Angela sat outside on her front porch, waiting. She'd been sitting there for over an hour. Except for getting up to refill her glass with pink lemonade and call Sharon, she hadn't moved. I>It's like holding a vigil, she thought.
For a lost cause."Did he call?" Sharon asked as she walked up the sidewalk.
"Sharon, I talked to you two minutes ago," Angela said curtly.
"I know. But did he call?"
"No," Angela told her.
"Oh. Well, don't feel too bad," Sharon said. "He didn't show up for tutoring today, either."
Somehow that didn't surprise Angela.
So where is he today? She couldn't believe how grateful she was to Sharon for agreeing to come over. So far that day, she'd had only Danielle to talk to -- and all Danielle wanted to talk about was tennis, and how she kept "moving up the ladder." Whatever
that meant.
"It's okay. We'll have a girls' night out," Sharon said. "You and me. Maybe Rayanne. Why don't I call Rayanne? Or wait -- we can just go pick her up."
"I don't know. We should probably call her first," Angela said. "Anyway, I don't feel like going out."
"The nights you don't want to go out are exactly when you
should go out," Sharon said. "That's when you have the best time."
Angela looked up at Sharon and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Where did you read that -- in a magazine?"
"It's true!" Sharon insisted. "Besides, you can't let Jordan ruin your summer."
"He's not ruining it," Angela said. "You don't understand. We had, like, the most intense experience two people can have -- "
"Wait -- you did it?" Sharon cried.
"No. Not that," Angela said. "But we had this really romantic night, and then he just like...disappears. For days."
"Maybe he's one of those guys who can't handle intimacy," Sharon suggested.
"Duh," Angela said.
But at least he and I have that in common."Come on, you have to go out with me, Angela. You're the one who has a car this summer! Anyway, you would not believe the day I had at work. First they said I wasn't old enough to be an assistant manger. Then they changed their minds. Then this loser in the gardening section comes over to me and says, 'How does
your garden grow?' in this really
gross tone. I
need this, Chase."
"Okay, okay!" Angela laughed, finally getting to her feet. "We'll go. God. So...what do you think he meant?"
When Brian cruised down the block on his bike after working at Foto Fusion until nine, he saw Sharon and Angela getting into the Chases' station wagon. "Hey." He rode into the driveway and stopped beside Sharon's door. "Where are you guys going?"
"Sorry, Krakow. Girls only," Sharon told him.
"Girls only? Like I'd want to go," Brian said. "What is that, the theme at one of those sleazy bars where they give out free drinks for
ladies?" he scoffed. "Like you could get in there." He started to ride away.
"Jealous!" Angela called. She revved the engine, then honked the horn as she rapidly backed out of the driveway.
Brian had to swerve at the last second to avoid being hit. "Hey, you almost ran me over!" he yelled.
Angela and Sharon took off down the street, their laughter spilling out the open windows.
Angela glanced back at Brian in the rearview mirror and waved.
"Okay, fine. Be that way," Brian muttered as the station wagon turned a corner. "You're only the worst driver in Pittsburgh." He ditched his bike on the lawn and went inside to get a soda.
When he came back out to put his bike in the garage, he saw Jordan Catalano's car idling outside Angela's house.
Does that guy ever knock? On people's doors? Brian wondered.
Or does he just hope they'll come out?Wait -- he doesn't have to hope. He's Jordan Catalano. They'll come out."Hey." Jordan leaned out the window, his arm hanging over the top of the door.
"Hey." Brian walked toward the car. "So,
um, Sharon yelled at me. Because you didn't show up."
Jordan's forehead creased as he contemplated the news. "Yeah? So...where is she?"
"Sharon?" Brian asked.
"Angela," Jordan said.
"Oh.
Um...I don't know." Brian looked up at the Chases' house. That much was true. "I haven't actually...seen her today."
Why don't I just tell him she left a few minutes ago? I don't care about Angela that way anymore -- I shouldn't be jealous. I'm interested in Delia Fisher. And maybe Rayanne's mother -- but that's it!
So why can't I just tell Jordan Catalano the truth?
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