A Lot to Tackle (3 page)

“Come see! Come see!” Lindsey grabbed Alex's arm, dragging her down the narrow hall and into the kitchen.

“Tell your dad that was one great game,” Mr. Campbell said in place of a greeting to Alex. “Is he going to go heavy on the defense down in Austin?”

“Thanks.” She grinned, then admitted, “I have no idea.” Why did people think her family sat around planning high school football strategy? Mr. Campbell was a lawyer. She doubted that he lectured Emily about courtroom strategy at the dinner table.

“Dad!” Emily raised her eyebrows meaningfully at him.

Mr. Campbell chuckled. “Okay, okay, I get it. The pizza chef does not talk to the guests. Are you ready for me to put this batch in the oven?”

“We made personal pizzas,” Emily explained to Alex. “
Really
personal.”

Alex peered at the small pizzas arranged on the baking pans. In addition to the usual mozzarella cheese and sauce, Emily and Lindsey had used thin slices of green peppers to spell out
L + C 4EVER
on every pie.

“That's so creative,” Alex said. She silently wondered if having it on every pie wasn't a bit much. If Corey were her boyfriend, she'd only put it on the pizza she'd made for him.
But he's not my boyfriend
, she reminded herself. She'd never had a boyfriend. Who was she to judge?

“He'll really see how much you like him, Lindz,” Alex said.

“I do, you know. Like him, that is.” Lindsey's cheeks flushed pink.

“You guys are good together,” Alex said. “And the house looks great. I saw the red balloons and streamers in the living room.”

“Just like you said, since red is his favorite color,” Lindsey agreed. “And look at the cake I made!”

Lindsey pulled the dome off a cake pan to reveal a heart-shaped cake frosted with red icing. Skittles spelled out
L + C 4 EVER
on the cake.

Alex had to hand it to Lindsey. She'd definitely gone all out, and her enthusiasm was really kind of sweet. She just hoped Ava wouldn't start giggling when she saw all this. Ava would never understand.

“They're all coming up the front walk!” Rosa yelled from the family room. “Hurry!”

Alex, Emily, and Lindsey raced into the family room. They peeked out the window. Corey, Logan, Xander, Andy Baker, and Jack Valdeavano pushed and shoved one another good-naturedly as they approached the house.

The girls gathered by the door.

“Ready?” Emily whispered to Lindsey.

Lindsey flung open the door before the doorbell rang. “Surprise!” she cried.

“Surprise!” Alex, Emily, Rosa, Annelise, and Charlotte echoed. Ava stood back, watching with an amused grin.

Lindsey leaped forward and snapped a red party hat on Corey's head.

“What's this?” Corey asked, startled.

“Is it your birthday, dude?” Andy demanded.

“No way,” Corey said. “Hey, this isn't a loser party to make us feel better for the game yesterday, is it?”

“That would be classic.” Jack punched Corey in the arm. Jack played soccer, and he always gave Corey and Ava a hard time about football. “Our team celebrates when we
win
.”

“It's not a loser party!” Ava called out.

“Better not be,” Andy muttered.

“Lindz?” Corey turned to her. “What's up?”

“It's our anniversary!” Lindsay sang out. “Two months together!”

Alex watched confusion reveal itself in Corey's blue eyes. He blinked rapidly, as if trying to process how this event related to the red party hat perched on his head.

“We're having a party,” Alex explained, desperate to fill the silence. All the boys stared, dumbfounded. Lindsey beamed. Corey seemed a bit unsteady. “We're all going to celebrate our friends. Three cheers for Corey and Lindsey!”

Alex grabbed Lindsey's hand and Corey's and raised them together in the air, as she led the cheer. “Pretty good for a failed cheerleader, huh?” she teased.

“I'm not getting this,” Logan said as they all moved into the family room.

“Is it like a wedding?” Xander asked.

“It is not like a wedding!” Corey said.

“Totally not,” Lindsey agreed. “It's just a Corey-Lindsey party.”

