“Charlotte?” Ivy’s voice rang off the bathroom walls. “Charlotte fell for it like a skydiver without a parachute. I’m not talking about Charlotte. I’m talking about Brendan Daniels!”
“But I thought you were having lunch with Jeff Moore,” Olivia said to the blue metal divider.
“I am going to strangle you,” Ivy said, clearly exasperated. Olivia’s clothes appeared at ankle level.
“You mean the guy in the hallway?” Olivia asked, gradually piecing things together as she handed back Ivy’s clothes.
“Yes!” Ivy said.
“You don’t like him?” Olivia guessed.
“No!” Ivy cried. “I am utterly in love with him!”
“Oh.” It all made total sense now. Olivia felt like such a dork. “I get it,” she said sheepishly.
“Well?” Ivy prompted. “What did he say?”
“I bumped into him by accident,” Olivia explained. “He asked about my book. It’s due back next Tuesday, by the way.”
“Did he . . .” Ivy’s voice was suddenly much quieter. “Did he know my name?” Olivia heard her sister emerge from the next stall.
Olivia straightened her skirt and pushed open her own door. “You mean you’ve never even spoken to him?” she asked.
Ivy sighed dramatically and shut her eyes. “No.”
“Well,” said Olivia brightly. “It appears your unusual mating strategy worked, because I’m pretty sure the guy is totally into you.”
Ivy’s eyes flew open. “What? What did he say?”
“Nothing. He just . . . he seemed like he really wanted to talk to you. He was, like, hanging on my every word. He didn’t want me—you—to walk away.”
“Like how?” Ivy demanded.
“Stop obsessing,” Olivia said, handing Ivy her bag and taking back her own purse. “If I were you, I’d thank me for breaking the ice.”
“I told you not to talk to anyone!” Ivy protested.
“Come on,” Olivia said, giving her sister a playful poke in the arm. “Will you please just tell me what happened with Charlotte?”
Ivy leaned back against the bathroom counter to lace up her boots. “Well,” she said matter-offactly. “It’s safe to say you’re not the only matchmaker in this bathroom. In fact, lunch went so well that Jeff Moore asked you to go to the mall with him after school.”
Olivia’s jaw dropped. “No!”
“Oh, yes,” said Ivy as she reapplied her makeup and a little sunblock. “I said you were busy of course. He’s too dumb for you. But you should have seen the look on Charlotte’s face!” She did a perfect imitation: chest out, mouth open, eyes popping out of her head. Olivia laughed.
“Still,” said Ivy, letting her hair fall in front of her face. “I’m glad to be myself again. Talking about sports makes the lunch period seem eternal.”
“Careful,” Olivia said as she pulled out the container of facial wipes. “Brendan might like sports.”
“Why?” Ivy gasped. “What’d he say about sports?”
Chapter 5
“All right,” said Ivy, looking in the mirror one last time. “Swear to me that I don’t have any more of that stuff on my face.” She couldn’t imagine anything more devastating than Brendan Daniels seeing her and noticing that her ear was all brown.
“I swear,” replied Olivia. “You look totally pale and ill again.”
“Good,” Ivy said gratefully. “Almost ready?”
Olivia wrinkled her nose. “I still have to fix my hair. Besides, maybe it’s better if we leave separately. Won’t people get suspicious if we’re seen together too much?”
Ivy nodded. “You’re right. I’ll go first.”
Olivia put down her lip gloss. “You know,” she said, “you really did look terrific in that skirt.”
“What I know,” said Ivy, hugging her sister, “is that you look terrific in that skirt. See you in science.”
Ivy pulled open the heavy door.
“Ciao,” Olivia called after her.
With a shock, Ivy saw Brendan Daniels less than ten lockers away. He looked like he was waiting for someone.
He must have been there this whole time! Ivy realized, her heart jumping around in her chest like a bat caught in daylight. What if he heard what we were saying?
“Ivy,” he called.
He’s talking to me!
“Ivy,” he repeated, coming closer.
Ivy forced herself to put one boot in front of the other. She ran a hand along the wall of lockers to steady herself. “Hi, Brendan,” she said in a tiny voice.
“Listen,” he began. He was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. “Do you . . .” He stopped and looked at the floor.
She heard her voice say, “Uh-huh?”
He looked right at her. Ivy put both hands on her bag to keep them from shaking.
“Do you want to meet up at the mall? Like, after school?” he finally asked.
Ivy didn’t respond. She thought she must have misheard him.
“Hey, listen, I . . . never mind,” Brendan gabbled. He shook his head. “I’ll see you around.” Suddenly he was walking away.
Speak! the voice in Ivy’s head cried. Speak!
“Brendan!” Ivy croaked. He spun around. “Um, what time?” she asked.
His smile shone. “Does four work for you?”
“Sure,” she answered, trying to sound relaxed. “I’ll tell my dad I’ll be home before sundown.”