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  “Ah, the Sweet Sixteen Initiation at the lake,” she says almost wistfully. “I’d forgotten about that.”

  My eyes widen. “You know about that?”

  “I was sixteen once too, you know. In this very town.” She walks to the curb with me and we wait for the bus together. “I promise I won’t ask about what you do tonight if you don’t ask what I did all those many years ago.”

  Even though I know my mom would never ask me about my night, I say, “Deal.” We shake on it. “But I don’t even know what’s supposed to happen. No one will tell me.”

  “That’s the downside of turning sixteen before all your friends,” Mom says. “Someone has to go first.”

  “Can you just give me a hint?”

  She laughs and shakes her head. “It’s different for everyone.” “It might not even matter, because if I fail my driver’s test I’m not going.”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” she says, reaching into her apron pocket. “Here’s the note excusing you from third period.”

  I take the note and slip it into one of the deep pockets of my cargo pants. “Dad’s picking me up, right?”

  “He’ll be there, don’t worry. If you’re not going to eat that extra muffin you should give it to Megan. The last time she was here for dinner I swear the girl only ate two kernels of corn.”

  My mother and my friend Megan Panopolis’s mother went to high school together, so Mom treats Megan like a second daughter. Actually, she may show a bit more concern for Megan!

  “She won’t eat it, Mom. I’ve tried. She’s trying out for the part of Belle in Beauty and the Beast at Disney-MGM this summer and thinks she has to lose weight.” Megan and I have promised never to try out for the same part so we’ll never jeopardize our friendship. So far it’s working great, and we keep each other motivated.

  “She’s perfectly fine the way she is,” my mother insists. “I’m going to have a talk with her mother.”

  “I don’t think it will help,” I say as the bus pulls up.

  “Good luck with Juliet!” Mom says as I climb the three steps up. “Break a leg!” She waves goodbye as I take my seat by the window next to Katy. Some people would be embarrassed to have their mother wave to them from the bus stop, but I have a very high embarrassment threshold. It has served me well over the years. Katy practically melts into the ground whenever her mother even talks to her in public. Granted, her mother is pretty strange. Ten years of working as the set designer for the “It’s a Small World” ride was bound to cause some permanent damage.

  Katy says happy birthday and gives me a big hug. I turn around to look for Zoey, who usually sits right behind Katy. Zoey respects the fact that Katy and I are best friends and leaves the seat next to Katy for me. I would do the same for her and Megan, except Megan doesn’t take our bus. Zoey isn’t in her seat today.

  I turn back around. “Where’s Zoey?”

  “She called me at six-thirty this morning,” Katy explains, stretching her long legs out into the aisle. “She had a self-tanning incident.”

  “Again?” Zoey is so pale she’s not allowed to sit in the sun at all. She and her brother both have light red hair and white skin. It looks good on Zoey. Her brother, Dennis, who is a junior, just looks pasty. Although that may be a side effect of staying in his room all day partying and only listening to Pink Floyd. Their mother has this obsession with skin cancer. You’d think their family would have considered that before moving to Florida. This is the third time this year Zoey has had a mishap with self-tanners. I personally think she does it so she’ll look like Megan, who has naturally olive-colored skin. Poor Zoey always turns orange instead of olive.

  “She’ll be at the lake tonight, though, right?”

  Katy nods. “Her mother’s making her scrub it all off with this special ammonia stuff, and then she’ll drive her to school later.”

  The best-looking guy in our grade, Jason Count, gets on at the next stop. Since everything is working with my appearance today, I’ll be brave and smile at him. The corners of my lips begin turning upright in preparation. Then Jason’s girlfriend, Erica or Emily or Emma or some such name that starts with an E, steps onto the bus after him.

  “She doesn’t even live near here,” Katy whispers as they take a seat in the back.

  “Do you think she spent the night at his house?” I whisper back. Katy turns her head to look at them. “She’s practically sitting in his lap.”

  I steal a glance at them and they do look very cozy with his strong arms around her. I wonder if I’ll ever have a real boyfriend to get cuddly with. Andrew was more of a make-out-behind-the-bleachers kind of guy.

