My Secret Boyfriend

“It isn’t fair,” she said aloud to her reflection in the mirror. It simply wasn’t fair that Ryan’s parents had broken up, and he’d been moved halfway across the country. Kids didn’t have rights when it came to their parents. Except for her, Ryan didn’t know a single person his own age. It was up to her to help him make friends. But all her friends thought he was her boyfriend. And if she told the truth, he would probably hate her for it. At the very least, he’d think she was an absolute jerk. She shook her head. What a mess!

Jordan swore she’d make it up to him somehow for all the foolish stories she’d told about him. One way or another, she’d help him every way she could to adjust to his new life. And she’d be certain that he never ever discovered the fantastic fibs she’d spread around school about him and their “big” summer romance. She owed Ryan Elliot that much.

When she reached Laurie, she gave her a big hug. “How are you?” Jordan squealed to her best friend. “You look fabulous!”

Over the summer, Laurie had lost some weight. She had a new hairstyle and had shed her glasses in favor of contact lenses.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call last night,” Jordan continued, “but I didn’t think we’d
ever
get home. A month in the Rockies is too long to be away from Dallas. We started back in plenty of time, but then the dumb car broke down in the middle of nowhere. It took three days to get it repaired. By the time we got in late yesterday afternoon I had all this unpacking to do, and with today being the first day of school and me having no earthly idea of what to wear or. . .”

Laurie held up her hand to halt Jordan’s flood of words. “No problem. I’m just sorry we couldn’t get together before now. I’ve got a zillion things to tell you. And I want to hear all about your vacation. Did you meet anybody new? Did you have fun? What did you do?”

What did she do? How could she tell her best friend that she’d spent four weeks trapped in a rustic cabin with her parents and her ten-year-old brother? She had done nothing but hike, fish, cook, clean, and read.

“Forget me,” Jordan hedged. “Tell me all about this guy you wrote about in your letter.”

“His name is Wade,” Laurie said dreamily. “Wade Matthews. He goes to our school. We’ve already met and compared class schedules. Our lunch periods overlap so we’ll be able to sit together every day.”

Jordan thought hard for a minute. The only Wade Matthews she could remember was a short, skinny kid who used to sit next to her in sixth grade.

“We literally bumped into each other at the skating rink. I wasn’t watching where I was going and
bam
, we collided. At first I started to get mad, but when I stared into his adorable brown eyes . . .” Laurie pressed her band-new notebook to her chest and sighed.

Jordan had felt that fluttery feeling once in seventh grade over a handsome student teacher assigned to her math class. It was a funny feeling that started in the stomach. Sometimes, it made your head light. It was an awful and wonderful feeling, all at once. But Jordan couldn’t imagine feeling that way over Wade Matthews.

“ . . . and Jennifer added another drooling boy to her list.” Laurie’s half sentence brought Jordan back to the crowded hallways of Martin.

“Who’s the poor creature?”

“Glen Lockwood.”

Jordan groaned. Jennifer had been Jordan’s rival for years. In almost every area, Jennifer and Jordan competed—honor roll, friends, parts in plays, president of their fifth-grade class, choral soloist in seventh grade—everything!

“Guys can be so dumb,” Jordan remarked. “You’d think a guy as popular as Glen could find a girl in the ninth grade to care about.”

“I guess not.”

“I’ll have to get the whole story from her,” Jordan said, sighing.

“You might as well get it over with as soon as possible. Oops! There’s the first bell. We don’t want to be late for homeroom.” Laurie started backing down the hall as she spoke. “But I really want to hear all about your vacation and any neat guys you met. Okay?”

“Sure,” Jordan said, forcing a smile. But there hadn’t been any neat guys. What was she going to tell her best friend? That she’d read six books and couldn’t remember the plot of any of them? That she’d caught a nine-pound fish, then let it get away because it was too yucky to take off the hook? That the only male she’d seen besides her father and brother was an old man who ran the general store where they bought supplies once a week?

And while she’d gone off into the wilderness to battle boredom and mosquitoes, Laurie had stayed home and met Wade Matthews. And Jennifer had gotten together with Glen Lockwood.

Jordan managed to make it through the first day of classes and head homeward without running into Laurie again. She didn’t want to have to talk to Laurie about a summer romance that never happened.

When she got home, her mother was sitting at the breakfast bar sorting through an enormous stack of unopened mail. “Boy, the junk mail doesn’t take a vacation,” Mrs. Starling said as Jordan opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of juice. “How was school?”

