got to SRT before Todd. They were sitting close to the door, and Jill was disappointed when Todd’s friend came in and sat across the room. Todd would probably go sit with him now.
When Todd finally walked in, he did go sit with his friend, but he grinned at Jill as he passed and said, “Hey, Jilly.”
Hilton widened her eyes at Jill. “Jilly?” she mouthed, then giggled, and Jill just shrugged as she flashed Hilton a delighted smile.
***
Over the next few weeks, Todd continued to flirt casually with Jill in English and SRT. She had noticed he was in her lunch on gold days too, but he sat way in a corner of the cafeteria, and their tables never went through the lines at the same time. She didn’t think he even knew she was in that lunch. He had started sitting by her in English, and Bennett sat by her too. Jill and Bennett didn’t really talk that much; it was mostly Todd and Jill or Todd and Bennett, and Jill wondered if maybe Bennett didn’t like her. She didn’t really care though, because he obviously had no influence over Todd’s decision to sit by her and talk to her. Todd was always doing dumb junior high things Jill secretly loved, like pulling her hair or poking her with a pencil when he sat behind her and Grayson was talking. She would turn her head to the side and hiss, “Stop it!” with a grin, so he would start kicking the bottom of her chair instead. One day when Grayson stood up to address the class, his tie was loose and his shirt untucked, and Todd leaned forward so that his face was right at Jill’s back and said in a low voice, “Look, he’s hungover as shit. This should be fuckin’ classic.”
Jill grinned into her hand, which was propped under her chin, but remained facing forward. As Grayson went on about the symbolic significance of Miss Havisham’s clocks, Todd continued to whisper sarcastically into Jill’s back.
“Holy shit, he’s gonna fall over. Watch...damn! I thought he was gonna trip on the carpet.” His tone changed to one of pretend seriousness. “Dude, seriously, getting drunk on a school night? I’m disappointed. I would expect more from a highly distinguished teacher such as him. Hey, Jill, he looks pretty sexy up there with his hair all over the place like that. You should go after that. Have an affair with a teacher. Yeah. Kick ass.”
Jill’s shoulders were shaking from trying to control the laughter bubbling up inside her. When Grayson was facing the other way, she whipped her head around to face Todd and smacked him lightly on the side of the head. “Stop making me laugh!” she said under her breath.
Todd looked at her with innocent chocolate-colored eyes. “What? Me?”
Jill rolled her eyes at him and turned around. As soon as she was facing the front again, Todd jerked on a strand of her hair. She ignored him. He did it again, harder. She whirled around again and widened her eyes at him, trying to look annoyed. He laughed and leaned back in his chair.
Sometimes – whenever there were four empty seats together – Jill and Hilton sat by Todd and his friend Doug in SRT. Their SRT teacher, Mrs. Jenner, always made the class be quiet and work on homework the whole time, so the four of them started furtively slipping notes to one another whenever Mrs. Jenner wasn’t paying attention. One day there was a storm drill, and the whole school had to file down into the basement. Jill made a point of staying close to Todd in the crowded hallway, and she got irritated and panicky whenever someone stepped between them. She would be so upset if they got separated and didn’t get to stand together in the basement. Jill, Hilton, Todd, and Doug descended the stairs together, and Mr. Preston, the dean of students, pointed for them to go off to the left. They walked slowly, following the throng of students.
“Hey,” a guy’s voice said to Hilton, and Jill turned to look. It was Landon
. Hilton beamed at him and then swatted playfully as he tugged on her ponytail. Jill grinned, knowing how excited Hilton must be. They were ushered into a tight little area with some pipes and about twenty other students. Landon and Hilton were still teasing each other, and Jill stayed close to Todd, thrilled it was tight enough that she basically had to be touching him. As they waited, Todd and Doug talked, and Jill laughed at what they said and joined in a little. She wished Doug weren’t here so Todd would talk to her instead. She leaned a little closer to him so their arms and the whole sides of their bodies were touching.
She was disappointed a little later when they had to go back upstairs, but she stayed right by Todd in the hallway again, purposely brushing up against him a few times but making it seem accidental. She raised her eyes to the ceiling and said a silent thank-you prayer for the storm drill happening during SRT.
Landon didn’t have any more parties for a while, and Hilton was disappointed because she wanted to play spin the bottle and kiss him again. On the weekends, Jill and Hillary and sometimes Lorylyn would hang out. Jill and Hillary had stopped spending time with Sam outside of cheerleading because they were still miffed about not being called for Landon’s party, but Lorylyn seemed to think Sam had made an honest mistake and continued to hang out with her a lot. Sam was hanging out with Cassidy more and more though, so Lorylyn joined Hillary and Jill more frequently.