Jenni James: Pride and Popularity

“Yeah?” a blond guy called back. He was tall and goodlooking.

Carson motioned toward me. “I’ve got Chloe here to meet you.”

Ethan and I stood up and brushed off our jeans. “I forgot Blake’s been asking about you since we got here,” Ethan said. “You’ll like him—he’s an easygoing guy.”

Blake said something as he broke away from the group and started toward us. Wow, is he hot! I thought he’d be my age, but as he got closer I saw he was probably nineteen or twenty.

“Hi.” He grinned at me.

My heart was beating so fast that if it had wings it would’ve fluttered away. He’s got dimples! Guys should never have dimples. They get away with everything when they do. Breathe, Chloe.

“Chloe, this is Blake Winter. He just moved here from Boulder, Colorado. His truck’s the nice black one over there.” Carson nodded toward the parked vehicles. “Blake, may I introduce you to Chloe Hart, the prettiest, craziest, and funniest girl in the West?”

“You forgot to mention orneriest, feistiest, and meanest.” Ethan smirked. “Don’t be fooled by that sweet smile. She’s inherited her red hair and temper naturally.” Ethan and Carson both burst into guffaws.

“Hey, I prefer to be described as sassy.” I smiled as I looked up at Blake.

“Hart, eh? So, are you the queen of hearts?” he teased.

“A lady never reveals her secrets. But if I must be a queen, then I want to be the queen of four-wheeling.”

Carson laughed. “Chloe, the four-wheeling queen!”

“Why don’t you want to be the queen of hearts?” Blake asked me.

“Because that’s boring. I would much rather be known for something more fun and adventurous.”

“Make way for the queen,” Carson announced as he dragged me away from Blake and presented me to the rest of the guys. “Here’s Chloe, the four-wheeling queen.”

I glanced back. Blake was staring at me.

The guys all laughed and elbowed each other while they attempted to bow as well as they could on the uneven dirt. Then one of the guys, Jacob, surprised me by asking, “So, Queen Chloe, what are ya doing Saturday night?”

“Why?” I asked hesitantly.

“Because I really want to see the new Ryan Reynolds action movie, and you scream louder than any of the other girls. It’ll make the movie more exciting if you go.”

Oh, that’s just great.

Jacob walked toward me. “So what do you say? You comin’?”

“Sorry, Jacob.” The sound of Blake’s deep voice behind me tingled all the way down my spine, and then frizzled back up to the ends of my ponytail. “I believe Chloe’s going out with me on Saturday.”

Raising my eyebrow, I turned around to face him with hands on my hips and challenged, “Really? You think so, do you?” Blake’s dimple made an appearance and I was lost. “Well, if you’re serious, then you’ve have to come over Friday and meet my parents. I can’t go on a date with someone until my folks approve.”

“I’ll be there. What time?” His warm, chocolate-brown eyes sparkled right into mine.

“Better come for dinner,” I managed to squeeze out of my suddenly dry throat. “Get my number from Carson or Ethan, then give me a call later and we’ll work it out.” I scanned the crowd to keep myself from staring too long into Blake’s disconcerting eyes. I settled on Jacob.

“Okay, so if Blake’s going to be with you Friday night and Saturday night,” Jacob said, “then you’ve got to come with me Saturday afternoon. Besides, I’ve already met your parents, remember?”

I giggled. “Okay, okay, I’ll come.”

Thursday morning when I walked into the main building to head to my history class, all glorious thoughts of Blake Winter skipped my mind. The first fission of doubt on this “perfect day” had begun. Everyone was whispering to each other in the halls.

“Did you hear . . . ? Taylor . . .”

Or, “Taylor Anderson . . . girlfriend . . .”

“His phone call . . . Taylor . . . not happy . . .”

What is going on? Suddenly, I was brought back down to earth

as I remembered the phone call from the day before. Determined not to panic, I slid into my seat at the front of the room.

By the end of my second-hour health class, I had heard enough to realize my name wasn’t connected to the Taylor gossip. That’s when I knew something major had happened to him yesterday that had nothing to do with me.

It was all over the school by the time my art class rolled around. Everyone was talking about it, and no one felt the need to whisper anymore.

“Did you hear?” Emma Bradford gushed to her tablemates as she set out her art supplies. “Taylor Anderson got dumped by his girlfriend last night. Isn’t that so exciting?”

I gasped as I turned to Madison and Alyssa, who were getting their pastels ready before the bell rang. They must’ve heard the news already, because they both nodded their heads at my stunned look. “You’re kidding.” I felt horrible. Why do I feel so horrible? I wonder which phone call he got first, mine or hers? No way. I totally forgot to tell Maddi and Alyssa about the phone call!

The bell rang just as Taylor entered the room. No one even bothered to whisper while they talked about him. He glanced around the class and made a sort of rueful smile at the twittering girls, who faked looks of sympathy.

Wow, how happy can people get over his failure? He must have read my mind, because at that moment our eyes locked. As he approached our table he hesitated, then quietly asked if it was okay for him to join us. I guess he was desperate enough to seek out the only safe haven in the room, and ironically, that was next to me.

My heart isn’t made of stone, but it was definitely different to feel compassion for Taylor Anderson. Besides, no matter what he said to me yesterday, none of that compared to this. I half smiled as I pulled out his seat in response to his question. Relief showed on his face as he sat down next to me.

“Thanks,” he whispered. “I know how hard that was for you, so thank you.”

Surprised, I looked right into his eyes. He looked exhausted. There was a scant eight inches between us, and for a few moments I just stared at him. The normally lighthearted, sky blue orbs were now a dull grey blue. My heart lurched as we shared one of those life-changing moments that happen when you least expect them, when enemies claim truce.

Ms. Bailey’s role call broke the spell. After a hurried, “Don’t worry about it,” to Taylor, I glanced up to see that Alyssa and Madison hadn’t missed a beat. Thankfully, neither of them said anything, even though they were clearly dying to know what was going on. I could tell we would have a long talk soon.

Zack’s little sister, Emma, was the first girl to “happen” by our table and nonchalantly drool over Taylor’s artwork. “Wow. You are so talented. I wish I could draw like that.”

I rolled my eyes when I saw that all Taylor had managed to do was a rough pencil sketch of the landscape we were all supposed to create with pastel chalk. Since this was his first full day back at school, he had a lot of catch-up work to do.

Anyway, I couldn’t believe it, but one by one, every girl in the class made it over to our table. Even though Taylor seemed a bit annoyed by the constant interruptions, I have to say he handled it all like a pro. Not one of those girls knew when she left our table that she had unwillingly caused him more pain by her actions. In fact, Taylor did such a good job smiling and small-talking back that each girl probably felt extra special and loved. I bet I know what they’ll be telling their friends after school, I thought. I had to admit the guy was charming.