Lorylyn talked about Brady all the time, and he always flirted with her at lunch on green days. But Jill knew he had gone on a date with Brooke a couple weeks after they made out at Landon’s.
“Maybe,” Brooke said with a wink when Hilton asked her at lunch on a gold day if they had done more than make out this time. Jill didn’t tell Lorylyn because she didn’t want to ruin Lorylyn’s harmless flirting time at lunch.
Hillary was talking to Dirk a lot, and she thought he might like her. The Homecoming dance was in a couple weeks, and she was starting to panic about whether he would ask her or not.
Jill hoped somewhat uselessly that Todd would ask her. She didn’t want to go with anyone else, but she never considered it a real possibility Todd would ask, because she was sure he didn’t see her that way, as a possible girlfriend. She just hoped she could find a date with someone halfway decent, because it would be awful to go to her first formal high school dance alone.
chapter 3) homecoming
On Wednesday a week and a half before the dance, Todd pushed a note to the side of his desk for Jill during SRT.
I’m taking a pass, take one in a couple min. and meet me in the hall
Jill gave him a curious look, but he was already up and out of his seat, going to ask for a pass. Hilton looked back at Jill with a questioning look, and Jill shrugged.
When Jill went out into the hall a couple minutes later, Todd was sitting on a bench in the commons. She went over and sat beside him, poising on the edge of the bench and turning to face him. “What’s up?”
“Hey, so would you be interested in going to the Homecoming dance with Bennett?”
Jill’s heart raced and then when he said the last word she was caught completely off guard. She’d been thinking he was going to say “with me.” She stared for a moment, feeling the shock and disappointment sink in. “Um, well, I don’t know...”
“Well, hey, it’s cool, you don’t have to decide right now or anything, but he wants to ask you. So I just wanted to see if you might wanna go.”
“He doesn’t even talk to me...” Jill said mindlessly, not able to look directly at Todd. She felt numb.
“Yeah, well, he’s kinda shy around girls and stuff. But he likes you. So do you think you might go if he asked you?”
“Um, yeah, I guess.” Jill felt like crying. What else could she say? She didn’t know how to turn him down.
“Sweet-ass,” Todd said, grinning at her and slapping her on the back.
Jill cringed. It was like she was his sister.
“Okay, well, I’m headed back in,” Todd said. “You might wanna wait a couple minutes so it doesn’t look suspicious.” He stood up and walked casually across the hall and into the classroom without looking back.
Jill pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked on the bench. She felt the tears coming and choked them back. It’s not like Bennett was that bad, but she was completely devastated. Was that the only reason Todd had started talking to her, because he knew the whole time that Bennett liked her? She knew it was stupid, but she felt like Todd had betrayed her. It would have been one thing if Bennett had asked her himself; she probably would have said yes and been okay with it. But for Todd to do it...
Finally she pulled herself together and went back into the classroom. She didn’t even look Todd’s way as she took her seat beside him. When Hilton glanced back at her questioningly, Jill met her eyes briefly and then had to look away because she could feel the tears welling up again.
***
After school, she expected Hilton to ask her about it as soon as they were out of the room, but the second they stepped out the door Hillary was there, a huge grin on her face, looking like she was about to start jumping up and down.
“Dirk asked me to the Homecoming dance!” she gushed in an ecstatic whisper. She couldn’t get the silly smile off her face.
“That’s awesome!” Hilton cried, grabbing Hillary’s hands.
Jill managed a smile. “Yay, Hill!” As they headed for their lockers, she fell behind Hillary and Hilton and tried to shake off the cloud of self-pity that was darkening all around and threatening to enclose her.
***
Jill dressed slowly for practice, and Hilton lingered on the bench in the locker room after everyone else had gone down to the track.
“What happened with Todd?” she asked as soon as everyone was gone.
