Cipher

Nice kick or not, Summer couldn’t stand the smell. Every time she breathed in, it seemed like she could taste it. Even pushing her nose against her fist didn’t work. The stench seeped through, making her eyes water.

Mr. Jennings walked in, and Summer darted to her usual seat before she lost the chance. By the time she’d settled in and took a few deep breaths of relatively decent smelling air, Mr. Jennings was at the board starting his lecture.

“That was weak,” Troy whispered.

Summer didn’t reply. She opened her notebook to take notes.

“I admire your dedication to taking a break from me, but you couldn’t stand the smelly guy for five minutes. I expected better.”

Unable to ignore him anymore, she turned to him. “You could move, you know.”

Troy stretched out, a big grin on his face. “I like this seat.”

Summer returned her attention to the board as Mr. Jennings rattled off facts about types of chemical reactions.

“Come on, Sunshine. I’m sorry, okay.”

She glanced across the aisle at him. His stupid cute face and extra charming smile annoyed her even more. “You don’t even know why you’re sorry,” she whispered back. “So how can you even be sorry?”

“Because you’re mad. I don’t even care why; I just want you to stop being mad at me.”

Summer lifted a finger to shush him. He was getting way too loud. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”

“Summer,” Mr. Jennings said. “You had your hand up. Do you know the answer?”

Suddenly, she had the attention of everyone in the room. “Actually, Troy was saying he knew the answer.”

Mr. Jennings’s eyes moved to Troy. “Troy?”

“I’m sure I do know the answer,” Troy said. “First I just need to know the question.”

That response got a few chuckles.

“I suggest you pay better attention,” Mr. Jennings said. “I asked what type of chemical reaction the formula on the board is.”

Troy studied the equation for a moment. “Decomposition reaction.”

“That’s right. Now, let’s talk about the other kinds of reactions…” Mr. Jennings continued his lecture, and Summer focused on scribbling all the information down. At least she’d made Troy squirm for a few seconds. Too bad he somehow had all the answers.

After class, Summer gathered all her supplies and headed out of the classroom. A few steps into the hall, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she was pulled against a solid body. “You owe me for that you know,” Troy said.

Summer raised an eyebrow at him. “I guess we’re even.”

“Does that mean you forgive me for whatever I did?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I never said I was mad. I just said I needed a break.”

“From this?” he gestured to himself, an incredulous look on his face.

Summer rolled her eyes. “Your humility. It’s a problem.”

“So was that you I saw pulled over last night? It looked like your car.”

Apparently, everyone had seen her last night. “This cop has it out for me. It’s the second time he’s pulled me over, and my dad’s upset because I tried to hide it. His girlfriend ratted me out before I even got home. First, he gave me this total guilt trip. Then this morning, on top of his usual defensive driving spiel, I got a lecture on trust. I think it would’ve felt better if he yelled or grounded me. Of course, that would be really bad. I can’t get grounded now. I’m not even close to finished with my job.”

“Your job?” Troy asked.

Summer’s mouth hung open, her mind searching for a way to cover her slip. “My job to get my dance moves up to par. The girls aren’t happy with them.” She started down the hall, and Troy stayed next to her. “By the way, why were you here so late last night?”

Troy just stared.

“I saw your Jeep was still in the parking lot,” she said. “We practiced late.”

“Oh, nothing. I just had to do some stuff.” Troy glanced down the hall. “In fact, I’ve got to get to my next class.”

Of course you do. I should start calling you Mister Dodge all the Questions. “Are you going to come hang out with us at lunch?”

Troy shook his head. “I can’t today.”

“You never have any time to hang out anymore. You’re always off and running somewhere mysterious.”

“Shoot, Sunshine, if you want to hang out, all you have to do is ask.”

Summer crossed her arms and glared at him. “What’s keeping you so busy?”

“Life.”

“Why won’t you tell me?”

Troy flashed a half grin. “Said the girl who always has a secret.”

Just when she didn’t think he could get any more irritating, he upped it a notch. “I give up. I’ll see you around, Mister Bond.” She walked past him, headed toward her next class. She didn’t have time to deal with Troy anyway. All her energy needed to go into putting her plan into motion. Later today she was going to have another talk with Pamela.

* * *

Kendall was less than happy when Summer bailed early, but she didn’t have time to worry about that. Ashlyn left a message saying she was headed out to buy treats, and Summer zoomed over to her house, hoping to catch Pamela alone. Heart hammering like a jackhammer, Summer knocked on the door and waited.

“Come on in,” Pamela said with a sneer. Ever since Summer had suggested the woman express her love to her daughter, she’d barely spoken to her. Short clipped phrases were all she’d gotten since that talk a little over a week ago. Summer kept thinking she’d try again, only to have something get in the way. Sometimes it was simply her chickening out.

Time to get down to business.

Summer cleared her throat, hoping to clear her nerves as well. “I thought about that talk we had, and I wanted to say that love shouldn’t have to be earned. Ashlyn shouldn’t have to do something involving exercise to get praise. I heard about the diet pills, so I know you care about her. Can you please tell her that?”

Pamela stepped closer, and Summer stared at the woman’s toned arms. As Pamela had so nicely pointed out before, Summer’s were no match. “Why don’t you keep your opinions to yourself? I don’t need some teenager who knows nothing about being a mother to come in and tell me how to be one. If your friendship didn’t mean so much to Ashlyn, I’d ask you to leave my house and never come back.”

The note said she was running out of time, so Summer decided she wasn’t going to tiptoe around anymore. “See, right there, you proved how much you care about her. Just. Tell. Her.” As hard as it was, she stared right back.

The front door swung open, and Ashlyn walked in. “Hey, you beat me here. I got some snacks. And Mother, before you say anything, I’m pointing out that I got veggies and low-fat popcorn.” Ashlyn’s gaze moved from Summer to Pamela. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Summer said. “I was about to head up to your room to wait for you.”

“Well come on then. Scott Pilgrim awaits,” Ashlyn said. Summer followed her, too scared to look at Pamela again.

“I’ve got to use the bathroom first.” Ashlyn tossed the snacks and her bag on the bed, and then stepped into the bathroom adjoining her room, closing the door behind her.

Summer plopped herself on the foot of the bed, and Ashlyn’s bag tumbled to the floor. “Oh holy crap,” she muttered, bending over to pick it up. As she shoved the contents back inside, she saw the box. Either Ashlyn had forgotten to take the diet pills out of her purse, or she was still taking them.