The Year of the Great Seventh (14 page)

I couldn’t stand myself anymore. My mood swings were overwhelming, even to me. This being a teenager thing was horrible. I never really felt comfortable in my own skin. Mom always raved about how wonderful it was being a teenager and told me these years were normally the most memorable in your life. But I really thought she was wrong. Adults always said that, but they forgot you were trapped in high school. Yes, there was youth, but not freedom. Not sure if that’s a fair trade.

Anyway, life was quite unfair if by age sixteen you’d already had to give up what you cherished because it was the right decision. I didn’t want to continue growing up. All I wanted was a way for Nate and me to be together, but that was the only thing I couldn’t have. When I thought about his situation, I normally felt sad for him, but sometimes, like at this moment, all my energy turned into destructive rage. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break free.

A group of African-American teenagers were blasting “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest on their stereo by the skate ramp. They were breakdancing to the rhythm of the song and some spectators were clapping compulsively to each beat. Their acrobatics defied the law of gravity.

The skate park lamps were already on. There was still quite a lot of light, but the terracotta skies at sunset nullified the brightness of the lights. The landscape was an abstract composition of the bright red sky and gray asphalt. A few trees and a poorly watered grass field surrounded the skate ramps.

Tyson and Chase were jumping on the grinding rail, exhibiting tricks. Emma was following them, mirroring their moves. The music kept blasting and the skating was becoming a fascinating show. I hummed along to the chorus that resounded in the background. “Can I kick it? Yes, you can. Well, I’m gone. Go on, then.”

I knew Emma could skate, but I never realized how well before. She was a great skater. Tyson and Chase were drawing attention. Skateboarders had stopped to watch them.

Tyson paddled with his back foot toward the diagonal grinding rail, and when he was a couple yards away, he kicked the tip of the board with force, causing a loud bang. The board elevated and he landed on top. He grinded down the rail with both trucks on the edge. Then he landed safely, squatting down on his board, almost sitting on it. Chase followed his moves, although not as naturally.

The song kept blasting, “Can I kick it? Yes, you can.” Tyson jumped over a gap, kicking the board and making it spin 360 degrees before landing on top. Chase and Emma decided to skate around the gap to get to the half pipe. They didn’t seem comfortable jumping over it.

They skated up and down the half pipe, and when the chorus broke again, “Can I kick it? Yes, you can,” Tyson floated in the air, using one hand to maintain the board by his feet and the other to grab the edge of the half pipe. He spun around and landed back on the board.

Emma watched him from the side. Chase followed. He slid up and down the half pipe a few times without getting to the edge. It seemed he was weighing whether to try the trick or not. Finally, Chase squatted down to get more speed and jumped, grabbing the edge of the half pipe with his hand. We then witnessed the board flying away from his feet and Chase stretching out his hand to grab it, almost in slow motion. Then he hit the ground on his side. Everyone held their breath as he rolled heavily. The song continued to play, but the magic vanished at once. Suddenly it seemed out of place.

Tyson and Emma rushed to Chase’s side. Tyson squatted next to him and seemed to be talking to him. Then Tyson grabbed his hand and helped him get up. He seemed to be fine. They advanced toward me—this time on their feet. Chase limped slightly.

The show was over, and the rest of the skaters invaded the ramps as though nothing happened. The visibility wasn’t great as the sun was already going down, but the skateboarders seemed eager to continue skating until the park closed.

That trip to the skate park proved to me that staying at home feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to change anything. My friends’ plan of forcing me to go out had worked. I was feeling a bit better, even though I still had a long way to go. I was ready for the challenge.

That night, I went straight to my bedroom and worked on my Spanish assignment until almost midnight. I was going to get that scholarship, whatever it took. If Nate managed to move on with his life, I had to do so, too. If not for me, for my future. I didn’t want to regret all my life having put a guy before my dreams.

CHAPTER VIII

EARLY IN THE MORNING a couple of weeks later, Emma, Tyson, and I were rushing through the yard to get to class, as the bell had just gone off. Like most mornings, Nate was still playing basketball with his friends. They kept on playing, ignoring the bell. They didn’t care about being late to class.

For the first time in a very long time, I didn’t let myself feel down. I was beginning to accept that sooner or later, Nate would be gone. He was trying to enjoy his life with his condition, and I should be doing the same.

We strode along the concrete path to the main building. Students were gathering at the steps to the building entrance; everyone hurried to get to their classrooms on time.

“Out of my way!” someone demanded. Before I could turn, I felt someone pushing me off to the side, catapulting the iPod I was carrying over the handrail of the stone steps to land on the lawn.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Emma shouted, bewildered.

“Oh, sorry,” Ethan said sarcastically. I was quite sure he could have passed without pushing me.

He squeezed past the people on the stairs to get my iPod, but I knew this was Ethan and his actions were never well-intentioned.

I turned in alarm to glance at Nate. He was in the middle of the basketball court, bouncing the ball and openly staring at Ethan. That didn’t really mean anything because every person in the yard was staring at him, too.

Crossing my fingers, I hoped Nate would understand it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t care about my iPod and I surely didn’t want any more drama.

Ethan glanced at me from the lawn below the steps, and with an evil smile, he smashed my iPod with his foot. “Sorry, I accidentally stepped on it!”

His friends laughed from the top of the steps. Everyone in the yard stared in disbelief.

“Why did he do that?” Tyson growled, infuriated.

Ignoring his question, I glanced back at the basketball court. The ball was rolling to the side of the court. Nate was nowhere to be seen.

I quickly scanned the people coming toward the building. Where was he? My throat was contracting. I kept thinking,
Please, Nate, don’t do it! Please don’t. Please don’t.

