Pranked (15 page)

Melissa didn't say a word to him. But Dustin was talking. She kind of nodded, like she was listening to him jabber away. Then they started to dance. I couldn't believe it. She'd dance with this guy after what he did the last time? Maybe because all the songs now were fast. He wouldn't have a chance to grab her.

“Why don't
we
dance too?” I asked Ethan.

“You can't take off now,” Reb protested. “Things are just getting started.”

“Reb, I'm not going to watch their every move all night just in case Dustin burps in her face or something. There's nothing to see now.”

“Just don't let them out of your sight. I'll be watching them too,” Reb told us.

At least we were dancing. It ought to give Reb some satisfaction that she'd managed to get Dustin and Melissa together too. Maybe if they danced a few dances together, she'd call it even. And then Melissa would never even know about the letter.

After a few songs, I'd almost forgotten about Melissa and Dustin. I was having a great time with Ethan, just like before. Then Reb came up behind us and grabbed me.

“Let's go. They're at the refreshment table now.”

“Really? Let's go see which flavor cookie she picks out—chocolate chip or shortbread.”

“Seriously. We need to go over there. Something's about to happen.”

I rolled my eyes. “Reb, what do you expect? You think Dustin's gonna tear her clothes off? Or is Melissa gonna spit in his eye? They're
together
. What more do you want? Why do you think something else is going to happen?”

Reb just smiled at me. “Because I'm going to make it happen.”

Ethan looked at me. “Come on. Let's see what she's up to.”

Reb walked right up to Dustin and Melissa, standing by the refreshment table. Ethan and I went up too and got some drinks. Melissa obviously hated this guy. She looked like she just wanted to get away from him. Dustin didn't look too thrilled either. Melissa had been so crazy about him in “her” letter, and now she'd turned into a cold fish. If Reb expected some excitement from these two, I figured she'd be disappointed.

“Hey, Melissa, how's it going?” Reb asked, all friendly. But not in the tone she usually used with Melissa. She really sounded nice this time. Melissa tensed up when Reb approached her. She had the look she always had with Reb—like she was ready to break and run if Reb pounced on her. Obviously, she was suspicious that her worst nightmare suddenly wanted to have a chat with her.

Reb leaned close to Melissa. “So, are you having a good time?”

Melissa looked at her cautiously, then looked back at Dustin. “Not really.”

Reb looked surprised. “Not really? But you two have been together all night. I think you make a cute couple.”

Melissa looked nauseated. “I can't stand him. I want to get away from him.”

Reb smiled at Ethan and me. “Well, if you don't like him, you shouldn't have written him that love letter.”

Melissa looked at her. “I didn't write him.”

“Oh, c'mon. Don't be embarrassed. Kelly wrote Ethan, too. It's no big deal to write a boy. But you really led Dustin on, Melissa. You shouldn't have written all that stuff if you don't really like him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ethan says Dustin let everybody in the cabin read it. Oh, and your ‘Melissa' stationery? What a sweet touch that was.”

Melissa froze. She looked at me, then at Ethan, then back at Reb. “My stationery?” She looked over at Dustin, still standing by the refreshment table stuffing a cookie in his mouth. “What did you
do
?”

“It was your letter. Don't you remember all the stuff you wrote to Dustin? It was just a couple of days ago. Have you forgotten already?”

Melissa was about to walk off. Then she stopped and looked at Reb. “What did you . . . ? Tell me what you did.” I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

Reb looked at Ethan. “Melissa can't seem to remember what she said. But Dustin read it to your whole cabin. So, Ethan. Do you remember any good parts?”

“Uh, yeah. I think I do.” Ethan went right along like he and Reb had planned this for weeks. “You said something about how the Porch Patrol can't watch us every second. And you were hoping for your first kiss.”

Melissa stood there with her arms crossed, trying to look tough, or mad, or something. “So. You wrote that guy a letter and signed my name to it. And you did it on my stationery. Very funny. Ha, ha.” It was a good strategy to act like she didn't really care. It might have worked, if it hadn't been for the tears that she just couldn't stop. Melissa was about to turn and run, and I wanted to grab her and make her stay. I knew I had to stop her. I had to keep her from running away in tears.

And then something happened inside me. It felt like jumping off the high dive. Something inside me said,
Okay, go
. My breath flew out of me and my stomach rose up inside me and I was flying through space, waiting to land. But I had jumped.

“That's not what happened,” I said. I walked over to Dustin and grabbed him. “That letter you got from Melissa? She didn't write it. It was a fake,” I said in front of him, Ethan, Melissa, Reb, God, and everybody else.

“Kelly!” Reb yelled. But I kept going.

“Melissa didn't write it. I wrote it.”

Now everything was in fast-forward. Reb was grabbing me, trying to pull me away, trying to get me to shut up. Dustin was about to choke on his chocolate chip cookies. Melissa had stopped crying and was just standing there, caught in the headlights. I had no idea what Ethan was doing. It felt like everybody around us was watching us. Maybe they were. Maybe it just felt that way.

“I wrote it!” I was yelling. It seemed like I said that about fifty times. It seemed like I'd been shouting that all night.

“Kelly, SHUT UP!” Reb also yelled that a lot.

