Chapter 11
“All you have to do is tell your dad that Ms. Anderson insists on tutoring you, Holly,” Roxie explained as they boarded the bus. “She said she would tutor you. It’s simple, really. She can give you an hour in the afternoons, you focus on every single thing she says, show your dad how hard you’re trying. Then, if you’re lucky, he’ll leave you alone, and you can sneak to Miss Carol’s and do your thing while he is busy planning a dinner date with Ms. Anderson.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Holly said. But she knew her father better than anyone. No way was he going to allow Ms. Anderson to come to the house every day just so Holly could bring up her math grade. He’d already told her she had to study her math on her own. And the dating part, that was a total joke. She decided she would either beg or throw a temper tantrum; she would play it by ear. She had to have a few hours each week in order to secure her future, but she could not tell him that. One thing at a time.
Once they were in their usual seats at the back of the bus, they continued to discuss ways for Holly to meet with Miss Carol so she could practice.
“Why don’t you just tell your father how important this musical is to you? Surely, he’ll understand.” Kayla, ever the sweetest and most upbeat of the three, always seemed to have a simple solution for everything.
“I don’t think it would matter. You know how he hates music and anything to do with it. I just might as well forget the whole idea, it’s just too much trouble. Believe it or not, I do not like lying and sneaking around,” Holly said. Saddened at the thought of missing the opportunity of a lifetime, she just had to come up with a solution. Most dads would be thrilled if their daughter had this kind of opportunity, but he didn’t know she even had an opportunity like this. Her two best friends did not even know. Maxine said it was best to keep this between them in case it did not work out, since then she would not have to explain if he did not show up.
Her dad was nothing but a total bummer, and that was becoming more so with each passing day. He did this every year around the holidays, so it wasn’t like she didn’t know what to expect. He hated Christmas, he hated music, and Holly wondered if he hated her, too.
“You are not giving up! We’ll come up with a plan, trust me,” Roxie said. “Why don’t you come home with me today? You can talk to my mom. About your mom and dad. She might be willing to help us, but you can’t tell her what I said about women giving their right tit. I’d be in big trouble!”
“Left tit,” Holly corrected. They all laughed. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Dad was in a supercrappy mood when I left. If he stops by the house to check on me, and I’m not there, I’ll be in a lot more trouble.”
For once, Roxie was quiet. Kayla and Holly both stared out of the window as the bus stopped and started. Uphill, downhill, the streets were as familiar to Holly as her own house. Ranch-style houses, big front yards with trees still clinging to the last few colorful leaves of fall, Holly loved Pine City and could not imagine living anyplace else. At least not until she started college, and that was a superlong time away. She had traveled to Asheville with her father, and to a few other small towns throughout the state, but that was it. Why was she even having these kinds of thoughts? She was eleven—well, she would be until the last day in December—a horrible day for a birthday as far as she was concerned. While the rest of the world prepared to bring in the New Year, she would get to pick out a movie to rent, and her dad allowed her to stay up as late as she wanted, which was totally cool, but it was time her dad allowed her to have more freedom.
“I’ll go home with you,” Holly said, “but your mom will have to call my dad. I do not like the way I feel when I tell lies.” Holly did not like it at all and knew that neither Roxie nor Kayla did, either, unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Okay. Kayla, can you stay, too? Maybe I can talk Mom into ordering a pizza or subs from Ollie’s.”
“Sure, but I’ll need to call my mom, too. I don’t want to worry her, you know how she is.” If Kayla was one minute late from anything, her mother freaked out, but that was because Kayla was an only child, and her mother and father were a lot older than some of the other parents. But she was the sweetest mom ever, and Holly loved it when she spent the night at Kayla’s house. Kayla’s mom would always make sure to have all kinds of snacks on hand, good and bad, and anything Kayla wanted to do was fine with her mother as long as it was age-appropriate. They were even allowed to watch horror movies, which they all loved, especially the Freddy Krueger ones. Holly was not sure if her father cared if she watched these kinds of movies because the topic never came up. When she did go to the Redbox by Walgreens with him to rent a movie, she always tried to pick out a movie he would enjoy, too, just in case he wanted to watch it with her.
He usually spent most of his time in his den when he was home. She had no clue what he did, but he seemed to spend a lot of time in there. He had tons of horticultural books and read a lot. He did not have a computer, and Holly thought that was odd, but she was used to her father’s strange ways.
When the trio stepped off the bus, the afternoon air was chilly, and they all shivered as they walked up the long drive to Roxie’s house. Of the three houses, Roxie’s was the biggest and the prettiest. It was three stories tall, with lots of wood, and the big glass windows faced the mountains. There was an Olympic-sized pool in the backyard surrounded by lots of tables and lounge chairs. There was even an outdoor kitchen. It was the coolest place to hang out in the summer.
Roxie’s dad was some kind of insurance executive and made gobs of money, but Roxie was not spoiled at all. Like Holly and Kayla, Roxie did not have all the gizmos that many other kids their age had. They’d once said they had each other, and that was enough for them.
As soon as they entered the house, Roxie called out, “Mom, I’m home. Holly and Kayla are here, too.”
