Lurker

Kylenevers: Sorry. Parents dragged me out.:—( What’s up?

MC9010025: At a friend’s 2night. Saw u online.

Kylenevers: It’s my life LOL

MC9010025: LOL. Can’t chat long. She’ll be back in a minute.

Mandy turned to Laurel with a smile and winked. Laurel nudged her with a shoulder.

Kylenevers: b home l8r?

MC9010025: Probably stay here

Kylenevers: Oh. Drag. Hoping we could chat.

“Ask him,” Laurel said.

“Check your meds. I’m going to.”

MC9010025: Me too. Hey! Friends and I are getting together at Corey’s that restaurant by the mall tomorrow. U should come.

Mandy felt Laurel’s arm snake around her neck as her friend leaned in close to read Kyle’s reply. Mandy waited anxiously, but it was taking Kyle a long time to answer.

“He’s going to bail,” Laurel said. “Boy has got glitches.”

“Just wait. Let’s see what he says.”

Kylenevers: Ugh. Can’t…

“What did I say?” Laurel asked, tapping Mandy’s shoulder.

Kylenevers: Remember my brunch last Sun?

MC9010025: Sure

Kylenevers: Got an early acceptance to Stanford. Have a campus tour on Wed and a meeting with counselor on Thurs. My parents are making a vacation out of it. Ugh. LOL. I just found out we’re leaving Mon morning, so my weekend is kind of screwed. What about next weekend? By then, I’ll need to recharge. Sat night?

MC9010025: k. Sounds good.

Kylenevers: Awesome. It’s a date.

MC9010025: Kewl. Chat l8r. Friend coming back. TTFN

Kylenevers: BFN

“Doesn’t mean anything,” Laurel said defensively. “He’s got all week to bail on you.”

Oddly enough, Mandy was thinking the exact same thing.

9

The next morning, Mandy sat at a gleaming white table across from Drew. Most of the dread of the previous evening had faded, and Mandy felt a sense of calm sitting with her friend. They were in Corey’s, the restaurant Mandy mentioned to Kyle the night before. Corey’s was a modern diner with a floor tiled in black marble and high- tech light fixtures that looked like little Chinese hats. The place reminded Mandy of her own house, all slick and polished. As a result, she didn’t usually like Corey’s much, but this was where her friends gathered to drink coffee, gossip, and as was now the case, download information.

“We had the best time,” Drew said, sounding like it was the most unexpected thing to ever happen. “He’s just so cool, and did you see his car?”

Mandy was going to remind Drew that the BMW belonged to Jacob’s father, but decided to let her friend enjoy the fantasy. “Yes. How cool was that?”

“I know. My God. Everyone was looking at us. I couldn’t believe it. It was like a fairy tale.”

As Drew spilled out the details of her date—the restaurant where they had dinner, the movie they saw, the coffee place they went to afterward—she emphasized the story with broad hand gestures and enough Gods to fill a sermon. Mandy looked at her friend with a smile. Nodded her head. And though she was trying to listen, keeping her ears alert for key words and pauses that required a response, her mind wandered. She remembered her dates with Dale: how he’d taken her to home-coming, even though he was sick with the flu; how they took turns picking films to watch, whether on DVD or at the movies; the way he held her just tightly enough when they kissed. She wondered if she would have these kinds of memories with Kyle, and she suddenly thought she would not. He was lines of text on a computer screen. He wasn’t real yet, might never be real.

It occurred to Mandy then that Kyle might simply be a rebound. He was funny and seemed nice, and he was certainly good-looking, but if she was spending so much time thinking about Dale and their wonderful times together, she had to believe that she missed him. And how could she miss someone she didn’t want or like?

Mandy made herself stop thinking about that. It was silly. Sure, she had a good time with Dale, but that didn’t mean he was right for her. A lot of good traits didn’t mean there weren’t bad ones. She was just confused about Kyle. Last night, Laurel made a big deal about him having glitches. She spent most of the night talking about it. Sure, a lot of it was joking, but her concerns and warnings sank in. Besides, hearing all of the romantic details of Drew’s date was bound to kick up fond memories.

“And when he kissed me good night,” Drew said, “I could barely stay on my feet. I almost fainted. I swear.”

“That sounds amazing,” Mandy told her. “When’s he supposed to call again?”

“He already did,” Drew said, her cheeks bursting with blush. “This morning, just before I left. We’re going to meet at the mall later and look at CD players. Jacob needs a new system for his room.”

Mandy was about to offer another exclamation of joy for her friend, but the door to the restaurant opened and a familiar face appeared in the lobby. “Crap,” she said.

Dale stood in front of the hostess stand, looking around the restaurant as if searching for friends. When he spotted Mandy, he went rigid and looked at the floor.

“What?” Drew asked. “You don’t think I should go?”

Drew was so caught up in her new romance that she was oblivious to everything else. Mandy looked into her coffee cup, hoping her hair would cover most of her face.

“Dale’s here,” she whispered.

“Let’s leave,” Drew said, all but panicked.

“Check your meds,” Mandy told her. She straightened up, feeling silly for having tried to hide. “I’m not going to let him run my life.”

Upon finishing this defiant statement, she glanced back at the lobby. Dale was halfway to their table, looking right at her. Maybe bailing wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Hey, Drew,” he said when he reached the table.

“Hi, Dale.”

“Mandy.”

“Dale.”

She clutched her coffee mug between her hands, trying to keep them from shaking. Butterflies went full-on hyperdrive in her stomach. She searched for her cool, but couldn’t find it. Having him standing so close just freaked her. And it didn’t help that he was wearing the sky-colored sweater Mandy gave him for Christmas.

“How’re you doing?” Dale asked.

“Fine,” Mandy said.

“Do you think we could talk?” he asked.

“I have to go!” Drew announced too loudly, already retrieving her bag and standing from the booth. “I have to meet Jacob. He’s buying a new stereo for his room, and he really wants me to help him pick it out. You know how guys are. So…okay…bye.”

Amazed, Mandy stared at her escaping friend. How could you? Mandy wanted to ask. Drew looked back at her with an expression of wide-eyed desperation. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Drew chose to get away from it, as fast as her little traitorous legs would take her.

“She’s dating Lurie?” Dale asked, taking the recently vacated space in the booth. “That makes sense.”