“I always wanted to go to one of those,” cracked Jack.

“You should. You should always want to celebrate me!” Corey crowed, suddenly returned to his joking self.

The boys teased him, but Corey expertly deflected their jokes. Lindsey's face glowed as she snuggled beside Corey on the sofa. She rested her hand on his arm.

Alex sat cross-legged on the floor and talked to Charlotte, who was also new to Ashland. Alex felt awkward around the boys. She could speak at a school assembly, no problem, but one-on-one with a boy, her tongue seemed to adhere to the roof of her mouth. Debating the pros and cons of different shoes with Charlotte was a much safer option.

“Are you guys going to Austin?” Jack asked Ava.

“Definitely,” Ava said.

“My family is going,” Jack said. “My dad and uncle are football obsessed.”

“Us too,” said Andy. PJ Kelly was his cousin.

“We're all going too,” Lindsey added. So did Emily and Rosa.

Alex couldn't believe how many kids who didn't have brothers on the team planned to make the trip to Austin.

“The whole town is going,” Corey explained. “Everyone wants to see the big game. Ashland is taking over three hotels on the same street.”

“Party in Austin!” Logan cried.

“You know it!” Corey cheered. Everyone talked excitedly about Austin. Corey planned a party in his hotel room.

Then Lindsey brought the pizzas out.

The boys fidgeted uncomfortably, staring in silent wonder at the message. No one had ever celebrated an anniversary. Most had never kissed a girl. Or even held hands. No one knew how to react.

“Ta-da!” Lindsey cried.

For a moment, Corey gripped the sofa pillow so tightly that Alex watched his knuckles go white. Then, just as quickly, he composed himself as he realized all eyes were on him, gauging his reaction. He threw the pillow at Jack's smirking face.

“Yum! Peppers!” he cried. He pulled up a pepper strip and sucked it into his mouth with a big slurp.

“Do you like the pizzas?” Lindsey asked. “Aren't they great?”

Rosa and Annelise agreed they were fantastic. Corey continued slurping peppers. Soon the other boys joined in. Even Ava slurped down a few as if they were gummy worms. They competed to see who could slurp fastest, and within minutes, all the peppers were gone.

Alex was impressed. Corey had skillfully erased the anniversary message without upsetting Lindsey. Lindsey sat beside him, eating pizza, as happy as ever, and everyone began to play a trivia game.

Alex excused herself and found the guest bathroom by the back stairs off the kitchen. When she emerged, she heard a whispered voice.

“Come on, Mom. Please?”

Alex froze in the doorway. The voice belonged to a boy.

“No, I feel fine. That's not it.”

Alex realized that someone would only make a phone call back here if he wanted privacy. Should she let him know she could hear him?

“I can't stay here. Really, Mom, I can't. No, I know you aren't home. Yes. I know Logan's mom said she would drive home. But—”

Alex couldn't help herself. She peeked out the door. Corey sat hunched on the stairs, cradling his phone.

“Please, Mom, it's weird here.”

Alex gulped and edged closer. Corey didn't sound like himself. He was usually in control and always joking.

“Yeah, fine. I'll keep to the plan. Bye.”

Before Alex could react, Corey hurried down the stairs and collided with her. “Oh, hey, whoa!” He reached out for her shoulders to steady both of them.

“Hi,” Alex said nervously, hyperaware of the warmth of his hands through her sweater.

“What are you doing back here?” he asked, pulling away.

“Bathroom.” Alex pointed to the door. “I didn't mean to . . . I mean, it wasn't on purpose . . . I'm sorry, but I heard you on the phone. Are you okay?”

He shifted uneasily, assessing Alex. “Yeah, fine.”

“Big surprise, huh?” Alex tried to lighten his mood.

“Huge.” Corey shook his head. “It's nice and all. Lindsey's really nice, it's just weird, right?”

Alex bit her lip. “Weird how?”