  “So did you get the car key yet?” Katy asks.

  I dig out my key chain and show it to her. “It’s the big shiny one that says Ford on it.”

  “This is the key chain your leapmate sent you, right? I’m surprised he found one with Josie on it. I mean, Pussycats aside, I didn’t think it was that popular a name.”

  “Chris special-ordered them all. He’s really sweet.”

  “Did you ever think of maybe dating him some day? I know he lives on the opposite end of the country, but maybe you could go to the same college or something.”

  I put the keys back in the side pocket of my bookbag. “I don’t think I’m his type.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m pretty sure he’s gay.”

  She looks surprised. “Why would you think that?”

  “Well, for one thing he told me his friends are taking him to a club called The Pink Triangle for his birthday. And once he asked me if it’s difficult to get a job singing in the Main Street Parade at Disney.”

  Katy nods knowingly. “You’re probably right, then.”

  It’s a well-known fact at our school that any guy who is either in the Main Street Parade or performs in one of the EPCOT shows is not going to be asking any girls to the prom.

  We’re still a block away from school when the engine starts sputtering and the bus grinds to a halt. The driver opens the door. “Everybody out.”

  “Hey,” Katy says as we file down the stairs and head toward the school. “At least this time there’s no smoke coming out of the back of the bus.”

  “Soon we’ll be in the Shark and won’t have to deal with the humiliation of arriving by bus.”

  “Not soon enough for me,” Katy says, pushing open the heavy wooden door at the side entrance of the school.

  The halls of the school are covered with bright posters advertising upcoming activities.

  COME TRY OUT FOR THE MOST TRAGIC LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME:

  SHAKESPEARE’SROMEO & JULIET

  SEVENTH PERIOD AND AFTER SCHOOL IN THE AUDITORIUM, FEBRUARY 29

  My hands itch to pull it down. The fewer people who know about it, the better. Luckily my better judgment prevails. Katy and I continue through the throng of rushing students and part ways at the door of my homeroom English class. She pushes a note into my hand.

  “You wrote me one already? School hasn’t even started yet.” “It’s a special birthday note,” she says, with an emphasis on the word special. “Make sure no one reads it over your shoulder.”

  “Okay,” I stick the note deep in my pocket. “See you in gym.” The bell rings as I slip into my seat. I look up to see happy 4th birthday, josie! on the blackboard. I wonder who wrote it. A bunch of people smile at me as I look around the room, so I can’t be sure. Mrs. Greenspan is going through the aisles, handing back last week’s homework with the usual bounce in her step. Mrs. G is a great teacher, but she gives more homework than anyone else. She says she does it because she cares. I’ve yet to figure that one out.

  Mitch Hurley probably wrote my birthday message. I know he has a little crush on me because his mother — who is friends with my mother — once found a valentine in his room with my name on it. He never gave me the card, though, so maybe he changed his mind. When Mitch sees me looking at him just now he blushes and then covers his face. Yup, he did it. I thin
k it’s kind of funny that anyone would like me. If they only knew what goes on inside my head.

  7:00 A.M. – 8:20 A.M.

  Chapter 1B: Everyone

  In her sleep, Josie Taylor tosses and turns on the floor, unaware she has just smacked her forearm against the side of the bed. Two days from now someone in gym class will ask where she got that nasty bruise, and she’ll turn her wrist around and be surprised to see it. She is dreaming that the radio has announced that everyone must take cover — a satellite is falling from the sky. She is running across the lawn at school trying to reach the building, but her legs are all rubbery and she can barely make them move. Every once in a while she makes a little noise and almost, but not quite, pulls herself out of her dream.

  Rob Taylor has been awake since 5:30, and now that he’s finished his hundred sit-ups, he’s instant-messaging online with his girlfriend, Anne Derkin. She’s also been awake for a long time because she just colored her hair. She’s afraid it has a tint of green to it, but since Rob is colorblind she doesn’t think he’ll notice.

  RaggedyAnne13: so you’ll pick me up for school?

  FootballRobT: yup. i’ll be there early. that way we won’t have to rush out of the car, if you get my drift...

