Scandals, Rumors, Lies Read online

  When she finished telling me, I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t even apply a coat of mascara. The wand was wobbling too much in my shaking hand.

  “So,” I said, trying to breathe and not ruin my eyeliner with tears. “The guy knocked over a giant tub of extra buttery popcorn in your lap at the movie theater?”

  Brit nodded with a pretend-grim face. “Yep. And when he freaked out and leaned over to try to help me pick up the pieces, he knocked over his Sprite. All. Over. Me.”

  “Oh, nooo way! That’s awful!” I said. Finally able to control my laughter, I applied a light coat of brown-black mascara and looked through my lip gloss collection.

  Brit, knowing how serious choosing a lip gloss was to me, was silent while I held up different tubes and looked at them.

  “This one,” I said, after a few more seconds.

  I showed the Sephora Nectar Shine in apricot to Brit.

  “That looks perfect,” she said. “It’ll be semi-sheer with just a hint of peachy color. That’ll look great with your subtle smoky eyes. Not too overpowering.”

  “Thanks, Brit. That was exactly the look I was going for.”

  I applied the gloss, zipped up my boots, and grabbed my purse and phone. A pair of simple silver hoops seemed like a nice touch with my charm bracelet. It had a tiny silver horse that my parents had given me before I’d come to Canterwood. It used to have a heart and horseshoe—gifts from Eric before we’d broken up.

  I checked my phone. It was 6:53. Perfect timing.

  “My little Sasha is all ready for her date with Jacob,” Brit said, giving me a teasing smile.

  “I think I’m ready. I’m so nervous, but I don’t know why! It’s Jacob.”

  Brit got up, putting a hand on my elbow. “I’m sure he’s nervous too. He wants to impress you and make everything perfect. You’re going to be fine—I swear. You’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Decide to just have fun and your nerves will disappear.”

  Brit reached over and held up her phone. “And if he dumps popcorn on you or spills Sprite on your lap and you need to bolt, BBM me, and I’ll call you with an emergency.”

  I hugged her. “You’re the best.”

  Taking my fiftieth deep breath of the night, I gave Brit a tiny wave and left our room. I looked at the text from Jacob again and when I read the words, it made the nervousness I felt in my stomach go away.

  Can’t wait 2 c u @ 7.

  I couldn’t stop myself from hurrying across campus. Jacob hadn’t told me anything about what he’d planned for our date, so I had no idea where we were going after the courtyard.

  The September sun had started to set behind me, casting an orange glow over campus. I was glad for my cardigan—the setting sun had started a comfortable chill across the quiet campus. The quiet, though, was odd. Usually, people were always doing something. Playing Frisbee, tossing a football, or practicing cheerleader routines on the grounds. But, tonight, lights shone from the dorm rooms and I only spotted a few students in the distance leaving the science building.

  My boots clicked against the cobblestone part of the courtyard. And, as I waked toward the center, I saw him.

  Jacob, standing in front of the fountain, turned, and just as he did, the old-fashioned street-lights started to flicker on. If it had been a movie scene, I would have said it was sooo not real.

  But it was. And then I noticed what I’d missed because my attention had been focused on Jacob—candles.

  Everywhere. He’d placed cream-colored pillar candles all around the fountain and the flames reflected the almost-silent water that streamed down a granite stone, refreshing the water for the koi that I loved to watch every time I walked by.

  He walked toward me, his lightly tanned athletic face tilted in a smile. He’d put on a green polo shirt—a color I loved on him—and black pants.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “Hi,” he said, reaching to take my right hand. “You look gorgeous, Sasha.”

  “Thank you. Brit helped me pick out the clothes. I wanted to look … well, okay on our first date.”

  Jacob’s eyes were intense on mine. “You look so much better than okay.”

  I blushed, hoping the faint lighting would help hide the pinkness in my cheeks. “So do you,” I said.

  “Come with me.”

  Jacob, holding my hand, led me toward the stone bench across from the fountain. We both sat down, facing each other.

