Free Moon Spun by Marilee Brothers Page B

registration?”
    “Uh huh.”
    “If you’d looked in there, you would a found it.”
    “Found what? The registration?”
    “My cell number and calling card.” He let his words hang in the space between us for a moment before he said, “Get it, Emerson? Then, you could a called me!”
    I laughed. “I get it, Junior. So, I really have no excuse for not thanking you.”
    “Aw, forget about it. Not why I called. How’s the boyfriend?”
    “Okay, I think. He’s going to college in Seattle.”
    “Long distance relationship, huh?” Junior said.
    I couldn’t resist saying, “Kinda like the one I thought we had.”
    “Yeah, well, I’d like to make ours a little more up close and personal.”
    I jerked in surprise. “Junior,” I said with exaggerated patience. “We don’t have a relationship. You’re thousands of miles away. I’m in Peacock Flats. And, Beck’s my boyfriend now.”
    “You sure about that?”
    At his words, a shadow of doubt flickered through my mind. Beck usually called me every night. Today was Friday. I hadn’t talked to him since last Saturday night. He left for Seattle the next day. Busy with homework or something else?
    “Of course I’m sure,” I insisted. “Besides, why do you care?” Okay, that sounded a little harsh. But, I didn’t want Junior to think he could run my life because he gave me his car.
    “I care because I’m going to be back in Peacock Flats soon.”
    “Did your show get cancelled?”
    “No, I’m moving on.”
    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Coming back to Peacock Flats is ‘moving on?’”
    “Naw, it’s just that I’m doing movies now. No more soaps. That means I’ve got more time for myself.”
    “Wow, so now you’re a big movie star?” I didn’t know much about Mexican movies, so I pictured Junior with a black cape and mask and astride a rearing white stallion.
    “Not so big,” he said. “But, this way, I can get home more often. My mom needs something to do. When I started making money, I made her quit her job at the warehouse and she’s bored. Remember Cholo’s Bar and Grill out on the highway?”
    “Yeah, it’s been empty for a while.”
    “I just bought it. We’ll do some remodeling and my mom will run it.”
    I tried to process the above information. Junior . . . a movie star. Junior . . . new restaurant owner. Junior . . . back in Peacock Flats. My mind was reeling.
    “Wow,” was all I could manage.
    Junior continued. “I want to get my GED. But it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to go back to John J. Peacock High.”
    I pictured Junior fighting off hordes of admiring high school girls and smiled. Some things never change. That was his life before he got famous.
    “Guess I’ll see you around then,” I said.
    “Count on it.”
    After we hung up, I took a deep breath and attempted to focus my scattered thoughts. I needed to get ready for the grilling I was about to receive from Faye. But, when the bedroom door slid open and my mother stepped out, my heart sank. Now, I knew why she’d been so easy on me. She was wearing her “first date, gotta look hot dress.” Faye had a new boyfriend. 294

Chapter Eleven
    “My Mr. Hostetler?” I asked, unable to believe my ears. “Principal Hostetler?”
    Faye smiled and nodded. “Yes, your Mr. Hostetler. He dropped by the diner today and said he’d like to take me out for dinner and a movie. I knew you’d be happy because you always say I date losers. You are happy for me . . . right?” Her words held a hint of threat, as if I really had no choice but to be delirious with joy I made a noncommittal sound as the wheels and cogs in my brains began to spin and whir. I really hate it when Faye uses perfect logic. It throws me off my game. Was I happy? Uh, no, more like horrified. My mother and my principal? What if they got serious about each other? What if they . . . eewww! Don’t go there, Allie. You’re life is complicated enough. Faye peered out the window and