Double Date (7 page)

D
evon had been getting friendlier with Amanda and Tristin over the past week. Partly because she was grateful for their help in exposing Felicia's true colors and partly because she knew that Bryn wanted to recruit Amanda into the DG and partly because it was fun being around these pretty, popular girls—and it didn't hurt that they were a year older.

“I'm curious about something,” Amanda said to Devon as they were getting dressed after their conditioning class. “You went to the homecoming dance with Jason Levine. But then you guys never went out again. Why was that?”

Devon rolled her eyes. “You mean besides the fact that Jason Levine is a low-life jerk with absolutely no respect for girls?”

“Wow.” Amanda looked shocked as she pulled on a boot. “Those are pretty strong words.”

“Yeah,” Tristin agreed with raised brows. “What did he do anyway?”

Devon considered her answer, trying to decide how best to
play this. After all, she was aware that Jason and Amanda had been a couple for a while. She didn't want to step on Amanda's toes. “Well, that was probably an overstatement,” she backtracked. “Let's just say that Jason and I had a little disagreement that night. We decided to part ways. Mutually.”

“So he's not a low-life jerk?” Tristin said with disappointment.

Devon forced a smile. “It wasn't a very fun date. Okay?”

“I have a feeling there's more to the story.” Amanda laughed as she pulled on her jacket, then went over to the mirror to touch up her makeup.

“Jason thought you were a different kind of girl, didn't he?” Tristin said quietly to Devon. “He pushed you, didn't he?”

Devon made a half smile, then shrugged.

“You don't have to say it,” Tristin whispered. “I knew it. Jason thought you were a Felicia type of girl, didn't he?”

Devon wasn't sure which part of this was more offensive. But she was offended. Even so, she tried to act nonchalant. “I'm not sure what he thought,” she said evenly, “but we mutually decided to part ways.”

“You still think he's a low-life jerk?”

“Oh, I don't know. I don't really give him much thought.” Now Devon made a more genuine smile. “I think of it as just one of the many life lessons I've been learning this year.” That was something that Grandma Betty—Emma's grandmother—had said to Devon recently. Something that Devon felt was true.

“That's cool.” Tristin tipped her head toward where Amanda was still primping in front of the big mirror. “Because between you and me, I think Amanda is thinking about getting back together with Jason. She hasn't said as much, but I can kinda tell. And if that happens, it might not be cool if you go around calling him names.”

Devon nodded gratefully. “Oh yeah. That's a good point. I really didn't mean it to sound like that. In fact, I actually agreed
to be on the same committee as him for the Christmas ball.” She zipped her jeans. “I'm ready to let bygones be bygones.”

Tristin smiled as she fastened her belt. “I only told you that because I like you, Devon.”

As she left the locker room, Devon felt a huge wave of relief. For some reason it felt important that both of these girls continued liking her, and she realized she'd almost blown it by dissing on Jason like that. She'd have to watch her step. Especially if these girls got into the DG like Bryn was recommending. But so far, no one had extended an invitation. Mostly the girls just argued about it. And, to be fair, Devon had some questions herself. Like why would Amanda, who'd had boyfriends before, need to be part of something like the DG? Bryn's argument was that Amanda was temporarily between boyfriends and that her girlfriends, Tristin and Sienna, had no boyfriends as well as no dates lined up for the Christmas ball. “They need us,” Bryn had told them at the end of lunch today.

Despite the fact she'd be forced into close contact with Jason the Jerk, Devon was glad to be part of the Christmas ball committee. Still she felt apprehensive as she walked into the meeting room after school on Friday. To her relief, Jason wasn't even there. “Bryn said he's at basketball practice,” Emma whispered to Devon as she took a chair next to her. “Apparently it's their first game next week and the coach laid down the law.”

“Good.” Devon let out a relieved sigh as Bryn began calling the meeting to order and announcing that Amanda, who was seated beside her, was going to be the co-chair for the dance.

