Twisted by Jo Gibson Page B

didn’t feel like going. Jessica and Michele couldn’t learn their steps without her coaching, but it wasn’t her fault that they were so stupid.
    As she passed the bulletin board, Gail’s spirits brightened a bit. She was still in the lead for queen, and there was no doubt in her mind that she’d win . . . unless Brett decided not to vote for her anymore. Perhaps she should wait to tell him what a self-righteous pig he was, and be nice to him until the contest was over.
    Gail hurried down the stairs and ran down the hall toward the boys’ locker room. She was willing to eat crow, as long as she could be queen. Brett was standing in the hall, next to Neal, and she put on her most charming smile.
    â€œBrett? Could I please talk to you for a minute?” Gail motioned to him, and Brett followed her down the hallway. When they were out of earshot, she managed to work up a teary-eyed look. “I’m sorry I was so awful today. I guess you guys were right, and the contest is really getting to me.”
    Brett nodded, but he didn’t smile. Gail let a tear run down her cheek, and wiped it away with the back of her hand. Thank goodness she could cry on demand. Boys always caved in when girls cried. It was a fact of life.
    â€œI’ve been thinking about what you said, and maybe I should withdraw from the contest. I want you to know that . . . that my friends are more important to me than being Valentine’s Day Queen.”
    Brett nodded again, and he seemed to thaw a bit, because he reached out to wipe the tear from her cheek. “Think about it carefully, Gail. Would you really pull out of the contest to save a few friendships?”
    â€œOf course I would!” Gail let another tear spill down her cheek. “I’ll do it first thing tomorrow morning. And I’ll tell Mr. Dorman to split up my votes and give them to the other girls. The only reason I really wanted to win was . . . well . . . it’s my dad. When my mom was alive, she always talked about the time she was the Homecoming Queen at Hamilton High. Dad was captain of the football team, so he was Homecoming King, and that’s the night he proposed to her. He’s been really depressed ever since she died, and I thought it might make him happy to see me crowned as Valentine’s Day Queen.”
    Brett looked a little uncertain. “Gosh, Gail . . . I didn’t know your mom was dead. I’m really sorry. When did it happen?”
    â€œFour years ago. She was there one day, and . . . gone the next.” Gail made her lower lip quiver. Actually, her mother was alive and living in Sacramento with the guy she’d run off with, but since her dad never talked about it, no one else knew.
    â€œI didn’t know they had Homecoming Queens back when your mother was in school.” Brett sounded curious. “How long ago was it?”
    â€œUh . . . I’m not really sure.” Gail struggled to think of something. “But Mom got married right out of high school, and I was born two years later, so I guess it was over twenty years ago.”
    Brett smiled at her. “What was your mom’s name?”
    â€œElizabeth. She used to joke around about having the same name as the English queens.” Gail smiled back, but her mind was racing. She knew she’d better not say any more about her mother. The best way to keep from being caught when you were lying was to keep everything simple so you could remember what you’d said. “The things you said on our walk made me stop and think. Now I realize that I had a totally selfish reason for wanting to be queen, and I really don’t deserve the honor after the horrible way I acted today!”
    â€œWell . . . I guess that’s true. But anyone can make a mistake. And if you’re really sorry, maybe you could apologize to the other girls.”
    â€œOh, I will!” Gail managed to look totally sincere. She’d get through the