Chapter Eleven Taylor
Chapter Eleven
Taylor
I didn’t want to tell Kami that I knew about the photo of her and Kate and all the comments people had left. That I’d seen what that weirdo @omv_ovamat had written.
Now you’re like me, and soon you’ll be mine.
What was that shit supposed to mean? How was she supposed to be like that fucking coward, whoever they were?
I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to sit back and watch while everybody made my girlfriend miserable.
I knew if I asked Kami, she’d probably tell me to let her deal with it on her own, but that wasn’t going to happen.
I called Perez, a friend of my brother’s from back in DC. He was a computer freak, and I knew if anyone could find this asshole, he could. Perez wasn’t a full-on hacker, but I was sure he could deal with a high school kid who thought they were being clever.
“Sure, dude,” he said when I explained the situation. “I’ll get right on it tomorrow. I’ve got another job to finish today, but I don’t think it will take long.”
“No worries,” I said. Then I googled Momo.
That mask was creepy as shit. I’d heard of the Momo Challenge.
Supposedly there were videos on YouTube where Momo came on the screen to scare kids while they watched Peppa Pig or whatever and forced them to do things against their will, threatening to hurt their families or something if they didn’t.
It had gone viral, then it turned out to be an urban legend, and I kind of lost track of the story after that.
What was the connection between that image, whoever @omv_ovamat was, and my girlfriend?
“TAYLOR!”
Shit.
I closed my laptop as Mom charged into my room like a bat out of hell.
“Have you seen this damn house?” she shouted, throwing the door open so hard it struck the wall.
“I cleaned up…”
“There are condoms in my room! Used condoms!”
“What are you talking about?”
My mom was small and elegant. My brother and I were well over a foot taller than her, and yet, when she wanted to, she could scare the hell out of us.
“You get in there and clean it right now! And you better wash my sheets too!” She slapped me on the back of the neck.
“Jesus!” I shouted. “I told everyone the bedrooms were off limits.”
“I give you an inch, and you take a mile. You told me you were going to have a few friends over…”
“That’s all I did!”
She gave me a dirty look.
“I’ll clean it up, all right?”
“Damn right you will! Now get to it!”
I walked out and started cleaning…again.
One thing was for certain: I’d never have another party again.
I hadn’t even had a good time. Not after learning about my brother’s childhood infatuation with Kami, not after our fight, and definitely not after Julian stuck his nose in it.
That motherfucker got on my nerves. What was his deal?
He was supposedly gay, but the way he hung all over Kami made me wonder, were they really just friends?
I didn’t get what the hell was going on.
It had been four hours since I’d dropped Kami off at Mill’s.
She was supposed to call me when her shift was over, and we were going to grab dinner and maybe watch a movie.
Nothing too late because we had class the next day.
I checked my phone, and it was like someone had been reading my mind: Hey, I can’t do dinner.
Trouble at work. I’ll tell you later. Julian’s taking me home.
What was Julian doing at the café?
Honestly, ever since I’d started going out with Kami, it had been one problem after another.
My brother and I barely talked. And I wasn’t sure why, but it was definitely connected to Kami.
Did Thiago like her? I knew he had when we were kids, but that was ages ago.
And now he had Maggie, the cute teacher.
So why did there seem to be some sort of vibe between Thiago and Kami, then? Was I just imagining things?
I went to bed early. I had a hangover, and all that cleaning and studying had worn me out. I slept like a baby. The next morning, when I got up, my room was freezing. It was only early November, but my teeth were chattering. I looked outside and saw it was pouring rain. Fucking Monday.
It was still dark outside, and I hated getting up that early, but I got dressed anyway. When I went downstairs, Mom was still asleep, but my brother was making coffee in the kitchen. He was wearing a sweater and boots, like me.
“You see how cold it is?” I asked him.
“According to my phone, it’s right at freezing,” he said, pouring us each a cup. “You want some scrambled eggs?”
“Sure, I’ll make them, though,” I said, grabbing four eggs out of the fridge.
“You think it’ll snow?” Thiago asked, peering out the window.
