Rachel's Valentine Crush by Angela Darling Page A

strict. Not too many people would understand how much things had changed after Mom left.
    So I just said, “Oh, I’m kind of busy during the week,” like it was no big deal.
    â€œYou have to join glee,” Brody said. He was totally serious. “I’ll talk to Mrs. Serang about a special audition, if you want. Seriously, Rachel, we need you!”
    I had to keep saying “No, that’s okay,” and I felt really bad . . . like I was hurting his feelings. He finally let it go and said, “I’ll see you later, Rachel.”
    It meant so much to me that he thought I was good enough to be in glee club with him . . . but of course I couldn’t tell him that, either.
    Rachel put down her pen. If only Brody and I had been in glee club together too, she thought sadly. We could’ve hung out more. Gotten to know each other better. And maybe I’d be his secret crush. Maybe the message in the song would make more sense.
    She carefully glued the pink paper with her writing on it at the center of the new page with the ribbon. Then, using some of the letter stencils that she had borrowed from Grandma Nellie, she traced and cut out eight letters from felt. When she was finished, she carefully pasted the letters at the top of the page, above the entry she had written.
    MIRACLES.
    Satisfied, Rachel moved the scrapbook page over to an empty spot on her dresser so the glue could dry. Then shereturned to her desk and turned on her computer to check her e-mail. To her surprise, she had an e-mail from Brody himself!
    From: [email protected]
    To: friends [list]
    Date: February 6
    Subject: Party @ Chocolate Bar
    Hey guys! Not too long till I’m back in town, and I can’t wait! I’ll be flying in next Thursday, a couple days before the concert, and it would be awesome to hang out with you guys that night before things get all crazy. My team booked the Chocolate Bar for a private event and you’re all invited. It’s at six p.m. and there’s gonna be an unlimited chocolate fountain (AWESOME). I really hope you can come . . . it wouldn’t be the same without you.
    BRODY
    Just seeing Brody’s name appear in her in-box made Rachel’s heart start pounding. A private party at the Chocolate Bar? With Brody ?! It sounded too good to be true. Hannah Schwartz had her bat mitzvah party at the Chocolate Bar, and it had been the most sophisticated, elegant evening of Rachel’s life. Not to mention, all the chocolate treats were delicious. Rachel imagined sitting next to Brody on one of the velvet-covered couches, telling him about everything that was going on in church choir—
    Then Rachel stopped herself. Who am I kidding? she thought.
    Like Dad would even let me go.
    Rachel glanced at the scrapbook page she had just made. Miracles. It looked like she was going to need a miracle to be allowed to go to Brody’s party.
    Rachel felt her eyes fill up with tears. She knew it wasn’t very grown-up to cry, but she couldn’t help it. Sometimes it was hard to act like everything was going to be okay, when deep down she knew it probably wasn’t going to be.
    How much more of my life am I going to miss because of Dad’s rules? Rachel wondered. I have to find a way to make him trust me. Otherwise . . .
    A knock at the door interrupted Rachel’s thoughts. “Come in,” she called.
    It was Grandma Nellie, carrying a bowl of popcorn and a mug of steaming cider. “I noticed you were so busy scrapbooking that you forgot to have a snack,” she said. “Can’t say I blame you. I’ve felt the same way!”
    â€œThanks—that smells good,” Rachel replied in a dull voice.
    Grandma Nellie could tell right away that something was wrong. “You okay, sweet pea?” she asked.
    Rachel didn’t know where to begin. “Do you think I act mature?” she asked.
    â€œMature?”