Jill looked at Hilton in the mirror as she put her hair in a high ponytail. “He asked me if I wanted to go to the Homecoming dance with Bennett.” Suddenly she turned away from the mirror and broke down, putting her hands over her face as the tears spilled down. She collapsed on the bench with her head in her hands. “I’m being so stupid, I know, but I really wanted to go with Todd! And I thought he was gonna ask me, and then he said Bennett’s name. He was asking me if I wanted to go with Bennett.” She looked at Hilton through tear-stained eyes, then buried her head in her hands again as a fresh round of tears caused her shoulders to shake violently.
Hilton scooted closer to Jill and hugged her. “Aww, hon, I’m sorry. What a jerk! I can’t believe he did that.” She rubbed Jill’s back soothingly. “But, hey, it’s not that bad...Bennett’s hot too! And maybe seeing you with him will make Todd jealous. Did you say you’d go with him?”
“Yeah,” Jill moaned, wiping at her eyes. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Well, he’ll be fun to go with! And you’re better off than me; I still don’t have a date! And we both know the guy I like will never ask me.”
Jill smiled through her tears. “Oh, come on, Hilton, you could so get him if you tried.”
“Maybe. But don’t worry about this. It’s only one night, and it’s gonna be so much fun. Bennett’s cute, and he’s funny if you get past the shy part. Maybe you’ll end up liking him better than Todd. Maybe you guys will start dating or something!”
Jill doubted it, but she did feel better. Bennett was hot; she’d thought so since the beginning. She’d thought he didn’t like her, but maybe Todd was right; he was just shy. She could have done a lot worse. And she’d told herself all along it was unlikely Todd would ask her. It was going to be fine; she would have fun. “Thanks, I feel a lot better,” she told Hilton, smiling again.
Hilton smiled back and hugged her again, and then Jill dried her eyes and they headed downstairs to practice.
Once again, Jill felt a sense of strangeness because she’d told Hilton this story rather than Hillary, and because she probably wouldn’t tell Hillary. Hill was so excited about Dirk and had actually gotten a date with the guy she wanted, and Jill felt a little embarrassed and inferior because her own luck had been so much worse.
***
Hilton felt terrible for Jill. She could imagine how she’d feel if something like that happened to her, and even though she’d only known Jill for a few weeks, she could tell how much Jill liked Todd. Hilton thought Jill and Todd would make an adorable couple, and she really hoped they’d get together. She wished she could be around the two of them more often so she could get a better idea of whether Todd liked Jill or not. She usually thought it was really easy to tell when guys their age liked girls. Which was why her gut instinct that Landon didn’t like her that way was so upsetting...
Oh well, she thought to herself now. I should probably just say yes to Kevin and stop hoping Landon will ask me...
Kevin had asked her a week ago, and Brady had mentioned at lunch yesterday that Landon probably wasn’t even going to ask anyone because there was no one he liked. And she didn’t want to ask him if he didn’t like her, because he’d probably say yes and then treat her like a little sister the whole night...
As Hilton walked downstairs with Jill, she wished there were something she could do to make Jill feel better. As she thought about it, she realized she probably considered Jill her best friend. In junior high she’d always had a big group of girlfriends, but never really one best friend, because a lot of the girls were way
too gossipy and cliquey for her, and she wanted to avoid the drama and just be friends with everybody. But she thought she and Jill were a lot alike, and they got along so easily and naturally.
Hilton smiled. It was exciting to have a new best friend!
***
“So...” Brady said with a grin the next day at lunch as he lifted an overflowing forkful of mashed potatoes and gravy to his mouth, “I hear you two are going to the Homecoming dance together.” He looked from Bennett to Jill and nodded approvingly as he shoved the fork in his mouth and licked it off thoroughly.
Jill blushed and looked down at the table. Bennett had called her the night before and asked her, and she had said yes, feeling like spitting in Todd’s face. Today English had been awful, because Todd had teased her about liking Bennett and had drawn her a picture of two stick figures in a tree that said, Jill and Tyler, sittin in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Jill had crumpled up the drawing and shoved it in her bag while Todd laughed, thinking he had succeeded in embarrassing her. What she really felt was nausea. She’d flushed the piece of paper down the toilet during the next passing period.
“Aww, you guys are shy, how cute,” Brady said as he took a swig of milk from his little carton. As he replaced the carton on his tray he turned to Lorylyn. “Who are you going with, Miss Lorylyn?” He said it teasingly and affectionately.
