doesnât matter.â I shifted as Worf climbed back into my lap. âThey can trick you. Maybe the bad guy wins, or maybe the one you thought was good was bad. Or maybe everyone dies. Or maybe everyone was dead the whole time. Theyâre always different.â
Owen considered this. âWant to make a bet?â he said finally.
âA bet?â
He nodded. âIâll bet you canât guess the ending of
Cyborgs versus Ninjas.
â
I started laughing. âOwen, thatâs stupid! Either one wins or the other. Cyborgs or ninjas. Iâve got a fifty-fifty chance.â
âNo, I mean you should watch it,â Owen said, âand halfway through, you tell me the ending.â
âEasy.â I glanced at the clock. âNot today, thoughâI have to be home in half an hour.â
âSure.â Owen started scrolling through the
Prophets
menu, then glanced at me. âNo looking up the ending online, though.â
I snorted. âPlease. I wonât have to.â
We played for twenty minutes, and I killed twelve aliens and blew up two pods. Secretly, I was looking forward to the next time Trevor came over. He wouldnât be making fun of me again.
When I got into the car, Mom held up a plastic bag with a flourish.
âTa-da! I stopped by the mall after work today.â
âOoh, what is it?â I squealed, grabbing the bag and turning it over. Shiny blue fabric spilled out onto my lap. â
Wow.
â
It was dress. A
gorgeous
dress. Light blue, capped sleeves, with a thin black belt and a black flower pattern along the bottom.
âMom!â I yelled excitedly. âI have boots that would go perfect with this!â
âI know!â she yelled back.
âThank you!â
âYouâre welcome!â
We hugged. I examined the dress up close. âWhatâs this for, anyway?â
âThe band party, dork,â said Mom, checking her rearview mirror and pulling away from the curb. âNext Friday, right?â
âOh . . . right, yeah.â
Mom gave me a strange look. âAre you okay, Holly?â
âWhat?â I looked up. âYeah, Iâm fine.â
âOkay.â
I turned my attention back to the dress, but my excitement had definitely faded. Depending on how Monday went, there was a chance I wouldnât even get to wear it.
Chapter
Twelve
I called Julia twice on Saturday and she never called back. So Chad and I watched all three
Watch the Fog
movies, and then he went out with his friends and I did nothing.
On Sunday, Dad took us to the lake. As usual, he and Chad ignored me every time I told them to put on more sunblock. And as usual, by the time we got home they were both practically purple.
âIce,â groaned Chad, lumbering like a zombie over to the freezer. He grabbed a bag of frozen chicken nuggets and held it to the back of his neck. I rolled my eyes.
Dad headed into the laundry room with a bag full of wet towels and bathing suits. âHolly, will you check the messages?â
âSure.â I walked to the phone as Chad rubbed the bag of nuggets on his face.
âChad, gross!â Mom appeared in the doorway, arms crossed. âNext time just listen to your sister and put on the sunblock.â
I smiled smugly at Chad, and he stuck his tongue out.
When I pressed play on the answering machine, it beeped once. âHey, Holly, itâs Julia. Call me back!â
âLet me know when youâre off the phone,â Mom said as I hurried up to my room.
âOkay!â I yelled back. But when I closed my door, I pulled Owenâs cards out of my backpack without even looking at my phone. It wasnât that I didnât
want
to talk to Julia. But my stomach was starting to knot up about this test tomorrow, and I figured a last-minute cram session couldnât hurt.
And anyway, maybe I would call Julia back if sheâd bothered to return my call yesterday. But