Spike It! Page 3

  “She’ll never be my sister, I’ll tell you that,” Jamie blurted out. “I’ve already got one of those, and it’s one too many.”

  “You don’t really mean that, and you know it,” Laurie said, coming under the net to put an arm around Jamie’s shoulders. “You know, it’s good Donna and Michaela get along so well. Think what would happen if they didn’t!”

  Jamie couldn’t help smiling. “Donna would make everybody’s life miserable,” she said, imagining the horror of it. “Have you ever seen one of her tantrums?”

  They both laughed at that one. But Jamie quickly lapsed back into her funk. She still didn’t like the way Donna and Michaela had taken to each other so fast.

  The girls lobbed the ball back and forth in silence for a while. Then Laurie spoke.

  “Jame, there’s no going back,” Laurie said simply. “You just have to accept it and make the best of it. And as for sharing your room, I think you should be patient. It’s just for a while, right?”

  “A year is longer than ‘just a while,’ ” Jamie said miserably.

  “Well, I guess you could share your room with Donna instead….” Laurie said.

  “What? No way!” Jamie said, horrified. “She’s a total slob and ugh—yuck! How could you even suggest it?”

  The two girls laughed. “I guess it is a rotten idea,” Laurie admitted. “Besides, it would make Michaela feel isolated in her new family, and that wouldn’t be good.”

  “Mmm. I guess I could make more of an effort to be nice to her,” Jamie said. “I could help her get used to school tomorrow—you know, introduce her to everyone and stuff.”

  “Looks like she’s already making friends,” Laurie commented, looking down the driveway.

  Jamie followed Laurie’s gaze, and her breath caught in her throat. There, at the head of the driveway, stood Michaela, talking with Jeff! The two of them were standing only inches apart, talking and laughing, looking into each other’s eyes. Jeff had his hands in his pockets and was kind of rocking back and forth with a goofy smile on his face.

  Jamie felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Her heart was hammering so loudly she was sure Laurie could hear it.

  “Gee,” Laurie said with a mischievous grin, “looks like Jeff has a crush on somebody, huh?”

  Jamie tried to answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. She swallowed hard, blinking back tears. It felt like she was drowning.

  Michaela giggled at something Jeff was telling her. Then the two of them started walking toward the house.

  “Oooh, I can’t wait to give him the business about it,” Laurie was saying.

  “Yeah,” Jamie managed to agree. It was a good thing Laurie wasn’t looking at her or she’d guess the truth in an instant. “I’ve got to use the bathroom,” Jamie said quickly. She tossed the ball to Laurie, hoping her friend wouldn’t see her expression.

  She locked herself in the bathroom, splashed some cold water over her face, and stood there leaning over the sink until her heartbeat and breathing returned to something like normal. Talk about total disaster!

  Maybe Laurie was right. Maybe Michaela was the nicest girl in the universe. But one thing was for sure. Whether by accident or on purpose, she was moving in on everything Jamie wanted her to stay away from!

  6

  I’m so glad we have two classes together,” Michaela said as she and Jamie walked the six blocks to school. “I’d feel totally lost otherwise.” She took her program card out of her book bag.

  “Well, I may not be that much help,” Jamie said truthfully. “Math and history aren’t exactly my strongest subjects.”

  “Really? What classes do you like?”

  “Science is my favorite,” Jamie said. “That’s probably because Mr. Klimik teaches it. He’s a really good teacher, and by the way, he’s also gorgeous.”

  “And I didn’t get him?” Michaela let out a mock groan. “Let’s see… Ms. Grimaldi. How’s she?”

  “Everyone says she’s good,” Jamie said. “And you’ll like Ms. Cook, our history teacher. She’s nice, although I never seem to get all the dates and facts straight. I guess I’m just not that into it.”

  “How’s Mr. Marra?” Michaela asked.

  “Yuck.” Jamie made a face. “He used to teach college, and he thinks we’re all math geniuses. Nobody’s running better than a B in his class.”

  “Hmm…” Michaela frowned. “I hope I’m not going to be too far behind. I’ve already missed almost a week of school since we left New York.”