  “The candles look so beautiful,” I said. “How did you manage to convince Headmistress Drake to let you light them here?”

  “Oh, I just told her that I was taking a very special girl on our first date and I knew how much she loved candles.”

  I smiled. “That was way easier than I thought.”

  Jacob laughed. “Welll, what you don’t see is the mini–fire extinguisher she made one of the janitors give me. It’s on the other side of the fountain.”

  I laughed, a familiar feeling of comfort starting to come over me.

  “I knew there had to be a catch.”

  Jacob laughed with me, then placed his other hand on top of the one he was holding. “Do you know why I asked you to meet me here?”

  I didn’t have to think about it for a second. “Of course I do. This is where we met after fall break. We decided to try dating when we were here together. I’m so glad you brought me here.”

  Jacob smiled. “I’m really glad to hear you say that, Sash, because we’re going to be here for a while.”

  I looked at him, curious. “What do you mean?”

  Jacob gestured toward the fountain. “I thought we’d do something a little different—something away from everyone else.”

  I loved the sound of that.

  “I went to The Slice yesterday,” Jacob continued. “I asked them if they’d deliver to a sort of unusual place.”

  “Here?” I almost bounced on the bench.

  “Right here. They said yes and any minute now, a half-cheese and half-pepperoni pizza will be here for us.”

  “Jacob, that was such a great idea! This is so special.”

  Jacob looked at me with a soft gaze. “You’re special, Sash. I kept going back and forth in my brain trying to think if this was a good idea or a cheesy one. But then I thought about how important that moment was to me—when you said you wanted to try being together—and then I knew it was the right choice.”

  “It was definitely the right choice,” I said, my voice soft. “I wouldn’t have wanted our first date to be anywhere else.”

  At the same moment, Jacob and I leaned close to each other and our lips touched. Our lips were warm against each other’s and I almost forgot where I was. We leaned back, our faces still close.

  We smiled at each other and I wanted to capture every second of this moment.

  It was perfect.

  We stayed like that for a few more seconds, then Jacob put an arm around my shoulders. It felt so good to be near him—I was happy no matter what we were doing.

  “How are things in Orchard?” Jacob asked. “Leaving Winchester and not being Paige’s roommate anymore had to be major for you.”

  I hadn’t really talked about it too much with anyone except Brit and the Trio.

  “Leaving Paige was the hardest thing I’ve done since I came here,” I said. “Even harder than trying out for the YENT.” I paused, taking a breath. “But I couldn’t stay there. Not in that room. Not with her after what she did. Paige was my best friend and I know, I know—I could have told her about us, but that was different.”

  Jacob nodded, touching my arm.

  “Paige told Callie the truth about us and never told me. And Paige said she did it because I kept my meeting with you in secret and Callie was her friend. But that was my secret to tell, not hers.”

  “I’m so sorry things happened that way,” Jacob said. “I really wish I’d been able to tell Callie the truth like we’d planned. When I got that message from you that Callie already knew—I had to read it twice. I almost
didn’t believe it.”

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t even like Paige at all. I looked at her before I texted Brit about moving in and it was like I’d never seen Paige before. The best friend part of her was gone. I didn’t hesitate about texting Brit.”

  “I think you made the right choice,” Jacob said. “You both need space. I’m sure there’s a better chance at repairing your friendship if you’re not living together right now.”

  It took me a minute, but I finally nodded. “It’s hard to get over that, but I do miss her. And look at me—I’ve made so many mistakes too. But I need a little time.”

  “Absolutely,” Jacob said. “It’ll give you a clearer perspective on the whole thing.”

  Jacob was one of the best listeners. That was something I’d liked about him from the second we’d met in the guidance counselor’s office. He’d listened to me ramble about being a new student and, in a Jacob-way, had made me feel welcome.

  Jacob ran his index finger over my knuckles. “Do you like living with Brit?”

  “It’s so great. It’s like we’ve known each other forever—I’ve never made friends with someone so fast, not even Callie or Paige.”

