The Temperature of Me and You, page 29
“Oh…okay, cool,” Savanna says. Her voice shakes. “I’m Savanna Blatt. Um, a fun fact for me is…I don’t know. This is boring, but I have three older brothers.” She grimaces. “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize for your fun fact,” I say.
“Right.” She smiles slightly. “So, that’s me.” She sighs.
“You forgot your pronouns,” I whisper.
“She?” Savanna asks.
“Great,” Darlene says, exhaling. She re-collects her papers. “Well, I am so happy everyone is here. We’ve grown quickly! Back to our calendar of events.”
“And maybe just one more thing,” Savanna says. She’s sliding a ring off and on her finger. Her nails are lime green. She glances at me.
I nod.
Savanna leans forward. “I’m happy too. But if any of you tell anyone I’m here, happy will be the last emotion you feel.”
Everyone’s smiles disappear from their faces. The room goes quiet. Maddie’s jaw drops. Darlene freezes in her seat. Brenton pushes his glasses farther up his nose. Dr. Brio’s face reddens.
Ah, forever a charmer. That wasn’t the glorious coming-out moment I was expecting, but I swear it was on the tip of her tongue. I shoot Savanna a look, shaking my head.
She shrugs.
Darlene swallows. “Um, okay,” she says.
There’s a minute of silence. Suddenly, Darlene bursts into laughter. Her head falls back as her mouth opens. I look at the sneer painted across Savanna’s face, then start giggling. After a few moments, the whole table laughs, including Savanna.
“Whatever, Savanna,” Darlene says. “This is just the most ridiculous group of people I’ve ever seen.” Tears of laughter stream down her cheeks. She slides everyone some papers. “We’re happy you’re here.”
I feel like I’m floating, but I’m still in my seat. I study Savanna, and my mind skips over its usual string of first thoughts. Rather than seeing the level of neon on her fingertips, shade of her lips, scowl on her face, or height of her heels, I envision her in her bedroom. I think of all the nights we were awake together staring at the ceiling, less alone than we thought.
I’m grateful she kept me in her orbit through the years, even though sometimes it involved my demise. For someone who used to break my heart on the daily, she’s doing a great job of patching it back together.
The solitude of my bedroom used to provide me comfort—just as Savanna’s meanness, I’m assuming, acted as her own security blanket. But being here is showing me how good moments passed me by while I was keeping the same four walls around me. And we’ve all lost out on what it’s like to be around a happy Savanna.
No matter the past events that occurred among us, or the future that is yet to unfold, the laughter currently around this table makes for a moment that can’t be missed between two people who’ve spent too much time wishing they’d be overlooked.
A few days later in Chemistry class, the back of my neck is on fire. But not from my own internal body temperature. My ability to tolerate Perry’s silent, hot breath blowing down my spine has reached its limit. Fixing things with her is the last piece of my life-correcting plan before I infiltrate HydroPro this week. If something bad happens to me there, I don’t want to leave my friendship with Perry on a bad note. If I disappear, I want her recent memories of us to be good ones.
I watch the red line on my iPhone clock make its way to the twelve. My pencil spins between my fingers. The wood begins to get flimsy. I look down and drop it before it melts into a pile of ash on my notebook.
The clock hand finally reaches the top of the hour, and the class bell rings. I spin around in my seat.
We make eye contact for one second before Perry pulls her books to her chest and jumps from her desk.
“Perry, wait,” I say, shuffling after her.
She keeps walking through the classroom. She’s wearing her cheerleading uniform. Her hair is in a wavy ponytail with a white ribbon tied at the top.
I dart in front of her and block the doorway before she can leave. She steps to the right to squeeze by me, but I sidestep to block her. Then she bends down to duck under my arm, but I lower my hand against the door frame, and her forehead smacks into my forearm.
“Would you stop?” she says, stomping her right foot. “What do you want?”
“Can we hang out soon?”
“You’re kidding.” She shakes her head.
“I am, actually. I understand you’re mad. I get it. But I think all the silent treatment has been enough. Don’t you?”
“No.” She smiles. “You gave me and Kirsten the silent treatment for, like, two and a half weeks. I think it’s only fair you get the same treatment.”
“You can’t be serious. You were grounded for half of that time.”
“As serious as Ms. Gurbsterter is with her Lean Cuisines.” She squints.
I sigh. “Perry, I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Are you? Or are you just sorry we caught you keeping secrets?”
“What? Not at all. I haven’t even thought of it like that.”
“Well, I have. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried so hard to find you a boyfriend. I didn’t know you were going to forget about me. You’re going to date a lot of people throughout life and if your way of getting into a relationship is to stop talking to all your friends, then good luck.”
I huff and rub my hands over my face. “Can you cut that? Seriously, I haven’t forgotten about you.”
“Where would you be this weekend if you weren’t dating Jordan?”
“What?”
“What would you be doing?”
“Um…”
She sighs. “Well, Kirsten and I are cheering at the basketball game tonight. Come hang out.”
“That’s what I’m asking about!”
“Good. It’s the varsity boys’ championship game. If they win this, then they go to States. That’s why I’m wearing my uniform. There are banners all over the hallways. Are you not paying attention to anything?”
