“This is Juliet,” Olivia says to Ben, who has scooted himself in next to her and is picking off her plate.
“You have no manners,” Charlie announces.
“Tell Dad,” Ben says, winking.
Rob takes one of his hands off my shoulders and extends it to Juliet.
“It’s been forever,” he says. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Oh my God. Rob?”
Rob laughs. “Yep, that’s me.” His voice is soft, and he lets his hand brush the back of my arm.
She nods and bites her lower lip. I study her, closely. That might be it. The power move, I mean. It’s hard to tell. A lot about her seems, well,structured.Like she’s got a plan. One thing she doesn’t seem is surprised. Not shocked that Rob isclearly with me. Not even remorseful of calling him hot.
“How’s your first day back?” he asks.
“Okay, I guess,” she says, not taking her eyes off him. “Better now.” She glances quickly at me and Charlie to show she doesn’t just mean Rob. “Hey, are you going to the dance tomorrow?”
For a second I’m not sure who she’s addressing, but then Rob lifts his hand off my hair, and I see Juliet is staring at him.
“Think so,” he says.
“Be my date.”
I can’t possibly have heard her right. She did not just invite Rob, my Rob, to be her date to the school dance. His hand is on my shoulder. We’retouching.
“Oh, come on, Rose,” Juliet says. “You girls are going together. Lend him out. I don’t know anyone else. And it would be good to catch up.” Her tone of voice has changed. She’s talking to me like we actuallyarecousins. Like we’ve known each other for forever and she’s asking to borrow my gray sweater. Not Rob.
I look at Charlie. I’m desperate to have her say something, anything, but she has ripped the baseball hat off of Jake’s head and is waving it around. She might as well be in the math cubicles, she’s so far away now. Olivia is whispering something to Ben and giggling. I’m alone here.
Rob will turn her down. Any second now he will say “Sorry, I don’t think so” or “You should go with the girls.” But he doesn’tsay any of those things. I arch around, and he’s staring at her. His expression has changed. He looks confused. Like he doesn’t know the answer.How could he possibly not know the answer?
“Come on,” Juliet says slowly. “It’s just a dance.” She bites her lip again.
“You should really come with us,” I interject. “It’ll be fun, and we’re getting ready at Olivia’s. Her house is, like, the size of Texas.” I’m pulling out all the stops, but Juliet’s house is probably better stocked than Olivia’s. I doubt this is even tempting her.
“I want to go with Rob,” Juliet says.
Here’s the thing about me: I’ve never liked confrontation. Ever since I was little, I’ve been terrified of upsetting people. I’d much rather just keep the peace. Which is fine, usually, but it also means I have absolutely no idea what to do now. Charlie is the one who can tell people off, the one who has no trouble standing up for herself. And me? Well, I’m used to standing behind her.
I’m still wrestling with how to handle this when I hear Rob speak behind me. One word: Sure.
Sure?As inyes? I can’t have heard him right. I need some kind of clarification. Someone to tell me that, no, Rob did not just agree to escort my cousin, Juliet, to Fall Back. My cousin, Juliet, who thinks he has a hot body. My cousin, Juliet, who couldn’t care less about me, or the fact that Rob and I are kinda, sorta together.
“Great,” Juliet says. “Then it’s all settled. I gotta run.” Shepicks up her tray. She hasn’t touched a thing on it. “Ciao,” she says to the table. I have a feeling that’s her standard departure. And we’re going to be hearing it a lot.
Charlie gives her a backhanded wave. She’s still yelling at Jake.
“See you later,” Juliet says to me. And then, a little lower, “I’m glad I’m back. I think it’s going to be a great year.”
Charlie said the same thing yesterday, and it already feels like forever ago. Even though I have Rob and should be psyched, I can’t help but fear that they both might be wrong.
Scene Six
“I seriously cannot believe you’reokay with this,” Charlie is saying.
We’re all at Olivia’s house getting ready for Fall Back. We’re in her room, clothes strewn everywhere, and torn-out pages of old editions ofInStyleandGlamouron the floor, from which we are trying to get ideas. It’s a mess, but it doesn’t matter. Ten minutes after we leave, everything will have been cleaned up.