  “That’s great. It would have been so hard on you if you’d moved into Orchard and you and Brit had found out you weren’t good roommates.”

  “I know. It’s strange, though. I was never worried about that with her. If things hadn’t happened the way they did with Paige, I probably would have tried to get a triple to see if we could all live together next semester.”

  “And things seemed to have really calmed down with you and the Trio,” Jacob said, shifting on the bench.

  “They definitely have. I mean, aside from Julia still barely tolerating me, Heather and Alison are friends now. It’s just … odd how things have shifted.”

  Jacob smiled. “They all, especially Heather, used to hardcore go after you and now you’re all friends. It’s pretty cool of you to let go of the past and be their friend. Not many people could do that.”

  His compliment made me blush for the second time. Omigod, I yelled at myself. Stop it!

  “Thanks for saying that, but it really was a shift between all of us,” I said. “We kind of all grew up, I guess. It’s easier for us to get along than to hate each other. It was exhausting!” I looked down and realized that I was rubbing my thumb over the top of his hand. And I didn’t feel embarrassed or awkward. I hadn’t even realized that it had gotten dark and that a giant full moon had started to rise.

  We both looked up, kind of startled, when a high schooler stopped in front of us, pizza box and two cans of Diet Coke in hand.

  Jacob stood, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. “Thanks,” he said to the pizza guy as he swapped the pizza and soda for money.

  The pizza guy left and Jacob reached beside the bench and pulled out a Boston Red Sox bag.

  “Come with me,” he said.

  I followed him behind the bench, to the grass. We stopped under a streetlight and Jacob put the bag down and sodas down.

  “Can you hold the pizza for a sec?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I took the box and watched as he pulled a gray blanket from the bag, spreading it on the grass. He took out two plates, a handful of napkins and set two places for us.

  “Jacob,” I said. “This is so perfect! I would have been happy to have eaten on the bench. This really is amazing.”

  “I thought a picnic would be fun.” Jacob took the pizza box from me, his fingers brushing against mine. “A little quieter than eating at The Slice.”

  We settled down on the blanket and Jacob served me a slice of pepperoni pizza.

  “This is so good. Thank you.”

  Jacob smiled. “I’m glad you like everything, Sash.”

  “I do. And, seriously, we talked about me and all of my stuff. What’s new with you? How’s football?”

  Jacob and I talked and laughed until the moonlight cast pale shadows over both of us. This was the most unforgettable first date I would ever have. I was sure of it.

  IT’S ALL UP TO HIM

  ALL DAY THURSDAY, JULIA WALKED AROUND with a look on her face—a smugness. A look of assured victory. In the hallway before math, I saw Heather and hurried toward her.

  “What’s going on with Julia?” I asked. “I’ve seen her a few times today and she looks as if she already knows. Like Mr. Nicholson told her she made the YENT.”

  Heather shifted her armload of books, sighing. “It’s all she would talk about last night. Alison fell asleep early because she was exhausted from the day, but Julia was sooo hyper. She did well at tryouts, we know that. But she didn’t make the team for sure.”

  “But you can’t tell her that,” I said. “It’ll hurt her feelings.”

  A look passed over Heather’s face. “I didn’t say anything last night and it’s almost time for announcements anyway. But she’s going to lose it if she doesn’t make it. She’s always been confident about her riding, but I don’t know why she’s being so cocky about this.”

  The bell rang and we stared at each other before Heather shrugged.

  “We just have to wait and see,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do about Julia. It’s all up to Mr. Nicholson now.”

  “See you at the stable,” I said.

  We split up and headed for our classes. I sat down in Ms. Utz’s math class and opened my notebook.

  I wrote my name and date on a clean sheet of paper, then started doodling in the margins.

  “See her charm bracelet? I heard that Sasha’s ex-boyfriend from Union got it for her.”

  I kept my eyes on my paper, pretending to draw but listening to the whispering behind me.

  “She’s had, like, six boyfriends and they all gave her charms,” the girl continued. “But she took them off when she broke up with them.”