Jen Pellegrino was an older version of Roxie, or vice versa. She had beautiful, silky, long blond hair and hazel-colored eyes that sparkled with mischief. Her long, tan legs were so pretty, Holly thought she could have been a model, had she wanted to be.
“Hey, girls, great to see you. I bet you’re all starved,” Jen said. “Let’s go to the kitchen and see what I can come up with.”
“Mom, Holly’s dad doesn’t know she’s here. Could you call him for her? He’s kinda mad at her.”
“Oh, Holly, I’m so sorry, sweetie. Did you two have a fight or something?”
Holly set her backpack down by the table. “No. He’s just upset over my math grade.” There was more to it than that, but it was all she needed to say. Jen knew that Holly’s home life was rather strange. Not really bad, just different.
“Then let me call him now. I do not want him worrying about you.”
“Thanks,” Holly said.
“Can we order something from Ollie’s?” Roxie called to her mom, who was already on the phone with Holly’s dad. She nodded yes, and Roxie gave Holly a big high five.
Jen put the phone down. “Your dad said it’s fine if you want to stay for dinner, as long as I can drive you home, which I can. You girls want that pizza now, or do you want to wait?”
“Now,” Roxie said. “I’m starving.”
Holly shot Roxie a questioning look. Lunch had not been that long ago. Roxie shook her head, and this was yet another signal between them. It meant to go along with whatever she said.
“Me too,” Holly added.
“I’m famished as well,” Kayla said, and they all laughed.
“Such a big word for such a young girl,” Jen said teasingly.
“She’s the lady in our group,” Roxie said to her mother.
“You’re all young ladies, each unique in your own special way.”
Roxie giggled. “You sound just like the camp counselor I had last summer. Promise me I don’t have to go back next summer? I want to stay home this year.”
“You can stay here, Rox, if that’s what you really want to do. But I thought you liked camp.”
“I did, but I’m too old for that now. I’d rather stay home and hang around with my friends.”
“Then I’ll make it happen. Maybe we can host a pool party this summer, and you can invite your entire class.”
“Mom! Please do not start planning stuff already,” Roxie pleaded. “No way would I ever invite my entire class.” She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. They all giggled, including Roxie’s mom.
Holly thought Roxie was lucky to have such a fun, cool mom who really cared about her. Again she thought of her mother, and how her life would have been different if her mom had lived. She did have Miss Carol, who was like a grandmother to her, and she totally loved spending time with her, but still, Miss Carol was not her mother.
Jen called Ollie’s and ordered a pizza, submarine sandwiches, and a giant chocolate chip cookie pizza for dessert. Holly was not even remotely hungry, but no way would she pass on this feast.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Roxie said. “Mom, let us know when the pizza arrives.”
“Sure thing, kiddo,” Jen said.
Once they were safely inside Roxie’s room, Holly spoke up. “I know you have something up your sleeve, so you’d better tell me now.”
“You are going to eat, then Kayla and I are gonna help you with your math, and we do not want to be disturbed. Because your grades are terrible.”
“But—” Holly said.
“Listen. But instead of your studying here in my room, you can sneak over to Miss Carol’s for at least an hour and practice.” Roxie plopped down on her bed, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
“What if your mom decides to come looking for me? Worse, what if my dad does? I’d be toast, for sure,” Holly said.
“It’s the best I can come up with. What about it, Kayla?” Roxie asked. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“It’s better than anything I can come up with,” Kayla said.
“So, we have pizza, race back upstairs, and I sneak over to Miss Carol’s.” Holly said this to Roxie just to make sure she was on the same page.
“Yes, and I’ll make sure we’re not disturbed. If Mom comes upstairs, I’ll just tell her you’re in the bathroom. It’s simple. You can take the back trails, and no one will see you.”
“I do not want you to get in trouble, either. I don’t like lying to your mom. And I do not like your telling lies to your mom, either.”
“It’s your choice, I’m just trying to help,” Roxie said. “I know how important this Christmas musical is to you. Plus, think about all the years our parents lied to us, telling us Santa Claus crawled down the chimney to deliver our presents.”
Holly was seated on the bed next to Roxie and flopped over onto her side, since she was laughing so hard. Kayla caught on, and the three laughed until their sides hurt.
“I think that’s okay for parents,” Kayla said when she stopped laughing.
“It’s called a double standard,” Roxie said. “At least I think it is.”
There was a tap on the door, and they quickly pulled out books and notepads. “Girls, the pizza is here,” Jen said through the crack in the door. “Come get it while it’s hot.”
“Be right down, Mom,” Roxie called. “All we have to do is cram a slice of pizza in our mouths, then we’ll come back to my room to study. She knows I’d never pass up a cookie pizza, so I’ll just bring each of us a slice, and Mom will have no reason to bother us. So what do you think?” Roxie asked Holly.
“I think if my dad catches me, I’m grounded for life,” Holly said. “I’m not sure if this is worth all this sneaking around. The musical will be open to the public. The Upside plasters announcements about it everywhere. It’s going to be hard to practice, but once the musical starts, he’ll know and ground me, but it will be worth it.”