Paula Stokes - The Art of Lainey

“It’s Micah’s sister,” I say. “And she’s a freshman.”

“Oh. Now I get it.” Kendall turns her scalding eyes on me. “You’re still strategizing. Only now you’re after Mohawk Boy instead of Jason.”

“No, Kendall. Not everything I do has an evil agenda, okay? She’s a nice kid and she’s scared and she shouldn’t have to be alone in the hospital,” I say. “That’s all there is to it.”

The three of us head to the All Saints ER. I make Kendall triple-promise to be careful with Steve’s car and reluctantly hand her the keys. Trinity and I head inside. Turns out Trin is right and the nurses and doctors can’t officially treat her without parental consent, unless her condition changes and becomes a life-threatening emergency. They tell her not to eat anything, and to let one of the desk girls know if she’s able to get her mom on the phone. We try her mom’s cell phone again and also leave a message at the diner. Then we try to get comfortable in the waiting room. It’s not happening. The thermostat is set somewhere between refrigerator and ice rink, and all of the plushy chairs are taken.

We sit next to each other on a hard bench with no back. Behind us, a pair of angelfish swim lazily around in a cylindrical aquarium. “How are you going to get to your party?” Trinity’s pale face is a mess of bruises and worry lines. She traces the path of a fish with one trembling index finger.

“I can take the train,” I say. “I’m not worried about it. I’m worried about you. I’ll hang out until your mom or brother shows up.”

She shakes her head. I notice her colored streaks are gone. I wonder if she got tired of them or if they got ripped out during her accident. “I’d feel better knowing I didn’t mess up your plans.” She looks down at the floor. “I don’t want the most popular girl in school to hate me before I even set foot in Hazelton High.”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Kendall? Her bark is worse than her bite.” Privately I’m thinking the probability of Kendall even remembering what Trinity looks like over a month from now when school starts is less than zero.

“Still. The nurses are keeping an eye on me. You can go.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” I make a pretend-outraged face. “Don’t make me tell your brother on you.”

Just the thought of Micah makes Trinity smile. “What happened to you guys anyway?” she asks.

My hair falls forward into my face as I look down at my lap. “It’s a long story.”

“Yeah, Micah told me you were never technically dating. But now it seems like you guys aren’t even friends.” Trinity picks at a loose thread on her pants. “He misses you, you know?”

I swallow back a lump in my throat. “Highly unlikely.”

“You miss him too, don’t you? I keep telling him that you do.”

“Why would you even think that?” I raise my head. “I haven’t seen you since the first time Micah and I hung out.”

“Because I know how awesome my brother is. You’d have to be stupid not to miss him.” She smiles her toothy smile at me. “You don’t seem stupid. You should call him.”

I turn away, toward the aquarium. It’s my turn to trace the angelfish’s path with my finger. “It’s not that simple,” I whisper. “Maybe everything is already decided. Why fight the natural order of things?” The fish ducks inside a plastic grotto. A cluster of bubbles shoots from the filter.

“I guess because some things are worth it.”

I pull my eyes away from the aquarium, back to Trinity. Her cheek is turning purple and the lump on her forehead seems to have grown even bigger, but a faint smile clings to her lips. She’s still thinking of her brother. She reaches out and touches my teal streak. “I can’t believe you still have this.”

“I know, right? It’s getting a little raggedy. I’m going to need you to give me a new one before school starts.”

She beams. “I think you should do red and black, to match your soccer uniform.”

I nod. “That is an excellent idea.”

The doors to the ER slide open with a hiss and Micah storms in, his face clouded over with worry. He crosses the tile floor in about three strides. “Trin.” He kneels in front of her, examining the welt on her forehead. “I just talked to Mom and she’s on her way. I am so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

He turns to me and my heart skips like a stone bouncing across a lake. But right as I open my mouth to say something, Amber hurries in, the keys to the Beast dangling from her fingers. I guess that explains why Micah wasn’t answering his phone. She must have forgiven him for that whole scene at Beat.

Amber makes a beeline for Trinity and wraps her in a hug. Then she sits down on the other side of her and pretends I don’t exist. I spring to my feet so Micah can have my chair. “Looks like you’re in good hands,” I say tightly, flashing Trinity a smile as I practically run for the exit.

