Just Kidding (17 page)

K
atani looked at her watch for the third time. “Where is that girl? We did say seven o'clock, right? Not seven-thirty?”

Isabel pulled her coat closer around her. “Avery's not usually late. I'm sure there's a good reason.” But she was worried. It was time to get going to the Spirit Dance.

“Yeah,” Maeve agreed. She had twisted her red curls and pinned them artfully on top of her head, and she wore sparkly dangling green earrings that rested above her coat collar. “Maybe she couldn't decide which team jersey to wear.” Avery refused to dress up most of the time, but she did have her own sporty style.

“Somehow I don't think that's it,” said Charlotte in a strange voice. She was looking toward the street, and the rest of the BSG swung around to follow her gaze.

There was Avery. Only it wasn't Avery! This girl was wearing jeans, like Avery would, and sneakers—that was right, too. But the sparkly yellow jersey peeking out
from under her coat was definitely different, and…was that a matching yellow headband holding back her soft, smooth—yikes!—
blown-dry
hair?

“Avery?” Isabel asked.

“We seem to have a missing person here,” said Maeve in a tough-cop voice. “You there in the fabulous outfit–what do you know about Avery Koh Madden's whereabouts?” Avery couldn't help but crack up.

“Okay, okay! Chill. My mom kidnapped me after school today. She made me go to the hairdresser and bought me a new outfit. Please don't make a big deal out of it.”

“Don't make a big deal out of what?” Katani asked. “Oh…you mean, like the fact that you look
fantastic
? That's what we're not supposed to make a big deal out of? Okay, no problem!”

“You really do look amazing,” Charlotte assured her friend.

“You trying to look amazing for anyone in particular?” Maeve asked mischievously.

“Maeve…” Avery warned.

“Hey, just kidding!” Maeve said with an exaggerated expression of innocence on her face.

“And this,” Avery shot back, “is a
no joke zone
.”

“Whoa! Sorry.” Maeve held up her hands.

Katani grinned. “See? That no joke zone thing really does work!”

“Hello, girls.” The BSG turned and saw Mrs. Weiss, the owner of Irving's Toy & Card Shop, who was closing up the shop for the evening.

“Hi, Mrs. Weiss!” they all returned the greeting. Ethel
Weiss always had kind words and great advice for the kids who frequented her store.

“You all look very lovely this evening. Where are you off to?”

“We're going to our Spirit Week school dance,” Maeve answered.

“Oh, is it that time of year again?” Mrs. Weiss smiled at the BSG as she glanced at their outfits. “We dressed a little differently in my day, but I was just as excited as you girls are for a chance to dance with some handsome young men.”

“Handsome young men?” Avery made a gagging noise.

Mrs. Weiss chuckled. “Well, have a wonderful time tonight. Come by for some Swedish fish tomorrow and tell me all about it!”

“We will!” the BSG promised and waved to Mrs. Weiss as they started toward the school.

The BSG were all eager to see the gym transformed, but when they walked in, they were stunned. The decorations weren't exactly beautiful, but they were
powerful
. Everyone had brought in his or her favorite spirit symbol, and the gym radiated excitement. Posters were hung everywhere, and stuffed animals and little statuettes decorated long tables of refreshments. Buttons and pins were stuck on cork boards, which had been mounted on the walls. The bright, bold colors lifted everyone's spirits, and if things were hung a little haphazardly and hastily, no one seemed to care. Betsy had been right. Seeing everyone's contribution was truly uplifting!

Riley sat behind a long table stacked with audio equipment; he was acting as DJ for the dance. “Okay, BSG, I've
got things to do. Catch you all later,” Avery quipped, and then disappeared into the crowd. Two minutes later the girls saw her walk up to Dillon, punch him lightly in the arm, and start a conversation.

“Ha-ha, look at that!” Maeve giggled. “Dillon didn't even recognize Avery at first!”

“Thanks for sticking up for the girls, dude,” Avery said to Dillon. “It was a cool thing to do.”

Dillon shrugged, but he kept looking at her yellow headband and jersey and different hair, as though wondering where his old sports buddy Avery went. “Hey, no problem. Some of the guys acted like real jerks, including me….”

