Gimme a Call (27 page)

All I hear is quiet.

Oh, no. “Hello?” I squeak. “Hello?”

“Are you talking to me?” someone on the other side of the bathroom door asks.

“No. Sorry!” I’m sitting on the closed toilet seat, a heap of scribbled-on toilet paper across my lap.

She’s gone.

What am I going to do now? How do I know who to be friends with? Who to go out with? What’s going to happen next? And what am I going to do about the French test?

The phone vibrates in my hand.

Yes! It’s her! She’s back! She’s figured out how to save us! I snap on the phone. “Thank God!” I gush.

“What a nice hello,” the voice says. Not Ivy’s. A boy’s voice. Bryan.

“Hi,” I say, startled.

“Hi,” he says, and I can hear his smile through the phone. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, I’m—” I look around the stall. “I’m still at school.”

“Yeah? Me too. I was looking for you, but I didn’t see you.”

“I’m just at my locker,” I lie.

“I’m at your locker.”

Busted. “You got me. I’m in the bathroom.”

He laughs. “What are you up to this afternoon?”

Watching my life fall apart? I wonder if he could help me with the Jerome situation. But how could I possibly explain it to him? “I’m supposed to be at play rehearsal,” I say instead. “But I should really be studying for a French test I have tomorrow.”

“Do you need help?” he asks. “I
am
bilingual.”

“Oh, um …” I don’t know! Would I like his help? How am I supposed to know what to do?

“Meet me in the media room,” he says. “I’ll help you.”

“Right now?”

“Would you rather spend the rest of the afternoon in the bathroom?”

I giggle. “Nah, it’s kind of stuffy in here.”

Ivy did say that keeping my grades up was my number one priority. Without the answers to the test, I might get another F. And Bryan’s the only person I can turn to. I can’t talk to Ivy anymore, and my friends aren’t speaking to me. Who else is going to help me?

“Hello? Devi? Are you coming?”

But I’m not supposed to spend time with Bryan. I fidget with the lock on the door. Then I let go. Then I stand up. Then I sit down.

I have no idea what to do.

chapter forty-three
Thursday, June 5
Senior Year

Ahhh! My acceptance letter morphed the second the phone died. Harvard is gone. I’ve been accepted by NYU, which might be a top school, but it’s not number one, and worse, it’s not offering me any scholarship money.

What happened? I pace back and forth around my room. What do I do?

I can’t breathe in here. It’s too hot. The room feels smaller. Did it shrink? Did Devi do something to make my room shrink? I need fresh air. I grab the phone and my purse and scream to my dad that I’m taking a walk. I slam the door behind me.

I sit on my front steps and inhale a big gulp of air. What am I supposed to do now? I wring my hands.

Bryan’s bright blue Jetta pulls into my driveway. My stomach twists. What’s he doing here? I hug my knees into my chest.

He rolls down his window. “I’ve been trying to call you. Your phone still isn’t working.”

He’s talking to me. What does that mean? Why is he talking to me?

“It’s broken,” I say.

“I tried to find you after class, but you bolted out of there.”

“Stuff to do,” I say. I don’t know where to look. I don’t understand what he’s doing here.

“Come for a drive,” he says.

Huh? “I don’t know.”

His forehead wrinkles in confusion. “Why not?”

I look down at my wrist. The bracelet glistens back up at me. What does this mean? What did Frosh do? Did she fall for him? Did we go out? Are we still—my heart leaps—together?

I hurry down the steps and get into his car.

chapter forty-four
Thursday, September 22
Freshman Year

I’m sitting across the table from Bryan in the media room.

He’s so cute. He really is.

I can’t stop smiling. So I won’t get an A. I can accept that. But I’m pretty sure I won’t get another F. Bryan’s being really helpful, and I’m kind of following what he’s saying—when I’m not staring at his lips.

Sweet lips.

Adorable lips.

Sure, I might not get into Harvard, but that’s three years away. Do I really have to worry about it now?

No, I do not.

Without Ivy on the other end of the phone, I don’t have to obsess about college. Or about tomorrow. Or about anything that isn’t happening across the table from me.

