“Great,” he said. He held up his hand, and then was gone.
Ivy collapsed against the lockers. Her hands were still shaking, and her heart pounded. People looked at her as they walked by on their way to class, but she didn’t care.
Well, she thought breathlessly, that’s one good thing about having a twin sister who’s a social butterfly!
As if on cue, Olivia emerged from the bathroom. “Wow! You look like you just did a triple handspring and landed on your head,” Olivia said. “What happened?”
“He asked me out,” Ivy whispered. She couldn’t believe she was saying it.
“What?” Olivia asked, drawing closer. “Talk louder.”
“He asked me out!” Ivy said again hoarsely.
Olivia’s face burst into a smile. “Go, Ivy!” she shouted really loudly.
“Shut up!” Ivy scolded, even though she couldn’t help smiling, too.
“That’s awesome!” Olivia said. “When’s the big date?”
“Today. After school.” Ivy panted. “The mall.”
Olivia gave her a squeeze. “I have to scoot or I’m going to be late for art, but we are going to have so much to talk about in science!” She hurried off with a wink.
Ivy was going to be late for class, too. She worked up the strength to start walking, and, as she made her way slowly through the prebell crowd, she let herself imagine her coming date with Brendan.
They would walk around Spins, the record store, together; she knew he was into punk. He’d hold up a pair of black jeans at Dungeon Clothing. He’d sit across from her in the food court, drinking red lemonade through a straw.
As Ivy turned into the main hallway, she imagined the two of them walking side by side, talking on and on about . . .
What are we going to talk about? she thought with a jolt.
Her wave of excitement disappeared like predawn fog. How was she going to talk to Brendan Daniels for a whole afternoon when five minutes ago she could barely string two words together?
She imagined herself with Brendan at the mall again, but now she couldn’t picture him smiling. They’d sit in silence. He’d have to order another red lemonade and drink it just to kill time. He would think she was an utter loser. She’d try to come up with something funny to say, probably some stupid joke about the school paper, but he wouldn’t laugh. He’d just look away.
I can’t go, Ivy thought.
The bell for the next class rang.
I’ll tell him I’m sick, she decided.
Suddenly somebody came up from behind and linked arms with her. She nearly jumped out of her skin.
“And where were you at lunch today?” Sophia demanded, poking her in the side. “Giddyup! We’re late for English.”
Ivy didn’t say anything. She let Sophia lead the way.
“What’s with you?” her friend said. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What, did Brendan Daniels ask you for a pen or something?” she teased.
“I don’t feel well,” Ivy replied weakly. “I think I’m sick.”
Sophia stopped in her tracks. “No way, Ivy.” She shook her head. “You are not going to bail on me! You promised me ages ago that you would come to today’s meeting.”
Ivy realized that she had completely forgotten about the meeting. She couldn’t go to the mall with Brendan; she’d agreed weeks ago to go to a meeting after school with her best friend. Sophia would put a stake through Ivy if she backed out now.
“I know you, Ivy,” Sophia declared. “You never get sick!”
“That’s not true,” Ivy replied halfheartedly. “I got sick in fourth grade.”
Sophia smirked. “You got a marble stuck in your ear.”
“Okay, okay,” Ivy said. She took a deep breath. “I’m going. Four o’clock, right?”
Sophia nodded, and Ivy felt the blood drain from her heart. It’s better this way, she told herself. I’ll put a note in his locker after school, telling him I can’t go.
She let her hair fall in front of her face and followed her friend into their fourth-period class.
“Okay, class!” Mr. Strain shouted, holding a ridiculous red hunting cap on his head. “Spread out! I want to see a full report on this soccer field’s flora! Remember, conifers are extra credit!”
Olivia clutched her sweatshirt around her and looked down at the leaf-covered grass. “I’m all in favor of science class outside,” she said just loud enough so that Ivy would hear. “But this is really dumb.”
She turned to see her sister’s reaction, but . . . Ivy was gone. Olivia spun around and spotted her sister’s black figure trudging off into the distance. “Wait up!” Olivia shouted.
She caught up with Ivy near the edge of the field. “Hey!” she said. “What are—”
Ivy held up a red leaf. “Do you think this is an oak or an ash?” she asked tentatively.
“An oak,” Olivia told her, slightly confused. “I didn’t know where you went.”
Ivy threw the leaf away and bent down to pick up another and then another. She mumbled, “I didn’t want anyone to disturb my leaf sampling.”
“Okaaay,” said Olivia doubtfully.
Ivy kept working silently, picking up leaves, looking at them, jotting notes down, throwing them back. She looked really sad.
Olivia sighed. She touched her sister’s shoulder. “You’re really nervous about your date with Brendan, huh?”
Ivy moved away.
“It’s okay, Ivy,” Olivia continued, full of sympathy. “This summer, there was this guy I had the biggest crush on and he—”