Certainty (6 page)

             
I lay back on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Avoiding Mackenzie was turning out to be impossible.

CHAPTER SIX

MacKenzie

I didn’t need the alarm clock to wake me up the next morning. I even beat Derek downstairs to breakfast even though he usually caught his ride before I left.

His eyes were still puffy even after his shower and he mumbled as he sat down. He rubbed his eyes and blinked at me. “Whoa. You’re up early.”

“Not really,” I denied.

“Yes. You are.” Even half-asleep he couldn’t resist the natural sibling instinct to argue. I was in a good mood so I didn’t care.

I even let him have the last bowl of Lucky Charms without fighting about it.

I said good-bye to my mom as she came downstairs.

“Wow. You’re up---“

“Early, I know. Bye Mom.”

Walking down the sidewalk past the houses I felt like skipping. I hadn’t skipped since third grade or something like that. The sun was shining and it was a little warmer this morning than it was yesterday. It was perfect.

I walked past the blue Victorian and slowed down, allowing myself a glance at the windows. No one was coming out, so Ren must not be ready yet, or maybe his mom drove him to school.

It didn’t dampen my  mood as I continued past his house, my heels bouncing as I walked.

I didn’t get too far before I heard the sound of a skateboard. Ren rolled up behind me, balanced on the board with his bookbag slung over one shoulder and a piece of toast in one hand. He wore a white sweat-shirt with a hood, with a logo in faded blue on the sleeve.

“Hi!” I said, a smile suddenly jumping across my face.  I had zero chance of looking nonchalant.

“Hey. You start out early,” he said, smiling back at me.

“Not always.”

He munched on his toast and rode beside me. I asked if his family had made any progress on the boxes and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. My sisters finished unpacking all their toys and my Dad and I unpacked their books.”

“I would unpack my toys first, too. Smart move.”

“I kind of did the same thing. I didn’t even pack my skateboard. I carried it with me when we drove out here.” He finished the rest of his toast in two bites and deftly hopped his board over an uneven crack in the sidewalk.

My phone buzzed and I checked out the text from Katie.
Hi

Hi

Hows Ren?

I glanced over at him. He was watching me so I waved the phone.

“It’s Katie. She says hi.”

He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. “What’s her number?”

I gave it to him and soon we were both texting her.  His mouth quirked in a smile. “She wants to know if you have a boyfriend.”

I blushed. “No, she didn’t. She knows everything about me.”

“Apparently not.”

“Tell her I don’t.” Would he tell her whether or not he had a girlfriend?

We were busy for a while then, walking in silence and texting Katie. She gave me the amazing news that Ren did not have a girlfriend.

We stopped to cross the road and Ren picked up his skateboard, glancing over at me. I was finishing up my text to Katie.

“You shouldn’t do that while you’re crossing the road,” he said.

“You can watch out for me,” I said, still texting away like mad.

Maybe he wants a girlfriend,
she wrote back. If only.

“That’s really unsafe,” he warned me again.

I almost laughed out loud because it was so ridiculous, but I didn’t. He seemed pretty serious about road safety. We made it across alive and I complimented him on our miraculous survival but he just shook his head at me.

“Trust me, I’ve seen things change in an instant.”

I felt a little guilty for being amused. There was so much about him I didn’t know. He may have lost someone in his family or a friend.

“I’m always careful when it’s just me.”

“You’d be better be careful when I’m not around. I can’t stalk you all the time.”

A rush of warmth rushed through me.

“Well, I wouldn’t want that,” I answered, failing to stifle the smile that stole over my lips.

We walked the rest of the way chatting about random stuff but I couldn’t help wondering if he cared about me enough to worry. It made my heart race a little faster and then I reassured myself that he probably cared about everyone. 

We parted ways at my locker and he waved goodbye, promising to see me in Spanish.

In homeroom they announced that student elections would begin in two weeks. This meant there would soon be a campaign poster plastered to every available space on walls and lockers.

Kyle turned in his seat. “I'm running for vice president. Do you think I'll win?”

“Why not president?” I asked. I wasn’t trying to flatter him, I just really thought he could win.

“Because Noah is running for president. We figure the two of us together would be unstoppable." It was an arrogant statement, but probably true. "You'll vote for us, won't you?"

"I will definitely vote for you!" I promised, without committing a vote for Noah. I've learned to keep my opinion about him to myself. Everyone seemed so quick to jump to his defense, especially Katie. She's had a crush on him since last year and couldn't see past his good looks and charm.

When I entered Spanish class Sr. Ruddy was at his desk, head bent over some papers.

I sat down and waited for Ren, which fortunately didn’t take long. He arrived with Noah and Maddy, the three of them walking through the door laughing, Maddy between them, looking up at Ren. She was preppy perfect today, her hair pulled up in a sleek pony tail.

Ren saw me and waved, walking toward my desk until Noah called out, “Why don’t you sit with us? We have an extra seat here.”

The butterflies that had gathered in my stomach at the sight of Ren suddenly started doing backflips. I realized that Ren might have been sucked into Noah's vortex like everyone else.

“I already have a seat, but thanks, man,” Ren answered.

I was pretending not to listen, but it was hard not to smile. He sat down behind me and tugged on my hair.

Turning around, I said,
"You can sit with Noah if you want. I hear he's got class president locked down. It would be a good political move on your part."

He raised an eyebrow. “I'm good, thanks.”

“I won't shrivel up and die if you want to sit somewhere else.” I gave myself a few points for showing my disinterest in him and my independence.

