Winter Games #12 Read online

  chapter TWO

  Nat pulled her scarf tight and dipped her hat further down on her forehead. It was freezing on the waterfront—her feet were completely numb, even inside her boots, and the wind was blowing in from the ocean like a hurricane could be coming any second. Of course, this type of weather was nothing unusual for January, but why, of all places, had Simon wanted to meet her at Mystic Seaport in the dead of winter? Nat could see how the quaint town of Mystic, Connecticut, with its adorable little antique shops and historic buildings, would be great for summertime touring. But tramping around in sleet was not Nat’s idea of a good time, even if she was getting to see Simon for the first time since November.

  Speaking of Simon, where was he, anyway? Nat peered through the window of the tiny diner he’d popped into, but she couldn’t make out anything through the rain-streaked glass. He’d said that he would only be gone for a minute, but that was at least ten minutes ago. For the first time since Nat had met Simon at camp two summers ago, she was annoyed with him. Well, maybe not really annoyed with him, but more like annoyed with the way this weekend was turning out. And she couldn’t even explain why.

  She’d been so excited about seeing Simon. Her aunt and her two cousins had dropped her off in Mystic while they went shopping so that she could spend Sunday afternoon with him before her bus ride back home to Manhattan. But now that she’d been with him for the last few hours, she just couldn’t understand why she felt so . . . so out of sorts.

  “I’m back,” Simon said, appearing by her side with a big grin on his face. “Sorry that took longer than I thought, but here you go.” He held up a paper plate, soggy with grease and overflowing with deep-fried . . . something—Nat wasn’t sure what. “It’s a seaport specialty. Fish-and-chips. Try one. You’ll love it.”

  Nat glued a smile to her face and willed her nose not to crinkle at the smell of the oil that glistened on each strip of fish. Sushi was her thing . . . not this acne case waiting to happen. She cautiously picked up a piece of fish and, after giving herself a millisecond pep talk, took a big bite.

  “Mmm,” she said, trying her best to swallow. “Good.”

  Simon watched her closely, and his smile wilted. “That’s okay, Nat,” he said, shrugging. “You don’t have to fake it. I can tell you don’t really like it.”

  Nat took a deep breath. “It’s just that Mom and I tend to stick to mostly organic stuff.”

  Had Simon just forgotten about her obsession with sushi, or was it really possible that after a year and a half of knowing each other, he didn’t know that about her? It wasn’t his fault, she reminded herself. During the school year, they hardly ever got to spend time together, unless Simon came down to New York to visit his friend Rick who lived there, or if Nat came up to Connecticut to visit Trish and Vicki, her cousins. At first, the long-distance thing hadn’t bugged her at all, but the last couple of months had been different. She’d made a lot of new friends at school this year, and met some nice guys, too, and she was finding it harder and harder to fit Simon into her social circle. Simon had hung out with Nat’s friends Hannah, Bryce, Mel, and Gretchen a few times when he visited, but he hadn’t really clicked with them.

  Her friends were into Manhattan culture big-time, and so was she. She loved discovering new shops in the East Village, trying the latest specials at Sushi Samba, and going to as many discount shows as her allowance would permit. But once she’d taken Simon to see a black-light puppet show and caught him snoring halfway through, so she knew he wasn’t as into the metropolitan lifestyle as she was. In fact, she was starting to worry that they might not have as much in common as she’d originally thought.

  Simon slipped his hand into hers, and they stepped out from under the shop awning into the rain again. Nat caught Simon glancing over at her a few times, and once he even opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he closed it again. She struggled to find something to say, too, which was a first for her.

  “So,” Simon said, “how are your parents?”

  Nat stopped herself from laughing just in time. How were her parents? That sounded like something her mom would say at a dinner party, not something that would ever come out of Simon’s mouth.

  They needed a change of subject, and fast. But just as Nat opened her mouth, a big truck drove by, sending a tidal wave of frigid, muddy gutter water over her and Simon. Nat screamed, trying to brush the brown water from her face and hair. Her jacket, scarf, and jeans were dripping, and looking over at Simon, she saw that he wasn’t in any better shape. His curly black hair was matted down with the dirty water.