Lorylyn took a quick drink of milk in order to be doing something with her hands. “I don’t know yet.” She then busied herself with buttering a roll.
Brady turned to Hilton. “And you?”
Hilton shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know yet.”
“I thought Kevin asked you,” Brady said with a frown. Jill assumed he was referring to the Kevin from Landon’s parties. Jill was surprised. She had no idea Kevin had asked Hilton.
“Yeah,” Hilton said, popping a chicken nugget into her mouth. “I haven’t answered,” she finished as she chewed, flashing Brady a smile that said, I have all the power in this situation and I know it.
Brady laughed. “Keeping your options open, huh?”
“Maybe,” Hilton replied coyly. “Or maybe I’m just playing hard to get.”
Jill wondered if Hilton was waiting because she hoped Landon would ask her. Jill hadn’t heard if Landon was going with anyone yet, but Brady had said Landon might not go at all.
“What about you, Brady?” Hilton asked, a teasing challenge in her voice.
“Oh, I think I know who I’m gonna ask,” Brady said with a secretive grin, and Jill and Hilton exchanged a small smile. They were both sure it would be Brooke.
Just then the bell rang to dismiss lunch, and everyone stood up to go empty their trays. Jill walked to the tray return with Hillary and Hilton, then turned to look for Lorylyn to walk back to geometry with her, but didn’t see her anywhere. Maybe she went to the bathroom, Jill thought, and headed back to class by herself.
***
Lorylyn had been the first one up from the table, and as she was headed out of the cafeteria to make a quick stop at the bathroom, someone grabbed her arm from behind.
“Lorylyn!”
She turned in surprise and delight as Brady stepped up beside her, flashing that charming grin. She practically drooled. “Hey, Brady! What’s up?”
“Can I walk back to class with you? Where’re you headed?”
“Um, geometry,” Lorylyn said, bewildered. “The 900 hallway.” She was both shocked and flattered that he wanted to walk with her. He’d never done that before.
“So you don’t know who you’re going to the dance with, huh?” Brady asked as he walked beside her, his hands in his pockets.
“No.” Lorylyn looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Oh no! What if he was going to ask her to go with one of his friends or something?! Like Todd had done to Jill! Jill had told her about it on the phone last night. How awful!
“So...would you wanna go with me?” He turned to look at her, raising his eyebrows in a timid gesture, like he was scared of a rejection.
Lorylyn’s mouth dropped open. “What? Me? You want me to go with you?” She stared incredulously, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway.
“Uh...yeah...” Brady looked around self-consciously as he stopped and faced her. “But you don’t sound too excited about it...”
“No, no, I’ll go!” Lorylyn blurted. “I just...I just am really surprised you asked me!”
“Oh,” Brady said with a laugh, looking relieved. “Well, good!”
“Okay!” Lorylyn said eagerly, not even able to really grasp what was happening. Brady Cash had just asked her, Lorylyn Porter, a freshman, to the Homecoming dance!
“Okay, cool,” Brady said. “Well, can I walk you the rest of the way to your class?”
“Sure!” She walked silently, not sure what to say...too excited to form a complete thought. When they reached her classroom, she paused awkwardly. “This is it...”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’m glad we’re going together.” Brady smiled, melting her heart, and touched her lightly on the arm. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too!” Lorylyn said quickly.
“Okay, well I gotta go, later!” Brady started down the hall, then turned back and winked at her.
Lorylyn’s eyes widened excitedly, and she stood there in astonishment. Then suddenly her body jerked into motion, and she rushed into the classroom to tell Jill.
***
When Jill had rounded the corner outside her geometry classroom, she was surprised to see Lorylyn standing outside the room with Brady. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they were smiling, and when she walked past them into the room, she saw out of the corner of her eye as Brady touched Lorylyn’s arm and then walked down the hall in the other direction.
Lorylyn bounded into the room and dropped into her seat next to Jill. “He asked me!” she cried breathlessly.
Jill’s mouth dropped open. “What?!”