“Not lately.”
“Okay, well, then my case has been made.”
She walks out the doorway and into the hallway. Her cheerleading skirt sways side to side.
I chase after her. “I’ll be there.”
“We’ll see. Oh, and I think your best friend is waiting for you to go home together.” She nods to the other end of the hallway.
I turn around, and Savanna is leaning against a row of lockers, staring. She waves with two fingers. Perry disappears around a corner.
“Hey,” I say, exhaling.
“Hey,” Savanna says. “Is she still mad?”
I nod and wipe my hands down my thighs.
“Any word from Jordan?” she asks.
I check my phone. “No. What are you doing tonight?”
“Going to the basketball game with the rest of town. How ’bout you?”
“Okay, cool. Same. Can we go together?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“The whole town is going to be there?”
Savanna nods.
A lightbulb goes off in my head.
The game starts at seven p.m. and I am standing in my driveway at seven p.m. waiting for Mom to come outside. I’m still grounded, but apparently, I can go out as long as she or Dad drives me. It makes no sense, and my parents are horrible disciplinarians. I wish I could get legit grounded at least once. All the cool stuff happens to kids in the movies when they get grounded—they find a trapdoor in their closet; an alien communicates with them and they’re so bored they respond; a long-lost lover returns to their window in the middle of the night and they have to secretly sneak out onto the roof. Maybe Jordan will come back and throw rocks against my window if I’m trapped in my bedroom.
Mom walks out the front door and drives me to where I want to go without question.
We pull up to Savanna’s house, and two cop cars are parked along the curb. Their lights blink without noise. Savanna walks out from her garage and slides into the back seat. We greet each other with a nod.
“Did you tip off the news?” she asks in a whisper.
“Kirsten did,” I say. The shadows of passing cars move across Savanna’s face as Mom drives us to school.
“The cops came over asking a bunch of questions…trying to get ahead of it.”
“She’s going to do the press conference right after the game and tell everyone how HydroPro set the fires. Apparently, her contact at the station was able to set it up. The police will find out soon enough. The town’s attention will be on the press conference. It will give me some cover when I try to get into HydroPro after the game.”
She grabs my arm. “Are you sure you want to do it this way?”
I jerk my head back. “Yeah, this makes the most sense. Kirsten is all about it too.”
“I can just admit to what I did.”
“You’re not confessing. Your parents are assholes. Why would you take the blame? We have pictures and videos of HydroPro at every arson scene. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who started this mess. They should take the fall.”
Ten minutes later, Savanna and I walk into Falcon Crest’s gymnasium. I never knew it could hold a crowd this large. The bleachers are full, and people are lined up against every wall, watching the game.
The first quarter is over already, so maybe this won’t be as painfully long as I thought. Who knew another side effect of Jordan was that I would become an active member of the school community? I’m in the GSA, I’m attending sporting events on the weekends…I might as well run for class president at this point. Or better yet, vice president. It still has the glitz without all the responsibility.
I lock eyes with Darlene in the bleachers and she waves. I push Savanna in her direction. We climb the rickety wooden stairs to the second-to-last row and squeeze past a group of people. Brenton is sitting next to her. His legs are crossed.
“Hey!” Darlene shouts over the cheering crowd. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Yeah. I’m actually here to cheer for Perry and Kirsten more than the basketball team.”
“Cheering on the cheerleaders. I like it.”
The Falcon Crest cheer squad is beneath the basket by the scoreboard. They’re jumping around with perma-smiles. Kara Bynum is thrown into the air. She doesn’t fall after three tosses, so maybe her balance is improving after Kirsten and Perry expressed their frustration with her ankle strength. The team is winning 22–18.
I stay standing, so I’m easily visible. Kirsten spots me first. She waves. Perry taps Kirsten on the shoulder and then whispers something into her ear, holding her pom-poms over their faces. Perry does a cheer routine and her eyes don’t leave me.
Someone makes a three-point shot, and the crowd erupts in cheers. The bleachers quake. The boys run back and forth across the court so quickly that my head is going to swivel off my neck as I try to follow.
“When are you going to tell Perry about everything?” Savanna asks.
I glance at the scoreboard, and there are ten seconds left in the second quarter. I watch the clock tick to zero until the buzzer rings.
“Now. And I need you.”
“What? Dylan.” Savanna grabs my arm. Her fingers tighten around my bicep. “You can’t say anything about me…or the fires. I’m doing that on my own terms.”
“I would never out you. I’m talking about Jordan. And what we are. That’s all. I promise. We’re going to discuss the plan for tonight and you’re involved.”
She nods, swallowing. “Okay.” She tightens her ponytail.
We race down the bleacher steps before the crowd filters from their seats.
The cheer squad makes its way to the locker room. I dart across the court and grab Kirsten’s and Perry’s arms.
“Can we talk to you?”
“Now?” Perry asks. “And what do you mean we?” She looks at Savanna. Her eyes are wide. “We have the halftime routine in, like, five minutes.” Perry pulls her arm from my grasp.
“All I need is five minutes.”
“Oh, we’re doing this now?” Kirsten asks. “Okay.”
