Free Pride & Popularity by Jenni James Page B

can’t remember . . .
    MOM: There you go. If a girl can’t remember the next day what she ate at the Lion’s Den, then—
    DAD: Then it isn’t worth going there.
    MOM: No, then she’s in love.
    ME: I am not in love! Eew. Look, can I go to my room now? I have a lot of homework.
    MOM: Sure, honey. I’m glad you had a great time.
     
    Parents. They so never get it, do they?
    Had it not been for Blake’s phone call that evening, I’m not sure I would’ve poked my head back out of my room until the morning. As it was, Blake completely cheered me up and brought me out of my grumpy mood.
    “So, did you miss me while you were on your date last night?” he asked.
    “Uh, what do you think?” I grinned.
    “Yes. Definitely yes.”
    “Then you would be right.”
    “I would, huh? So how did it go?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
    “Awful.”
    “Awful?” He sounded pleasantly surprised.
    “Yes! Completely, totally, and utterly awful.”
    Blake chuckled. “So you missed me bad?”
    “I was so desperate for conversation I would’ve talked to my fork. Except then people would’ve heard me talk to it.”
    “So you’re saying the guy never talked to you?”
    “No. It was so immature. All he did was play with his fancy Google phone.”
    “He’s got a Google Nexus 5? Wow! What does his look like?”
    What is it with guys and gadgets? “Blake, focus.”
    “Sorry.” He sounded so sheepish I forgave him instantly. “So, you were saying you had a horrible date. How can I make it up to you?”
    Ask me out on a date again . “Uh, I don’t know.”
    “How about I take you somewhere amazing, somewhere really fun?”
    I’m hooked. Seriously, is there a sweeter guy in the world? “Okay. When? Where?” I giggled.
    “After four-wheeling Wednesday night? I already have that day off.”
    “Um, okay. I just have to be home by ten 10:00.”
    “Oh, yeah, you have a curfew,” Blake said. “I forget that you’re younger than I think you are.”
    “You do?”
    “Yeah. You seem older to me, you know?”
    Oh my gosh, he’s so awesome. “I wish I was older.” “How old are you, anyway? Eighteen? Nineteen?” “Really?” I giggled again. “I’m seventeen, weirdo.”
    He laughed his deep laugh. “Oh, someone just walked into the hotel. I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you Wednesday then, okay?”
    “Yep. It’s a deal. I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Bye.” He sounded rushed.
    “Bye.” A guy totally called me from work. How romantic is that?

TEN

    LIFE GOES ON
     
     
    By Monday it was official. School was now in swing. It was a full-fledged spiral of activity. The initial shock of the new school year was over—as far as teachers were concerned, that is. By the afternoon my homework load had doubled. It was all I could do to finish in time to make it to the dance studio a bit early.
    My first class started at 5:00. I had hoped to get there at 4:00 to review a bit before the students came. As it was, the earliest I could get there was 4:30, which gave me just enough time to stretch before a little girl came in.
    “Miss Chloe,” she exclaimed as she ran to throw her arms around my knees. “You’re back!”
    It was the first welcome I’d had, since Ms. Chavez’s class had already started by the time I showed up. I leaned over and hugged Gracie. “Hello, Gracie. I’ve missed you. How are you, sweetie?”
    She ignored me completely as she turned back to face her mother. “See, Mom! I told you Miss Chloe would come back. I told you.”
    Mrs. Littleton chuckled. “Yes, you did. Glad to see you’re back, Chloe. Gracie has really missed you.”
    “It’s good to be back.” I grinned. “Okay. Come on, missy. Let’s get those slippers on.”
    “I’ll be here in about an hour,” Gracie’s mom said.
    Gracie and I told her goodbye before we hurried over to the bench to get ready.
    Thank goodness my first class was a small, beginner one— there were only six children in the class. I actually got to