Careful What You Wish For (17 page)

Courtney Lourde was back! Her snotty comments never sounded so good.

Elena made her way to the stage. “There's been a mistake. I just checked with my office. Lance was never scheduled to be here today. But he does have an appearance at the mall in Killingsworth next week, which we hope you'll attend. Now, I do have some bad news to share.” She glanced down at her BlackBerry. “The network has informed me that they've decided to kill the reality show, so unfortunately none of you are going to be stars today.” She nodded her head toward the door, and she and the camera crew made their exit. With Gabi's wish reversed, they had no reason to stay.

The auditorium erupted with chatter again. “This is so weird,” Tracy Fine said. “First we're in a reality show starring
Gabi
and now it's canceled? All in the same day?”

Dana Ellers shrugged. “I guess Hollywood is like that. Chews you up, spits you out, that type of thing. Stinks for Gabi.”

“Like she ever stood a chance at stardom,” Courtney said. “I can't believe they even considered her. How much do you want to bet it was one of those extreme makeover shows, but it got canceled when Elena realized there was no helping that lost cause?”

Jaydin and Lana burst out laughing.

“Can it, Courtney,” I yelled back. “You don't know anything. Gabi will be a star someday. She's incredible.”

“So incredible that Cole picked
her
over
you
,” Jaydin threw in.

I had hoped no one remembered that.

“He didn't mean it,” Gabi said. “But he did choose Angel over
you
at the dance.”

That got Jaydin to shut up.

Cole was sitting right in the front row. His face looked like a strawberry lollipop. We made eye contact for a second, but I looked away. I wasn't ready to talk to him. Not there, not in front of everyone.

I jumped off the stage and moved toward the back. I didn't even want to see him.

Everyone was talking about what had happened today. Saying stuff like they couldn't believe they actually followed Max around. And trying to figure out how science class became an outdoor garden.

Then a rumor began circulating that the reality show was responsible for everything. That Elena had transformed the science room, painted the walls and lockers, all at super speed to help the show along. And now that it was canceled, they were undoing everything right away, so they could go back to Hollywood.

According to the gossip, the show's crew was even the reason why everyone was nice to Max. Apparently, one of the cameramen was friends with Max's dad. So he told a few people to treat Max like Mr. Popular—and if they did he'd make them look good on TV. And once a couple of kids started treating Max like royalty, it kind of caught on.

People actually seemed to buy it all. I guess people want answers. Even when they don't make sense, which was just fine by me. I actually hoped that was the case. Because, I admit it, I was the one who started the rumors.

When everyone was talking I wrote up a fake note from Elena that took responsibility for everything. Then I made sure to drop it in Tracy Fine's lap as I made my way past her. She was a huge gossip. If you ever want the whole school to know something, right away, tell Tracy Fine. It's quicker than Facebook.

Mr. Stanton entered the room, bullhorn in hand. “All right, everyone,” he yelled into it, practically destroying one of my eardrums. I was right next to him. “This day has gotten out of hand. But the craziness is over.”

Finally.

“Everyone is to go back to class,” he ordered.

I was the first one out. But an arm grabbed me. “Just a minute.” It was Miss Spring, the evil school nurse.

“Is that my jacket?” she asked.

Oh no. No. NO. Of all the people in the whole school, why did I have to take Miss Spring's coat? The woman lived to torture students. “No,” I answered.

“I don't believe you.” We were drawing a crowd.

“That is definitely my jacket,” the nurse said, examining the fabric.

She actually reached into the coat's pocket and pulled out her sunglasses case. She pointed to the letters DS on the front. “Are you going to say these are your initials as well?”

Well, it could have stood for Daughter of Satan. But I decided to keep that thought to myself. “Can we talk about this in your office?” I asked.

“No,” she said.

“It's just a big mix-up,” I said.

“Hand the coat over,” she said.

“I'm a little chilly. How about I give it back later?”

“Now.”

I gritted my teeth and untied the jacket.

My new boobs were about to make their Goode Middle School debut.

Miss Spring took the jacket from me, and even she seemed shocked by my new appearance. For a second I thought she was actually going to hand the coat back and put me out of my misery.

“No way!” Courtney said, through fits of giggles. “So that's why there's no toilet paper left in the girls' bathroom.”

“Did she really think no one would notice that she stuffed her bra?” Jaydin asked.

“It's like she shoved beach balls up her shirt,” Lana chimed in.

Well, Courtney and Co. certainly were no longer nice. Not even close.

What was worse—the whole auditorium was laughing at me. At least it felt that way. I scanned the room. Oh. My. God. Everyone was looking my way. Even Cole. I crossed my arms over my chest, turned around, and bolted straight for the exit. And not just from the auditorium—from the whole school.

And I didn't stop there. I just kept running.

“Wait up!” It was Gabi.

I stopped.

She was out of breath, and we were only a few blocks from school. She really was a horrible athlete. “Where did you get those things?” she asked, pointing right at my boobs.

I shielded them with my arms. “Target,” I said.

Gabi rolled her eyes at me. “Seriously, what happened?”

“What always happens. I tried to use my powers and they went all wonky. These things”—I looked down at the massive growths coming out of my upper body—“weren't supposed to get this big. I just wanted Cole to notice me.”

“I'm sure he noticed all right. I think everyone did.” I couldn't tell if she said it with disbelief or awe.

“Thanks a lot.”

“Sorry,” she said. “It's just . . . I never saw any that big.”

Gabi wasn't making me feel any better. I went from having the flattest chest in all the land to having prize-winning watermelons.