It’s time for me to make my own decisions.

“Hi,” I say, smiling. I can’t help it. He makes me smile.

He grins back. “Don’t you mean ‘bonjour’?”

chapter forty-five
Thursday, June 5
Senior Year

We drive down the block, and he stops the car in front of Hedgemonds Park. Superb. The place of our first kiss.

“So your phone. It finally went to cell phone heaven?” he asks.

Instead of looking at him, I stare out the window at the swings. “I guess. It doesn’t seem to be charging.”

“Do you want me to take a look at it?” he asks.

“If you want to.” I reach into my purse, pull out my phone, and give it to him.

Our hands touch and a spark zooms up my arm.

The next thing I know, he’s leaning over and we’re kissing. His lips are sweet and soft, and everything feels so right and safe. He’s mine again.

It’s perfect. We’re perfect. Everything is the way it should be. Everything’s the way it was.

He must have changed his mind. Something must have happened to change his mind. Maybe Frosh said something or did something to make him love me enough. And now he’s going to stay. He isn’t going to leave me. All thoughts of college, all thoughts of friends, are long forgotten.

“I love you,” I tell him.

“I love you too,” he says. “You better come visit.”

What? I pull back, my body suddenly cold. “You’re still moving to Montreal?”

He blinks. “Yeah.”

I can’t breathe. It’s like someone is stepping on my throat. “You’re leaving me?” I whisper.

His face twitches. “I … yeah. We talked about this. You know I’m going to Montreal. It’s what’s best.”

A tsunami of sadness overwhelms me. “I can’t believe you’re still going.” I am suddenly furious with him. Furious with myself for even getting into his car. For letting him kiss me. One kiss and I forget everything I’ve been working for? All my plans? What about me? What about what’s best for me?

He grabs hold of my shoulder. “But we agreed that breaking up was the right thing. You wanted—”

“You agreed! I didn’t agree to anything!” Could I have agreed to this? Is that possible? How could I have agreed to it? What’s wrong with me? Who am I? The tears are running down my cheeks now, burning my skin. I need to get out of here. This second. My hands are shaking as I grab for the handle, yank the door open, and start running home.

“Devi, wait,” Bryan calls. “Let’s talk about this. Please?”

Instead of answering, I keep walking.

“What about tomorrow? Can we talk about tomorrow? It’s prom!”

I’m not going to prom with him. I’d rather go alone. I’d rather go with Tom. Someone who means absolutely nothing to me. Someone who will never hurt me. I grab at the clasp of the bracelet on my wrist and this time manage to get it off. For good. “Stay out of my life,” I beg.

“Come on, Devi. Please talk to me.”

I don’t listen. I don’t look back.

I should never have looked back.

chapter forty-six
Friday, September 23
Freshman Year

I’m at my locker when I see the text from Bryan.

When is ur test?

I text back: 4th.

He writes: Gd lck. Wanna go for lnch after 2 celebr8? My bench wants to meet u.

Tee hee. I’m about to write back
YES
but my fingers hesitate over the keypad.

Ivy would not be pleased. But I like him! And anyway, why should I do what she says anymore? How do I know if she’s
still
right? Things change. Just because things ended badly for her, it doesn’t mean they’ll end badly for me. What if Bryan doesn’t cheat on me this time? He might not. That he did once doesn’t mean he’d do it again.

I swallow hard. Yeah, I know, every Lifetime movie would tell me otherwise.

But this is different. I’m different.

Is it fair to punish someone for something he hasn’t done yet? It’s not like he cheated on
me
. He cheated on me in the future. In one version of the future. And if I’ve learned anything in the last two weeks, it’s that there’s more than one version.

Yes! I finally write back.

chapter forty-seven
Friday, June 6
Senior Year

“What’s wrong with you?” Celia, all glittery, is standing in front of my locker. “You better not be a misery tonight. Perk up! It’s prom. And at least we get out of here at eleven! You definitely need the time to get your hair and nails done.”

Ugh. Does this mean I’m in a limo with Celia? And who else? Who’s my date? Am I going stag now that I told Bryan to take a hike? Is Celia going with Bryan? My head hurts.