He said he cared what I thought, but he made it pretty clear he was going to do what he wanted anyway.
“Yes, you can! You have to!” Veronica took a blind turn way too fast and slammed on her brakes at another red light. “Look, D. Hot boys don’t transfer to LCH that often. You were lucky he showed up after the whole Charlie debacle. Orion Floros has put you on the map. Unless you want this whole homecoming thing to become one huge joke, you cannot let that girl snake him.”
My teeth clenched. The whole Charlie debacle? Like it was somehow my fault that he’d turned on me? She was the one who’d hinted—not so subtly—that he needed a makeover. She was the one who’d practically forbidden me from going out with a band geek. And why did she make it seem like no guy was ever going to date me unless he was a transfer? I knew it had taken the guys in my grade a couple of years to forget about the Darbot the Geek I’d been before, but I’d had boyfriends in high school. Not as many as she had, but still.
“She’s not going to snake him,” I said as calmly as possible.
“She better not, because you know how it’s gonna feel if you’re sitting in some car during the homecoming parade with the guy who just dumped you for the freaky klepto chick with the violent streak? Not good.”
My insides felt twisted and lumpy. If Veronica really was trying to sabotage my chances at homecoming, and she thought that Orion was the only reason I made homecoming court in the first place, then wouldn’t she want me to screw things up with him? Wouldn’t him defecting to the land of the weird with True be the greatest thing ever?
“Can I ask you something?” I blurted.
“What?” she asked, hitting the gas the second the light turned green.
“Do you think I have any shot at winning homecoming queen?”
Veronica’s laughter filled the car. It filled the town. It filled the entire universe. She laughed so hard I thought she might actually drive us off the road. My face burned, and tears welled up in my eyes. When we came to the stoplight across the street from Moe’s Diner, she finally caught her breath and glanced at me.
“Omigod, you’re serious.”
I didn’t trust myself to speak without my voice cracking. Instead I weakly lifted a shoulder.
“Darla, no junior has won homecoming queen since Ruma Sen,” she said in this totally condescending voice. “And I’m sorry, but you’re . . .”
“No Ruma Sen,” I finished for her.
She widened her eyes like, obviously . Suddenly I found myself staring at the car door handle. I saw myself opening it and jumping out of the car. Imagined what it would feel like to slam the door on her and just walk away. She was my best friend, and I’d felt like nothing but crap since my butt hit the heated leather seat of her car.
“Neither of us are,” she added in a kinder voice.
Okay. Well, at least she saw us as equals. Or at least equally not in Ruma Sen’s category. I felt myself start to uncoil.
“Are you hungry?” Veronica asked. “Wanna hit Moe’s?”
My favorite diner was right there, bursting with the after-extracurricular crowd. “But you hate Moe’s.”
Veronica had once said that you could gain a hundred pounds just by inhaling Moe’s grease-filled air.
She lifted her shoulders. “I’ll get a smoothie.”
I sighed reluctantly. I knew that if we went in, we’d probably bump into Mariah and Kenna and some of the guys, and at the moment I didn’t have the energy to be social. But then, Orion wasn’t coming over anytime soon, and being seen was important. Especially right now.
Not that I had any chance at homecoming queen, but I wanted to at least get a few votes.
“Okay. Sure,” I said, just as the light turned green.
Veronica hit the gas and turned into the crowded parking lot, cutting off an oncoming car so closely I saw my life flash before my eyes. Which wasn’t pretty. It was mostly me as Darbot the Geek. Me as a loser. Orion
“Yes, you can! You have to!” Veronica took a blind turn way too fast and slammed on her brakes at another red light. “Look, D. Hot boys don’t transfer to LCH that often. You were lucky he showed up after the whole Charlie debacle. Orion Floros has put you on the map. Unless you want this whole homecoming thing to become one huge joke, you cannot let that girl snake him.”
My teeth clenched. The whole Charlie debacle? Like it was somehow my fault that he’d turned on me? She was the one who’d hinted—not so subtly—that he needed a makeover. She was the one who’d practically forbidden me from going out with a band geek. And why did she make it seem like no guy was ever going to date me unless he was a transfer? I knew it had taken the guys in my grade a couple of years to forget about the Darbot the Geek I’d been before, but I’d had boyfriends in high school. Not as many as she had, but still.
“She’s not going to snake him,” I said as calmly as possible.
“She better not, because you know how it’s gonna feel if you’re sitting in some car during the homecoming parade with the guy who just dumped you for the freaky klepto chick with the violent streak? Not good.”
My insides felt twisted and lumpy. If Veronica really was trying to sabotage my chances at homecoming, and she thought that Orion was the only reason I made homecoming court in the first place, then wouldn’t she want me to screw things up with him? Wouldn’t him defecting to the land of the weird with True be the greatest thing ever?
“Can I ask you something?” I blurted.
“What?” she asked, hitting the gas the second the light turned green.
“Do you think I have any shot at winning homecoming queen?”
Veronica’s laughter filled the car. It filled the town. It filled the entire universe. She laughed so hard I thought she might actually drive us off the road. My face burned, and tears welled up in my eyes. When we came to the stoplight across the street from Moe’s Diner, she finally caught her breath and glanced at me.
“Omigod, you’re serious.”
I didn’t trust myself to speak without my voice cracking. Instead I weakly lifted a shoulder.
“Darla, no junior has won homecoming queen since Ruma Sen,” she said in this totally condescending voice. “And I’m sorry, but you’re . . .”
“No Ruma Sen,” I finished for her.
She widened her eyes like, obviously . Suddenly I found myself staring at the car door handle. I saw myself opening it and jumping out of the car. Imagined what it would feel like to slam the door on her and just walk away. She was my best friend, and I’d felt like nothing but crap since my butt hit the heated leather seat of her car.
“Neither of us are,” she added in a kinder voice.
Okay. Well, at least she saw us as equals. Or at least equally not in Ruma Sen’s category. I felt myself start to uncoil.
“Are you hungry?” Veronica asked. “Wanna hit Moe’s?”
My favorite diner was right there, bursting with the after-extracurricular crowd. “But you hate Moe’s.”
Veronica had once said that you could gain a hundred pounds just by inhaling Moe’s grease-filled air.
She lifted her shoulders. “I’ll get a smoothie.”
I sighed reluctantly. I knew that if we went in, we’d probably bump into Mariah and Kenna and some of the guys, and at the moment I didn’t have the energy to be social. But then, Orion wasn’t coming over anytime soon, and being seen was important. Especially right now.
Not that I had any chance at homecoming queen, but I wanted to at least get a few votes.
“Okay. Sure,” I said, just as the light turned green.
Veronica hit the gas and turned into the crowded parking lot, cutting off an oncoming car so closely I saw my life flash before my eyes. Which wasn’t pretty. It was mostly me as Darbot the Geek. Me as a loser. Orion
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