Grover Girls Chapter 13-15

CHAPTER 13
         As soon as I had a minute alone with Chloe, I told her the story about what happened with Lacey on the sidewalk.  Knowing I could trust her, I told her about Devin, too.  I know I was going back on my promise to Ashley, but I knew that Chloe would keep it quiet.  I told her because I needed the advice of my best friend.  Chloe was very sympathetic, but did not have too many words of wisdom for me.  What could she say, really?  I asked Chloe not to tell Maya and Talia about what was going on.  I knew that was asking a lot of Chloe, but I was slightly embarrassed by the whole thing.  I think Chloe understood.          
         On my way to Chorale rehearsal Monday afternoon, I ran into Pete on his way to swimming practice.  I had been thinking about asking him some questions about Lacey, but had not seen him much since the run in with Lacey on Saturday morning.  I needed to know if Lacey only went after Pete to “make my life hell” as she had said, or if she had really liked him. 
         “Hey, Pete.  Can we talk?”  I surprised myself.  I still was not quite sure what I was going to say to him.
         “Of course.”  Pete looked slightly nauseous. 
         “How did you ever get together with Lacey, anyway?”  I asked.
         “Well…her family came to Scottsdale for a few weeks this summer.  They were staying at some resort.  She called me up, said she remembered that I lived in Arizona and took my phone number from the Northwoods directory.  I met up with her at her hotel and we just…ya know…starting hanging out.”  I knew that was guy-speak for “hooked up” and “made out”. 
“We kept talking over the summer, and when I was in California training, I looked her up and we got together again.”  Pete spent some time in California at a swimming camp.  He had sent me an email about it.  Nowhere in that email did he mention Lacey. 
         “When we got back to school, we just started things up again.  Then she decided she had had enough of me, I guess.  She’s kind of with Graham now.”  Pete looked wistful.  I am sure he missed Lacey’s special brand of attention. 
         “Why do you want to know?”  He asked, suddenly curious.
         I had to come up with something quick.  “Oh, you know.  She just didn’t seem like your type.”  I knew it sounded dumb as soon as it came out of my mouth.
         “Well, you and I decided not to keep things up long distance.  I didn’t have anything to lose going out with her, did I?”  Except your virginity, I thought but did not say. 
         “Do you mean that if you and I had decided to stay together, you would not have met up with Lacey?”  I prodded.
         Pete shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  I wouldn’t have cheated on you, if that’s what you’re asking.”  He was speaking to the floor at this point. 
         I just nodded.  Not that he noticed, he was still staring at his shoes.
         “Lacey asked if we were still together before I met up with her in Scottsdale.  She almost seemed disappointed when I told her that we had broken things off.  I was surprised; I didn’t think you guys were friends.”
         “We’re not.  Did she say that we were?”
         “She said something about being sorry that we weren’t together anymore.  Then she said something about not wanting to see you hurt or something.  I can’t remember exactly.”  That hateful snake.  It was then that I realized she only went after Pete because she thought it would hurt me.  It also dawned on me in that moment that I really cared about Pete.  I hated that he had been with Lacey, but I really felt badly that he had been caught in the middle of this craziness and did not even know it.  He thought that Lacey really liked him the way I liked him.  Because he is Pete.  Kind-hearted, intelligent Pete.  He did not know that she was just trying to hurt me.  I cared about Pete.  I still cared about Pete.  This was a surprising revelation.  I so badly wanted to tell Pete the whole story, but I had to refrain.  I think it would bruise his ego too much to learn that Lacey had only gone after him to hurt me. 
         “Yeah.”  I did not know how to end the conversation.  Thankfully, we were getting close to the Aquatics Center.  Things were getting awkward again.
         “Hey Lexi?  The dance next week?  Are you going?”  Pete surprised me by asking.
         “I’m not sure.  I hadn’t given it much thought.”  I answered honestly.  With all that had gone on lately, I had forgotten about the first upper cluster dance of the year.
         “I just thought, maybe, you’d save a dance for me or something.  For old time’s sake.  You think?” Pete looked slightly sheepish.
         “Of course.  I’d love to.”  I tried not to burst with happiness. 
         Pete nodded.  “Cool.”  And he was off into the Aquatics Center without a second glance.
         I stood and stared at the spot that Pete had stood just a few seconds ago.  What just happened here?
         For a few minutes anyway, I forgot all about Lacey and Devin and the whole awful situation.  I floated from the Aquatics Center to the CPA, my feet hardly touching the ground. 