  “You’ll be okay,” Jamie assured her. “We’re all in the same boat in math.”

  She and Michaela had been getting along pretty well so far. Jamie hadn’t let on that she’d seen Michaela with Jeff, and Michaela hadn’t talked about him either, except to say how nice the Gates family was.

  Donna was still making a fuss over Michaela, but Jamie had gotten used to it, at least for the moment. Her dad had said it would all blow over in time. For now, Jamie was willing to believe him.

  Jamie also figured she could at least make an effort to be friends by helping Michaela out on her first day at East Side Middle. It was a place she knew inside and out after more than two years here. And because she was a star of the volleyball team, Jamie was also one of the more popular girls in the eighth grade. She guessed the least she could do was to introduce Michaela to everyone so she wouldn’t start life here as a total stranger.

  Jamie saw a bunch of her friends now, standing outside the school waiting for the bell to ring. Her Shark teammates Kim Park, Megan Hicks, and Brittany Hernandez were there. So was Tina Macaluso, the captain of the cheerleading squad.

  “Hi, Jamie!” Kim called out with a wave. “Practice today after school.”

  “I know,” Jamie answered. “Hey, you guys, I want you to meet Michaela Gordon. She’s my new stepsister.”

  “Michaela? Cool name!” Megan said, shaking hands.

  “Really?” Michaela asked, obviously pleased. “I don’t know, everyone’s always misspelling it.”

  “Well, I think it’s unique. Hi, I’m Megan. I’m in seventh grade, but they let me hang out with them anyway.” Everyone laughed, and the other girls quickly introduced themselves. “Wow, I love your hair!” Tina said. “Do you curl it?”

  “Uh-uh,” Michaela replied. “It just does that. I can’t make it straighten out.”

  “Why would you want to?” Brittany asked with a giggle. “It’s awesome.”

  “Hey, do you play sports?” Megan asked.

  “Sure!” Michaela said. “I’m into all kinds of things—sports, music, dancing, acting…”

  “Guys…” Kim added jokingly, and everyone cracked up.

  Just then the bell rang. “Uh-oh, we’d better go in,” Tina said. “Who do you have first period, Michaela?”

  “Um, let’s see… English. Room 202. Ms. O’Brien.”

  “Hey, me, too!” Tina took Michaela by the elbow. “Come on, I’ll show you where it is.”

  “See you later, everybody,” Michaela said with a wave. “Thanks, Jamie! See you in math class?”

  “Yup. See you.”

  Jamie watched Michaela and Tina walk down the hall, deep in animated conversation.

  “Lucky you, Jamie,” Kim said.

  “Your new stepsister’s great!” Megan commented.

  Well, she sure isn’t shy, anyway, Jamie thought. In fact, Michaela seemed to have the knack of charming everybody she met.

  “Now, who can tell me the value for X in this equation if X is a natural number and b equals a?”

  Jamie felt her brain squeezing like a sponge, trying to even comprehend what Mr. Marra was talking about. As usual, he was teaching his class as if his students were all Ph.D.’s.

  Jamie shot Michaela a look that said “See what I mean?” To her amazement, Michaela actually had her hand up!

  “Yes, Michaela?” Mr. Marra said.

  “X equals three a plus twelve b,” she said.

  “Correct!” Mr. Marra seemed du
mbfounded that one of his students actually knew the answer. “Michaela, that’s very, very good! This is not an easy equation. Here, let’s try another one.”

  The entire class sat amazed as Michaela answered the next equation, and the next, and the next, sometimes without even using pencil and paper.

  After the bell rang, Michaela was surrounded by several other students, all of them wanting to know how she figured out all those impossible equations.

  Great, Jamie thought. She’s a brain, too. Just what I need. Somebody who’s prettier, smarter, and nicer than me, and lives in my room.

  By the time Jamie arrived at the cafeteria for her lunch period, she was beginning to feel miserable again. She searched for Michaela, since they’d agreed to meet here and talk about how the day was going.