“Why didn't you just make them small again?” she asked.

I still didn't like the term
small
used when referring to my boobs, but it beat what they were now—crazy gigantic. “Don't you think I tried?”

“If I were you, I'd try again. I don't know how you're going to explain those to your mom.”

That was true. Especially since Mom didn't know about my powers. And the stuffing excuse wouldn't get me very far. As soon as she saw me trying to go to school this way, she'd demand I take the stuffing out of my bra.

“You're right. I can do this.” The last time I attempted to make them shrink, I was interrupted and had to give up. This time I'd just keep trying, even if it took all night.

Go back to normal, go back to normal. Actually a little bigger than normal would be better. Go back to a little bigger than normal,
I thought and pushed my arms against my chest, willing them to shrink.

But it wasn't working. Maybe because I was being greedy. But come on! I wasn't asking for the world. Just a happy medium. Not boobs that were too big. Or ones that were too small. Just something in between.

I closed my eyes again and focused really hard. I could feel my shirt getting looser. It was working!

“Uh, Angel,” Gabi said. “You might want to open your eyes.”

I didn't like the tone of her voice. I looked down at my chest. No way! There was something worse than having a massively small chest
or
a massively big one. And that was having
one
itty-bitty boob
and one
gargantuan one. I was completely lopsided. Only one of my boobs went back to its normal size. “This was not what I meant by having something in between!”

This was going to be really hard to explain. I had to get them back to their regular size. I covered my chest with my arms.
Fine,
I thought.
I give in. Just go back to normal. To A-cup Angel.

I concentrated and concentrated and concentrated. Finally, I felt some movement. My big boob was getting smaller and smaller, until it was back to its original size.

“You did it!” Gabi yelled, and clapped her hands together.

Thank goodness. For once I was actually happy to see my nonexistent chest!

“Mom?” She wasn't in the kitchen when I got home. “Mom!” I called out again.

There still wasn't any answer. I checked the living room.

“MOM!”

“What is it?” she asked, coming down the stairs.

“Nothing.” I just threw my arms around her, not caring if I seemed like the crazy one in the family this time. Having your very own flesh and blood, your own mother, even a kooky one like mine, act like you didn't exist was scary. I was just happy to have her back.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Just wanted to say hello.”

Mom gave me a questioning look. It wasn't every day, okay, any day, that I came home and ran straight to hug her. She squeezed me back. “Sure you're okay?” she asked as I pulled away.

She wasn't getting any more info out of me. After one last hug, I ran to my room and closed the door. “You've got mail! You've got mail! You've got mail! You've got mail!” a voice said, which was very strange. Even if my e-mail account could still have been open from this morning, I didn't have AOL.

It had to be Lou.

I picked up my computer. Not because I wanted to know what he had to say. He was out of my life. I just wanted the noise to stop.

When I logged on to my e-mail account, just like I suspected, the message at the top of my inbox was from Lou. It was a memo to everyone in the underworld, and he had bcc'd me on it. Basically it warned that if anyone attempted to take a good soul, they'd get in huge trouble.

After I read it, the memo dissolved off the screen. In its place was a live video feed from Lou. “Did you read my note?” he asked.

“Yeah, but it doesn't change anything. I'm not forgiving you.”

“There's more,” he said, sounding like one of those infomercial guys who keep throwing in more incentives to get you to buy their knives or potato peelers.

Lou held up a piece of paper and ripped it in half. As he did it went up in flames. “That was the contract Gremory made for the soul of the baseball player.” He ripped a few more pieces of paper, sending more flames into the air. “And these are a few old contracts I made years ago. I convinced them to trade in their wishes in exchange for their souls. I'm cleaning up my act. Because of you.”

I didn't know what to say.

“Do you forgive me?”

“No,” I said. It was great that he sent out the memo and all, but I still didn't trust him. How did I know that he wouldn't just go and send out a revised note the next day, taking back what he'd just said? Or that he'd ripped up real contracts and not some scrap paper with special effects thrown in? “How would I have known if any of it was true?”

“You can check,” he said. “I'll e-mail you a list of names. Just Google them. You'll see. Then after you know it's the real deal, we'll be okay, right?”

“I'm sorry,” I said. “I can't do it anymore.”

“Angel.”

“No, Lou. You messed up big time.”

“You mean like accidentally making all of your best friend's wishes come true?” he asked.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” I lied.

A moment later a video came up on my screen of Lou vanishing into thin air from my school hallway, a zombie coming for me, and me running like crazy.

“Yeah, you don't remember that?” Lou asked, his face reappearing on the screen. He looked amused.

“How'd you get that?”

“I have my ways.”

“Did you hurt the camera guy?” I yelled at him.

“Of course not,” he said. “But there was no way I'd risk that footage getting out.”

I bit my nail. “How did you even know there was footage?”

“Angel,” he said, shaking his head. “You don't think I knew something was up? You're not as good a liar as you think.”

Maybe that was a good thing. I didn't want to be like him.

“When I ran into you and Gabi, I could tell you granted her wishes. Your body language, your voice, the look in your friend's eyes. I've been doing this a long time. I have a sixth sense for this type of thing.”

“Why didn't you say anything?” I asked.

“You didn't want my help. And sometimes the best way to learn is by fixing your own mistakes.” He gave me a small smile. “And that's what I'm trying to do, too. Fix my mistakes. Please, Angel, forgive me. Give me another chance.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to forgive him. But I had already given him so many chances. I wasn't falling for it again. I was done playing the fool. “I'm sorry,” I said. “I can't.” I closed the laptop.