begsthe question, why do you even want to go there, considering how much you hate all those guys?”
Jason rolled over and scowled at my blue shag (Yes. I have blue shag. My parents are slowly renovating the house, but until my dad actually sells one of the mysteries he is constantly writing between mixing up batches of homemade granola, stuff like getting rid of my blue shag is so not on the horizon).
“I wanna take The B to the lake,” he said. “She’s never seen it. At least, not with me. Plus, you know, there are those curves over on the turnpike I want to try her out on.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “And you accuse me of being such a girl? You are such a boy .”
With that, Jason got up and said, “Fine. I’ll just go by myself.”
“Why don’t you ask Becca? She’s probably just home scrapbooking, or something.” Becca, now that she’s moved away from the farm, isn’t used to having free time, and so fills her days with craft projects, like making skirts out of pillowcases, and filling scrapbooks with pictures of adorable kittens she cuts from the Sunday Parade section. If she weren’t my friend, I probably wouldn’t even like her, based on that fact alone.
“She gets carsick on the way to the lake,” Jason said. “Remember?”
“Not if you let her sit in front.”
“Becca…” Jason hovered in the doorway to my room, looking…well, weird, is the only way I couldthink to put it. “Becca’s been acting strange around me lately. Haven’t you noticed?”
“No,” I said. Because I haven’t.
And also, if anyone should be acting strange around Jason, it’s me. I mean, I’m the one who’s seen him with his pants off, not Becca.
And may I just say what I saw was very impressive?
Not, actually, that I have anything much to measure by. Except my brothers.
“Well,” Jason said, “she has. Pestering me to give her a criminal mastermind name. That whole thing last night about finding your soul mate. That kind of stuff.”
“Come on, Jason,” I said. “She just wants to fit in, be part of the gang. I mean, it’s hard for her, living in town. She’s used to hanging out with cows and stuff. Cut her some slack. Can’t you just think of a criminal mastermind name for her?”
“No,” Jason said bluntly. “Want to go to The Hill tonight?”
“No. Last time I had to dab myself with gasoline to get rid of all the chiggers that crawled into my underwear.”
“We could go to the observatory, then.”
“Why? The Perseids are over. And the Orionids don’t start until October.”
“There’s other stuff to see in the sky besides meteor showers, you know, Steph,” Jason said. “I mean, there’s Antares. And Arcturus.”
I swear, I wanted to be like, “See, Jason? This is whyyou aren’t popular. You could be popular—you have a decent-looking face and, as I know only too well, a killer bod. You have a good sense of humor and you’re an only child, so your parents can afford to buy you the right clothes. You get good grades, which is a strike against you, popularity-wise, of course, but you play golf, a sport growing in popularity among teens. But then you have to go and ruin it all by talking about stargazing and BMW Courtesy. What is wrong with you?”
Only I couldn’t. Because that would be too mean.
Instead, I just went, “It’s a school night, Jason. I’m not going to the observatory.”
“Who’s not going to the observatory?” my dad asked, poking his head around Jason’s shoulder.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Landry,” Jason said, turning around. “Steph and I were just talking.”
“I can see that,” my dad said in his too-jovial I’m-talking-to-a-teenage-boy-standing-in-my-daughter’s-bedroom voice. Except, of course, it was just Jason. “How’s the new car?”
“Awesome,” Jason said. “This morning I cleaned the bulbs on my dash gauges. Now they shine like new.”
“Good for you,” my dad said. And the two of them fell into a completely random
Jason rolled over and scowled at my blue shag (Yes. I have blue shag. My parents are slowly renovating the house, but until my dad actually sells one of the mysteries he is constantly writing between mixing up batches of homemade granola, stuff like getting rid of my blue shag is so not on the horizon).
“I wanna take The B to the lake,” he said. “She’s never seen it. At least, not with me. Plus, you know, there are those curves over on the turnpike I want to try her out on.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “And you accuse me of being such a girl? You are such a boy .”
With that, Jason got up and said, “Fine. I’ll just go by myself.”
“Why don’t you ask Becca? She’s probably just home scrapbooking, or something.” Becca, now that she’s moved away from the farm, isn’t used to having free time, and so fills her days with craft projects, like making skirts out of pillowcases, and filling scrapbooks with pictures of adorable kittens she cuts from the Sunday Parade section. If she weren’t my friend, I probably wouldn’t even like her, based on that fact alone.
“She gets carsick on the way to the lake,” Jason said. “Remember?”
“Not if you let her sit in front.”
“Becca…” Jason hovered in the doorway to my room, looking…well, weird, is the only way I couldthink to put it. “Becca’s been acting strange around me lately. Haven’t you noticed?”
“No,” I said. Because I haven’t.
And also, if anyone should be acting strange around Jason, it’s me. I mean, I’m the one who’s seen him with his pants off, not Becca.
And may I just say what I saw was very impressive?
Not, actually, that I have anything much to measure by. Except my brothers.
“Well,” Jason said, “she has. Pestering me to give her a criminal mastermind name. That whole thing last night about finding your soul mate. That kind of stuff.”
“Come on, Jason,” I said. “She just wants to fit in, be part of the gang. I mean, it’s hard for her, living in town. She’s used to hanging out with cows and stuff. Cut her some slack. Can’t you just think of a criminal mastermind name for her?”
“No,” Jason said bluntly. “Want to go to The Hill tonight?”
“No. Last time I had to dab myself with gasoline to get rid of all the chiggers that crawled into my underwear.”
“We could go to the observatory, then.”
“Why? The Perseids are over. And the Orionids don’t start until October.”
“There’s other stuff to see in the sky besides meteor showers, you know, Steph,” Jason said. “I mean, there’s Antares. And Arcturus.”
I swear, I wanted to be like, “See, Jason? This is whyyou aren’t popular. You could be popular—you have a decent-looking face and, as I know only too well, a killer bod. You have a good sense of humor and you’re an only child, so your parents can afford to buy you the right clothes. You get good grades, which is a strike against you, popularity-wise, of course, but you play golf, a sport growing in popularity among teens. But then you have to go and ruin it all by talking about stargazing and BMW Courtesy. What is wrong with you?”
Only I couldn’t. Because that would be too mean.
Instead, I just went, “It’s a school night, Jason. I’m not going to the observatory.”
“Who’s not going to the observatory?” my dad asked, poking his head around Jason’s shoulder.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Landry,” Jason said, turning around. “Steph and I were just talking.”
“I can see that,” my dad said in his too-jovial I’m-talking-to-a-teenage-boy-standing-in-my-daughter’s-bedroom voice. Except, of course, it was just Jason. “How’s the new car?”
“Awesome,” Jason said. “This morning I cleaned the bulbs on my dash gauges. Now they shine like new.”
“Good for you,” my dad said. And the two of them fell into a completely random
Similar Books