  At first Jamie didn’t see Michaela. But that was because she was looking for a tall, redheaded girl standing or sitting by herself. Then Jamie noticed a large group of boys gathered around a table at the far end of the cafeteria. They were surrounding someone who was almost totally hidden from view. Then the circle parted to reveal Michaela, who was obviously thrilled to be the focus of all that attention.

  Jamie came closer, and now she could see that all the boys seemed to be competing to be the funniest or the coolest. And worst of all, sitting right next to Michaela was none other than Jeff Gates!

  “Hi, Jamie!” Michaela called out, motioning her to come over. “Here. I saved you a seat.”

  “Hi!” Jamie said, making her way through the knot of boys who seemed totally unaware of her existence. “What’s going on? I didn’t know you were such a celebrity.”

  “Neither did I, believe me!” Michaela said with a happy laugh. “But I’m having a great time—this school is awesome!”

  “You think so?” Jamie asked.

  “Oh, yeah!” Michaela said. “The classes are fun, the teachers are nice, and I’m not behind at all, like I was afraid I would be. And best of all, everybody’s being so friendly!”

  Jamie shot a quick glance at Jeff, who was smiling dreamily at Michaela as if she were a movie star or something. “Listen,” Jamie said, “I’m not really that hungry. I think I’m going to go do some studying, okay?”

  Michaela shrugged. “Sure, okay. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine,” she assured Jamie.

  No duh! Jamie thought as she quickly made her way out of the cafeteria. She hurried to the nearest girls’ room and locked herself into one of the stalls.

  She sat there for the next fifteen minutes, trying to compose herself so that no one in her afternoon classes would know that her entire world was falling apart.

  7

  Jamie managed to get through the rest of the school day without any further damage to her psyche. Volleyball practice provided a needed relief. She and Laurie, as usual, dominated the intrateam scrimmage.

  On the volleyball court, at least, there was no question about who was on top. Here, Jamie’s world was still her own. Her spikes were fearsome, her sets precise, and her serves a confusing mixture of high underhand lobs and powerful overhand smashes.

  When practice ended, Jamie felt better than she had in a long time. She was almost disappointed when it was time to go.

  Later on, when she got home, the moving van delivering Tracy and Michaela’s stuff was just pulling away. Jamie went inside, where everyone was busy rearranging furniture. “Hi, all,” she called out. “Gotta go do my homework, okay?”

  “Go ahead, honey,” her dad said. “We’ve got everything under control here. We put Michaela’s bed in your room already, so everything’s all set in there.”

  Alarmed, Jamie rushed upstairs to survey the damage to her room. Michaela’s bed stood against the wall opposite hers. There were a few boxes of stuff on the bed, and the closet was pretty jammed with both girls’ clothes. All in all, though, Jamie had to admit that it wasn’t too bad. Her posters still covered the walls, her trophies were still on their shelves, her stuffed animals were still in their corner. It would be crowded, but at least the room looked pretty much the same.

  Jamie sat down to do her homework and quickly bogged down over the math equations Mr. Marra had given them. She was still trying to figure out the first one when Michaela came into the room, sweaty and dirty from lifting boxes.

  “Hi,” she said, giving Jamie a big smile. “Whew. I’ve done about all I can do for one day. How’s the math coming?”

  “It’s not,” Jamie said, tapping her pencil on the page in frustration.

  “Want me to go over it with you?” Michaela offered. “I’ve already finished the assignment.”

  Jamie gritted her teeth in a smile. “No, thanks,” she said. “I’d rather figure it out for myself. I’m not a total idiot, you know.”

  “I never said you were,” Michaela replied, then shrugged off Jamie’s crabbiness. “Oh, well, suit yourself. I’m going to take a shower.” She grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom, then paused at the door. “By the way, thanks for today. It was awesome.”

  Jamie shrugged and shook her head. “I had nothing to do with it,” she said sincerely. “You didn’t need any help.”

  “You’re wrong,” Michaela told her. “I couldn’t have done it without you. And if you want any help with math later, feel free to ask.” With that, she disappeared down the hall.

