Her Teen Dream Page 6

  “I’d better go,” he said.

  “Okay.” She wished they could just stay there all night, but knew that wouldn’t happen.

  “See you in school tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Reese.”

  Karin opened the car door and, acting impromptu and courageously, leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

  She got out and watched him drive off. Karin’s heart was still beating ferociously when Lesley drove up next door. She parked in her driveway and Karin noticed that Shelly’s car was not there.

  “Hey, you.” Karin walked up to her friend. Lesley staggered a bit, as though having too much to drink. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” Lesley claimed. “How about you?”

  “I’m good. Reese just left.”

  “Cool. Did you have a nice dinner? Or did he spring a few bucks for some cheeseburgers and fries?”

  Karin laughed. “We went to a nice restaurant and talked. How about you?”

  “Nothing much. We were just hanging out,” Lesley said. “I’m starting to like him a lot.”

  “I know the feeling. Reese is beginning to work on me, too, like a magic potion.”

  “Let’s just hope it doesn’t wear off anytime soon for either of us,” Lesley slurred her words. “Not sure I could bear to go back to being Lesley nobody.”

  “Who says you have to? Not to say that you were ever a nobody.”

  “I was where it concerned guys,” Lesley reminded her.

  “That was their problem, not yours.”

  Lesley clutched her stomach. “I think I had a little too much to drink. I better go inside.”

  “I’ll help you,” Karin offered.

  “No, I’ll be okay. I just need to lie down for a little bit. Since Mom’s spending the night at Edgar’s, I won’t have to dodge questions and compare notes.”

  Karin glanced at her house and saw a lights come on in the living room. “Guess I may not be so lucky. See you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Karin.”

  She watched Lesley make it safely inside, wondering if it was alcohol or something else that she took. Was Marcus leading her down the wrong path?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Karin was happy to see that Lesley showed no ill effects the next day in school. They were in P.E. class doing stretching exercises in preparation for calisthenics.

  “My Mom came home sometime during the night,” Lesley said. “I remember her kissing my forehead. Then, this morning, she told me Edgar has a part-time opening on weekends at his bookstore. She wants me to take the job.”

  “Do you want to?” Karin asked, stretching her left leg out in front of her.

  “Not really. But she says we could use the extra money, no matter how little it is.”

  “Bummer. There must be something else that could be done other than give up your weekends.”

  “Like what?” Lesley asked.

  Karin stretched her other leg. “Maybe my parents could help out.”

  “My mother would never want that,” Lesley said, raising her arms straight up, then lowering them slowly. “Besides, it’s not like we’re in the poor house or anything. I would only work for three hours on Saturday and Sunday. I could do my homework and read during breaks, so it shouldn’t be that bad.”

  It didn’t exactly sound inviting to Karin, but she understood and tried to be more supportive. “I could come there sometimes and just hang out with you.”

  “That would be great, Karin.” Lesley smiled appreciatively. “Maybe Marcus could do the same.”

  “I hope so.”

  Karin turned her thoughts to Reese. She wondered what he was doing at this precise moment and if he was thinking about her as well. Their perfect kiss stayed on her mouth as though permanent lip gloss. She imagined that it could only be replaced by another kiss from Reese.

  During lunch period, Karin sat with Marilyn Chamberlain, since Lesley was sitting with Marcus and some other members of the team. But Reese was nowhere to be found. Since he was now her boyfriend, more or less, Karin thought it would be nice to be seen with him anytime and anyplace. Starting with the cafeteria.

  Maybe he would show up yet, she hoped, and wondered if she was starting to become possessive. Much like Cheryl had been.

  “I’m thinking about trying out for the girl’s track team,” Marilyn interrupted her thoughts.

  “You are?” Karin pretended to be interested, even if her mind was elsewhere. In truth, she believed Marilyn would be good at track. They had run together a few times and Marilyn was one of the few who could keep up with her.