He sighed, leaning back. “Yes, you would.”

“That is quite the ego you have there.”

“Uh, no, it’s a fact. And I couldn’t be responsible for you shriveling up and dying in class. That would be unfortunate…and gross.”

I gave him my best "whatever" face and turned around, trying not to laugh.  I caught Noah watching us as he leaned over to whisper to Maddy. I assured myself they weren’t talking about me—they probably had tons of other fascinating subjects to talk about.

Sr. Ruddy started the class and I felt Ren nudge my elbow.
I glanced down to see a note in his hand. Twisting like I needed to crack my spine, I took the note as discreetly as possible. This would be so much easier if we could text. Not that texting was allowed in class, that was a ticket straight to losing my cell phone. Even if texting in class wasn't the equivalent of a federal crime, Ren didn't have my cell phone number - because he hadn't asked for it.

I didn’t want to ask for his number because…because he should ask for mine. I didn’t know why.

Are you going to the dance?

My heart jumped. Was he going to ask me? I replied,
You shouldn’t pass notes in class. No.
I waited for Sr. Ruddy to turn around before tossing the note over my shoulder.

He tapped my arm again and the next note read,
Would you like to go with me and Steve?

Honestly, the note was perfect up until the last two words. And Steve? What kind of date is that? It wasn’t one, obviously. He only liked me as a friend. I swallowed my disappointment and replied,
I would love to. Thanks for asking.

He sent me back a smiley face and I folded it up and tucked it in my jeans. I concentrated for a few moments on Sr. Ruddy’s lesson as a diversion to my disappointment, but it was no use.

Maybe Ren only asked Steve because he knew Steve was too shy to ask anyone himself. This thought bumped Ren straight to the top of the nice guy chart and I suddenly felt a little bad for being disappointed. What was I pouting about anyway? Third wheel scenario aside - I would be giving Steve the role as the spare tire - I was going to Homecoming…with Ren. Suddenly I was excited about dress shopping until it dawned on me that dress shopping would only be fun if Katie were with me. As far as I knew, she didn't have a date. Inspired by Ren's generosity toward Steve, I pulled a piece of paper from my notebook and wrote a note to Ren.
             
Let's invite Katie and Noriko to come with us.
I knew Crystal already had a date and I would hate for Katie and Noriko to feel left out, might as well make it a party. I neatly folded my note and reached to scratch my shoulder, dropping the note on Ren's desk. I hope that's were it landed.

The note that came back was a shock.
Noah is going to ask Katie. We can ask Noriko at lunch.

I could hardly believe it. Noah was going to ask Katie? She’d been crushing on him for a year now and suddenly he was going to ask her to the dance? He was just going to break her heart, and I knew it, but no one would believe me.

So Katie would go to the dance with Noah and I had a date, but not really. When Spanish ended Noah and Maddy waited for Ren, ignoring me. They greeted Ren as if he were a prisoner being released from a painful incarceration—Noah fist bumping him and Maddy twining her arm around his. I kind of hated her for two seconds as I stepped away from the happy trio. Ren looked back and winked at me as he was dragged away, which made me feel better.

Right after Biology Katie texted me that Noah had asked her to the dance. I did a pretty good job of sounding excited, which isn’t easy in a text. I used lots of exclamation points.

At lunch I met Katie and her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks flushed. “I knew he was going to ask me.”

“How did you know that?” I asked. “He flirts with everyone.” A little of the brightness left her eyes and I immediately regretted the dig at Noah. “I mean, he didn’t seem more friendly than usual.”

It wasn’t a great recovery, but she smiled again.

“He’s been hinting. I think he wanted to make sure I didn’t like someone else. I’m so mysterious, you know,” she said mockingly.

“Well, I’m glad you’re going to the dance. More importantly, what are you going to wear?”

She grinned and scrunched her nose. “His favorite color on a girl is pink.”

“How on earth do you know that?”

“I’m a collector of Noah facts. If they ever have a game show about Noah, I’m going to win.”

Impressed, I paid for my lunch and then told her I was going to the dance with Ren, Steve and Noriko. That seemed to make her date with Noah all the more exciting, and she almost spilled her salad. “I can’t wait!”

We found the lunch table and Katie sat next to Noah, who was eating a lunch from home—his mom always packed a lunch for him. I’d met her a few times and she was nothing like him, in my opinion. I wasn’t even sure how he even came from the same gene pool. She had his olive complexion and beautiful green eyes but where he was thin and angled with sharp bones she was round and comfortable and always laughing or putting someone at ease. The fact that he adored her almost made him redeemable. His father was just as amiable, but with a mischievous sense of humor and twinkly eyes.

Katie smiled at Noah and he pulled a chair out for her, his eyes locking with hers. Did he really care about her? It seemed like he did.

Noriko wasn’t reading a book, for once, and Ryan’s calculator was sitting next to him, off. Crystal sat on the other side of Noah, sipping her diet soda and watching Katie and Noah.

“So we’re going to the dance together,” Steve said to me, as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“Yep! I can’t wait. It sounds like so much fun,” I said, and I meant it. Not only because of Ren, but I realized that this was probably Steve’s first dance.

Noriko pulled her chair closer to mine, a strand of her silky black hair falling out of the twist at her neck. “I have to shop for a dress. I don’t have a formal.”

I shook my milk carton, thinking about shopping. “I need one, too. Hopefully it isn’t too late to find something.”

“Sorry about that,” Ren said.  “I just moved in two days ago.”

Katie raised an eyebrow at Noah. “What took
you
so long?”