I don't remember everything too well. It was pretty out of control. At some point Dustin said, “I don't believe you. It had her name right on it!”

“I took some of her stationery to make it look real.”

“You're lying!”

“Shut up!”

“Then ask her. Ask her what it said. She doesn't know, because she never even saw it!”

“What'd it say?”

“I don't know! I didn't write it,” Melissa insisted.

“Shut up!”

“It starts off, ‘I bet you're surprised to get a letter from me. I can't believe I'd have the nerve to write a guy, but here goes. . . .' ”

“Maybe she read it to you before she mailed it.”

“But she didn't! She didn't know anything about it! I took her stationery! I wrote it! I mailed it!”

“Shut up!
Shut up
!” A hand kept trying to cover up my mouth. Reb's, I guess, but for some reason I kept thinking it was Ethan's. “It was a joke! It was just a stupid practical joke! I'm sorry.” I said that to everybody. To Melissa, Dustin, Reb. Everyone.

“SHUT UP!” Reb roared in my face. Would she slap me? She might have. But somebody dragged us out the door. Was it Ethan? Jennifer?

It was Rachel.

“Girl fight!” A loud meowing noise. Then laughing. Out the door, on the porch, out in the gravel beside the dining hall. Not even dark yet. How could it not even be dark yet?

“
What
 . . . is the problem?”

Reb and me standing there. Like we were about to box. Breathing so hard. Both of us. Her face so red. Was my face that red? It felt hot. Where was Ethan? Was Jennifer out here too? People were watching us from the porch. The outside air felt so cool.

“You ruined it! You ruined everything!” yelled Reb.

“Calm down. What's this all about?” asked Rachel.

“I'm sorry! Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. It just went too far,” I said.

“It was perfect! You ruined it!”

“You guys settle down, or I'll send you to the cabin and you'll miss the rest of the dance. I'll take you there myself,” said Rachel.

“It just needed to stop! It had to stop! I didn't blame you.”

“I HATE YOU! GOD! I HATE YOU! NO FRIEND HAS EVER TURNED ON ME LIKE THAT!”

Lightning bugs were coming out of the grass. Crickets were chirping.

A beautiful summer evening.

I wished I was anywhere else but here.

I couldn't believe how beautiful the view was from up here. I was sitting on a bench on the porch of Middler Lodge. In the distance I could see the blue misty mountains, and in front of them were dark green mountains. Then there was a strip of mountains that were light green from the sunlight. Above the mountains, the sky was a pale blue with soft, cotton-ball clouds. Too bad I didn't have my camera.

I could hear Molly and Jordan talking inside the lodge because the big wooden doors were open. Melissa was in there too. Rachel and Tis had sent us all down here before dinner to plan for the talent show coming up in a few days. Every cabin had to enter at least one act, and even though we all swore we were completely untalented, they made us come down here anyway. Brittany and Erin got out of it because they were packing to go on the hiking honor trip tomorrow with Rachel and all the other superhikers. Honor trips were for people who'd worked really hard and done very well at one activity.

I had no idea where Reb and Jennifer were. Jennifer and I were still wearing our wristbands. But what was the point? Reb had stopped wearing hers. On Sunday morning I'd seen her take it off and toss it into her trunk like,
I'm done with that
.

We weren't triplets anymore.

On Saturday Reb and I never went back to the dance. I didn't get to see Ethan, but in some ways that was good. I'd probably never see him again. That made me really sad. He was supposed to write me from Hilton Head too. But I never had a chance to give him my home address. Who knew what he thought of me now? He probably laughed about our “cat fight” with all his friends afterward. Maybe he didn't. I hope he didn't.

After our huge fight, Rachel took us both back to the cabin. She tried to get us to talk, but neither one of us would tell her anything. By that time I was crying. Reb didn't cry. She sat on her cot with her back to us and refused to say a word.

“Is this over some boy?” asked Rachel.

“No,” I said, wiping the tears away. “Well, kind of.” It was easier just to lie about it.

“Well, no boy is worth losing a friend over. You two are best friends. You have to work this out.”

I nodded and glanced over at Reb's back. Was I really Reb's best friend? I always thought Jennifer was and I was her second-best friend. I'd always wanted to be in first place.

Rachel left us alone because she had to go back to the dance. She probably thought it would give us a chance to make up.

Reb sat on her bed with her back to me, not moving. She was a statue.

“Would you please talk to me?” I said in this really whimpering, teary voice. I wished I could stop crying. She hated people being all weak and wimpy.

She just got up and walked out the door. I had no idea where she went that night. But I know she didn't go back to the dance, because I asked Jennifer about it later and she said she never saw her.

Since Saturday night Reb had not said one single word to me. Even though we slept five feet away from each other and ate at the same table together, I had become invisible.

I could hear Jordan and Molly inside the lodge talking.

“No, I got it. How about this?” Jordan was saying.

“You know, you're really good at this,” said Molly. They were probably annoyed that I was sitting out here and not participating. But they knew Reb and I were in the middle of a huge fight.

“What do you think, Melissa?”

“I liked it the second way. That's the best one.”

“Kelly?”

Without even turning around, I could tell it was Melissa.