“I hope not,” I said, starting to beat the eggs.
“What the…” Thiago said. He sounded both incredulous and indignant at the same time. I looked outside. Kami had just walked out her door. She was in a wool cap and a puffer coat, and I was pretty sure she was wheeling out her bike.
“Is she trying to freeze to death? Why is she so dumb sometimes?” my brother asked no one in particular.
“You finish this up,” I said, “I’ll go get her.” I put down the fork and bowl of eggs and went outside. The wind hit me right in the face, cold and painful.
“Hey!” I shouted, and she turned around just before hopping on her bike. “You are kidding me, right?” I walked over to her with big strides.
“Hey there,” she said with that smile that had made me fall in love with her. God, how I loved her. “It sure is cold, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s fucking cold. I can see that, but I’m not sure you can. Where are you planning to go on that bicycle?”
“To school, where else? I decided to leave early because it’ll take me a bit longer with the wind in my face.”
“Kami, I’ll take you,” I said.
“No! Seriously.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to drive me around all the time. I’m in the mood for a ride, anyway, I need some fresh air—”
“Frozen air, you mean. Put down that heap of junk and come inside for a cup of coffee.”
Kam looked at the house and shook her head.
“No, seriously, I’m fine.”
“Kamila, either you come of your own accord or I’m dragging you. I’m not going to let you get pneumonia when I have a car with heat and I can drive you. Come on.”
She really seemed resistant, and I asked again if she honestly wanted to ride a bike through that storm.
“Fine,” she said, leaning her bike against the wall. “But don’t think this is going to be an everyday thing. I can ride my bike fine, I just need to bundle up and—”
“Whatever.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me. “Jesus, it’s freezing,” I said.
Kami stood in the entrance shivering as I closed the door. “What the hell’s up with you?” I asked. “Get in the kitchen where it’s warm and drink some coffee already.”
She sighed as she came in. Thiago had already made the eggs and was taking out a mug for her. “You trying to get hypothermia?” he asked.
“Could you two stop blowing everything out of proportion, please!”
“Whatever. Here, drink this,” Thiago told her, passing her a steaming cup. Kami grabbed it, and the three of us sat down at the table.
“Maybe we should just stay home,” I said, breaking the silence. Why were they both being so weird around each other? Was I really going to have to deal with this again?
“It does look like it might snow,” Thiago said.
“I checked the weather,” I replied, “but it didn’t say anything.”
“If it snows, you guys know what that means, right?” Kami said.
Thiago and I looked at her—neither of us did.
“Don’t tell me you guys forgot?”
“There is no fucking way they’re still…” I started to say.
“The bonfires!” she shouted. “Of course we still have them! First snowfall of the year always means bonfires, marshmallows, cookies, hot chocolate, good music, and—”
“Booze,” I interrupted her. “Yeah, I remember.”
Kami rolled her eyes. “It’s not just about drinking, it’s about having fun. It’s honestly one of my favorite Carsville festivities.”
“Do they still have a competition for best snowman?”
“Yeah, but now only kids can take part.”
“What the hell?” I asked.
“But if we get my little brother to sign up, we can help,” Kami said, with excitement in her eyes. I’d forgotten how much she liked the snow, sledding, snowmen, bonfires… We’d had some good winter times together when we were little, and I was happy to be able to relive that with her.
“Let it snow!”
The three of us left our mugs in the sink and got in the car to head to school. As soon as we walked in, we saw a giant poster welcoming us in the hallway right by the lockers.
University Week, it said.
“Is it really this week?” Kami asked.
“Is what this week?” I responded.
“Have fun, kids,” my brother smirked, walking off toward the teachers’ lounge with one quick look back at Kami. I don’t know if I was imagining things, if I was paranoid or what, but I was sure I kept seeing something between them. I didn’t like it, and it was starting to affect my mood.
“Taylor, how do you not know about this? We have our practice SATs, there are special classes about how to write an application essay, recruiters from different colleges come to visit. Shit…” She stopped at a long table covered in flyers and read the words Ivy League.