“Hey, you guys just can't help yourselves,” Avery said, and they both laughed. Then she added, “Want to dance? I mean, as long as you promise not to throw me up in the air like a human football.”

Dillon looked happy that the awkwardness was over between them. “Yeah, good idea,” he agreed.

At Maeve's request, Riley was mixing it up at his DJ post with some top hits as well as some old stuff from the Birdland era. Five minutes later, Avery and Dillon were flying across the floor to one of the fast, jazzy songs. Dillon did a quick feet-first turn, and caught Avery's hands as she did the same thing, even faster. “Hey, you're really good! I didn't know you could dance like that! I thought you hated to dance!”

Avery gave him a condescending look. “Oh, please…like coordination and grace are only important on the athletic field? That stuff sticks with you on the dance floor too, you know. Plus, it's fun exercise.”

“I guess,” Dillon said, watching Avery execute another quick turn and then a moonwalk-type backward shuffle. “And where'd you learn that? I don't think they have a move like that in soccer or basketball!”

“Nope,” Avery said with a grin. “But I also happen to have the services of a great private dance tutor…the one, the only, Maeve Kaplan-Taylor!”

The rest of the BSG hadn't started dancing yet. They were hanging out at the snack table when suddenly Katani felt a tug on her sleeve. It was Kelley, looking super-excited and happy. “Katani, come on! I need you—now! Now, now, now, now, NOW!”

She grabbed Katani's off-the-shoulder sweater and dragged her toward the dance floor, where a tall, handsome boy was waiting. Katani knew, looking up at him, that she'd never met him before. “Katani, this is Miguel,” Kelley said proudly to her sister. “Miguel is my friend in activities. He wanted to meet you…very, very much. He said he wanted to
formally
meet you. Formally, formally.”

Katani could see where this was going. “Thanks, Kelley. Can you get some punch for me?”

Kelley stared at her sister. “Punch, punch, a bunch of punch.” She laughed and said, “No!” But at least she had stopped her song.

Miguel lowered his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets, but Katani pretended not to notice and stuck out her hand. Anyone who had been nice to Kelley was somebody she wanted to meet. “Hi. It's nice to meet you.” Relieved, Miguel smiled and offered his hand.

“I'm going back to listen to the music,” Kelley told Katani. “Formally, formally…”

She ran off, unconcerned about Katani and Miguel. Miguel managed to shake Katani's hand back. “Kelley's a great girl,” he said. “And she's always talking about you.”

Katani looked up at him, trying to figure out how to ask the question that sprang into her mind: Was Miguel in Kelley's class?

Miguel saw her confusion and explained, “Oh, I'm on the eighth-grade community service team. We help out in Kelley's class sometimes. That's how she knows me.”

Ah
, Katani thought. And all this time she'd thought the guy that Kelley kept talking about was one of her classmates! “She talks about you a lot too,” Katani said out loud. “I just didn't realize…I thought you were…you know, actually in her class.” But then they both laughed, so it was all right. Miguel was very cute. Katani suddenly had an urge to smooth her hair, which she resisted.

“I saw your speech yesterday,” Miguel went on, seeming more relaxed. “And I thought it was really great. I told Kelley I wanted to say hello to you to let you know that. But I didn't mean for her to drag you away from your friends…”

“That's okay,” Katani answered, glancing back over her shoulder at the BSG. Maeve grinned and waved at her. Katani smiled. Maeve had obviously recovered from her Birdland disappointment.

“Well, as long as we're here…would you like to dance?” Miguel asked.

“Sure,” Katani answered as her heart skipped a beat. The two of them moved off onto the crowded floor.

“C'mon, let's dance,” Maeve begged Isabel and Charlotte.

“To this? I don't think I know how to dance to this.” Charlotte listened to the old-school disco beat.

“It's a line dance, like from
Saturday Night Fever
,” Maeve answered. “It's fine. Come
on
!” She pulled them onto the floor, and in a minute they were all dancing to “Stayin' Alive” as though they'd done it all their lives.