  Yeah, right. Like I’d ever ask you for help, Jamie thought bitterly. Her good mood from practice had vanished. She went back to her equations, but the numbers seemed to dance before her eyes. Finally, she threw down the pencil in frustration and got up out of her chair. She hated math! Hated it!

  Then she saw Michaela’s books strewn across her unmade bed. Curious, she wandered across the room and peeked at Michaela’s notebook. All the equations were written out neatly. There was no crossing out where she’d made mistakes. Everything had been done right the first time. Jamie seethed with jealousy.

  She shut the notebook, but she now knew the answer to the first equation. It had been right there in front of her, impossible to ignore, although she hadn’t really meant to see it.

  Jamie went back to her desk and tried to copy out the formula from memory, but about halfway through, she faltered and had to go back for another look. “Oh, well,” she muttered. “What does he expect, when he gives such hard homework?”

  Knowing Michaela would be out of the shower in a few minutes, Jamie did something she’d never done before in her entire life. She grabbed Michaela’s notebook and hurriedly copied down the equations and their answers. Then she put it back exactly where she’d found it. Jamie glanced around guiltily, then went downstairs, feeling lower than a worm.

  “Jamie?” Michaela’s voice was soft in the darkness.

  “Yeah?” Jamie’s grip on the sheets tightened, and her breathing sounded loud in her ears. Was Michaela going to accuse her of stealing the math answers? Had she found Jamie out?

  “I was just wondering…. Do the girls on the volleyball team ever play just for fun? You know, like a pickup game?”

  Jamie’s initial reaction was relief. Her cheating had gone undiscovered, it seemed. Then panic began to set in. Michaela had already moved in on her life in every conceivable area, with the single exception of volleyball. Jamie was determined not to let her last preserve be invaded.

  “Oh, sometimes, I guess. When the season’s over,” she said tentatively.

  “Really?” Michaela sounded disappointed. “Never before?”

  “No, not usually.” Jamie was beginning to sweat. She didn’t like where this conversation was going. She let out a loud yawn to signify that she was tired and didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

  “Oh! Am I keeping you up? I’m sorry,” Michaela said immediately.

  “It’s okay…. It’s just…” Another yawn. “Just that we’ve got a big game tomorrow, and it’s late….”

  “A big game? Who are you playing?”

  Jamie cursed herself for saying too much. Now Michaela was back into it again. “Kingsboro
Middle,” she said, trying to sound totally exhausted. “They’re pretty good. Only a game behind us in the standings.”

  “What place are you in?” Michaela wanted to know.

  “Tied for first with West Side. Nine wins, three losses. Only one team from our division makes the statewide play-offs.”

  “Wow! So this really is a big game,” Michaela said. “I guess I should let you sleep.”

  “Mmmm,” Jamie agreed, pretending to already be drifting off.

  “How many games in the season?” Michaela asked.

  “Fifteen.”

  “Oh—so it’s almost over.” There was a note of hurt in Michaela’s voice.

  “Pretty much. But you can always take up volleyball in high school. It’s never too late.”

  “Of course, if you make the play-offs, which you’ll probably do, there’ll be lots more games, right?”

  Jamie scowled. She didn’t like where this was going one bit. “Uh, right.”

  “Hmm.” Jamie could hear Michaela sitting up in bed. “It’s just that, well, I played volleyball last summer, and people told me I was pretty good. It wasn’t organized or anything, and I’m not sure we were even playing by the rules, but it was a lot of fun. That’s why I was hoping you guys played pickup games sometimes. So that maybe I could play… or maybe even join the team. Do you think?”

  Jamie’s heart started hammering. “I have to say, I doubt you could jump in in the middle of the season,” she said discouragingly. “It would take something pretty major for Coach McKean to add a new player when the team’s already complete.”

  “Oh,” Michaela said, sounding disappointed. “I was only asking because… well, because since you’re on the team, I thought it would be cool if I tried out, and we would be teammates.”

  “Yeah, well… maybe you could get on the basketball team,” Jamie suggested. “Their season is just starting, and they aren’t that good. They could probably use somebody tall who can play the game. You play basketball, don’t you?”

  “I did in New York,” Michaela said. “I kind of liked volleyball better, though.”