         When I entered the practice room, Natalie Mines jumped down from the shelf she was sitting on and grabbed me by the arm.  She quickly led me back out of the practice room and into the girl’s dressing room.  I was slightly dumbfounded.
         “Look,” she began, “Ashley told me that she told you what was going on.  She cannot keep a secret to save her life.  I cannot stand that horrible Lacey.  I will help you get her off your back.  She is totally afraid of me.  Ashley is not going to do anything.  She and Lacey are still pretty good friends.  I say we just tell her what Devin did.  We will get Luke to admit to it, and then she cannot blame you anymore.  Devin was an idiot for doing what she did.  And as much as I hate Lacey, nobody deserves to have her boyfriend cheat on her with her best friend.  I have lots of dirt on Lacey and she knows it.  She will not mess with me.  I’ll help you, I swear.”  Natalie looked very sincere.
         “Okay” was all I could manage to say.  I trusted Natalie.  I hoped that this would not get her in trouble with her sisters.  I told her as much as we exited the bathroom.
         “Ah, don’t worry about them.  Devin, Ashley, and I are sisters.  We always will be.  Nothing will change that.  Devin and Ashley have always been the best of friends.  I am kind of the black sheep in my family.  I am not worried about them, so you should not be either.  Really.  I am doing this because I want to.  I don’t think it’s fair that you are taking the blame and the brunt of Lacey’s anger.”
         “Okay,” I mumbled again.
         We headed back into the practice room to start rehearsing our holiday program.  It was almost surreal.

CHAPTER 14
It proved too difficult to keep my secret from Maya and Talia.  I finally broke down and Talia the whole ugly story only two days after speaking with Natalie.  Talia noticed that I was stressed and at first let it be.  When it started to affect my health, Talia stepped in.
         “What’s going on with you?  You’re not sleeping, you’re hardly eating…I’m worried.” She asked me one day after classes.
         I started crying right away.  I was sobbing.  It had been a long time that I had been holding it all in.  It was very stressful, keeping things from your friends.  Up until that point, Chloe was the only other person that knew what was going on that I could talk to.  Ashley did not know that I spoke to Natalie.  Natalie did not know that I had told Chloe, and Lacey did not know that I knew the real story.  All of these lies were building up, and it was difficult to keep it all straight.  The stress had really gotten to me.
         I began explaining all of this to Talia, and then made a decision to call Chloe and Maya into our room.  I needed to tell the whole story one time, get it all out in the open, and let my three best friends help me come up with a solution.
         Chloe and Maya came right over.  I realized that while Chloe and I were trying hard to be discreet about the whole thing, we were not doing a very good job.  Maya and Talia had realized that something was up right away.  They both correctly guessed that it was only a matter of time before we would tell them what was happening. 
         With a bit of help from Chloe, I explained the whole ugly situation.  Talia and Maya were appropriately stunned, and offered some supportive ideas.
         Maya was not sure that confronting Lacey was such a great idea.
         “It’s no secret that we all hate Lacey.  But we also know that she is kind of…powerful here.  She has many friends, and can be very convincing.  If we try to tell her the truth about Devin, she may just turn the whole thing around on you and somehow make you look bad again.  Being confrontational with someone like Lacey is just not a very good idea.”  She had a point.  Lacey was quite powerful on campus with the students and the faculty.  Making her angry by confronting her may just turn up the heat, making me a target for more of her taunts and tricks.
         Talia offered a realistic solution.  “What if you tried to talk to Lacey, without being defensive or confrontational?  What if you just said something about calling a truce and trying to put it past you?  I know that I do not know Lacey as well as the rest of you do, but is she that dysfunctional?  Would she really want to keep up an “I Hate Lexi” campaign all year?” 
         We talked into the night.  We rehashed things so many times that my head was spinning.  I did not sleep much that night.  I tossed and turned, wondering what the best option was.  I seriously could not spend the rest of the year avoiding Lacey; she did live next door to me.  I also did not want to let the whole thing slide.  I could not let her think that I was afraid of her.  Even though, I pretty much was.  When morning came, I was no closer to a solution than I was the night before.  I did feel better in one respect, though.  The problem was no longer a secret from my friends.  I knew I had their support no matter what I decided to do.

CHAPTER 15
For a few weeks, things between Lacey and I were pretty quiet.  I had to wonder if Natalie had threatened her with bodily harm, or if Luke Daniels had told her the truth.  I asked Natalie not to say anything to Lacey until I told her to.  I wanted to use Natalie’s brand of intimidation only as a last resort.  There had to be an easier way to sort this out.     