  “Yeah. My brother was on the boy’s team last year. He thinks I have a good shot to make the team.”

  “I agree. Good luck.”

  “Maybe you should try out too,” Marilyn suggested, then scooped up some applesauce with a spoon.

  “What?” Karin looked up from her tuna salad as if she had misunderstood.

  “If I can make it, so can you.”

  “Not sure I’m up for being on the team,” Karin stated honestly.

  “Why not?” Marilyn’s eyes widened.

  Karin shrugged. “Don’t know,” she admitted. “Guess I just like running for the fun of it.”

  “Sounds like you’re chicken to me.”

  “Am not!” she tossed back.

  “Prove it,” Marilyn dared her.

  Karin chuckled, refusing to be baited into doing something she didn’t want to do. She decided to throw her a fig leaf. “If you make the team, maybe I will give it a try.”

  Marilyn seemed to take that for what it was worth and didn’t say another word on the subject.

  * * *

  Karin was putting some books in her locker when she heard some shuffling behind her. She turned and saw Cheryl Green standing there, hands firmly on her hips. Beside her were fellow cheerleaders, Amy Flaunders and Jayne Hathaway. Karin met the steady ebony eyes of Jayne, who was the same height as Cheryl and every bit as shapely. She was sucking on a lollipop like it was addictive.

  It was her party where Marcus had gotten into trouble. Under other circumstances, Karin might have thanked Jayne. After all, the entire situation resulted in her becoming involved with Reese. But it didn’t exactly seem like she and Jayne were on friendly terms. Not when Jayne was in Cheryl’s hip pocket.

  “Looks like you don’t know how to take advice,” spat Cheryl with narrowed eyes.

  In spite of being outnumbered and unnerved, Karin responded tartly, “Maybe I just don’t like taking advice from someone who doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone.”

  Cheryl’s brow furrowed with ire. “You bitch! Who do you think you’re talking to?”

  “You tell me!” Karin refused to back down this time and hoped she didn’t regret it.

  Cheryl slapped her. It stung, but not as bad as it might have had Karin not been filled with adrenalin. She slapped her back brazenly.

  Cheryl looked stunned, as if the thought never crossed her mind that anyone would dare hit her perfect face. Least of all Karin Blanch. She grabbed Karin and they began to wrestle. Before Karin knew it, she had been thrown down to the floor with some help from Jayne and Amy, who were encouraging Cheryl.

  After Cheryl pounced on her like a feline, everything pretty much became a blur.

  Then Karin heard a deep voice that she recognized. It was vice principal Jeremiah Atkinson. “Break it up! Break it up now, girls!”

  He pulled Cheryl off her and pushed her away, then helped Karin to her feet.

  “Are you all right?” he asked with something less than real concern.

  Other than being a bit shaken up, Karin was sure there were no broken bones or other indication of severe trauma.

  “Yeah,” she managed to say, catching her breath. “I think so.”

  He rounded on Cheryl. “Who started this?”

  She stood mute, as if at a loss for honest words.

  “How about you?” he asked Karin. “What do you have to say about it?”


  She too chose not to respond, not wanting to further inflame the situation or rat out Cheryl. Not that she didn’t deserve to get into trouble. Or possibly be expelled.

  The vice principal looked at Jayne and Amy. “Either of you have anything to say?”

  They both stood mute.

  He furrowed his brow and said to Amy and Jayne, “You two get out of here.” To Karin and Cheryl, he said, “You two, in my office—NOW!”

  Karin walked beside Cheryl, feeling the heat of her glare, but not returning it. She just wanted this to be over, but had the feeling it wouldn’t be as long as they both pined for the same boy.

  * * *

  Karin sat there while Mr. Atkinson tried to get answers out of them. She felt like she was being attacked twice and there seemed little defense.

  “This isn’t like you, Karin, to get into a street brawl,” he said unsympathetically. “In fact, we’ve never had any trouble from you. So why now?”