  RaggedyAnne13: i’ll wear the grape lip balm you like so much

  FootballRobT: it’s the strawberry one that I like :o)

  RaggedyAnne13: i’ll wear them both ;-)

  FootballRobT: gotta go, it’s Josie’s birthday today and i have to help the rents decorate the house, hang the pinata, that kind of stuff

  RaggedyAnne13: WOW, you guys go all out for a birthday. i’m lucky if i get a card from my family!

  FootballRobT: really gotta go, i hear her alarm going off. love you

  RaggedyAnne13: see u soon

  Rob logs off and stares at the little IM box for a few seconds. See u soon. That’s the best she could come up with? In all these months that he’s been using the L-word, Anne has never said it back. He can hear his parents moving around downstairs and hurries down to join them. Josie’s Leap Day birthdays are pretty fun, and they come with free pizza from Domino’s. Mom saw to it that Josie was one of the first hundred leapers registered when Domino’s started the promotion, and now she gets free pizza for life, each Leap Day birthday.

  “Rob,” his mother asks as he slides into the kitchen on his socks. “Will you take down the plant in the den and hang this up?” She hands him the spaceship piñata.

  Rob shakes it. “Where’s the candy?”

  “It’s not in there? It must have come separately.” She rifles through the big bag from Fat Paulie’s Party Store and pulls out a plastic container full of assorted candy and chocolates.

  Rob opens the top of the spaceship and scoops the candy into it. Tootsie Rolls and tiny boxes of Nerds and packs of Smarties drop inside with pleasing plunks. Even though he hasn’t even eaten breakfast, he’s very tempted to stuff some candy in his mouth. But then Anne’s See u soon runs through his mind, and he knows that if he gains any more weight he won’t be able to turn it into muscle and he’ll just get fat. Then it’ll be Anne saying, See u later, I’m finding a new boyfriend.

  “Where’d you stick the balloons?” Josie’s father asks as he opens and shuts the two hall closets.

  “They’re in the trunk of my car,” Josie’s mother answers, her mouth full of homemade birthday muffin. She decides she used too much salt and smushes some sugar on the top to try and balance it out.

  Josie’s father lifts the car key off the hook on the kitchen wall and heads out to the garage. A slight chill still hangs in the air and it reminds him of how he used to leave for work every day at this time. He’d head downtown with a hot cup of coffee in one hand and the briefcase his father gave him when he passed the CPA exam twenty years ago in the other. Now the briefcase is in the corner of his home office collecting dust. He reaches into the deep trunk and carefully grasps the strings of sixteen multicolored helium balloons and one silver Mylar one. The approach of Josie’s sixteenth birthday made him start thinking about what he had wanted to do with his life back when he was sixteen. He had wanted to help people. But not just people anywhere; he wanted to help people at Disney World. Most people don’t think that anyone needs help there, but they do. When he was sixteen he went on a class trip to Disney World, which had just opened a few years before. He had slipped away to find an ice cream cone and stumbled across a little boy crying on a bench in a still undeveloped part of the park. No one else was around.

  “Hey mister, do you know where Mickey Mouse is?” the boy had asked, sniffling. “My mama said he was here but I don’t see him nowhere.”

  No one had ever called him “mister” before. “Where’s your mother now?”

  The boy shrugged and his face started to crumple again.

  “Let’s go find Mickey,” he said, taking the boy’s hand. Quietly he asked a girl selling popcorn where he would return a lost child. She directed him to City Hall at the end of Main Street. A “guest relations host” came right over and brought the boy to his frantic mother, then took them to see Mickey Mouse, and then gave the boy a free ice cream cone. Josie’s father knows this because he followed them.

  From that moment on, he had wanted that man’s job. He wanted to be a guest relations host at the Magic Kingdom. In fact, that’s why he moved here from Tampa after college. But then he got married and started having kids and there was no way he could pursue his dream. But now the kids are almost out of the house, and he has carefully planned for their college educations. Still, he is dreading telling his family that for the past two weeks he has spent every afternoon training for his new part-time job. They will think he has gone insane. Maybe six months of being out of work will do that to a guy.