“Brady! He asked me to the dance! Oh my gosh, Jill, I can’t believe it! I’m so pumped!” Lorylyn’s dark eyes shone with excitement.
“Oh my gosh! Wow, that’s awesome, Lorylyn! You guys will look so cute together!” Even as she said it out of an instinctive effort to hide her shock, Jill realized she believed it. She thought Lorylyn and Brady would make an adorable couple. But so would he and Brooke. And Jill had been so sure he would ask Brooke...especially after their date....She was almost positive Lorylyn didn’t know about the date. This was so great for Lorylyn, but how the hell was Brooke going to react?! And what was up with Brady, going from one to the other? His date with Brooke had been only a couple weeks ago....She hoped Lorylyn wouldn’t get hurt.
***
“Brooke! Brady asked me to the dance!” Lorylyn cried ecstatically as soon as Brooke walked into the locker room after school.
Jill looked up quickly, just in time to see Brooke’s face freeze as she came to a dead standstill right inside the door. Her duffel bag dropped off her shoulder into her hand as she frowned at Lorylyn. “What?”
“Yeah, he asked me today! I thought you’d be excited ‘cause you kinda introduced me to him, you know, at Landon’s this summer,” Lorylyn explained, sheer joy radiating from her face, her smile, her whole body. Jill could feel it in the room, and now she felt a thick tension hovering as well.
Brooke blinked and shook her head quickly, then hoisted her bag back onto her shoulder. “Hey, that’s great, sweetie,” she said, patting Lorylyn’s shoulder as she brushed by her. She had a look of disbelief on her face as she passed Jill, but Lorylyn hadn’t noticed anything amiss, and she was still glowing as she resumed telling Hillary exactly how it had happened.
***
The next day at lunch, Brooke, unlike her usual talkative self, was silent, staring at her food and twirling her fork repeatedly around in her spaghetti but not eating more than a few bites.
That afternoon on the bus on the way to the varsity game, she announced she was going to the dance with Taylor Brown, the senior quarter
back. All the girls were impressed and told her how jealous they were, and Brooke smiled in satisfaction and seemed much more like her normal self. Jill did notice, however, that she avoiding talking to Lorylyn the whole night.
***
On Monday the Homecoming Princes and Princesses for each grade were announced. The sophomores who got voted onto the Court were Brooke, Lindy, Brady, and Landon. Hilton was one of the Freshman Princesses. The other was Paige Largo, who had been one of the most popular girls at BJ. Her boyfriend since fifth grade, Nick Castle, was a Prince, and the other Prince was Riley Russell, an average-looking kid who had been the class clown of Brinkley North Elementary and BJ for as long as Jill could remember.
Brooke said at lunch on Tuesday she thought she would be paired with Brady for the Court, because they had been together last year. That afternoon in SRT, when Hilton got back from the Homecoming Court meeting in the cafeteria, she passed Jill a note saying that Brooke had for sure been paired with him. And Jill and Hilton could tell Brooke was pleased when she reported the news to their lunch table Thursday...a little too pleased. The cat-like smile on her face worried Jill.
“I hope she doesn’t do anything to hurt Lorylyn...” Jill groaned on the way to gym, and Hilton’s only reply was a silent look that made Jill extremely nervous for Lorylyn.
***
Friday was Crazy Charger Day, and Jill and Hillary spent all of Thursday night after the freshman football game planning and making their outfits. They tie-dyed green and gold shirts and socks and then painted the shirts with fabric paint. On the front they wrote BC in big, bold letters, and underneath that, Homecoming ’97. On the back they wanted to paint their names.
“We should come up with fun nicknames,” Hillary suggested. “That’s less boring.”
“Just come up with nicknames that no one’s ever heard of?” Jill giggled. “That’ll be fun to explain.”
“I know!” Hillary said as an idea struck her. “Let’s be Hilly and Jilly.”
Jill’s eyes brightened. “Okay! I like that!” She realized she hadn’t even told Hillary that Jilly was what Todd called her. She didn’t talk much about Todd to Hillary anymore, because she didn’t want Hillary to know how much she’d wanted to go to the dance with him.