“Thanks, Lainey,” she says. “We’ll talk more about your new streaks.”

“Deal.” I am halfway to the door.

“Lainey?” Hearing Micah say my name twists my stomach into knots.

I skid to a stop. “Yeah?” I turn, but can’t make eye contact. Instead I concentrate on a blotchy, brownish stain on the linoleum floor.

“You brought her in?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” I choke out, turning back toward the doors. The fading daylight beckons to me. All I want to do is escape the frigid coldness of the ER and the sight of Micah and Amber together again.

I have to call my mom to pick me up. Once I’m safely buckled into her passenger seat and she can see I’m okay, she starts worrying about Steve’s car.

She backs carefully out of the parking spot, waiting for an elderly woman with a walker to pass behind us. “You trust Kendall to drive it?”

“My options were limited,” I say. “I said I would take her somewhere and then canceled on her at the last minute. She’s not a terrible driver. She triple-promised she would be careful.”

My mom looks over at me as she puts the car in DRIVE. “You canceled to stay with a friend after an accident, Lainey. You could have just told Kendall no.”

“Kendall doesn’t care about the why, Mom. She only cares about the what.”

“Sounds like she only cares about herself.” My mom turns out of the hospital parking lot. “Sorry,” she says smoothly. “She’s your friend and I know she’s had it kind of rough. I just hate to see you let someone take advantage of you. Not to mention, Kendall Chase may be seventeen going on thirty, but I’m not sure it’s safe for her to be going to college parties by herself.”

Crap. I didn’t even think about that. “I’m supposed to take the train down and meet her.”

My mom checks both mirrors before changing lanes. “I don’t want you on the MetroLink at night by yourself.”

“It’s, like, eight o’clock, Mom.” I scoff. “It’s still light out.”

“And what if you don’t find her? Then you’ll be heading back to Hazelton after dark, by yourself. People get mugged all the time, Lainey. You kids need to stop thinking you’re invincible.”

I slouch down in my seat. “But she’s mad at me. She’ll be even more mad if I don’t show up.”

“I don’t care. Call her and tell her you’re not coming. Tell her I grounded you for letting her take Steve’s car if you want.”

I give my mom a sideways glance. “You want me to lie?”

She winks at me. “You want me to really ground you?”

I call Kendall. She doesn’t answer. I leave a quick voice mail telling her I won’t be able to make the party and asking her to call me back. Then I try Jason.

He picks up right away. “Lainey,” he says, like he’s surprised to hear from me. “What’s going on?”

“Your sister took my brother’s car to some party at Wash U,” I say. “I’m supposed to meet her but now I can’t and she’s not answering her phone. She’s kind of pissed at me, so that might be all it is, but I feel bad leaving her by herself.”

Jason swears under his breath. “Our dad coming to town has made her half crazy, I think. So far she refuses to even talk about him. Do you know where this party was supposed to be?”

“Like a block off campus on Pershing Avenue? She said it was being thrown by a friend of a friend of someone she met on So You Think You Can Model.”

“Okay. I’ll track her down. Thanks for calling me.”

“No problem. When you talk to her, tell her I’m sorry.”

“Sure. Hey, we made the play-offs partially thanks to you,” Jason says. “Games the next two Saturdays. Give me a call if you’re interested in filling in.”

“I am completely and utterly interested in filling in,” I say. Maybe it’ll be a little awkward playing with Jason, but if he’s willing to give it a shot, so am I. “Let me just check my Denali schedule and get back to you.”

“Sounds good. I’ll make sure Kendall returns the car in one piece.”

“Thanks, Jay. Bye.”

“So are things back on with Jason?” my mom asks after I hang up the phone. I can tell she’s curious.

“Nah. But hopefully we can be friends.” I fiddle with the buckle of my seat belt.

She turns onto our street. “I see.” She doesn’t press me for details.

Which I bet is hard for her, considering that she prides herself on being one of those “cool moms” who their kids can talk to. “Have I told you lately how awesome you are?” I ask.

She laughs. “Not in the last five years or so.”

“You’re pretty awesome.” I watch the neighbors’ houses roll by through the passenger window. A sheepdog frolics on one of the front lawns. A dog could be fun. Maybe if I do end up staying in Hazelton to go to college I could get one. That might make living at home worth it.