The Flip Side by Shawn Johnson

Author:Shawn Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Chapter Sixteen

* * *

When I arrive at Mr. Alto’s classroom for the student council meeting, I slide into the empty seat next to Bobby. My heart does a little somersault because he looks so glad to see me.

“Did you get things with the family situation worked out?” he asks.

“Almost. But I’ll need to meet you at prom.”

“I thought we’d do dinner first.”

“I can meet you at the restaurant.”

“You don’t want me to pick you up?”

He looks confused, a little suspicious.

“It’s a long story, but I’ll be—”

“I’m calling the meeting to order,” Kristine says harshly. “Secretary, call the roll.”

I do. Then we approve the minutes. Each committee is called on to report. When we get to the food committee, I share the information from Tasty Bites. It gets a resounding approval—even from my committee members, who I figure are just glad they don’t have to discuss it anymore—and Mr. Alto is asked to present it to the administration for a final approval.

Things don’t go quite as smoothly for the decorating committee.

“We still have so much to do,” Tasha says. “We’re trying to build an Eiffel Tower, and we want people to stand beneath an Arc de Triomphe for their prom photos. We just don’t know if we’ll have everything ready in time.”

“All right,” Kristine says. “We have to jump on this. The athletes”—she gives Bobby a knowing smile—“have practice, so they are excused, but everyone else will need to meet every day after school and three hours this Saturday to get the decorations done. Then, of course, we’ll all be expected to meet the Saturday morning of prom to get the decorations put up.”

I can’t do any of that. I start to raise my hand, but stop. I’m not going to argue with her about it. I’ll just tell Mr. Alto.

Kristine goes on about some other things. Finally she adjourns the meeting. I close my notebook and start to get up to talk with Mr. Alto, when Bobby’s hand comes to rest on my arm.

“You were saying?” he asks.

And I remember what we were talking about when Kristine called the meeting to order. Everything suddenly seems so complicated, and I have so much that I need to do. I take a deep breath, calm my racing heart. I can handle all this. It’s what I do.

“I’m going to be staying with a friend,” I tell Bobby.

“Would it be okay if I pick you up there?”

I don’t want to ruin this night for him. I don’t want to be a selfish or demanding date. “Let me check. I’ll get back to you. Oh, and don’t say anything about our going to prom together to my brother.” With four hundred people in the building at prom, there’s a chance I won’t even cross paths with Josh, but if I do, I’ll deal with it then.

“Charlotte, what are you not telling me?”

So much, and I hate it, but I don’t want him to have doubts about our going, and I don’t want him to change his mind.

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