Her Teen Dream (4 page)

“How can I not?” Karin batted her lashes
defiantly. “You tell me that
all
the time.”

“That’s because I don’t want you to ever
forget, young lady. Your cousin Wanita made such mistakes and now
she’s paying the price.”

Wanita was just seventeen and already had two
children. Both were by different guys and neither one was in the
picture anymore. Karin had no intention of following in her
cousin’s footsteps. Even if her mother seemed to think it was only
a matter of time before she did.

“Why is this all of a sudden about
me
?” Karin moaned. “All I did was try to help someone. Is
that so wrong?”

“It’s not wrong, baby,” her father
intervened. “You did a good thing to help Marcus out of a jam,
whatever your reasons. Your mother realizes that, too. We’re both
proud of you, honey. Isn’t that right, Josephine?”

Karin watched her mother’s pursed lips
soften.

“Of course we are,” she said with feigned
sweetness. “I’m not attacking you, Karin. Just trying to protect
you.”

“You can’t protect me from everything,
Momma.”

“It doesn’t mean I can’t try, does it?”

Karin sneered. In spite of her mother’s good
intentions, she felt as though the mood had been spoiled. She tried
not to let it get her down. Instead, she focused on what Marcus’s
dodging a bullet could mean for her new friendship with Reese.

By the end of dinner, her mother seemed to
have gotten past this and moved on to her next agenda. “The Fishers
are coming over on Sunday,” she said to Karin. “I’d like you to
hang around, as I know they want to see you. They’re bringing
Pia.”

John and Althea Fisher were her parents’
longtime friends. They were neighbors when they got married and had
remained friends ever since. Pia was their twelve-year-old
daughter. Karin always felt she had assumed the role of a
babysitter whenever they were together. Maybe they would change
their minds about coming.

“Well I hope they come early,” she told her
mother. “Lesley and I were planning to run in the afternoon.”

“Actually, they’ll be here after dinner,”
Josephine said with a smile. “So it looks like that will work out
perfectly.”

Karin frowned, feeling as if she had been
sucker punched into a babysitting role without pay.

* * *

Later that evening, she texted Lesley with
the good news about Marcus. Lesley texted back, telling her that
this was going to be the start of good things for both of them,
assuming Karin carried her along for the ride.

Karin assured her that she would, provided
that good things actually did happen with Reese. Which was a big
question mark at the moment.

As soon as Karin ended the texting, her cell
phone rang. Her first thought was that Lesley had forgotten to say
something. But looking at the Caller ID, she saw that it was
Reese.

Karin’s heart fluttered wildly as she
answered. “Hi.”

“Hey, Karin. Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad
time.”

There’s no such thing as a bad time where
you’re concerned.

“No, I was just hanging around. How did you
get my number anyway?”

Reese chuckled mischievously. “I have my
ways. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for what you did to get your
father to step in on Marcus’s behalf.”

“You’re welcome.”
More than you
know.

“I guess sometimes even
think-they-know-it-all basketball players can use a little help on
the scoreboard. You know what I’m saying?”

She smiled at the basketball metaphor.
“Yeah.”

“Anyway, there’s someone here who wants to
talk to you.”

“Hey, Karin. This is Marcus Payne.”

“Hi, Marcus.”

“I, uh, just wanted to thank you myself for
helping me out of a jam.”

“It was no big deal,” Karin said modestly,
and imagined that Reese was egging him on.

“Yeah, well, Reese was right, you’re cool.
It’s also nice to know someone with connections outside the
team.”

“He’s just my Dad,” she said, as if being the
daughter of a brilliant criminal defense attorney simply came with
the territory rather than the other way around.

“Yeah, I already thanked him for getting the
Hathaways to give me a break.” Marcus paused. “If I can do anything
for you, just let me know and I’ll try.”

That was an offer Karin wanted to jump all
over in that moment, thinking about his newest, biggest fan in
Lesley. But she refrained from using her newfound influence in
setting them up just yet. Especially since she and Reese had not
made any plans.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said
simply.

“Cool,” he said. “Oh, Reese wants to say
something else to you.”

