Landry in Like (8 page)

M
y alarm went
off and I reached over and hit snooze. Then I hit snooze again… and again. Then I saw the time and realized I had less time than usual to get ready — ugh! Not today. Why did I have to be lazy and sleepy today of all days? I thought about skipping my shower, but I would feel super self-conscious meeting Vladi when I was all stinky and gross. I tried to shampoo as fast as I could and wound up with some in my eyes. I blindly groped for my towel and rinsed my eyes out in the sink. I stared at my bloodshot eyes in the mirror. Nonononononono. Why today?

I grabbed my blow dryer, but when it came on, I heard a pop and saw a spark. It had just died on me. Where was my new one?

“Mom? Where's the hair dryer I got in the
Ingénue
competition?”

“No clue. You can use mine. It's under the sink.”

“No, it's not.”

“I always put it there.”

“I'm not blind — oh wait, yes, it's here.”

My mom's dryer had weird settings on it and a motor that sounded like a plane taking off. My hair was all weird and static-y when I was done drying it. Mom walked by and told me there was a conditioning setting on it and switched it. I didn't know what that meant, but apparently it meant it would completely flatten my hair. Ugh. The static had at least given it some movement. Maybe it was a ponytail kind of day.

I didn't have time for makeup, but I thought maybe I would at lunch so I put my cosmetics bag in my backpack. Then I grabbed my lunch money as I ran to catch the bus.

I felt weird about telling the other girls I was meeting Vladi after school, but I didn't want to keep secrets from them either. Part of me wished I could just tell Peyton and Devon and not have to worry about what anyone else would say. I walked to the bus stop where I ended up telling Devon the news. She shrieked about how awesome it was, but Tori just stared at me and chewed on her hair. Ericka asked me how I got my mother to agree to that.

“She's met him before and thinks he's a nice guy,” I said. She seemed surprised and didn't say anything.

I told Peyton and India on the bus. Peyton's eyes got big.

“Wow, that's major,” she said. “I can't believe your mom said yes.”

India didn't say anything. She just shrugged like she went off with boys all the time, which, she kind of did, but I got a weird vibe from her.

Ashanti brought the sweater over to me at lunch. She, Devon, and I ate fast so we could go into the bathroom and work on my makeup. Ashanti did my eyeliner and Devon French braided my hair. I put on some blush and a little pink lip gloss, and I seemed more alive.

Mrs. Kharazzi commented on how cute my hair was when I went into her class. I was glad she was showing us a biography DVD because I loved those, and it was easier for me to pay attention to something interesting on a day when I was so anxious.

As soon as the final bell rang, my heart leapt into my throat. I went to my locker and Devon, Peyton, India, and Ashanti were there with big, stupid grins on their faces.

“Good luck,” Ashanti said. “I want you to take my lucky bracelet just in case.”

She took off her rose gold heart charm bracelet and put it on my wrist.

Peyton gave me a pack of gum, and Devon offered me her lucky lemon-lime soda flavored lip balm. I noticed Tori by Ericka's locker, staring at me. I waved, but she just gave me a little shrug. Weird.

The girls walked off to the bus and wished me luck. Was I actually going to do this? I took a deep breath and then walked toward the front door. Then the panic began to set in. What if Vladi didn't show up? What if he was sick or changed his mind, or he couldn't come for some reason and there was no way to reach me? What if I was standing on that corner all night and someone came and mugged me? Or what if he did show up, but decided I was such a baby who needed her mommy to plan her fake date and then it was all lame and boring and he decided to go out with someone his own age or older and way more mature? I started to feel sick when I went around the corner and saw a blond guy standing at the bus stop. Was that him?

I tried not to walk too fast and look overeager as I approached the stop. The closer I got, the more my heart pounded. I realized it was him, and he gave me a smile when he saw me. That smile —
eeek
! I couldn't stop the big, dumb grin from overtaking my face. I reminded myself it was not cool to go running to him, but it didn't matter because he started to walk toward me. Then it hit me. What did I do when I reached him? Did we hug or what? He had kissed me once, but that seemed like a huge deal and would he do that now? Did I wait for him to do something?