  “Oh my gosh, Nat,” he said. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve seen that truck coming.”

  Nat laughed through chattering teeth. “It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could do.” She tried to wring some of the water out of her scarf.

  Simon started to run down the street. “I’ll be right back,” he said. “I’m going to get some paper towels from the diner.”

  “Simon, wait,” Nat said, catching up to him. “You know what? Even if the towels soak up some of the water, our clothes are going to take forever to dry in this weather. Maybe,” she paused, debating her next words, but secretly wanting to say them. “Maybe I should just call my aunt and go home.”

  Simon sighed, staring at the ground, but slowly he nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

  After her aunt picked her up and she’d gone back to their house to pack and change out of her drenched clothes, Nat gave her cousins the rundown of the whole afternoon.

  “It was awful,” she told them as she finished drying her hair.

  “Define awful,” Vicki said, putting the plastic bag holding Nat’s wet clothes into her weekend bag.

  “Nothing to talk about, long moments of awkward silence, uber-processed fish, and gutter water,” Nat said.

  “That’s definitely awful,” Trish agreed, giggling a little until Nat glared at her. “Sorry.”

  “What am I going to do?” Nat asked. “I miss Simon when I’m not around him, but being around him isn’t really working so great.”

  “I don’t know,” Vicki said, “but I do know you’re going to miss your bus home if we don’t get going.”

  “I guess I don’t have to think about this right now,” Nat said as they took her stuff downstairs to load the car.

  But after she’d said good-bye to her aunt and cousins, and the New York bus had pulled away from the station and onto the freeway, it was all Nat could think about. She needed a venting session in the worst way, so she rummaged through her bag and pulled out the BlackBerry her dad had gotten her for her birthday. Since her dad was always traveling for film shoots, he thought it would be a great way for the two of them to stay in touch. But it was also the perfect way for Nat to stay in touch with Alyssa, Jenna, and all of her other friends from Camp Lakeview.

  She logged onto the blog that Andie and Becky, the counselors from 4A and 4C, had started for the girls from both bunks, and posted a message asking for guy advice. Then she added a quick note about the camp reunion: “I know we have no idea when it will be yet, but since it’s always in NY, I wanted to invite you guys to crash at my place for the weekend again, just like last year. Everyone from both bunks can come, but it’s BYOSB (Bring Your Own Sleeping Bag). It’ll be so much fun!”

  When Nat refreshed the page, a message from Jenna appeared on the screen.

  Posted by: Jenna

  Subject: Tori’s ski trip

  Hey girls!

  I just got Tori’s Evite for the ski trip and I’m totally psyched. I already checked tickets on CheapFlightz, and they’re running a Presidents’ Day special. The fares are soooo cheap. I’m going to buy my ticket tonight. I’m totally ready to hit the slopes! Woo-hoo! Write back soon and let me know if you’re all coming.

  TTYL,

  Jenna

  Nat’s heart skipped a beat. Ski trip . . . what ski trip? She hurriedly logged off the blog and into her e-mail. Phew . .
. there it was—an Evite from Tori for a trip to Tahoe. In a month! Suddenly Nat’s worries about her date with Simon washed away. What perfect timing. Nat needed to see Alyssa and the rest of her Lakeview friends more than anything right now. Maybe she had enough money saved from her weekly dog-walking job to pay for the plane ticket, too. She made a quick phone call to her mom, who said she could go as long as she paid her own way, and then she got on IM to see who else might be going.

  : hey girls! anyone home?

  : Nat! How r u?

  : I’m here, too.

  : Hey, Alex!

  : Me three. Nat, how was ur weekend in CT? Give us the details on Simon . . . now!

  : (sigh) things didn’t go that great.

  : ?

  : i’ll explain l8tr. long story. did u see jenna’s blog post?

  : Yup. But I didn’t get an Evite.

  : Me neither.

  : I got one. But, um . . . I don’t think Jenna checked the Evite before she posted that note. Here’s the thing. It looks like Jenna, Nat, Grace, Sarah, and I are the only ones on the invite list.