He can say anything he wants to me. I’m all
ears.

Reese came back on the line. “Yeah, Karin,
I’m having a party at my house on Saturday to celebrate our victory
on the court
and
out of court. Just a few rowdy friends
getting together.” He chuckled. “Only kidding about the rowdiness.
My parents would kill me if we weren’t on our best behavior. I’d
like it if you’d come.”

Karin could barely believe that she was being
invited to a party at Reese McKenzie’s house by way of a
personal
invitation.

“What time?” she asked, as if it made a
difference. As long as she was home by eleven, if her parents had
any say in it.

“Seven o’clock till—”

“I’ll be there,” she promised without
prelude.

“Great. I’ll look forward to seeing you.”

“Oh, is it okay if I bring my friend Lesley?”
Karin knew that Lesley would never speak to her again if she were
left out.

“Sure, she can come. The more girls there,
the better the party, right?”

“If you say so.” This made Karin wonder if he
had no personal interest in her, other than gratitude. She hoped
that wasn’t the case, but knew that few guys could be counted on
for serious interest in one girl. Unless perhaps that girl happened
to be named Cheryl Green.

When she hung up, Karin called Lesley again
to share the news.

Lesley could hardly contain her excitement.
“First my Mom finds a new man, or at least it looks like it. And
now you and I might be well on our way to dating members of the
Elmwood High basketball team.”

“It’s
just
a party,” Karin tried to
downplay it. “There will probably be lots of other girls
there.”

“Maybe, but only one you and one me. If Reese
and Marcus see us the way I intend for them to, then the other
girls might as well be invisible.”

Karin laughed. She admired her friend’s
unusual confidence and wished she had it. But the first step was
being somewhere outside of school where Reese would be present and
wanted her there.

CHAPTER SIX

Karin scurried down the hall. She ignored the
bell ringing, indicating tardiness for her stint in the library.
Can I help it if Mrs. Scott yapped on and on about how I could
improve on my knowledge of African-American history?

Try explaining that to Ms. Mulholland, Karin
mused, of the no-nonsense librarian. She shifted the strap of her
backpack to the other shoulder, feeling the weight of too many
books, paper, and pencils.

“Hey, girl.” Karin recognized the voice of
Marilyn Chamberlain. “Wait up.”

Karin slowed down, but just a little, as
Marilyn reached her and walked in step. They had known each other
since middle school and were usually only friends whenever Marilyn
wanted something.

“Let me guess...you’re off to the library to
pretend to work while checking out every guy who walks by, right?”
Marilyn asked dryly.

Karin glanced at the girl sideways, seeing
Marilyn’s burgundy extensions bordering her narrow face.

“Excuse me, but if you think stocking shelves
and listening to students gripe is pretending—”

“Chill, Karin, I’m just messing with you,”
Marilyn said. “So, I hear Reese is having a party on Saturday.”

“Yeah, I heard that, too,” Karin said coolly,
sensing what was coming.

“I also heard that you have some pull with
Reese these days.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear,
Marilyn.”

“Oh come on, Karin. Everybody knows you’re on
Reese’s A list now after saving Marcus Payne from himself.”

Karin planted her eyes on her. “If you’re
asking me to help you get invited to the party, I can’t. I don’t
know Reese well enough to have any extra pull—A list or not. But I
have a feeling that if you just show up, they won’t turn you
away.”

Marilyn beamed, as if this was her ticket in.
“I knew you could help. Thanks. Gotta go. Bye.”

Karin could only shake her head with
amusement as Marilyn darted off and joined some other girls who
would no doubt become party crashers, too. She wondered if things
between her and Reese could possibly measure up to what others
seemed to think existed between them. Or was he simply too
popular—and wanted by every girl in school—for her to have much of
a chance with him?

Karin entered the library, hoping she
wouldn’t run into Ms. Mulholland. But no such luck. She had gotten
past the row of fiction books and was headed to the back room to
drop off her backpack, when the firm, contralto voice bellowed,
“Karin!”