“Same old teachers. Same old faces. I didn’t really have time to get ready for classes, so I felt lost all day long.”

“Stop complaining, Jordan,” Mrs. Starling said absently. “You’re not the only one who’s been inconvenienced because we didn’t get home in time from vacation. Your Dad’s supposed to fly out in two days for a month in the fields.”

Jordan’s father was a consultant to a large Dallas oil firm and he traveled frequently. He was often gone four to six weeks at a time. But he always brought his family something back from his travels. Jordan had a wonderful collection of dolls that her father had brought her from all over the world.

“Oh, my! Jordan, look at this letter!”

“What is it?” Jordan asked as her mother opened an envelope.

“It’s a letter from Beth Elliot. You remember her, don’t you?”

Jordan tried to remember the face of her mother’s former college roommate. “Sort of.”

“We went to college together and even got married within a month of each other. When she got pregnant, I’d thought I’d die if I didn’t have a baby, too.”

Jordan remembered the familiar story. The two young couples had lived next door to each other in the same apartment complex in Michigan before the Elliots moved to Washington, D.C., and the Starlings moved to Dallas. The Elliots had a baby boy, and then nine months later, Jordan had been born. Jordan and Ryan Elliot had played together in playpens and wading pools and even (heaven forbid!) in the bathtub. Jordan felt a flush of red creep up her cheeks recalling the embarrassing photos in the family album. There were several pictures of her and a pudgy boy with round blue eyes playing naked in frothy bathwater amid rubber ducks and floating plastic boats.

She cleared her throat. “So, what’s new with Mrs. Elliot?”

Her mother pulled out the letter and a photo fluttered to the kitchen floor. Jordan stooped to pick it up. A full-length snapshot of “baby” Ryan made her catch her breath. He wore a T-shirt and shorts, and had muscular arms and thighs. His hair was blond and his eyes, still round and blue, were generously fringed with lush lashes. Ad his smile was deep and piercing, exposing dimples on either side of his full lips. Ryan Elliot certainly had grown up!

Jordan carefully put the photo on the table, hoping her mother hadn’t seen her reaction to the picture. Mrs. Starling’s eyes were glued to the pages of the letter. She was frowning slightly. “Uh—anything wrong?” Jordan asked.

“Wrong?” Mrs. Starling said. “Oh, uh—no. Just the usual.”

But Jordan knew that something in the letter was bothering her mother. She also knew that her mother wasn’t going to tell her about it. Jordan shrugged and scooted away from the table. “Well, I’m going to unpack. If Laurie calls, tell her I’ll call her back.”

“Yes . . . I’ll do that . . . ” Her mother’s voice trailed off as she returned her attention to the letter. Jordan paused briefly at the table, unable to keep herself from stealing one more look at the smiling boy in the photograph.

She hurried out of the kitchen, wishing she could attract a guy like Ryan Elliot. But she was just the same old Jordan Starling. And she’d never have a boyfriend like Ryan!

“Sounds fine to me,” Jordan lied. Actually, Polar Palace was the last place Jordan wanted to go. The Polar Palace was a popular ice cream shop where all the kids hung out. And she was sure to hear all about everyone’s wonderful summers if she went.

After Jordan hung up, she headed to her room and thumbed through her closet, trying to decide what to wear for the second day of classes. The sound of running feet interrupted her. Jamey, her brother, skidded to a halt and stretched his arms across the door frame. “Now don’t be scared,” Jamey warned, smiling mischievously. “But I can’t find Stallone.”

“Ugh! That snake gives me the creeps. You’d better find him
fast
!”

“Sh-sh! Do you want to get Mom all upset? He’ll turn up. I’ve already looked all over my room, so I thought I’d check in here next. He could have crawled anyplace, you know.”

Nervously Jordan scanned her room’s teal blue carpeting. “You find that slimy thing right now, or I’ll scream. I’m not going to have that creepy snake under my bed like last time.”

“He’s not slimy,” Jamey said defensively. “He’s probably looking for a cool place to curl up. It’s hot outside. Besides, Stallone’s eaten all his mice and he’s probably hungry.”

Jordan shuddered. “That’s disgusting. Don’t you care about the poor little mice?”

“Hey, that’s how nature is,” Jamey said with a grin. “The strong eat the weak.”