  “The horse charm is so cute,” another girl whispered. “And I don’t even like horses.”

  “I told my parents I wanted a bracelet just like that for my birthday,” the first girl said.

  “My dad said I could get one if my grades were good at the end of the semester,” said the other girl.

  I sat there, stunned. I’d never heard anything like this about me! No one had ever wanted anything I owned. Everyone in our grade always looked to Heather, Julia, and Alison for fashion, jewelry, and style direction. Definitely not me.

  “Hey,” Brit said, sliding into the seat next to me.

  “Omigod, get out your phone!” I whispered. There was no way I wanted the girls behind us to hear me talking about them.

  Brit pulled out her BlackBerry and I opened BlackBerry Messenger.

  Sasha Silver:

  U won’t believe this

  Brit Chan:

  What? What? Tell me!! O_O

  Sasha Silver:

  2 girls behind us were talking about me. Well, my bracelet.

  Brit Chan:

  What abt it? Did they say something mean abt it? :/

  Sasha Silver:

  No—they actually asked their parents 4 one exactly like it! :S

  Brit Chan:

  Cool!!! It IS v pretty. U should be flattered, S.

  Sasha Silver:

  They were talking total rumors 2. Like, how I have charms for all of my ex-boyfriends that I broke up with. Where did THAT come from?!

  Brit Chan:

  LOLOL. I didn’t know a total heartbreaker moved into my room. :D

  Sasha Silver:

  Ha. Ha. :p It was just weird.

  Ms. Utz walked into the room, forcing Brit and me to shove our phones under the desk.

  “Hi, class,” Ms. Utz said.

  Whoa. It almost hurt to look at her outfit. Ms. Utz, a wrestler on the weekends, was over six feet tall. And her shirt choice for the day? A green and yellow plaid shirt with matching green pants. That much plaid looked like an optical illusion.

  Sasha Silver:

  Ouch abt the shirt, right?!

  Brit Chan:

  Ma
jor. Ouch.

  Sasha Silver:

  I srsly can’t sit thru many more classes. I need YENT results now.

  Brit Chan:

  I know. What’s ur gut feeling?

  I moved my phone to the side when Ms. Utz moved behind her desk to take attendance.

  Sasha Silver:

  Callie. U?

  Brit Chan:

  I think Alison.

  Sasha Silver:

  Saw H and Julia a bunch of times today. J rlly seems 2 think she already made it.

  Brit Chan:

  Eeek. Well, we’re gonna find out v v soon.

  As Ms. Utz finished taking attendance, Brit and I put away our phones.

  Classes finally ended for the day and Brit, Heather, Julia, Alison, and I hurried toward the stable. Mr. Nicholson would be making the announcement in fifteen minutes.

  “C’mon, guys,” Julia said, walking ahead of us. “We’re going to be late if we don’t walk faster.”

  “Jules, chill,” Heather said. “Seriously. We’re two minutes away.”

  Julia didn’t respond—she stayed two steps in front of us the entire walk from the courtyard where we’d met. We went to Mr. Conner’s office and his door was shut. Voices at a low volume were coming from inside. Julia started toward the door, tiptoeing.

  “Julia!” Heather hissed. “Sit down.” Heather grabbed her friend’s arm and yanked her onto the bench outside of Mr. Conner’s office.

  I looked over at Alison, who hadn’t said a word since we’d met up. She gave me a shaky smile. “This part sucks,” she said.

  “I know,” I said.

  And I remembered the waiting. Each second had felt like an hour.

  “Mr. Conner will call you in any second,” I said, trying to make Alison feel better. She was getting paler by the second.

  The four of us looked up when Callie walked into the hallway. She sat at the bench across from us, glancing at each of us for a second. She didn’t look nervous—she looked focused like always. Calm and ready to hear the results, whatever they were.

  I had to wish her good luck. I just had to. Just as I started to open my mouth, the door to Mr. Conner’s office opened.

  He didn’t seem surprised to see Heather, Brit, and I there waiting with Callie, Julia, and Alison.