“Weird that all the guys are supposed to be celebrating the anniversary of our going out for two months.” He kept shaking his head. “Don't tell her, but I didn't even remember that.”

“I won't tell,” Alex promised. “I kind of knew the party was a bit much. Not your style.”

He looked amused. “What's my style?”

Alex folded her arms. “Something simpler. More low-key. Chili dogs at Humphrey's?”

“Now that sounds good.” He grinned at her and then looked away quickly. “It's hard to spell out anything on a chili dog.”

“True.” She thought about tipping him off about the Skittles on the heart-shaped cake, then decided not to. He'd surely bolt, and then Lindsey would be devastated.

They were quiet for a moment. Alex searched for something to say. It had been so easy talking to Corey for the past few minutes, but she was starting to feel awkward, like she usually did. She was grateful when he spoke again.

“Listen, please don't tell Lindsey about all this,” Corey said, still not looking at her. “Don't tell her I got freaked out, okay?”

“Of course not.” Alex liked how much he
cared about Lindsey's feelings. Corey really was a good guy. “We should probably go back.”

“Onward!” Corey sauntered through the kitchen and back into the party. “Are we still doing trivia?” he called out. No one would ever have guessed that he wasn't having the best time.

Alex lingered in the kitchen. She arranged her brownies on a plate and stared at the cake.

“I was looking for you,” Lindsey said, coming in a few minutes later. “Let's bring out dessert. I can't wait to see Corey's face when I present the cake!”

“About that.” Alex nervously cleared her throat. “Maybe we should change the cake. Take off the words? You could even slice it in here?”

“Why would I want to do that?” Lindsey asked. She tucked a piece of her shiny hair behind her ear.

“Did you know that Corey doesn't like Skittles?” Alex asked. She had no idea if this was true. She was grasping here. She'd promised Corey not to tell Lindsey that she was freaking him out.

“Really?” Lindsey tilted her head, searching her memory. “Who doesn't like Skittles?”

“Corey. He hates them. Ava told me.” Alex hated lying, but she could not let Lindsey walk out with that cake.

“But it's the message that counts,” Lindsey protested. “It doesn't matter that I used Skittles.”

“Oh, yes, it does,” Alex insisted. “Your choice of candy will show him that you don't really know him.”

“You think?” Lindsey screwed up her nose. After a moment of consideration, she called for Emily. She frantically explained the Skittles problem.

Emily searched her pantry. “We don't have any other little candies. Would Cheerios work? Or sunflower seeds?”

“Gross!” Lindsey cried.

“Look,” Alex said, trying to sound reasonable. “Corey knows how much you like him. I think the heart-shaped cake gets the message across loud and clear. We can pick off the Skittles and smooth out the frosting. Besides, wouldn't you rather be out there with him than wasting time in the kitchen with us?”

“Oh, Alex!” Lindsey wrapped her in a hug. “You are the best friend, and you are so right.”

Alex hugged Lindsey back. After all these
months, Lindsey was finally starting to treat her the way she treated Emily, who had been her best friend since first grade. Alex smiled as she began to pick off the Skittles. She'd done this for Lindsey even more than for Corey. She wanted this party to end well. She wanted her new best friend to be happy.

Where did Alex go?
Ava wondered. She'd walked away during the trivia game and never returned. Emily and Lindsey had disappeared into the kitchen, and Rosa and Annelise had left for the bathroom. She and Charlotte remained in the family room with the boys. Ava didn't mind. She had more to say to them than she did to Rosa and Annelise.

“Do you think Coach Kenerson is angry?” Logan asked, reaching for a handful of chips.

“If he is, he's angry at all of us,” Xander said. “We didn't play well.”

“Some of us played worse than others,” Andy said. He brushed his hand over his spiky, white-blond crew cut.

“What's that mean?” Corey demanded.

“I mean that some of us hold more blame.” Andy crossed his beefy arms. “I did my part.”

“Are you talking about me?” Corey challenged, leaning in toward Andy.

“No.” Andy let his gaze land on Ava.