18 Things (19 page)

“
Ol-ga! Ol-ga! Ol-ga!”
The whole coffee house cheered, giving me a standing ovation. It felt like an out-of-body experience. Everyone surrounded the stage and high fived or slapped me on the back as I floated back to my chair. The high was better than when I swallowed those twenty pills. Then I shuddered, ashamed for my thoughts.

“You sucked, but you totally rocked it, girl,” Sean said as I sat back down.

“Yeah. That was kinda perfect.” Nicole had tears in her eyes.

Nate gave me a playful nudge. “What happened to my suggestion?”

His eyes were unreadable, and I hoped he wasn’t upset I didn’t take his advice. “Well, it just popped into my head while walking up there. I mean, that song could be the anthem of my life over the past six months.”

“I could tell,” Kyle said. “I mean, no offense, but I think you know you don’t sing well. But you felt the song, so we felt it. It totally gave me an eargasm.”

I laughed. “I hope you brought protection, then.”

He pulled out a pair of earplugs from his jeans pocket. “Of course I did. I’m a drummer.”

Nate motioned hitting a drum set as I said, “Badabum tsch.”

We hadn’t even planned it, so our timing was a bit weird.

“You two are so cute,” Tammy said, smiling mischievously.

I wished I had two drumsticks to beat her over the head with.

Another hour later, with my fourth espresso in hand, a barista named Leah announced the winners. Sean won the third place prize of twenty-five dollars. Then Leah declared I won an equal amount of money for the Best Worst Performance of the night. I just sat there, stunned. Winning felt like waking up in a foreign place—only I knew I hadn’t gone to sleep. Things like this only happened in my dreams, but this,
this
felt like living.

“A long thing expected
takes the form of the unexpected
when at last it comes.”
―Mark Twain

omecoming activities kicked off with the Powder Puff games on Monday night. The junior girls beat us at flag football, but the senior boys won the cheerleading competition. To celebrate, we took Nate, Sean, and Kyle to Dairy Treat. We were in the middle of coordinating our outfits for Wednesday’s Theme Day, where each class dressed according to a certain movie. Fittingly for the Jedi Order, the senior’s class movie was
Star Wars
.

“So,” Nate gestured for me to come closer with his hand as Tammy tried convincing Nicole to dress up as Princess Leia, assuring her she’d look hot. “There’s a meteor shower this Saturday. I thought maybe you could come chill at my house for it, since I have a telescope.”

We sat outside at a picnic table under a buzzing street lamp, shoveling ice cream into our mouths. I felt the same curious fluttering in my stomach I always felt when I got this close to Nate.

“Um, aren’t you going to the dance?” Even though I was cheering at the Homecoming game on Friday against Muskegon, I opted out of going to the dance. The memories associated with almost attending my first high school dance six months ago were still too fresh.

Nate ran a hand through his tousled hair and looked away momentarily. “The girl I was going to ask is unavailable.”

Still in his Powder Puff outfit, which consisted of my borrowed navy blue cheerleading skirt, a white school spirit shirt stuffed with inflated balloons, and knee-high socks; he looked ridiculous saying this, and I suppressed a laugh.

“I thought you could come over for dinner, watch a movie, and then head outside for the meteor shower.”

My ice cream dripped on my knee, and I licked the sides of the cone. “What time will the shower start?”

He squinted at the sky, and spoke to the air. “It’ll start in the evening, but it’s best to view after midnight.”

Cars whizzed by as the light on Harbor Drive turned green and someone beeped their horn, yelling something inappropriate to Tammy out their window.

“Oh, that’s my curfew,” I said.

Tammy poked me in the ribs, apparently half-listening to our conversation. “So just say you’re spending the night at my or Nicole’s house and that we’re picking you up after the dance.”

Nicole harrumphed, grabbing her ice cream cup, then stomped off to the trashcan. She told me earlier today that she thought Tammy was a bad influence on me, but whatever; I didn’t know when Nic turned to such an old stick-in-the-mud.

Usually I starred in that role.

Tammy lit a cigarette, then blew out a huge cloud of smoke, staying calm as ever.

“Yeah, but when the meteor showers end, I won’t be able to go home, and you and Nicole will still be out. Aren’t the four of you renting a room together on the beach?”

Cool air whipped around us, carrying the scent of fresh waffle cones.

“Well,” Nate said, his voice shaky, “the meteors will go all night, so I figured we’d just stay up the whole time. My parents won’t mind.”

Tammy flicked her cigarette and winked before breaking into a chorus of
Lets Get It On
by Marvin Gaye.

I brought a finger to my lips, signaling for her to knock it off. “Okay. I told Nic’s parents I’d work at The Bookman until eight since I’m not going to the dance, so is it cool if I just walk over after my shift?”