Because things were gliding along nicely, I decided to ignore the situation unless it got out of hand again.  Since The Sound of Music rehearsals were taking up a lot of time lately, Lacey had been scarce in the dorm, thank goodness.  This made avoiding her and the situation much easier.
Chorale rehearsals were getting more frequent, also.  Our hideous blue outfits had arrived from the tailor, and, as we all guessed, looked terrible.  The boys looked quite handsome in their tuxedos with blue bow ties and vests.  Seeing us all decked out in our traveling costume finery one day, Chloe remarked that it looked like “a 1994 Prom gone horribly wrong”. 
As practice, Mr. Paul took us to a small music show at a Franklin public school.  We sang well together, but there were still a few rusty spots to work out.  We all were happy to have at least one public performance under our belts before Homecoming and the important Holiday Festival in Bangor.
For a short time, things seemed to be looking up.  I had resigned myself to the reality that Lacey would be making things rough for me, but with my friends by my side, I could handle it.           
Pete and I had been spending more and more time together.  Of course, we had Astronomy class together and Lab on Tuesday evenings.  It had become our ritual to have dinner together with Maya and Nick Mann on Tuesdays and head over to the Observatory together. 
As promised, we saved a dance for each other at the first upper cluster dance of the year.  He kissed me at that dance, and we spent some time alone, talking and kissing in a dark corner of the dance that evening.  We were taking things slowly, but we did not hide the fact that we were together and enjoying it.
About a week before TSOM was scheduled to open, Mr. Paul arrived at Chorale practice looking harried.  We could all tell he was under some stress, so we did our best to sing well and keep quiet between songs.  Before we finished the rehearsal, Mr. Paul made an announcement.
“Sorry, you guys.  You are all working hard and I am very proud of the progress you have made.  I am a little worried about TSOM today, and that is why I am a little out there.  The set is nowhere near ready, and we need some extra help with the stage crew.  Any of you who aren’t already involved with the show…is there any way you could find time in your schedules to help us out?”  I considered Mr. Paul’s request carefully.  I knew he was in a bind, but volunteering to help with the construction and stage crew meant putting me in Lacey’s lair.  I looked at my feet and tried to avoid Mr. Paul’s gaze.  He dismissed us.  I was very close to the door.  I could taste freedom…and then he tapped me on the shoulder. 
“Please, Lexi?  I know you are a hard worker and you know the show.  Any time you could give me would be really appreciated.”  He looked so desperate, I could not say no.  Mason was standing next to me, and he agreed to help out, too.  At least I would have company.  Maybe Lacey would not bother me if I were with Mason.
Two days later, I was onstage with a hammer, paint streaked in my hair, sweat pouring down my back.  Mr. Paul was not kidding when he said they needed a little help.  I was not sure if four days of straight building and painting would get the set together.  Thankfully, there were quite a few kids helping.
Mason and I were working together on the gazebo where Leisl and Rolf would sing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” when Lacey sauntered up to us. 
“You’d better not screw that up, Lexi.  You either, fag-boy.  I will NOT look bad on opening night.”  Against my better judgement, I muttered a comment under my breath.
“Then you’d better not show up at all.” I whispered to the floor.  Mason heard me and giggled.
“What did you say, Lexi?”  Lacey towered over me as I kneeled on the stage.
“Nothing.  Not a word.  Just painting.”  I lied.
“Bitch.  You’d better watch it.”  I knew I should have held my tongue.  I knew I should not have volunteered to help Mr. Paul.
Lacey walked away and Mason and I just smiled at each other.  We continued to paint in silence for a few minutes, but I just had to ask.
“How do you ignore her?  She calls you such horrible names.  How does it not get to you?”  I asked Mason.
“I just do, Lex.  She is nothing.  She is a bully.  She gets her jollies out of making fun of people.  If I do not give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset, I win.  If I blow up and play into her little games, she wins.  Simple.”  He smiled.
“Makes sense.  But doesn’t it bother you that she has spread rumors all over campus that you’re gay?”  I asked.
“Who says they’re rumors?  And who cares anyway?  I am gay.  And I don’t really care who knows.  If someone has a problem with me being gay, then I feel sorry for them.  It’s not like I’m an ax murderer or something.”  He answered truthfully.
I was shocked.  I did not know that Mason was gay.  I thought about it for a second.  Did it change how I felt about him?  Did it change the fact that we were good friends?  Did it change our friendship at all?  The answer to all three questions was a resounding NO.  If Mason could endure Lacey being hateful towards him, then I certainly could, too.  He acted as if it were water off a duck’s back.  I should follow his example.
We went back to painting in silence.  If only I were as Zen as Mason.  Things with Lacey sure would not be as complicated.