“Doing what?” Perry asks.
I usher them into the weight room next to the gymnasium. The change in noise level is drastic. I can hear them breathing. I keep the lights off. Perry crosses her arms, still holding her golden pom-poms. I stare at them. Savanna stands next to me.
“Well, talk,” Perry says.
“I have to tell you something.”
“This is a new concept.” She glances at Kirsten.
“Just listen,” Kirsten instructs her.
“I know I’ve been terrible and I’m sorry.”
“Okay, good. Go on.”
“And I know my answer as to why I’ve been terrible is equally terrible, but there’s been a lot of stuff happening in my life the past couple weeks that I couldn’t talk about with you until now. I haven’t been ignoring you. I just didn’t know what to say.”
“Are you two, like, dating or something?” she asks, looking between Savanna and me. “I really don’t get why the four of us are here. Kirsten, do you get this?”
Kirsten nods rapidly. “Yeah, I do actually.” Her face is red.
I spill.
At the end of my rant, Perry stares at me with pursed lips. She puts one of her pom-poms to her chest. “I thought I was surprised when you came out, but this is next level. I know I responded to that in the best way, so let me think of how I want to respond to this secret.”
I shake my head. “I don’t even know how to react to this, so I’m not expecting any type of response,” I say.
“I think our takeaway is that studying science has clearly been a complete waste of our time since it doesn’t even hold up in the real world.”
“Perr, be serious,” Kirsten says.
“I am serious,” she says. “No, but seriously, this is bizarre and more ludicrous than the time in Florida when I tried to push Ms. Gurbsterter off the boat and into the Everglades. I’m mostly annoyed you told me last.”
“The truth just kind of came out,” I say. “I didn’t pick how.”
“But wait,” Perry says. “This organization is deadly and wants to cut off your limbs to test them as a car engine and you want to go inside their headquarters?”
“Yes, right after the game once my mom picks me up.”
“Well, I’ll meet you at your house.” She adjusts her bow.
Kirsten shoots her a look.
“What?” I ask. “No. I’m not going to risk you getting taken too.” I slice the air with my hand. “I just wanted you to know about me in case I never come back. I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you for any other reason.”
“I’m not going to let myself be left out of this even more,” Perry says. “Kirsten is giving the press conference and Savanna…I actually still don’t know why Savanna is here.”
“She caught Jordan and me setting a fire,” I lie. “You three are the only other people that know.”
“Yeah, and I helped bring Dylan to safety,” Savanna says, turning to Perry. “You could just say thank—” She pulls her lips inward, stopping the upcoming insult before it leaves her mouth. Her eyes travel to the floor.
“Okay, whatever,” Perry says. “I basically put you and Jordan together. I should be there to reunite you.”
“How did you put us together?”
“I forced you to stalk him.”
“Actually,” Kirsten interrupts. “I think I forced him to stalk Jordan’s house. I gave the license plate suggestion first.”
Perry waves her hand. “We both put you and Jordan together, and the three of us are going to work together to get him back, like we always do. We’ve missed you and can’t lose you again.” She smiles.
I tap her perfectly white sneaker with my foot, blushing.
“Maybe we’ll get some powers out of this tonight too,” Perry says, grinning. “This life is a bore. You can’t have all the fun.”
I cross my arms and fake a laugh. “You don’t want any. Trust me.”
“I wish you guys weren’t so casual about this,” Kirsten says. “You know trespassing and lying to the press are crimes, right? You are about to break into a serious facility. Lots of things can go wrong. You could get arrested, Perry.”
“You honestly don’t have to do this, Kirsten,” I say. “I swear I won’t be mad.”
“I don’t back out of my commitments. I’m just saying we should proceed with a little more caution.”
“I’m coming too!” Savanna blurts.
We freeze.
“To where?” I ask.
“HydroPro…tonight…I owe you.”
“What?” Perry groans. “Oh, come on. Owe him for what?”
“More people might just bring more attention,” Kirsten says.
I nod. “It’s fine,” I say. Savanna doesn’t need to out herself to Perry and Kirsten to prove why she wants to be there. My chest tightens. I’m somehow out of breath. “The more help there is, the better the chance we get Jordan back.”
An announcer comes on a microphone and introduces the cheerleading team for their halftime show.
“Text us after the game,” Kirsten says. “We’ll be ready.”
“I will. I love you guys.”
They nod and walk backward to the gym door. They exit the room and join the other cheerleaders as they walk from the locker room.
They run to the center of the court. Their music blasts from the speaker, and the crowd echoes their cheers. Kirsten and Perry move with blank expressions across their faces. Perry is paler than she was five minutes ago. She glances in my direction, but I don’t think she can see me in the darkness.
I slowly walk back to the bleachers and watch life unfold around me, unsure of the chaos I may have just released.
Mom texts me about her arrival at the beginning of the fourth quarter because she doesn’t want to deal with the traffic at the end of the night. The game clock ticks below eight minutes. I stand and head for the parking lot. I rub my sweaty hands against my thighs. My knees wobble. The buzzer rings, sending my heart toward the ceiling. Two substitute players switch with two guys already on the court. I scurry across the front row and burst through the gym doors, out of breath.