“Hey Landry,” he said and leaned over to hug me. He was hugging me! It had been so long since he had. It felt like if he let go I'd float into the sky.

“Hey.”

“I'm so glad your mom was okay with this,” he said. “Here, want me to carry your bag?”

I handed it to him trying not to geek out at the idea of him carrying my stuff. Then he reached over and slipped his hand into mine. I thought I was going to pass out, and I went to look behind me but the busses hadn't left yet. It would be so amazing if they'd pass by us and everyone would see us holding hands. He started talking about his day and then broke into a big smile.

“Sorry, I'm such a dork. I'm just super glad we could meet up, you know?” he said.

All I could do was nod. I didn't trust myself to open my mouth for fear I'd start squealing like a little kid.

We got to the library and went to the coffee shop. There was no one in there other than the lady behind the counter. They had a million kinds of coffee and I wasn't a big coffee fan, but I wanted to appear cool in front of him.

“What do you want to get?” he asked.

“Um, not sure. What are you getting?”

“I'm not into coffee, so I might get a smoothie.”

“Perfect. That sounds good.”

The lady behind the counter told us what flavors she had, and we both got blueberry pomegranate smoothies with whipped cream. We sat down at one of the tables and I worried that we'd have nothing to talk about, but he asked me how my day was. We were talking about how much we both hated memorizing stuff for school when Mrs. Kharazzi walked into the café. She walked up to the counter and ordered a latte. She put her bag down and gave me a smile.

“Hello Landry.”

“Hi, Mrs. Kharazzi,” I said. “This is Vladi.”

She nodded at him.

“Landry talks about you a lot,” he said. “You're her favorite teacher.”

“Oh well, she's a wonderful student. Have you read any of her stories?” she asked smiling.

He shook his head and my face got warm. I almost never let anyone read anything I wrote. It just felt like my writing was super personal, and I was always afraid if I shared it with someone that they wouldn't like it and it'd hurt my feelings. Man, my mom was right. I was a sensitive person.

“Maybe one day then,” she said winking. “Have fun you two.”

“She seems nice — just like you described her,” he said.

I nodded as I took a sip of my smoothie.

“She was the one who gave me advice on Ashanti and dealing with everything after her grandma died,” I said.

“That's rough. I've never lost a grandparent. I lost a great-grandpa, but I hardly knew him,” he said shrugging. “He was back in Russia, so I don't remember him so well.”

“Do you go back at all? To Russia, I mean,” I asked.

“A few times since we moved. It's weird though. I know I grew up there as a kid, but it doesn't feel like home or anything.”

I nodded. “Last time I went back to Chicago it felt strange to me, too. You know, everything looks the same, but it feels different.”

“Exactly. Like something's changed, but I don't know what it is. Maybe it's us and we're older now.”

“None of my old friends even texted or messaged me about getting together when I went back,” I said. “I reached out to them, but nothing.” I hoped he didn't think I was some friendless loser, but he nodded.

“I get that,” he said. “I sort of keep in touch with a few people from back home — emails and all — but when I went back they didn't exactly kill themselves to make time for me. I'm not saying everyone should drop everything just because I arrived, but I flew all the way over there and they can't be bothered to even come and say, ‘Hi,' or something?”

“That's how I felt. I know Chicago's not as far away as Russia or anything, but it sort of hurt my feelings that they couldn't take some time to meet up with me.”

“Yup, that's how I felt, too,” he said. “None of my friends at Central knew what I was talking about when I brought that up. It's nice to have someone who gets that.”

I tried to hold back the huge smile that was spreading across my face, and he squeezed my hand as we finished our smoothies.

“I have a paper coming up on the Revolutionary War. Would you mind helping me find some books on it and then we can sit and hang out?” he asked. “This way my mom can see that I did study today.”