“Well, you better find him
now
,” Jordan said, not amused.

“Don’t get all bent out of shape. Stallone won’t bite, you know—even though he might mistake
you
for a rat!”

Jordan shook her fist, and Jamey skittered from the room. She slammed the door and flopped onto her bed. Tomorrow at the Palace she’d have to tell everybody
something
about her dull, boring summer. Laurie had a boyfriend. Jennifer had a boyfriend. But for her, nothing had happened over the summer.

The next afternoon Jordan plastered a smile on her face and bounced into the Polar Palace. The smells of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry made her stomach growl.

“Hey, Jordan . . . over here!” Laurie was waving at Jordan over the crowded booths. Jordan threaded her way to where Laurie sat with Wade.
He’s still skinny
, Jordan thought. She flopped into the bright yellow cushioned booth and grinned pleasantly.

Laurie said, “Do you know Wade?”

“Sixth grade, right?”

Wade blushed furiously and nodded.

“Before I forget,” Laurie continued. “I want to sign up for the same activity as you. What’s it going to be this year?”

“I heard Mrs. Rose is looking for an editor for the newspaper. I’m going after the job.”

“So’s Jennifer,” Laurie said through a long drag on her soda straw. Then Laurie leaned forward and warned, “Speaking of Jennifer, here she comes.”

Jordan braced herself for Jennifer’s arrival at their table. The summer had improved Jennifer. Her wheat-colored hair was a swish of tangled curls. Her green eyes gleamed brightly and her skin was tan. Her outfit reminded Jordan of something out of the newest edition of
Teen Fashion
magazine.

“Well, hello, Jordan,” Jennifer said sweetly. “How have you been? Where did you keep yourself all summer?”

Jordan smiled back. “I spent the month of August in the Rockies,” she said.

“I wondered where your tan was. I spent two weeks down in Corpus Christi on the beach. The sun must not shine much in the mountains, huh?”

Jordan gritted her teeth. “Mountain air does wonders for the complexion. Sun can turn your skin to leather, you know.”

Jennifer’s eyes wandered over the threesome. “So, are you waiting for someone special, Jordan?”

“Maybe,” she lied.

“Well, did you hear about me and Glen Lockwood?”

“I haven’t heard a thing. Is he around?” Jordan looked around at the other booths.

“He’s coming here after football practice,” Jennifer said quickly. “So tell me about this mysterious boy you’re meeting.”

Jordan wished she could take back the careless word. “Well, he’s not meeting me here because he doesn’t live in Dallas.”

Laurie blinked hard at her, but Jordan kept her attention focused on Jennifer. “Oh, you met someone on your vacation. What’s he like? What’s his name?” Jennifer asked.

Jordan’s cheeks burned, and her hands began to tremble. What had she gotten herself into? Then a voice from the far side of the room rescued her. “Hey, Jennifer!” someone shouted. “Glen’s here.”

Jennifer spun around and caught sight of Glen Lockwood. She waved and then turned her attention back to Jordan. “I’ve got to run. But I’m dying to hear all the details of your romantic vacation. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Uh—sure. Maybe so,” Jordan said as she watched Jennifer flounce off.

“Well, thanks a lot!” Laurie said crossly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jordan asked, startled.

“Thanks for not telling me about your new boyfriend. I guess Jennifer has more of a right to know than I do.”

Jordan shrugged. “Oh, Laurie, I’m sorry. It’s really nothing.”

“What do you mean? Did you meet a guy in the mountains or not?”

Jordan looked at Laurie and Wade. Now what was she going to say? She didn’t want either of them to think she’d made up such an outrageous story just because Jennifer had ticked her off. “He—he was just some guy in one of the cabins up there . . . and Jennifer sort of irked me. I—I guess I shouldn’t have shot off about him. Besides, I’ll never see him again, anyway.”

By now, her cheeks were flaming. Jordan scooped up her books and stood. “Look, I have to run. Mom’s expecting me home to finish unpacking.”

“I’ll call you tonight,” Laurie called as Jordan hurried through the ice-cream parlor and outside into the blazing heat. Once she was outside, she stopped short and breathed deeply.

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked aloud. She’d never lied about anything in her life. And now she was knee-deep in a fib about an imaginary boyfriend and a fantasy summer romance. Jordan headed toward the bus stop, chewing her lower lip and mumbling, “What am I going to say now? What?”