  Karin shot Cheryl an icy glare. “Maybe you should ask her.”

  “I’m asking you, young lady!”

  She sighed and simply lowered her eyes, as if focused on an ant crawling across the floor.

  The vice principal turned to Cheryl. “All right, out with it, Ms. Green. Since this isn’t your first time being in this office, I have to assume that you instigated this. If I’m wrong, say so.”

  “You’re wrong!” she roared. “If I had wanted to hurt Karin, I would have taken it outside.”

  “And you’d find yourself right where you are right now,” he said gruffly.

  She pursed her lips and met his stare coldly.

  “Since you know that we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to fighting on school property, I’m calling your parents and giving you both the rest of the day off. Consider yourselves fortunate that you’re not being suspended. I want you both to know that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

  Karin got the message. She only hoped that Cheryl did, too. Now came the hard part—facing her parents. Meanwhile, she wondered if the news had traveled to Reese that his ex-girlfriend and current one had come to blows over him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  There was deathly silence as Karin sat beside her mother during the drive home. She wondered if this meant she would be grounded for life. Or if she’d be blamed for something she didn’t start. Or would her mother defer it all to her father for punishment?

  “Will you say something, please?” The words came out of Karin’s mouth to break the ice. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m not thinking anything,” Josephine said tersely. “My mind is a total blank at this point. My daughter does not get in fights at school and then sent home for her trouble. We didn’t raise you this way.”

  “You raised me to stand up for myself,” Karin countered. “And that’s what I did.”

  Her mother sucked in deep breath. “So why did Cheryl Green attack you?”

  Karin realized she’d been baited and fell for it. Her mother was smarter than most mothers were and probably suspected that a boy was the reason for the fight. But to admit it would technically mean she’d have to name Reese McKenzie—a boy she was not supposed to be dating.

  “Cheryl has never liked me,” Karin said with a straight face. “I don’t know why. I guess it just boiled over today when she was trying to impress her friends. She slapped me and I slapped her back. I probably shouldn’t have, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

  “The right thing would’ve been to walk away, Karin, as Dr. King would say.”

  “Dr. King was not in my situation,” Karin insisted, and knew that that sounded was pretty lame and immature, even if true.

  Josephine faced her, disappointment clouding her face. “The next time Cheryl or anyone else decides they want to fight, you let them fight someone else. Do you understand me?”

  Easier said than done, but arguing the point would only get her into hotter water. “Yes, Momma. I’m sorry.”

  And she was sorry that this would get back to Reese. How would he react? Would it help or hurt their relationship?

  Karin ventured a peek at her mother as they rounded the corner. “So, does this mean I’m grounded?” she asked tentatively.

  “Do you want to be?” Josephine asked.

  “No.”

  “Then you’re not,” Karin was surprised to hear. “This time. But if it ever happens again, I may never let you out of your room.”

  Karin smiled, grateful that her mother had cut her some slack. It reminded her of when she was young and could talk to her about anything without judgment or real repercussions. But in recent years, they had seemed to grow apart as she neared adulthood. Karin wondered if it had been the same between her mother and Nana. Or, for that matter, was it true for all mothers and daughters, no matter the circumstances?

  * * *

  “Maybe you slapped some sense into Cheryl,” Lesley told Karin that evening. “It was certainly long overdue.”

  They were in Lesley’s room with plum-colored walls and a large window.

  Karin made a face. “I just hope it doesn’t come back to haunt me.”

  “You mean with Reese?”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to mess things up with us.”

  “You won’t,” Lesley said. “He likes you, Karin. Cheryl already had her chance. She was the one who screwed things up. I don’t think he’ll fault you for acting in self-defense.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “At least with Marcus, there wasn’t really one single girl before we started dating. I think he was too shy and hid behind drinking and just being one of the guys.”

  Karin used the opening to quell her curiosity. “So now that you two are an item, he’s not drinking much anymore is he?”

  “You mean the out of control, destruction of property type drinking?” Lesley asked.

