Free Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up by Mark Peter Hughes Page B

grocery aisle that goes all the way to the front of the store. There, near the big glass window, are Rajeev and Stella. They met only a few minutes ago, but already they’re standing close to each other, laughing and talking like fast friends. There are obvious sparks between them. Mo says something but Charlie doesn’t hear.
    MO
    Charlie? Charlie, are you listening to me?
    REVERSE ON: Charlie staring. Mo has her back to the camera. A moment passes, and Charlie nods toward the door. Following his gaze, Mo turns to see what Charlie is looking at. Now they both stare, their stupid little argument quickly forgotten.
    REVERSE ON: Stella and Rajeev, seen through the crack in the doorway again. Rajeev, looking cool and dapper and in a white short-sleeved oxford and jeans, is whispering and smiling while Stella, with her pink hair and slashed-up Deadly Rebels tee, glows. She has a small bag of gummy fish and offers it to him. He takes one. In their own opposites-attract way, they look terrific together. The camera moves slowly toward them as we hear …
    CHARLIE (V.O.)
    In all the time we’d known Stella, neither of us had ever seen her like this. She was flirting with him—and Rajeev was right there with her. If fate was like a chemistry experiment, what we were witnessing was the first spark of a mighty explosion of fire and destiny. This was the start of something huge. I remember sensing what felt likeelectricity in the air, and wondering where on earth this would lead. With Stella Penn involved, it could have been just about anywhere.
STELLA
On a Cloud
    That’s right, cherished compatriots. Your Sista Stella, your embattled warrior of justice, rock-and-roll rebel and one time loner, found herself suddenly in love. Utterly smitten. Head over metal-spiked heels!
    Rajeev and I went out for a broccoli noodle stir-fry and a walk along the water, and after that I started catching myself staring out windows and thinking of butterflies. Not only was Rajeev drop-dead gorgeous, but we had so much in common it was scary. He hated sugarless gum. He loved chili peppers and vampire stories. He owned every Sista Slash album, including a rare vinyl copy of her live benefit concert in Tibet, and he was as excited about her upcoming Take Charge concert as I was.
    He was even a vegetarian!
    Without warning, sappy love songs that would normally have set off my delicate musical gag reflex were drifting through my head, and I didn’t mind it at all. Every now and then I’d notice my mother or my older sister, Clea, staring at me with worried expressions.
    “What the heck is wrong with you, Stella?” Clea asked me more than once from one of our backyard lounge chairs. Clea had recently finished her freshman year at Brown University and now seemed content spending her entire summer alternately sunning herself and stuffing her face with ice cream. “For days you’ve been floating around with a stupidsmile on your face. Did you even realize you were just humming? Snap out of it!”
    “Nothing’s wrong, Clea dear,” I told her. “Just enjoying the morning, that’s all. Shall I fetch you another scoop of rocky road?”
    “Be careful,” Mo advised me after Rajeev and I had been going out for almost a week. “I know for a fact that his parents are
way
traditional—even more than mine.”
    “So? What are you saying? That there’s something wrong with me that they should be upset about?”
    “No, there’s nothing wrong with you, Stella. You’re great, and Rajeev’s a super-lucky guy. You know I mean that. But the thing is, you’re not a Hindu, and I think for his parents that might set off some red flags.”
    I’ll admit, this gave me a moment of pause—but only a brief moment. If Rajeev had a problem with me not being a Hindu, well,
that
would have been a real concern. But he never said he did, so I figured, why worry? Besides, his parents didn’t even know me. If they met me, maybe they’d change their minds.
    Anyway, I would