“What’s wrong with that guy?” Tyson mumbled in disdain.

“Please, leave Ethan alone. I don’t care,” I said out loud without turning to look at Tyson. My eyes kept surveying the lawn, looking for Nate.

Suddenly a wave of relief washed over me when I saw him dashing to the parking lot and getting into his car.

Ethan climbed back up the steps, followed by his friends, and they went into the building.

“Are you okay, Sophie? What an idiot!” Emma said, disgusted.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I said, putting my backpack into place.

I was observing Nate from the corner of my eye. He was inside his car with his eyes closed.

“He doesn’t seem to have gotten over what happened at the party, does he?” Tyson stated.

“Let’s just forget about it, please! That was my old iPod anyway,” I explained, trying to change the subject. Tyson made some space in the crowd and opened the door for us. Then a squeal of tires and a car speeding out from the parking lot made me turn at once. That was Nate. His car was gone.

We went into the building and before we parted ways, Tyson said, “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should go the principal’s office. He can’t just get away with it.”

“I don’t care. Really. At least everyone saw what an idiot he is. I think this clears up what happened at his party.” I shrugged, showing my indifference.

What they didn’t know was that my emotions were stirring out of control inside me. I was really worried about Nate. I hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

Emma and I climbed the stairs to the first floor, and Tyson headed to the gym.

This situation triggered a small spark of hope inside of me. Maybe Nate was having a difficult time staying away from me, too. This same situation a few weeks ago might have finished with Nate’s fist on Ethan’s face. Maybe he wasn’t following his grandfather’s course after all. Maybe he only needed to get his temper under control.

By midmorning Emma had mysteriously instructed everyone to meet in the parking lot between classes. When we got there, Chase and Tyson were already waiting.

“What’s going on?” Tyson demanded.

“I can’t tell you,” Emma giggled, staring at her cell phone.

I was glad to see that Nate’s car was back in the parking lot. Probably he’d gone for a drive to unleash his fury and was now back in class.

“Actually, you can check it out yourself!” Emma shouted, with a grin from ear to ear.

A black limousine was coming into the parking lot. We stared at it, stunned. Who could that be? The windows were tinted and we couldn’t see inside.

Then, all of a sudden, Megan popped out through the sunroof, waving at us. We ran to meet her. The limousine came to a halt, Megan got out, and we engaged in a euphoric group hug.

“What are you doing here?” I said, overjoyed.

“The movie promotion just started. I’m doing Jay Leno tonight!” She smiled.

Megan looked beautiful. She’d trimmed her blond hair—probably a script requirement, but I really liked it. It made her look more sophisticated.

“When will you be back at school?” Emma asked, unable to hide how much she missed her.

“In just over two weeks,” Megan said with enthusiasm. “I don’t have much time. I’m running late. But I came to give you something.” Megan grabbed an envelope from the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled from the inside what looked like premiere tickets. She handed one to Emma, Tyson, and Chase. They began jumping up and down and hugging each other. They were completely unaware that I hadn’t been given one.

Megan pulled me to one side while the others screamed in joy.

“Mmmm. So I’ve heard you’ve been feeling the blues lately because of some guy,” Megan said. She didn’t mince words.

God! Emma couldn’t keep her mouth shut, could she? It made me wonder. If Megan knew about it and had been thousands of miles away the last few weeks, how many more people had Emma told?

I gave her a resigned look and finally admitted it. “Sort of…” I frowned, wondering where this conversation was heading. I could guess what Megan was waiting for.

“I can’t tell you who it is, but believe me, you would be rather disappointed,” I explained, bringing my gaze down to the ground. I couldn’t look her in the eye. I knew what she thought about Nate after the party incident.

“I have a wild guess who it could be,” Megan said, smiling. She crossed her arms on top of her chest, hinting that I hadn’t fooled her.

How could she know? Was she some sort of mind reader? Now that I thought of the facts, it wasn’t that difficult to piece the clues together if you paid attention to the details. But why wouldn’t she mention it to me before?

Megan pulled a different envelope from her pocket and, without opening it, handed it to me. “There’re two tickets in there. Don’t open it here,” she said, looking at the others.

“Bring him, if you’d like.” She meant it.

“But it’s over. We—”

She interrupted without letting me finish the sentence. “If he makes you happy, that’s what matters. But tell him he better behave at this party.”

My mouth dropped. She’d known all along. How? Why hadn’t she brought it up before? Did that mean she approved of him? This whole situation was too strange.

An army of cars invaded the parking lot. Paparazzi were snapping ridiculously large cameras at Megan. They were hanging out the car windows and shouting her name.

The expression on Megan’s face suddenly changed. She didn’t seem too pleased at the paparazzi’s arrival. “I have to go, but you need to know something.”

She moved close to me and whispered into my ear. “Alex Giordani and I have become quite close while shooting the movie.”

Megan winked at me, and before I could react, she hurried inside the limousine, blowing a kiss at us. “See you on Friday night! Don’t be late!”

Her limousine drove off, and the rest of the cars followed behind. We stood on the side, observing the circus following Megan, each of us holding tight to our tickets and probably daydreaming about the most important night of our lives. It was amazingly cool to have a movie star friend, and even more so that person was Megan.

The rest of the day literally flew by. Now I had even more things to distract me from the lectures. The question flooding my mind was whether I should ask Nate to the premiere. My other worry was whether there was any chance at all he would accept.

I knew he’d asked me to stay away from him for a reason, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t keep playing this “I’m a grown up” game and pretend I wanted to do what was “best.” I was sixteen and I couldn’t think of a better time to make reckless decisions. The thing I wanted most in the world was to be with Nate and I was willing to take the risk. After all, he’d only ever been nice to me. Why should I think that was going to change?