  : no way!! that has to be a mistake.

  : I hope so. It’d be such a bummer for us all not to be together.

  : Well, we’ll be together for the reunion, whenever it is. Nat, count me in for the weekend at your place. I wouldn’t miss it!

  : Me too.

  : I’m in. But let’s figure out this thing with the ski trip, too, k?

  : Definitely. I can’t imagine Tori leaving anyone out on purpose. And I LUV to ski!!

  : i’ll e-mail her right now and see what she says. ttyl.

  : Bye

  Nat logged off IM and wrote a quick e-mail to Tori about the trip, explaining about Jenna’s note and asking Tori who’d actually been invited. She didn’t have to wait long for a reply, because two minutes later, a new message blipped onto her screen with a flashing red exclamation point next to it.

  To: NatalieNYC

  From: Tori90210

  Subject: Dead meat

  Omigod! I am sooooo dead. I can’t believe Jenna posted a note on the blog! That is beyond bad! I just figured you guys would check the guest list, but I should’ve mentioned in the Evite to keep the whole thing on the downlow. Because—this totally sucks—my parents told me I could only invite five girls from camp, so I had to pick. I haven’t told the other girls about the trip yet, but now everyone’s going to know! *Sob* They’re going to hate me for sure. That’s it, I am definitely joining the Witness Protection Program. If you never hear from me again . . . you’ll know why.

  Stressed out in SoCali,

  Tori

  P.S. Please don’t mention anything else about the trip to the other girls who weren’t invited. I have to figure out what to tell them first.

  Nat stared at Tori’s e-mail with a sinking heart. Poor Tori. No wonder she was stressing out. If Nat were in her shoes, she wouldn’t have had the first clue how to pick just five of the Lakeview girls to invite. She could tell Tori not to worry, that no one would be mad at her. All the girls loved Tori, and one little ski trip couldn’t change that. Or could it? Well, even if there were hurt feelings, at least she could be there for Tori. And in the meantime, she had an awesome trip to look forward to.

  Brynn had never been so nervous in her entire life.

  “Does Eliza Doolittle ever throw up in My Fair Lady?” Brynn asked her best friend, Tanya. She’d come along to the audition to offer moral support to Brynn.

  “I don’t think so,” Tanya said. “Why?”

  Brynn wiped a hand across her forehead. “ ’Cause I’m about to.”

  Tanya squeezed her shoulder. “No, you’re not. The queen of the drama club would never throw up onstage. It’s totally unprofessional.” She grinned. “You’re going to be perfect as Eliza. They’re going to love you, and you’re going to get the part.”

  Brynn tried to smile back, but her mouth seemed frozen from fear. She knew Tanya was trying to help, but it wasn’t working.

  “This is the first leading role I’ve ever gone for at school,” Brynn said.

  “But what about camp?” Tanya asked. “You played leading roles for the last two years.”

  “That was camp,” Brynn said. “This . . . is way out of my league. I don’t stand a chance against Lindsay. She’s a total shoo-in. She’s beautiful and Miss Popular. Everyone loves her. She’ll get the part just because of that.”

  “Eliza wasn’t beautiful at the beginning of the musical, remember? She was a work in progress. Besides, you’re gorgeous, dahling.” Tanya laughed and waited for Brynn to crack a smile. When she didn’t, Tanya gave her a gentle shake. “Get a hold of yourself! You can do this. You can recite your lines backward and in your sleep, you’ve practiced them so much.”

  “That’s true. I think Jordan’s even getting sick of hearing me practicing my fake British accent when he calls.” Brynn giggled.

  “I don’t think Jordan could get sick of anything you do,” Tanya teased. “And he better be into the British accent, because when you get the part of Eliza and he comes to opening night, he’s going to hear it for two hours straight.” She grinned. “You’re going to invite him, aren’t you?”