Behind it were the flags of the eight best colleges in the country: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, UPenn, Princeton, and Yale.
“Fuckfuckfuck,” she said, picking up a leaflet with a blue cover and the logo for Yale.
I couldn’t help but smile at how worked up she got. “Sometimes I forget how soon it is until we go off to college.”
“There’s no way I’m getting in,” she said, squeezing the brochure so tight it started to crumple. “There’s just no way…”
“Don’t be an idiot,” I said, taking it from her hands. “You’re one of the top students.”
“Right. One of. But not the best.”
“I think you’re the best,” I said, trying to encourage her.
“I’m not getting in. I already know it.” There was panic in her beautiful brown eyes.
“Hey! Calm down. You’ve got plenty of time still, don’t start obsessing now.”
She picked the flyer up and started reading it again. My eyes drifted over to the materials for Harvard. I reached for the flyer, but someone else’s hand picked it up first. It was Ellie, Kami’s best friend.
“So you’re the competition?” I asked her.
She narrowed her eyes. I don’t know why, but I felt like she was always giving me nasty looks. “For me, there is no competition. I’m getting in, and that’s that,” she replied.
“Is that so? I guess that’s why you’re hanging out with that douchebag, to improve your chances? Because unless his parents pull strings for you, I don’t really see it happening.”
“Shut up, dumbass.”
“Oh, that really is it!” Now I saw I’d touched a nerve. It was known that Danny’s family had lots of money and lots of connections, and they were generous with the people they liked. “I wondered what would drive you to hook up with your best friend’s ex even after you learned he was an abuser.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know, Taylor.”
“Like what?”
“Ellie!” Kami said, walking toward us. “Did you see all the new brochures?” She was gushing, but then she stopped, and her tone changed when she saw how tense we were. “Is something up?”
“Nope,” Ellie responded. “Just your boyfriend sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong.” She glared at me. What the hell had I done to her, anyway?
“I’m just trying to clear up a few things I don’t quite understand,” I said.
“Curiosity killed the cat, my friend,” Ellie quipped.
“Touché,” I said, surprised by her sarcasm.
Just then, the bell rang. Ellie told Kami she’d see her in history class and hurried off. Then a voice came from behind me.
“Are you going to class?” Julian again. Didn’t he realize he and I weren’t friends?
Not after his talking shit about Thiago and Kami at my party.
And especially not after him stopping in at my girlfriend’s work and picking her up on a night we were supposed to hang out.
I wanted to tell him straight up that I couldn’t stand him, but I held back, for Kami’s sake. She seemed genuinely glad to see him.
The first three hours of class were eternal, and I was glad when it was time for gym. I dressed and was surprised to see my brother sitting on the bleachers when I walked out of the locker room. That was weird—he usually taught the younger kids, while Coach Klebb ran our classes.
“Listen up, everyone,” he said when we were all gathered. “Some of you may have heard this, but Coach Klebb is retiring.” None of us had heard, and everyone started murmuring. I looked around for Kami and found her on the opposite end of the room, her eyes focused on Thiago.
Coach Klebb was gone?
“I know, I know. It’s a shock, everybody liked him, but the school has offered me his post. It’s temporary—they’re looking for a permanent candidate—but that doesn’t mean I won’t be taking this job seriously. I’ll be working you harder than ever.”
Again, people glanced around and whispered to each other. Personally, I was happy that my brother had been picked for the job. I knew he would do us good.
“As you all know,” he said, “I’m a basketball guy, so that’s what we’re going to play today. We’re going to break up into six small teams, and we’ll have ten-minute turns, with the winner staying in.”
In my mind, I was already tallying up my best players: Harry, Julian, Marty, maybe…
“We’re doing mixed teams, and I’ll pick the players,” Thiago announced. There went all my plans.
“Fuck that!” Danny shouted. For the first time in my life, I agreed with him. “I don’t want a bunch of girls on my team.”
With an icy stare, my brother said, “Cool, you won’t have to worry about it. You can stay on the sidelines doing burpees and jumping jacks.”
I couldn’t help but grin.
This was going to be fun.