  He hurries back into the house.

  Rob sees the look of determination on his sister’s face when he teases her about failing her driver’s test. He admires her. On some level she must know she’s not the world’s greatest driver, but she’s determined to pass. She’s always been much more willing to take risks and try new things, whereas he would rather blend into the background. It was Josie who brought home the notice about football tryouts last year and stuck it on the fridge so he’d have to see it every time he walked by. He gets the feeling that Josie doesn’t know how special she is. When she closes her door to get dressed, he decides he’ll offer to drive her to school today and he’ll tell her that he’s proud of her. It’ll be his birthday present to her. He and Anne can be alone later.

  Josie’s parents finish taping up the streamers so Josie will see them when she comes down for breakfast.

  “Honey,” Josie’s father says tentatively as he ties a yellow balloon around the banister in the front hall, “do you remember what you wanted to do with your life when you were a kid?”

  Josie’s mom pauses. “I wanted to be a ballerina.” Then she laughs. “But my body had other ideas.” By the time Josie’s mom was twelve, she had the biggest bust and hips in the seventh grade. She is grateful that Josie takes after her father, small and slight, and is spared the teasing she had to endure. She steps into the kitchen and calls out, “Why do you ask?”

  He focuses intently on the green streamer in his hand, then replies, “I was just thinking, since I have some time on my hands now, that maybe I’d start a new part-time gig. Something to keep me busy while the recruiter tries to find me a new job.” He joins her in the kitchen and holds his breath as he waits for her response.

  Taking the rest of the muffins out of the oven, Josie’s mom says, “I think that’s a great idea. You should definitely do it.” She turns and flips open her notebook to make sure she has all the ingredients she needs for the day ahead. Josie’s dad waits for her to ask what the new hobby is, but she doesn’t. He backs out of the room and goes into his office. While he waits for the computer to boot up he feels a new excitement bubble up in him. Maybe it would be good to tell them about his new plan on Josie’s Leap Day birthday. There’s ju
st something special about this day. He looks out the window and sees his wife and daughter waiting at the street corner for the bus. He feels blessed that his family members like each other. It was an unexpected gift.

  Six blocks away, Jason Count sits on the curb in front of his house. He is stroking his girlfriend Emily Caldwell’s back as they wait for the bus. Thank god she decided to come to his house last night instead of running away again. His mother had been very cool about letting her stay in the guest room. She even lent her a t-shirt for school because Emily’s tank top didn’t cover the bruise on her upper arm. As they wait for the bus Jason fantasizes about punching Emily’s father in the face. Jason will never get the chance. Tonight, Mr. Caldwell will leave Bryan’s Pub and will ignore the frantic honks of the oncoming motorcycle. He will soar eight feet in the air before breaking his leg in four places. The twenty-five-year-old motorcyclist will be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. From then on, Emily’s father will walk without raising his head so he doesn’t have to meet people’s eyes. He will never touch another drop of alcohol, or his daughter, again.

  Katy Parker looks out the streaky bus window as it approaches her best friend Josie’s stop. She closes the poetry notebook that was open on her lap and slips it into her bag. She’s been writing poetry since she was eight, but she’s never let anyone read it. It is embarrassing to her that she gets straight A’s but can’t write a poem worth showing anyone.

  Katy is excited to give Josie her present tonight at the lake. She and Zoey and Megan chipped in for it. They wanted to get her something unique, not just a bracelet or a gift certificate to the mall. As the bus pulls up Katy thinks that Josie doesn’t look near sixteen. They used to be the same height until puberty hit and Katy shot up five inches. Now she feels gangly and awkward next to Josie, like her arms and legs belong to someone else. As Josie climbs on, Katy slips the birthday note she wrote at 1:00 A.M. into the front pocket of her jeans. She had tried telling Josie the contents of the note yesterday because she thought she would burst if she didn’t, but she couldn’t get up the nerve. She is still undecided about whether she’ll give it to her or not. She’s not sure how Josie will take the news. And she’s not sure if she’s ready for the outcome.