  Brynn blushed. Even though they didn’t have a lot in common at first, Jordan tried really hard to learn about what she liked and disliked. And he was doing his best to study up on theater, too. Last week when they’d talked on the phone, he’d told her that he’d rented My Fair Lady so he’d know the storyline. And yesterday, Brynn had gotten a package of chocolates from him with a note that said, “Brain food for practicing the ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’ song.” She thought it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.

  “Sure, I’d like to invite Jordan,” Brynn told Tanya, “but I have to get the part first. And that won’t be easy if I faint.”

  “Would you stop with the theatrics already?” Tanya said, then laughed at her own joke. “You’re going to be fab.”

  “Thanks. I hope so.” Brynn sighed.

  Suddenly her cell phone rang, making her jump.

  When she answered, a familiar voice said, “Hello, this is the Tony Awards calling. We’d like to inform you that you’ve been nominated for best actress for your role in the Camp Lakeview production of Into the Woods that premiered last summer.”

  Brynn laughed. “Grace! It’s so good to hear your voice!”

  “Man,” Grace said, “I was sure I had you going there for a minute.”

  “Not quite, but keep trying.” Brynn smiled. Since Grace was just as into drama as she was, the two of them had bonded over the camp plays for the last couple of summers. She was sure that Grace was calling to wish her luck on her audition today. And if anyone could help Brynn get over a bad case of stage fright, Grace could. “I’m so glad you called. I really need to talk to you—”

  “Me too!” Grace said. “Listen, I just wanted to let you know before you heard it from anyone else, ’cause I know that this whole ski trip thing is getting way out of control. Tori asked me not to say anything to anybody, but I don’t think she meant you. Because I always tell you everything. Anyway, it turns out I was invited to go.”

  Brynn clutched the phone. This was what she’d been afraid of—that Grace had been invited to go and she hadn’t. “Oh,” she said quietly. “I mean, that’s great! Really, Grace! I’m psyched for you. It’s going to be so much fun.”

  “Yeah, but, well . . .” Grace paused. “I guess you still haven’t gotten the Evite?”

  “Nope.” Brynn sighed. “And no e-mail from Tori, either.”

  “I can’t believe Tori hasn’t said anything to you yet,” Grace said. “It sucks royally that you weren’t invited.”

  “Yet,” Brynn added, trying to be optimistic. But even as she said it, she had the sinking
feeling that she hadn’t been invited at all. It had been four days already since she’d found out about the Evite Tori had sent out, and she still hadn’t gotten it.

  “Yeah,” Grace said. “Yet. It could still happen.”

  Brynn nodded. “But if it doesn’t, I just can’t believe that Tori wouldn’t even e-mail the rest of us with an explanation. That makes me madder than anything else.”

  “Maybe she just doesn’t know how to explain it without hurting someone’s feelings,” Grace said.

  “Not saying anything hurts, too, though.”

  “Maybe you should call her,” Grace suggested.

  “That’s what Alex said. That we should call her and talk to her about it.” Brynn shook her head. “But I just can’t deal with that until this audition is over.”

  “Audition!” Grace exclaimed. “What audition?”

  Brynn’s stomach flopped. “The My Fair Lady audition? I told you about it weeks ago,” she said quietly.

  Grace gasped. “Oh, Brynn, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to forget. Really. I’ve just been thinking so much about the ski trip, and . . . Oh, that’s no excuse. I’m being such a lousy friend. When’s the audition?”

  “Um, actually, it’s right now,” Brynn said. “That’s why I thought you were calling—”

  “To wish you luck!” Grace said. “Of course! You’ll do great. And you know what? I just decided something. I’m not going on this ski trip unless you are. It wouldn’t be fair to you. I don’t want to start forgetting everyone—especially you—all because of this Evite.”

  Brynn gave a small smile. “Grace, it’s okay. Don’t worry about the audition thing. You should go on the trip, with or without me. If I were in your shoes, I’d definitely go either way.”

  Grace paused. “Really? I don’t know . . .”

  “You’re going,” Brynn said. “I’ll figure everything out with Tori. No worries.”

  Just then, Mrs. Callaway, the drama club instructor, called Brynn’s name, and Tanya motioned for Brynn to hang up her cell.