He checked titles on the computer, and I wrote down the call numbers. I kept wanting to smile because we were finally just hanging out. I glanced around the library and there were other boyfriends and girlfriends there doing homework or studying together. It made me feel kind of warm inside to know we were one of those couples. Ashanti had gone to the library with Jay a couple times, but no one else in my group of friends had done that with a guy they liked. Was this what being in high school was like?

“What? Why are you smiling like that?” he asked.

I felt dumb telling him, so I just shrugged.

“Landry, what's up? Seriously, do I have, like, smoothie on my face or something?”

I couldn't believe someone as cute and popular as Vladi would ever feel insecure, but he was looking so uncertain as he waited for me to respond.

“No, you're fine. I'm just happy we're hanging out, that's all.”

“Yeah,” he said smiling. “Me, too.”

We walked over to the history section of the library, and he reached for the paper in my hand. I got a little jolt of electricity as his hand brushed mine. He didn't seem to notice as he read the call number. Maybe I was affected more by stuff like that than him.

“Okay, here's the first book. It looks dull and boring and I haven't even started it yet,” he said opening the cover. “Yup, I was right. Look at how tiny the print is. I'll go blind reading this.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that one doesn't seem like a lot of fun. This one here has pictures in it. Pictures make everything better.”

He laughed. “Definitely. This whole time period is so boring to me. My history teacher last semester was super interesting. She'd bring in movies about whatever we were studying or sometimes she'd read from a novel that was from the same time period. I liked her class. This guy is so dull that people fall asleep in class, and he doesn't bother to wake them up anymore. I think it's because he's embarrassed it happens so often.”

“Wow, public school must be different. I can't imagine anyone at Hillcrest falling asleep and living to tell.”

Vladi cracked up. “I have heard your school is a lot stricter. This guy, Jason, fell asleep last week. He actually drooled onto the desk, and Mr. Oxford acted like he didn't notice. I felt bad for the person who had to sit there the next hour. I mean, Jason wiped the drool with his sleeve, but come on — that's gross.”

“Do I need to bring antibacterial wipes with me next year?” I asked.

He cracked up. “So you're definitely coming to Central then?”

“I think so. There are a lot of people in my class going to St. Faustina's. I haven't made up my mind though.”

“Why not? What does St. Faustina's have that Central doesn't?”

I shrugged. How did I say St. Faustina's, a smaller private school, seemed safer — more structured, like I'd be protected there — whereas Central, a big public school, seemed like being thrown into the deep end of the pool without floaties.

“It's a little smaller and seems like you get to know the teachers and students better with the class sizes,” I said.

“Yeah, but it's missing a major thing.”

“The dress code?” I asked.

“Ah, no.”

“It's not as laid back as Central?”

“Me. It's missing me,” he said.

“Oh well, yeah, there's that,” I said as my face got warm.

“Oh, so you don't care if I'm not there,” he said, putting a book back on the shelf.

I couldn't tell if he was teasing or not and I didn't want to jump in and say, “Oh, of course I do!” and look dumb if he was just joking around. So I played it safe and just shrugged.

“Seriously? I don't factor into your decision at all?” he asked. He seemed hurt, and I could tell from how serious his tone was that he meant it.

“Of course, but I dunno. It's a hard decision to make. My friends haven't all decided where they're going yet and it's…” I paused and tried to find the right words. “Well, Central seems so huge and I feel like…”

“Like what?”

“Like…”

“Landry, you can tell me anything,” he said.

Um, no, no I couldn't. I couldn't tell him how sweet I thought he was or that I started my period two days ago or that I knew I wasn't supposed to kiss him in the library, but I kept hoping he would try anyway. However, it was cute that he wanted me to share everything with him. I was super scared about starting high school, but I wanted him to think I was this confident, sophisticated girl who had it all together. Problem was that I wasn't. But if he and I were going to work out as boyfriend and girlfriend then I guess he'd have to like me as I was because pretending would get old fast. I wasn't even sure I was that good of a pretender and let's face it — once I got to high school and wet my pants from fear on the first day (or had other bathroom issues), he'd figure out real quick I wasn't exactly Miss Self-assured.