“Thank you all for coming,” Bryn said with a beaming smile. “This is going to be the best Christmas ball ever, and I'm about to tell you why.” She pointed to the door that was still open. “First I want someone to close that door, and I am swearing everyone in this room to secrecy.”

Naturally this got their attention, and soon Bryn was describing her plans for a very different sort of event. “As some of you may know, interest in the Christmas ball has been in a steady decline these past few years. I have several theories for why this might be—including some reluctant guys when it comes to dating in general. I think we've come up with a plan to change all that.” Now she paused to introduce Abby to the group. “I have to give Abby some credit for helping me with this new idea. And I've asked her to chair the second committee.”

“Second committee?” Amanda asked.

“Yes. Let me explain. The Christmas ball is going to be more than just a dance. For starters, it's going to be free.”

“How can it be free?” Amanda demanded.

“Because we're going to solicit financial support from local businesses—”

“Why should local businesses donate funds for a dance?” Amanda asked.

Bryn gave her a patient smile. “If you'll just let us explain, I think you'll see how it will work.” She pointed at Abby. “Why don't you tell them your idea?”

Abby stood and faced the group. “A lot of children in our city are severely impoverished. Their Christmases are usually just as bleak as the rest of their lives. Many of them go to bed hungry at night. Many don't have proper winter clothes, and most of them don't expect to get anything from Santa.”

“That's really sad,” Amanda admitted, “but what does it have to do with the dance?”

“Remember how I mentioned we're getting local businesses to donate funds for the dance?” Bryn asked her. “The reason they will be willing to do that is because of the number of impoverished children and families we will be reaching out to. Instead of having students buy tickets to go to the Christmas
ball, they will have to earn their way by helping an impoverished child and their family during December.”

“That's a sweet idea,” Amanda said, “but if the guys are already not interested in going to the Christmas ball and now they have to earn their way by helping someone else—as lovely as that all sounds—why would they?”

“Because we are going to offer a big incentive,” Bryn said with a twinkle in her eye. “The way that couples get into the dance is by bringing a sleigh.”

“A sleigh?” Amanda frowned.

“Actually it will be a cardboard box that's decorated like a sleigh. It will be filled with whatever the couples have managed to gather to give to this child and the family for Christmas. All the sleighs will be displayed around the perimeters of the dance floor and they'll be voted on. The winners will get a fabulous prize.”

“Interesting,” Amanda said. “What kind of prize?”

“Well, this is the top secret part,” Bryn said. “There's a chance that some very valuable tickets could be involved. It's not for certain yet, but we hope to get two tickets to the Rose Bowl and—”

Several whoops from the few guys in the room interrupted her.

“See, already we have interest,” Bryn pointed out. “And those tickets will be for the guys. For the girls we hope to get something equally fun. Maybe the red carpet at the Oscars.”

Now some of the girls got excited.

“Where exactly are these tickets coming from?” Amanda asked.

“We have some resources in mind.” Bryn winked at Abby. “Some folks in this town with very deep pockets, if you know what I mean.”

“The reason this is such a great plan,” Abby said eagerly, “is that it becomes a lot more than just another dance. It's a way to help others. What better time to reach out to the less fortunate in our community than at Christmastime.”

“How do we know where these so-called less-fortunates can be found?” Amanda questioned.

“We've already started to contact some outreach groups. So far they all seem eager to work with us. They have plenty of names to share,” Bryn told everyone.

“I suppose it could work,” Amanda conceded. “But it seems complicated to me.”

“Not after you think about it for a while,” Bryn told her. “There's another element we thought would be fun to add to the whole thing. We want to make it a double date night for everyone. Two couples coming together.”

“We decided that the two couples will work together on one sleigh,” Abby explained. “That will make the sleighs even better and take some of the pressure off.”

“Since the whole event is kind of dual purposed, it makes sense to have it be a double date as well.” Bryn beamed at the group. “So what do you all think? Does it sound like a fun plan?”

A few more questions were asked and answered, and enthusiasm was steadily growing. Soon it seemed that everyone was on board, and before long, they were all talking at once.

