Mia the Magnificent by Eileen Boggess

figure out you’re dating both of them at the same time?”
    “I never told either of them I was dating them exclusively.”
    “It doesn’t matter what you said, Tim!” I exclaimed. “If you give a girl a bracelet, she’s going to think you’re serious about her.”
    “Really?” Tim said, taking the ball from my hands. “Even if I paid less than five bucks for both of them?”
    “You are completely hopeless.”
    Tim began dribbling the ball again. “I just think you’re jealous I’m dating other people.”
    “Me, jealous?” I gave a hearty laugh. “Don’t make me laugh.”
    “You are jealous.” Tim grinned. “I know you still want me.”
    “Yeah, right,” I said. “I want you as much as I want to catch an incurable disease.”
    “If you don’t want me, then why are you so upset I’m dating someone else?”
    “I’m not upset—I’m tired,” I said, unable to say why I cared so much about who Tim was dating. “I’ve had a long day. I’m going to bed.”
    “Fine,” Tim said. “Leave. But remember, the longer it takes for you to figure out how much you still like me, the more time I have to find someone else to like. I’m not waiting around for you forever, Mia.”
    “Waiting around for me?” I stopped, unable to let that one pass. “When have you ever waited for me? All you had to do was not be with anyone for eight weeks in Maine, and you and I would still be together. And you’re dating two girls right now! So don’t get all ‘I’m not waiting around forever’ with me. I don’t need you or any guy to make me happy, and if you think I’ll ever come running back to you, you’re a few beads short of a rosary!”
    I stormed off toward my house.
    “Does that mean you don’t want to play basketball tonight?” Tim called.
    Biting my lip, I kept walking. I was dying to tell Tim what he could do with his basketball, but I knew that making one more reference to shoving a foreign object into his body would be too much for one night.

Chapter
Eight
    The next few weeks blurred together in a whirlwind of homework, driver’s ed, and play rehearsals, none of which was going very well. Between flunking a geometry quiz, almost side-swiping an SUV while driving with my mom to fulfill the extra twenty hours required for a license, and having to memorize all of Marian’s lines even though Katrina hadn’t missed a single rehearsal, I was glad it was already October.
    Pretty soon, driver’s ed would be over and I’d be finished with The Music Man. Then, by the time December rolled around, I’d have just enough time to focus all my energy on finals. My parents had been threatening me with math summer school, and I didn’t think I could handle dissecting angles in the middle of July.
    I was also hoping my soon-to-be open calendar would allow me to see Eric again. He was right about not having any time to date, because from the moment he got the part of Skye Masterson in Guys and Dolls, he’d been consumed with rehearsals. Between that and volunteering for the community theater’s upcoming Jesus Christ Superstar, he was swamped. He didn’t even stick around anymore after dropping Zoë off for driver’s ed, and I had absolutely no chance of getting any lip action. Being truly independent sure was hard on the hormones.
    “I don’t know what your problem is,” Chris said as he walked into the family room, “but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.”
    “If you ever fell down a well,” I replied, flipping on the TV, “Lassie would leave you there.”
    “Lassie?” Chris plopped onto the couch next to me. “Have you been watching that TV oldies channel again?”
    “Maybe,” I said, hating to admit how much I really enjoyed Leave it to Beaver reruns. “So what are you doing home? I thought you were going over Kevin’s house.”
    “I am, but first,” Chris said, switching off the TV, “I need your advice on something.”
    “Are you serious?” I sat up. “Or is this a ploy to