Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes Page B

phone rings. “That’ll be the security people,” he says.
    â€œI’ll go call off the dogs.” Penn strides across the foyer and into the dining room.
    â€œPenn is your sister?” I hiss.
    â€œStanford and Penn,” Jordy says. “My parents’ almamaters. Are you actually surprised?”
    Penn answers the phone, nodding to herself and then pressing a few keys on the keypad. “We’re good.” She turns back toward the foyer and notices me for the first time. “Oh, hello.” Her eyes take in every inch of me. Then her gaze flips to her brother, an unreadable expression on her face. “Didn’t you tell Mom and Dad you were going to Kimber’s barbecue?”
    â€œI might stop by later,” he says. “I’m assuming you didn’t come from there looking like that.”
    Penn picks at a bit of dirt under her fingernails. “I was going to go, but then Alex from across the street said his dad was letting him rebuild a transmission. I asked if I could watch, and they let me help.” She licks her finger and rubs at one of the smudges on her arm.
    â€œI don’t think we’ve officially met,” I say. “I’m Maguire.”
    â€œI know who you are.” Penn smiles sunnily. Her gaze flicks back to her brother. “Did you tell her about the time I hit you playing tennis?”
    â€œYou mean when you broke my nose?” Jordy swings a pretend racquet with an exaggerated follow through. “We were playing doubles a few years back. She cracked me right in the face with her racquet.” He scoffs. “And then had the nerve to start crying like it was all a big accident. I know she did it on purpose.”
    She grins at him. “I couldn’t stand the thought of you being prettier than me.”
    He flicks her in the side of the head with one finger. “I’m still prettier than you.”
    â€œDream on. What are you guys eating? It smells amazing.” She stops short when she sees the rumpled blanket on the sofa. “Ooh. This looks cozy. Did I interrupt something?” Her eyes gleam as she looks back and forth from Jordy to me.
    â€œNo. I mean, we weren’t—” I fumble.
    Jordy slings an arm around my shoulders. “We were working on her serve and then we decided to order food and not trash the furniture. I got you a burrito, but I might eat it myself if you’re going to scare off my friend.”
    â€œFriend, huh?” Penn says. “Too bad. I thought maybe you were finally going to tell Mom where to go.”
    â€œOne rebel in the family is enough.” Jordy’s still got his arm around me. His fingertips are tickling my collarbone.
    A tense moment passes between him and his sister, one of those beats of silence where expressions convey whole paragraphs, where teasing is more than what it appears to be. I suddenly feel like I don’t belong here.
    Shaking off Jordy’s arm, I fish my phone out of my racquet bag to check the time. “I should probably head home.”
    â€œHey, don’t leave on my account, friend . I’m going to go shower off this grease, but I’ll be back for that burrito.” Penn gives us a little wave and then jogs up the stairs.
    â€œSorry about that,” Jordy says, after she disappears. “She can be a shit disturber sometimes.”
    â€œI like her,” I say. “She says what’s on her mind. Peoplelike that are a little scary, but they’re easy to trust.”
    â€œYeah, I guess you’re right.” He flops back down on the sofa. “Speaking of trust. Are you going to tell me your goal?”
    â€œUm . . . make the tennis team?”
    â€œNo, not that. Your therapy goal.”
    I want to tell him that it’s private, but he told me his. And maybe it would be good for someone else to know. At least Jordy won’t judge me for seeing a shrink. “I want to go to Ireland in