“Okay, everyone!” Bryn clapped her hands to get their attention. “We need to make two committees. One committee will be responsible for the dance in general, and I nominate Amanda Norton to head that one.” She did a quick yea and nay vote and Amanda easily won. “The second committee we've decided to call Project Santa Sleigh, and I want to nominate Abby to head that one.” Again she had them vote and Abby won.

“I'm not trying to turn this into a competition,” Bryn told them. “But it will be interesting to see which committee puts forth the best effort. Will the Christmas ball be remembered as a fabulously fun social event, or will it be remembered as a fantastic philanthropic event that made children smile? Or
better yet, will it be both? It will take everyone pitching in to make it happen.”

She sent the two committee heads to separate corners of the room and challenged everyone in the room to make a decision. “Both committees are equally important,” she called out as people began moving about, deciding which committee to join. “We can't do one thing without the other.”

Although Devon had originally planned to be on Abby's committee, she was having a sudden change of heart. She really, really wanted to be on Amanda's committee and to work on things pertaining directly to the dance. She'd never helped with that sort of thing before—choosing a swanky location and glitzy decorations and helping to make all sorts of glamorous decisions—it sounded fun. Besides, she realized as she looked across the room, Abby already had a lot more people than Amanda. It seemed only fair.

“I'm on your team,” Devon announced as she joined Amanda, Tristin, and Sienna.

“You picked the right one,” Amanda told her.

Finally, after everyone had made their decisions, Bryn announced that she would continue to head up both committees. “So if anyone has any questions or suggestions or even a complaint—anything that needs special attention—feel free to come to me.”

The room had gotten fairly noisy now and Amanda was having to raise her voice just to be heard. “I have an idea,” she said suddenly. “How about if we move this meeting to my house? And we'll order pizza.”

Naturally, everyone was on board. Devon felt even more special when Amanda offered her a ride. “Hurry,” she told Devon as they headed down the hall. “I want to get home before anyone else. Just to make sure everything's in order.” She laughed. “Wouldn't want to find a pair of my dad's dirty boxer shorts on the kitchen floor.”

Devon laughed. Was she serious? As they were getting into Amanda's car—a sporty little blue Toyota—Devon asked about Amanda's other friends. “Don't they need a ride too?”

“They have their own cars,” Amanda explained as she slipped in the key.

“Oh . . . right.” Sometimes Devon forgot that most of the students at Northwood came from fairly well-off homes. Obviously Amanda and her friends did too. This became even more obvious when Amanda turned into a gated community where Devon knew some of the homes were in the million-dollar range.

“You haven't been to my house before, have you?” Amanda asked as she pulled into a circular driveway in front of a light-colored brick house.

“I don't think so.” The truth was, Devon had never been here before. But she was trying to appear laid-back and unimpressed.

“Well, here we are. My parents will still be at work for a couple hours.” Amanda led the way through a large covered area that reminded Devon of a hotel entrance.

“Your house is really pretty,” Devon said as they went into a large foyer with stone floors and a sweeping staircase that looked like something out of a movie set.

“Home sweet home.” Amanda looked around the large, immaculate room and smiled. “And no boxer shorts.”

Devon laughed. “Yeah, I'll bet that happens all the time.”

“If that ever happened, my mom would send the housekeeper packing.” Amanda pulled out her phone and threw her bag onto a chair. “Time to order pizza.”

While Amanda placed an order, Devon stared freely at the beautiful home. Everything looked expensive and carefully chosen, and it all looked like it had been taken right out of the pages of a glossy interior design magazine. Before seeing this place, Devon had thought that Bryn's house was pretty cool, but compared to this, Bryn's house was rather ordinary. Of
course, Devon's house—make that her mom's house—would look like a shack next to this one. But Devon had quit thinking of her mom's house as home. Thanks to Grandma Betty, those days were behind her. Not that Grandma Betty's house was anything like this—although it was nothing to be ashamed of. Thankfully, someone like Amanda would never have to know where Devon used to live.