this thing you’ve apparently got for clarinetists? I thought you considered woodwinds to be beneath you.”
“I am merely stating a fact,” Boris said, putting down his fork with a bang to illustrate his seriousness. “Mia is only sixteen years old. And they aren’t married. Michael shouldn’t think that he can just go off to a foreign country and that she is going to wait for him. It isn’t fair to her. She should be allowed to move on with her life, date other people, and have fun, not sit in her room every Saturday night for a year until he gets back.”
I saw Shameeka and Ling Su exchange glances. Ling Su even made an “Oops, he might actually be right” face.
Tina didn’t think he was right, though.
“Are you saying that if you got a job as first violin with the London Philharmonic, you wouldn’t want me to wait for you?” she asked her boyfriend.
“Of course I would want you to wait,” Boris explained. “But I wouldn’t ASK you to. It wouldn’t be fair. But I know you WOULD wait, anyway, because that’s the kind of girl you are.”
“Mia’s that kind of girl, too!” Tina said decidedly.
“No,” Boris said, gravely shaking his head. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s okay, Boris,” I said quickly, before Tina’s head exploded. “I WANT to sit in my room every Saturday night until Michael gets back.”
Boris looked at me like I was nuts. “You DO?”
“Yes,” I said. “I do. Because I love Michael and if I can’t be with him, I’d rather not be with any boy.”
Boris just shook his head sadly.
“That’s what all the couples in my orchestra say,” he said. “And eventually, one of them gets tired of sitting in their room. Next thing you know, they’ve hooked up with a clarinetist. There’s always a clarinetist.”
This was very disconcerting. I was sitting there, feeling the same panic rising I feel every time I think of Michael’s leaving—just three more days! Three more days until he’s gone—when I happened to notice that J.P. was looking at me.
And then when I met his gaze, he smiled at me. Androlled his eyes. As if to say, “Listen to the crazy Russian violinist! Isn’t he silly?”
And suddenly, the panic disappeared, and I felt all right again.
I smiled back and, reaching for my falafel, said, “I think Michael and I will be okay, Boris.”
“Of course they will,” Tina said. And then Boris yelped. It was clear Tina had kicked him beneath the table.
I hope she left a bruise.
Wednesday, September 8, G & T
So Lilly didn’t even give me twenty-four hours to recover from the blow her brother delivered. No, she started harping on the student government campaign again during G and T.
“Listen, POG,” she said. “I know you were the only person nominated for student council president, but you can’t win if at least fifty percent of the class doesn’t vote for you.”
“Who else are they going to vote for?” I wanted to know. “Especially if no one else is running?”
“Write-ins,” Lilly said. “Themselves. Who knows? You could end up being beaten by Lana anyway, even though she’s technically not running. You know her little sister just entered ninth grade, right?”
This information was meaningless to me. I mean, on account of my head being completely full of the fact that MY BOYFRIEND IS MOVING TO JAPAN FOR A YEAR (or more).
“Did you hear me, Mia?” Lilly was peering at me all concernedly over her student government binder. “Gretchen Weinberger is exactly like her older sis…only with a bigger chip on her shoulder. Think of that documentary we saw on MTV, True Life , on ’roid rage, and you’ll have a clear picture. Gretchen could undoubtedly rally the entire ninth grade against you if she wanted to. And, if you’ve gotten any kind of look at them, you can clearly see this freshman class is the most apathetic bunch of bottom-feeders that have ever walked the planet. I actually heard one of them insisting that global
“I am merely stating a fact,” Boris said, putting down his fork with a bang to illustrate his seriousness. “Mia is only sixteen years old. And they aren’t married. Michael shouldn’t think that he can just go off to a foreign country and that she is going to wait for him. It isn’t fair to her. She should be allowed to move on with her life, date other people, and have fun, not sit in her room every Saturday night for a year until he gets back.”
I saw Shameeka and Ling Su exchange glances. Ling Su even made an “Oops, he might actually be right” face.
Tina didn’t think he was right, though.
“Are you saying that if you got a job as first violin with the London Philharmonic, you wouldn’t want me to wait for you?” she asked her boyfriend.
“Of course I would want you to wait,” Boris explained. “But I wouldn’t ASK you to. It wouldn’t be fair. But I know you WOULD wait, anyway, because that’s the kind of girl you are.”
“Mia’s that kind of girl, too!” Tina said decidedly.
“No,” Boris said, gravely shaking his head. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s okay, Boris,” I said quickly, before Tina’s head exploded. “I WANT to sit in my room every Saturday night until Michael gets back.”
Boris looked at me like I was nuts. “You DO?”
“Yes,” I said. “I do. Because I love Michael and if I can’t be with him, I’d rather not be with any boy.”
Boris just shook his head sadly.
“That’s what all the couples in my orchestra say,” he said. “And eventually, one of them gets tired of sitting in their room. Next thing you know, they’ve hooked up with a clarinetist. There’s always a clarinetist.”
This was very disconcerting. I was sitting there, feeling the same panic rising I feel every time I think of Michael’s leaving—just three more days! Three more days until he’s gone—when I happened to notice that J.P. was looking at me.
And then when I met his gaze, he smiled at me. Androlled his eyes. As if to say, “Listen to the crazy Russian violinist! Isn’t he silly?”
And suddenly, the panic disappeared, and I felt all right again.
I smiled back and, reaching for my falafel, said, “I think Michael and I will be okay, Boris.”
“Of course they will,” Tina said. And then Boris yelped. It was clear Tina had kicked him beneath the table.
I hope she left a bruise.
Wednesday, September 8, G & T
So Lilly didn’t even give me twenty-four hours to recover from the blow her brother delivered. No, she started harping on the student government campaign again during G and T.
“Listen, POG,” she said. “I know you were the only person nominated for student council president, but you can’t win if at least fifty percent of the class doesn’t vote for you.”
“Who else are they going to vote for?” I wanted to know. “Especially if no one else is running?”
“Write-ins,” Lilly said. “Themselves. Who knows? You could end up being beaten by Lana anyway, even though she’s technically not running. You know her little sister just entered ninth grade, right?”
This information was meaningless to me. I mean, on account of my head being completely full of the fact that MY BOYFRIEND IS MOVING TO JAPAN FOR A YEAR (or more).
“Did you hear me, Mia?” Lilly was peering at me all concernedly over her student government binder. “Gretchen Weinberger is exactly like her older sis…only with a bigger chip on her shoulder. Think of that documentary we saw on MTV, True Life , on ’roid rage, and you’ll have a clear picture. Gretchen could undoubtedly rally the entire ninth grade against you if she wanted to. And, if you’ve gotten any kind of look at them, you can clearly see this freshman class is the most apathetic bunch of bottom-feeders that have ever walked the planet. I actually heard one of them insisting that global
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