She's So Dead to Us

“Hello?”

My voice echoed throughout the room. No response.

Fear tickled my veins. They were screwing with me. Any second they were all going to come bursting out from under the bleachers and frighten me. Great. Was this going to be our new relationship? They’d let me back in but make me the butt of every joke for the rest of my life, just to remind me of my place?

“Ha ha. Very fu

There was a scraping noise behind me. I whirled around, my heart in my throat, and saw Jake Graydon fumbling through the window.

“Omigod. You scared me,” I said.

He dropped onto all fours on the bleachers and sprang up as if singed. His face was sweaty and red, and his eyes darted around the room fretfully.

“Come on,” he said, his steps heavy on the bleachers. “We have to get out of here.”

He grabbed my hand as he passed me by, but I didn’t move.

“What do you mean? Where is everybody?” I asked.

Jake sighed. “They’re not coming. Let’s go!”

He tugged on my hand. A cold trickle of dread sliced down my spine. “What do you mean, they’re not coming?”

“We don’t have time for this,” Jake said tersely. “I swear I’ll explain everything once we—”

Suddenly the door swung open, and a flashlight beam hit me dead in the face.

“What the hell do you two kids think you’re doing in here?”

Two cops stood in the doorway, along with our principal, Mr. Lawrence, who was holding a jam-packed key ring. At that moment, three things occurred to me. First, I was in serious trouble. Second, the Cresties had set me up. And third, Jake was still holding my hand.

jake

“I thought this was supposed to be my day off,” Principal Lawrence joked.

It was the first day of winter break. Orchard Hill High was deserted, except for the janitors. They already had the entire place reeking of ammonia. The principal lowered himself into his huge leather chair and laced his fingers together on the desk. I glanced at my mother’s foot. It was bouncing up and down like crazy. My dad sat next to her in a button-down, tie, and houndstooth jacket—his casual weekend gear. I couldn’t even look at Ally, even though she was sitting right next to me. She was probably so pissed she could kill me with one glance.

“Mr. Lawrence, Ally has something she’d like to say,” Mrs. Ryan stated.

Ally shifted in her chair. “I’m very sorry for breaking into the pool. I know it was stupid and dangerous, and I’ll accept whatever punishment you think is right.”

“Thank you, Miss Ryan,” Principal Lawrence said. He looked at me. “And Mr. Graydon? Do you have anything to add?’

I looked at my parents. They had told me not to say anything. I couldn’t have anyway. My guilt was lodged in my throat like I’d swallowed Shaquille O’Neal’s shoe. My dad nodded at me. What was that supposed to mean? “Um . . . I’m sorry, too?”

Ally’s mother snorted. My face burned. Was that wrong? I hated this. Every minute of it. Hated not knowing what I was supposed to do.

“Mr. Lawrence, it’s Christmas vacation,” my dad said, leaning forward. “None of us wants to be here right now. These are two good kids who didn’t damage any school property and who have wholeheartedly apologized. Don’t you think we can just end this with a warning and move on with our lives?”

Sounded good to me.

“I’m sure we could make it worth your while,” my mom added. “A donation to the library, perhaps.” She slid a glance at Mrs. Ryan, and I knew exactly what she was thinking—don’t worry, poor person, we’ll take care of this with our big, fat checkbook. Maybe not in those words, but that was the idea. My face burned brighter.

Mr. Lawrence’s eyebrows rose with interest. He took a breath. I could tell he was going to take the money and run. This was it. We were out of there.

“No,” Mrs. Ryan snapped.

“What?” my mother said.

“What?” Ally repeated.

“No,” Mrs. Ryan said, even more firmly this time. “If there’s one thing I’ve always taught my daughter, it’s that actions have consequences. Unlike some parents, I’d like her to grow up with some sense of responsibility for her own conduct.”

Oh, just kill me. Kill me now.

“So, Mr. Lawrence, I would appreciate it if you would not grant her any special treatment,” Mrs. Ryan continued. “Whatever the normal punishment is for breaking into school property after hours, that’s what I’d like her to receive.”

Mr. Lawrence frowned. I think he was impressed.

“Fine. Two weeks of school beautification duty,” he said. “The work will commence when school reopens. You’ll be responsible for two hours a day, which can be served directly before or after school.”

“Both of them?” my mother blurted.

As if Ally deserved to be punished and I didn’t. It wasn’t her fault. It was mine. My stupid friends had tricked her into it, and I’d been too dense to realize what they were doing. I felt hot all around the collar of my sweater and under my arms.

My father scoffed. “But, Mr. Lawrence, surely you don’t expect Jake to miss swim practice.”

My fingers curled into fists on the chair’s armrests.

“He can’t—”

“I’ll do it,” I blurted.

“What?” my parents said in unison. Everyone was staring at me. Including Ally.

“You said I can do it before school, right?” I asked. “So I don’t miss swim?”

“But, Jake, that would mean getting here at . . . five thirty every day!” my mother said.

“I can do the math,” I said to her through my teeth. Her mouth snapped closed. I was in trouble for that one, but I didn’t care. I’d already been grounded twice. A third time couldn’t hurt that much. Especially since I was too pissed at my friends to care about not being able to hang out with them. I looked at the principal. “So. Can I? Can we? Ally has basketball, too.”

“Well . . . yes, Jake. I think that would be just fine,” Mr. Lawrence said. He smiled at me, looking almost proud. “Does that work for you, Ally?”

“Yes, sir,” Ally said.

“All right, then. We have a deal,” Mr. Lawrence said, standing. “Now, as you mentioned, none of us really wants to be here, so unless anyone has any further questions . . .” He offered my dad his hand, but Dad ignored it. Dad buttoned his jacket and grabbed his trench coat from the hook by the door.

“Jake. Let’s go,” he snapped.

I got up to follow him, letting my mother walk out ahead of me. As I slipped sideways through the door I glanced over my shoulder at Ally. I couldn’t help myself. I had to know if she was mad at me for letting her get set up. But she was barely containing a smile. Stu

“Jake! Now!” my father snapped from the hallway.

I yanked my varsity jacket on and let the door swing closed behind me. It wasn’t until we were in the car, my parents giving me the silent treatment, that I realized that I maybe knew why Ally was smiling. We had just been sentenced to twenty hours of school service. The two of us. Together. Alone. For twenty hours.

Sweet.

january

Did you hear? Jake Graydon got busted for breaking into the pool a