Isabel was beginning to feel pretty good about her dance moves, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Kevin standing at her side. “Hey, I know you're dancing,” he said a little awkwardly, “but I was wondering…Could we talk when you have a minute?”

Isabel glanced at Maeve, who was dancing with her eyes closed, in a world of her own. Charlotte was bopping along beside her and seemed happy enough. “Well, okay,” she said. “How about now?”

“Great!” Kevin seemed relieved. “Come on, let's go near the bleachers.” He led her to an area of the gym that was very quiet and almost empty.

Isabel had been waiting for the chance to speak to Kevin for a long time. She spoke quickly before she could lose her nerve. “You know, Kevin, I never said anything about you and Amanda. I wasn't the one spreading rumors. I would never do anything like that.”

“I know that now,” Kevin told her. “It's weird how fast someone can start a rumor and it can just grow….” He shook his head from side to side, his brown hair falling onto his forehead. “This gossip thing is really sick. People get a hold of something, then a few people repeat it, and it doesn't even sound the same as it was the first time. It's
even worse on the Internet because you don't see people face-to-face. It's like that old game Telephone. You say to someone, ‘I like red cherries' and at the other end it comes out, ‘I saw Kevin with a girl named Sherry.'”

“That's exactly right!” Isabel agreed, smiling in relief.

“I think that's why Chase thought he could joke about it,” Kevin went on. “Because it wasn't face-to-face when he was online…but it was still wrong. The more he said, the more lame it got.”

“To me it felt downright mean,” Isabel said.

“I'm really sorry,” Kevin told her. “It's been hard…well, since we talked in the art room, before all that drama with Amanda.”

“Is it really just drama?” Isabel looked up at him directly. She thought she'd better ask the question straight out and be sure of what was going on.

“Amanda and I were always better as friends,” Kevin admitted. “And one day I think we'll be friends again, but there's nothing else going on between us…no matter
what
you hear!” he joked. “When you want to know what's happening with me, just ask me. I'll tell you.”

“You will?”

“Yeah. I tell my friends lots of things,” Kevin said. “Well, first let's dance. That is, if you're okay being friends with me after everything that's gone down this week.”

Isabel looked down for a moment, then up at him with a bright smile. “Yes. Friends. But if I dance with you—” She hesitated.

“What?” Kevin asked.

“Well, people might start talking about us again. And I
hated
being talked about all over school and online this week.”

“My mom says people are always going to talk,” Kevin advised her. “But we don't have to get involved in it. And I'm not going to stop doing something I really want to do because of it.”

Isabel took a deep breath and looked at Kevin. “I'd like to dance with you.”

Kevin grabbed her hand. “Okay. Let's go for it.”

On the way to the center of the floor, Isabel saw Anna and Joline sitting on the bleachers…alone. No one, apparently, was interested in dancing with them. She wondered why Chase hadn't asked Anna to dance, but as she looked around she realized she didn't see Chase anywhere and hadn't all night. He must not have come to the dance at all!
Some spirit he has
, she thought.
Lucky we didn't all agree to his silly shark theme!

Then Isabel caught sight of Henry Yurt moving purposefully toward Anna. It was so hard to figure out, but the Yurtmeister continued to have a first-class crush on Anna, and a chance to dance with her was something he wouldn't miss!

Isabel saw Anna shrug when he spoke to her, but the Queen of Mean tossed her flowing hair over her shoulder, got up and followed him onto the gym floor. Left alone on the bleachers, Joline's face turned dark. Luckily, Pete Wexler sauntered around the corner and asked Joline to dance. With a superior smile plastered on her face, Queen of Mean no. 2 followed Pete onto the floor, making sure that Anna saw her. After all, Pete Wexler was
definitely
cuter than Yurt.

So much for the Queens of Mean
, Isabel thought.
I guess good things happen to mean people too!

She looked around to find her friends. Maeve, of course,
was sitting next to Riley at the DJ booth, listening through a big pair of headphones to some music, and busily picking out tracks for him to play. Isabel wasn't at all surprised when the next song that blared out into the gym was “Summer Nights” from
Grease
—it was one of Maeve's all-time faves!