Part 6 (1/2)

”Yeah,” I said, feeling shaky though not really nervous. Why would I be nervous? ”She's great, but opinionated.”

”If you say so,” Roxie said doubtfully. ”Seems to me like the cheese has blown completely off her cracker.”

I laughed. ”You think?”

”No doubt,” Roxie said seriously. ”So, swear you won't tell, even her?”

”I swear I won't tell Jade or anybody else what you are about to tell me,” I said. My heart was pounding hard, though I totally didn't feel worried about keeping her secret. I'm not good at much, but I really can keep a secret.

”We didn't move to the suburbs because of gardening.”

”Okay,” I said. Sweat was starting to soak my forehead.

”We moved because of me,” she whispered, leaning back to look at the sky.

I took another sip of the crude oil in my cup and tried to calm myself down. What was going on with me?

”I didn't get into high school,” she whispered.

”What do you mean?” I took off my sweats.h.i.+rt jacket and sat there sweating and shaking like a junkie in my tank top. Luckily Roxie was staring at the sky, so she didn't notice.

She smiled, but not her normal happy smile-a tight, sad smile. ”Private school, right? I went to a K-through-eight, so in eighth grade you have to apply out. I was, like, whatever, not stressed, you know? I mean, my parents know everybody and obviously I wasn't going to Brearley or whatever, but...”

She kept talking about schools I had never heard of as if anybody would know why you would roll your eyes about one place or another. I was busy trying not to have a heart attack in the middle of traffic. Deep breaths, Deep breaths, I was telling myself, catching just bits and pieces of what she was saying, until the punch line. ”Zero for eight. Not even wait-listed, and my mother is on the board there.” I was telling myself, catching just bits and pieces of what she was saying, until the punch line. ”Zero for eight. Not even wait-listed, and my mother is on the board there.”

”That sucks.”

”To put it mildly,” she said. ”My parents are all, like, 'It was just bad luck. Or a tough year.' A lot of the schools are like eenie-meenie-miney-moe, my mom says, and apparently I just was never moe.”

”Eh,” I said. ”Who'd want to be moe, anyway? Moe blows.”

She smiled a little. ”Or maybe I'm just stupid.”

”You are so not stupid!” I swabbed my face with my sweats.h.i.+rt.

”Yeah, well, my former right-handed man was telling me about her cousin who got rejected from everywhere, and that everybody was all, 'It was a tough year,' but in truth it's just that the cousin was kind of dim.”

”Your former right-handed man has no cheese on her cracker.” I put my half-full cup down on the pavement with my shaking hands while Roxie chuckled. ”Or whatever you said before. Your parents are completely right. You are so obviously smart it's ridiculous.”

”I guess it's just easier to believe the bad stuff,” Roxie said.

”Yeah, well,” I started, knowing exactly how she felt. ”Maybe you just have to get over that.”

Roxie looked up at the sky. ”Easy to say.”

I accidentally kicked over my cup with my jiggling foot and said, ”I think there's a lot of caffeine in this.”

Roxie cracked up and said, ”You think?” She grabbed the empty cup and tossed it into the wire trash can beside us. ”Doppio macchiato!”

”Yeah,” I said. ”I actually have no idea what it is.”

She laughed loud and hard. ”It's a double shot of espresso!”

”Yeah, well, it tastes like crude oil.”

”Forget Alison with one L,” Roxie said, wiping tears from her eyes but still laughing. ”From now on, I call you Double Shot.”

”If I die of a heart attack here, don't tell my mother I got my picture taken, okay?”

She looked at me, full of concern. ”You look like h.e.l.l.”

”Thanks,” I said.

She helped me up and we walked awhile. I started feeling better after maybe five blocks, but I kept my arm around her shoulder for a few more anyway. When we got to Grand Central Terminal, we were still ten minutes early, so we sat on the sidewalk leaning against each other.

”Thanks,” Roxie said.

”For practically pa.s.sing out?”

”No,” she said. ”For not being all, 'You are so dumb no high school wanted you, you loser.'”

”It was easy. I don't think that.” I shrugged. ”Anyway, I'm glad you moved, even if you're not. What would I be doing if you'd gotten into one of those stupid private schools?”

”Not having heart palpitations on the sidewalk?” she offered. ”Hanging out with Jade and Hyena?”

”Serena.”

”Whatever.”

”Yeah,” I agreed. ”So, lucky for me you weren't moe.”

She smiled at me, that radiant smile that got her into all those toy catalogues and pajama ads. ”You could totally do commercials,” she said.

”Could not,” I said, and then put on a fake smile and said, all cheery, ”I just love fast food!” Then I laughed. ”No way.”

”Don't mock,” she said. ”You have a cool look.”

”Ugh.”

”Seriously,” she said. ”You, my friend, are cooler than the other side of the pillow.”

That cracked me up until she started looking at me the way the woman at the photo shoot had, like I wasn't inside my own skin. ”You have a really cool look, plus, you're gorgeous.”

”Well, if I am, it cost me my cell phone.”

”What did?”