She turned and saw Ms. Mulholland standing
there, hands on her ample hips. Her glasses hung low on an aquiline
nose.

“You’re late!”

“I’m sorry. Someone held me up in the hall. I
tried to—”

“Save it, young lady. There are a couple of
carts with books piled high over there.” Ms. Mulholland pointed her
finger toward a corner. “I suggest you get started on them right
away.”

“Yes, Ms. Mulholland.” Karin gritted her
teeth, but smiled and was on her way. In spite of the librarian’s
major need of a personality adjustment, she liked working there for
extra credit and plenty of reading choices. And, yeah, it was also
a good meeting place. Even if she had yet to see Reese McKenzie
check out a book.

* * *

Karin stood unsteadily on the stepladder
putting away a book on the top shelf. It was about the history of
the aborigines and she thought about checking it out herself one of
these days. She heard some shuffling below her and looked down.
Standing there was Cheryl Green and some other girls she recognized
from the cheerleading squad.

“Well, what do we have here?” Cheryl snorted,
looking up at her. “The poor Ms. Goody Two Shoes is slaving
away.”

“What do you want?” Karin asked guardedly,
not sure whether to get down or stay put.

“I don’t want anything other than to see you
sweat.”

“I’m not going to fight you, Cheryl.” Was
that what she wanted?

“
Fight me
?” Cheryl looked at her
friends in disbelief. “Why would I want to fight
you
?”

“You tell me.”
Maybe it has something to
do with your trying to win Reese back by force.

“Believe me, if I wanted to fight you, I
fight dirty, and you wouldn’t want any part of me.” Cheryl peered
at her and then looked at the cart loaded with books. “Looks like
Ms. Mulholland really does want you to keep busy. Maybe it would be
better if we made things a little more challenging for you.”

She looked at her friends with a silent
signal and they all started pulling the books off the cart and
tossing them to the floor.

When they were done, Cheryl put a fake
sorrowful look on her face. “Oh, now look what happened. I guess
you’ll just have to reload the cart and start over. Ain’t life a
bitch!”

Cheryl laughed heartily and her friends
followed suit, as if they were sleeper cells she had just
awakened.

They started to walk away, and Cheryl stopped
and turned around. “Oh, just so you know, I can have Reese back any
time I want.” She curled her lip into a wicked smile and led the
others down the aisle and out of sight.

Karin bit her lip with fury and felt like
crying. But she didn’t cry, because she was sure that was exactly
what Cheryl wanted. Cheryl was obviously running scared that she
had lost Reese forever and hoped to intimidate whomever she thought
was the biggest obstacle to them getting back together. Karin still
refused to read much into that as far as Reese’s true feelings for
her were concerned. He certainly had given her no indication that
he wanted her as his girlfriend. As such, she had nothing to fight
for, other than wishful thinking.

She climbed down the ladder and started to
pick up the books.

Karin heard footsteps and assumed that Cheryl
and company had come back to bully her again. Instead, it was Ms.
Mulholland.

“What on earth happened here, child?” She
whipped off her glasses, as though that would make her see better.
“It looks like a tornado went through this aisle.”

Try three tornadoes. “I, uh, somehow the cart
tipped over,” Karin muttered. “It’s no big deal. I’ll take care of
it.”

She would not rat on Cheryl and her friends,
even if they deserved to get in trouble. Instead, she would focus
her energy on Martin Luther King’s principles and turn the other
cheek, though it wouldn’t be easy.

Even with the obstacles she had faced
lately—namely Cheryl Green—Karin was looking forward to Reese’s
party and the guy who, in a few short days, had seemed to turned
her life upside down.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Do you think Cheryl’s going to be there?”
Karin asked Lesley.

“Who cares?” she replied. “Let her be there
so she can weep about the one who got away. The important thing is,
we
will be there. Now we’ve got to make sure we leave a real
impression on two particular guys.”

They were standing in Karin’s bedroom.
Several outfits were strewn across the bed, none of which Karin
felt were suitable.

Lesley grabbed a pair of jeans and a black
cashmere sweater, holding them up to Karin. “This will definitely
catch Reese’s attention.”