  Karin nodded.

  “Not around me. I think Marcus learned his lesson after Jayne Hathaway’s parents nearly had him brought up on charges.”

  “Let’s hope so. I wouldn’t want you to end up getting hurt.”

  “That makes two of us.” Lesley gazed at her. “I could say the same for you. Reese is a definite catch, but you will obviously have to fight to hold onto him.”

  Karin considered the prospect, as well as her promise to her mother to stay out of trouble or face the consequences. This prompted her to say, “It’s crazy, Lesley, but just when our lives seemed lifeless, all of a sudden they’re more complicated than ever. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad.”

  “It’s all good,” Lesley assured her. “Been there, done that with the lifeless thing and it’s not much fun.”

  Karin had to agree. Reese had given her a whole new reason to come to life. And a reason to fight for what was hers.

  * * *

  The following day at school, Karin ran into Reese outside her English class. She had been waiting for him to text and say something, but she hadn’t received any messages. It was as though he didn’t care about the sacrifices she was willing to make for him.

  “You’re here.” Reese looked at her as if seeing a ghost. “Where should I be?” Karin fluttered her lashes.

  “I don’t know. I thought maybe Atkinson decided to give you a week’s vacation.”

  “That’s so not funny.”

  “I know.” He suppressed a smile. “I’m sorry.”

  She turned on him. “Sorry for what—that your ex-girlfriend and her cheerleader friends attacked me unprovoked? Or that you never bothered to call or text to see if I was all right, since I’m sure it was the talk of school.”

  Reese ran a hand over his smooth head. “I’m sorry about everything. I wanted to text or call you, but wasn’t sure what to say.”

  Karin swallowed her indignation and decided to give him a pass, though his excuse was really lame.

  “Did you talk to Cheryl?” Karin could picture her going
to him right away with some sob story.

  “Yeah, she called me,” he said guiltily.

  Figures. “What did she say?”

  “She said you hit her and she hit you back.”

  Karin rolled her eyes. “And you believed her?”

  Reese hesitated. “Why don’t you tell me your side of the story?”

  After debating it in her mind, Karin decided that he had a right to know the truth, whether he chose to believe it or not.

  She waited till they were outside. “Cheryl’s been warning me to stay away from you ever since you first asked me for advice regarding Marcus.”

  “What?”

  “She wants you back, Reese. And she thinks I’m standing in the way,” Karin told him flatly. “Every opportunity she’s gotten has been about sending me a clear message: Reese McKenzie’s still mine. When she hit me, I reacted and got sent home for my trouble.”

  “I’m sorry, Karin,” he said sincerely.

  “So you believe me?” She looked into his eyes, needing to know for sure.

  Reese met her gaze. “Yeah, I do,” he said firmly. “I thought Cheryl understood that it was over between us.”

  “Apparently she saw it as only a temporary separation.”

  “I’ll talk to her and tell her to lay off you.”

  “I’d rather you told her to lay off you!” Karin told him.

  “Done,” he promised.

  Reese pulled Karin up against his chest, then leaned down and kissed her. She felt the kiss throughout her body. Just as quickly, he pulled back.

  “I hope that’s enough for now to convince you that you’re the one I want as my girl—not Cheryl.”

  “It’s a good start,” she uttered breathlessly.

  “More later.”

  “Promise?”

  He chuckled. “Promise!”

  Suddenly Karin felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, though the real question was would Cheryl finally get the message? Or would it just go in one ear and right out the other?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It was the first day of February and the end of the second full week in which Karin and Reese were an official couple. Karin still hadn’t told her parents for fear that they might resort to drastic measures to keep them apart, like taking away her allowance, keeping her confined to the house after school and on weekends, or even threatening some kind of legal action against Reese as an adult. Karin wouldn’t put that past her mother, if all else failed. But it was her fervent hope that her parents would eventually embrace their relationship and be happy that she had found someone she liked and who liked her.