Chapter Eight
Global Warming
School
is like a microcosm of our eco-system. Like fish, peeps need to be tended. Every
face in the hallway the next morning was a potential match and it occurred to
me, that if everyone in the world had the right match, there wouldn’t be any
wrong ones. Well, not as many. So really, I was doing work for the environment.
During library class, I continued working on my list of potential male
matches, starting, of course, with Ethan (he just didn’t know it). Then, of
course, there was Rafe Martin, Mr Henry and Flynn.
Mr
Henry seemed to be making an effort at first with Ms Dash but all of that
seemed to stop this semester. I haven’t seen them together in days.
I
typed into my laptop next to their matching photos; success pending.
I
moved on to Flynn whose popularity yet obvious loneliness had captured my
imagination from the beginning. From our days spent at Sunrise pool I wrote:
Flynn Elton is maximus cutest and wildly
popular but beset by scandal.
Rumor has it he is the
illegitimate son of the headmaster Mr Elton.
It
was a good thing I wasn’t writing on the web. I’d never put my private files
out there – I’m like a legal firm.
Of course, Mr Elton denies any association but
I’ve heard from one of my mom’s friends on the social committee that that’s
just not true. In fact, Flynn’s mother is my father’s legal advisor and since Flynn
transferred from some private school in Upstate New York, the whispers have
just grown louder.
School had only been ‘back in
session’ (as I like to say) for a month when I sat in my bedroom one Saturday afternoon
as the sun set across the hills from Beverly Hills. I’d promised to meet Ethan (who
was all about training for the swim team – the Knightly men are good swimmers)
in the pool at my place. My dad was home early and wanted to have a barbeque.
Ethan had, of course, invited his new girlfriend Gigi (they’re officially
dating) as well as Ariel. I’d invited my group plus Flynn, Ty and Hills.
It was twilight, and I’d worn
my favorite post-summer outfit; jeans and strappy platform sandals. I put my
swimsuit on underneath – my favorite one that is 1980s retro.
I grabbed my laptop (to make minor adjustments
if needed) and went downstairs to join my guests. Veronica, Tyler and Hilary
had already arrived. Hilary looked amazing since we made her over and I told
her so after Tyler and I air kissed.
“Honey are you having ketchup
with your food?” Daddy asked.
“Of course, I’m eating healthy
this week,” I replied.
Ethan laughed then behaved like
his usual childish self, pretending to be a whale in the pool as Hilary and
Tyler dived in with him. They floated
around and splashed me as I sat on the side finishing my blog post. I kept busy
whilst others socialized. I had some serious work to do in the form of writing
up my recent post on my matchmaker blog. All peeps remained anonymous. No rest
for the wicked as they say. I wore my prop glasses – the ones with the fake
glass that make me appear far more academic than I really am.
Honestly? It’s for Ethan’s own
good. He needs someone who is truly a thinker, not just a pretender like Gigi. I
think he’ll realize what an airhead his new girlfriend is soon, even if she
does purport to take physics.
As I dressed the salad, Wednesday
arrived. She looked gorgeous as usual and everyone already knew her from school
so they didn’t treat her like a television star, which she loves. Wednesday
isn’t filming this afternoon. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said, giving her a huge
hug.
“Me too,” she said. Wednesday
is way smart, her show even has its own fan club. Wednesday was almost waylaid
by earlier family tragedy but remains resoundingly optimistic about most things.
Wednesday is also a sophomore now and totally fashionable. I’m not saying she’s
amazingly popular, though, she just has her group of loyal friends. I’ve
noticed some people don’t really like talented, pretty girls but to those
girls, I say – do not hide your light. If you do, you’ll regret it.
Honestly? I’m rich and
decorative but I’m not talented in any obvious area, like Wednesday. It’s what
stops people openly hating me. Plus, I don’t get amazing grades (also, like
Wednesday) so they don’t think I’m that clever (even though I’m clearly smart
in matters of the heart!) Anyway, you can’t be responsible for the way others
think. Girls need to get over their petty jealousies. A lotta boys are out there
joining the boys club and helping each other while the only thing some girls
seem to be able to do is bring down other girls. It’s not cool.
Wednesday joined the game in the pool.
As people splashed, I moved my
laptop and noted I’d successfully made a match for my shopkeeper Mr Styles when
I introduced him to his now fiancée, only two months ago! Now, peeps say you
should spend more than a few weeks with someone before making that kind of
commitment but I think when it’s right, it’s right. I snapped my web page shut
and swan died into the pool. It’s impolite not to act social once all the
guests have arrived and Daddy was just about to remind me.
If you were to look into my
world that day, you’d witness a perfect teen-friendly family pool party. You’d
never predict the ructions about to affect my eco-system the following week. You’d never guess that by the end of the month
I’d be on my way to becoming a social zero.
.