He stood and shot his empty chocolate shake cup into the trashcan. “Perfect.”

Nate turned, then conversed with Sean and Kyle as Tammy openly gawked at me.

“What?”

She smiled and leaned next to my ear. “It’s kind of a big thing, crossing your first date off your list. Have fun, but don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

I cringed, because her last piece of advice covered nothing and because this wasn’t a real date. I wanted to tell her so, but she’d already turned back around, doing what she did best. Flirting.

Walking up to Nate’s house, a beach cottage not quite on the beach, I remembered I’d never actually been inside. I’d never even been up to the front door. I always sat in the driveway, inside Sean’s truck or Tammy’s Lexus or Nicole’s Civic, when we picked Nate up to go out on the weekends.

The two-story cottage, surrounded with unkempt bushes and climbing vines, made me think of the Boo Radley house from
To Kill A Mockingbird
. Autumn’s here, the yard more brown than green, but I almost tripped on a hose snaked across the grass.

Apparently someone was trying to keep it nice.

One tall tree stood in the center of the yard, skeletal with a mass of weeds at the base of its trunk, and all its dead leaves covered ground cover.

Crisp air blew across me and stirred them up as I approached the half-open gate and walked up the creaky steps to their front porch. The outside light was on, and I used it to check my reflection in the window of their red wooden door.

I didn’t care that I still wore my work clothes. Since we didn’t wear uniforms, my outfit consisted of a pair of khaki pants, a plain white tee, and a ruffled blue cardigan. I straightened my hair in the morning, but small waves returned. I dug out some lip-gloss from my purse and applied the cherry vanilla flavor with a vengeance before sighing, wondering why I suddenly cared so much about my looks. I fingered the cross on my necklace and rang the bell.

Nate’s mom opened the door. She had golden eyes, dark brown hair like Nate, and looked a few years too young to be his mother. “Hi, Olga. Come on in. Nate’s in the kitchen.”

She pointed down the hallway, which was lit with four giant, glowing fish aquariums with all kinds of creatures swimming around inside. To the right was a family room, where his dad watched the evening news from the couch.

Following the sound of sizzling food, I found Nate lingering over a skillet on the stove.

I inhaled deeply. “Whatcha cooking?”

He turned, welcoming me with a gentle pat on the back and a kiss on the cheek. “You’re supposed to say ‘Hey, good looking’ first.”

My stomach fluttered with panic.
Is this a date?
Tammy kept teasing me tonight was, but I thought she was reading way too much into the whole thing.

“I’m making comfort food—southern fried chicken, green bean casserole, and apple cobbler for dessert.” Turning his attention back to the stove, he flipped the chicken with his fork.

“It smells delicious, but why do we need comforting?”

The way he bit his lip and avoided eye contact told me my question made him
un
comfortable, but I had no idea why. “I didn’t know if you’d be sad about not going to the Homecoming Dance tonight.”

I leaned my hip on the counter, watching the grease pop in the pan. “Oh, well that’s very thoughtful of you. But I’m not sad, not about missing the dance anyway.”

He pressed his knee against mine. “Hence the comfort food.”

“How do you know how to cook all this?”

Nate darted to the fridge, and I took the opportunity to check him out. He wore a pair of faded jeans with holes at the knees and a white graphic tee with a picture of a skull guitar strapped across the front as if it were a real one.

He held up an energy drink, then threw it. I jumped and somehow managed to catch the can, then set it on the counter gingerly.

“Um, can I just have some water?” I asked.

After pouring me a glass, he grabbed a plate. “Cooking’s easy. You just keep turning the chicken until it’s browned, then drain the grease on paper towels.”

Gesturing for me to follow his instructions, I stabbed a piece of meat with the fork, but while I transferred the chicken strip to the plate, the poultry broke off and dropped to the floor.

I cocked my head to the side. “Yeah. Easy for anyone but me.”

Nate picked up the fallen poultry, then tossed it in the sink. “Come on now. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m really good at figuring out complicated equations, but I can’t do a simple task, like cooking or driving, to save my life.”

He narrowed his eyes. “So, you have tried driving?”

I squared my shoulders. “Tried being the operative word, in Driver’s Ed. It’s why my mom and dad won’t let me get my license. I’m horrible.”

“I’d teach you, but I’m horrific, too. Obviously.”

Before I could stop myself, I hugged him. Every muscle in Nate’s body tightened against me, then he relaxed into my embrace, gathering my hair in one hand, his other planted firmly on my hip. I cleared my throat and backed away slowly, and Nate seemed to sense my awkwardness as he rocked back and forth on his heels.