up. I was about to have to do something drastic to wake you,” she teased.
I glanced over at my alarm clock. “Maya, you do realize it’s only nine thirty.”
“Yeah. Think about how much of the day has already been wasted.”
“Help! My best friend is a freak!” I said loudly.
Not long after my outburst, my sister came flying into my room.
“Glad you’re awake. I have a plan,” McKenzie beamed.
Maya and I just looked at each other.
“Great. You have a plan. Now what are we talking about?” I asked as Maya took another bite of her cereal.
“To get Ryan to realize I’m not just some little kid anymore,” she said like it was obvious.
“Right. And how are you going to do that?”
“This should be good,” Maya uttered as milk dripped down her chin.
“Please don’t get milk, especially after it has been in your mouth, in my bed.”
Maya looked at me and wiped her chin with the corner of her sleeve, then smiled at me with cereal in her teeth.
“You’re disgusting.”
“Hello? Anyone care to hear my plan?” my sister whined.
“Oh yeah. Plan. Ryan. Go.”
“OK, so you know how I’ve been trying like extra hard to get Ryan to notice me lately?”
“Um, yeah,” I said, making it sound more like a question.
“Great. Well my plan is to do exactly the opposite.”
“You’ve lost me, Kenz.”
“OK. So instead of going out of my way to try to get him to notice me, I’m just going to stop.” She carried on like it was the most obvious answer in the world. “I’m not going to look or talk to him anymore than I would anyone else. I’m even going to date someone in my grade. Genius, right?”
“So, how exactly is this going to work?”
“Reverse psychology, silly,” again saying it like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
“Great. Well, you can try your theory in a couple hours,” Maya chimed in, cueing both Kenzie and I to look at her. “What? I thought we could use some hang out time with our friends. And that will give you a chance to talk to Gabe sans Jake.”
“What about Dylan?” I asked in a knowing tone.
“What Dylan Andrews decides to do in his free time is his business. He made that perfectly clear last night.”
“Alright. Well, on that note I’m going to go back to my room,” Kenzie let out.
I continued to look at Maya. As soon as my sister had closed my door behind her I began. “Maya, are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yes, it’s fine, I thought we had something. We clearly don’t. So we are friends.”
“Just like that? Are you sure? I mean, last night…”
“Yes, Em. It’s fine,” she said sharply. “I should have known better. This is Dylan. He is who he is.”
“And you are you. The two of you are like a match made in…”
“Don’t, Em. OK? Just don’t,” she pleaded.
I knew she wasn’t really OK with this, but this is what Maya does best: suppress, deny, and act like everything is fine.
“OK,” I said with a smile, squeezing her hand. “Lunch with the boys it is.”
***
I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how lunch was going to go down. Dylan was awkward at first but a few looks from Ryan and Gabe and everything seemed to be fine. It also helped that Maya acted totally fine, being her usual self and interacting with the guys like always. I had to hand it to her. If I would have caught the guy I was head over heals for sleeping with some random girl whenever I thought we were finally going to get together, there is no way I would be fine with hanging out, much less acting chummy, the next day.
My mom was none the wiser. She was just happy she had a reason to cook for everyone. When I told her the guys were coming over for lunch, I didn’t even have to ask her if she would make something. She quickly asked me if pulled pork sandwiches were OK. Mom had always loved to cook and jumped at any reason that allowed her to.
“Smells awesome, Mrs. C.,” Dylan practically cooed. He walked over and
I glanced over at my alarm clock. “Maya, you do realize it’s only nine thirty.”
“Yeah. Think about how much of the day has already been wasted.”
“Help! My best friend is a freak!” I said loudly.
Not long after my outburst, my sister came flying into my room.
“Glad you’re awake. I have a plan,” McKenzie beamed.
Maya and I just looked at each other.
“Great. You have a plan. Now what are we talking about?” I asked as Maya took another bite of her cereal.
“To get Ryan to realize I’m not just some little kid anymore,” she said like it was obvious.
“Right. And how are you going to do that?”
“This should be good,” Maya uttered as milk dripped down her chin.
“Please don’t get milk, especially after it has been in your mouth, in my bed.”
Maya looked at me and wiped her chin with the corner of her sleeve, then smiled at me with cereal in her teeth.
“You’re disgusting.”
“Hello? Anyone care to hear my plan?” my sister whined.
“Oh yeah. Plan. Ryan. Go.”
“OK, so you know how I’ve been trying like extra hard to get Ryan to notice me lately?”
“Um, yeah,” I said, making it sound more like a question.
“Great. Well my plan is to do exactly the opposite.”
“You’ve lost me, Kenz.”
“OK. So instead of going out of my way to try to get him to notice me, I’m just going to stop.” She carried on like it was the most obvious answer in the world. “I’m not going to look or talk to him anymore than I would anyone else. I’m even going to date someone in my grade. Genius, right?”
“So, how exactly is this going to work?”
“Reverse psychology, silly,” again saying it like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
“Great. Well, you can try your theory in a couple hours,” Maya chimed in, cueing both Kenzie and I to look at her. “What? I thought we could use some hang out time with our friends. And that will give you a chance to talk to Gabe sans Jake.”
“What about Dylan?” I asked in a knowing tone.
“What Dylan Andrews decides to do in his free time is his business. He made that perfectly clear last night.”
“Alright. Well, on that note I’m going to go back to my room,” Kenzie let out.
I continued to look at Maya. As soon as my sister had closed my door behind her I began. “Maya, are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yes, it’s fine, I thought we had something. We clearly don’t. So we are friends.”
“Just like that? Are you sure? I mean, last night…”
“Yes, Em. It’s fine,” she said sharply. “I should have known better. This is Dylan. He is who he is.”
“And you are you. The two of you are like a match made in…”
“Don’t, Em. OK? Just don’t,” she pleaded.
I knew she wasn’t really OK with this, but this is what Maya does best: suppress, deny, and act like everything is fine.
“OK,” I said with a smile, squeezing her hand. “Lunch with the boys it is.”
***
I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how lunch was going to go down. Dylan was awkward at first but a few looks from Ryan and Gabe and everything seemed to be fine. It also helped that Maya acted totally fine, being her usual self and interacting with the guys like always. I had to hand it to her. If I would have caught the guy I was head over heals for sleeping with some random girl whenever I thought we were finally going to get together, there is no way I would be fine with hanging out, much less acting chummy, the next day.
My mom was none the wiser. She was just happy she had a reason to cook for everyone. When I told her the guys were coming over for lunch, I didn’t even have to ask her if she would make something. She quickly asked me if pulled pork sandwiches were OK. Mom had always loved to cook and jumped at any reason that allowed her to.
“Smells awesome, Mrs. C.,” Dylan practically cooed. He walked over and
Similar Books
