Free I Heart Band by Michelle Schusterman Page A

doesn’t matter.” I shifted as Worf climbed back into my lap. “They 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. They’re always different.”
    Owen considered this. “Want to make a bet?” he said finally.
    â€œA bet?”
    He nodded. “I’ll bet you can’t guess the ending of
Cyborgs versus Ninjas.
”
    I started laughing. “Owen, that’s stupid! Either one wins or the other. Cyborgs or ninjas. I’ve got a fifty-fifty chance.”
    â€œNo, I mean you should watch it,” Owen said, “and halfway through, you tell me the ending.”
    â€œEasy.” I glanced at the clock. “Not today, though—I have to be home in half an hour.”
    â€œSure.” Owen started scrolling through the
Prophets
menu, then glanced at me. “No looking up the ending online, though.”
    I snorted. “Please. I won’t have to.”
    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 wouldn’t be making fun of me again.
    When I got into the car, Mom held up a plastic bag with a flourish.
    â€œTa-da! I stopped by the mall after work today.”
    â€œOoh, what is it?” I squealed, grabbing the bag and turning it over. Shiny blue fabric spilled out onto my lap. “
Wow.
”
    It was dress. A
gorgeous
dress. Light blue, capped sleeves, with a thin black belt and a black flower pattern along the bottom.
    â€œMom!” I yelled excitedly. “I have boots that would go perfect with this!”
    â€œI know!” she yelled back.
    â€œThank you!”
    â€œYou’re welcome!”
    We hugged. I examined the dress up close. “What’s this for, anyway?”
    â€œThe band party, dork,” said Mom, checking her rearview mirror and pulling away from the curb. “Next Friday, right?”
    â€œOh . . . right, yeah.”
    Mom gave me a strange look. “Are you okay, Holly?”
    â€œWhat?” I looked up. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
    â€œOkay.”
    I turned my attention back to the dress, but my excitement had definitely faded. Depending on how Monday went, there was a chance I wouldn’t 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.
    â€œIce,” 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. “Holly, will you check the messages?”
    â€œSure.” I walked to the phone as Chad rubbed the bag of nuggets on his face.
    â€œChad, gross!” Mom appeared in the doorway, arms crossed. “Next time just listen to your sister and put on the sunblock.”
    I smiled smugly at Chad, and he stuck his tongue out.
    When I pressed play on the answering machine, it beeped once. “Hey, Holly, it’s Julia. Call me back!”
    â€œLet me know when you’re off the phone,” Mom said as I hurried up to my room.
    â€œOkay!” I yelled back. But when I closed my door, I pulled Owen’s cards out of my backpack without even looking at my phone. It wasn’t that I didn’t
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 couldn’t hurt.
    And anyway, maybe I would call Julia back if she’d bothered to return my call yesterday. But