Paula Stokes - The Art of Lainey

I nod. My phone buzzes in the pocket of my running shorts. I slip it out and shield the screen with one hand so I can see who’s calling. It’s Leo. Sitting up, I dislodge a few blades of grass from my hair before answering. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“I’ve got some information about your pal, Alex,” he says. “We should meet up so I can fill you in.”

“What? How did you get info about Alex?”

“Didn’t Bianca tell you?” he asks.

“Uh. . .no.” I turn toward Bee. “Why does Leo have info on Alex?”

She covers her mouth with one hand. “I completely forgot,” she says. “He and I were talking Sun Tzu at work and I mentioned how I’ve been trying to engage in a little espionage for you but Dad’s been out of town a lot and my mom keeps asking me to watch Elias and Miguelito all the time. Leo volunteered to do a little spying.”

“Oh.” I still think it’s odd how Leo wants to be part of my “army,” but hey, seize all opportunities, right? “What kind of info?” I ask Leo. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

He clears his throat and pauses for emphasis. “Let’s just say Jason isn’t the only guy Alex is hanging out with.”

Pay dirt. Thank you, Dead Chinese Warlord. “Where do you want to meet?”

His voice breaks up for a second and I hear the bleat of a car horn. “I’m actually heading toward Denali right now. I could meet you there.”

“Sure. I can be there in fifteen minutes.” I fill Bianca in about what Leo found out.

Her eyes widen. “Jason doesn’t strike me as the type who would share,” she says. “Let’s go. I want to hear the whole story.”

When we arrive at Denali, Leo is sitting at our usual table. Instead of his standard baseball cap, he’s got his haired spiked up like he did the night of the play. He’s drinking a chocolate shake and skimming through a biography of some old football coach.

“Did you find that book here?” Most of Denali’s bookshelf consists of paperback romances with long-haired guys dressed like pirates on the cover. I have a sneaking suspicion they once belonged to my mother.

“Yeah.” Looking up, Leo marks his place and closes the cover. “Oh, hey, Bee,” he says.

“Hi, Leo.” She slides into the chair across from him.

Dropping my purse on an empty seat, I sit next to Bee and look expectantly at Leo. “So let’s see what you found out about Alex!”

“Not so loud,” he says in a hushed voice. “People might overhear.”

Bianca giggles. I’m thinking Leo is taking his warlord role a little too seriously. I make a big show of glancing to my left and my right. On one side, a group of four guys is embroiled in some kind of role-playing card game. Shiny cards featuring elves and dragons are splayed out across their table. On one other side, Monochrome Girl—today in a rainbow of pinks and reds—is bent over her laptop, one hand curled around a skinny chai, one crimson ballet flat tapping to the beat of whatever she’s listening to on her headphones. “No one is paying any attention to us,” I say. “We’re high school kids, remember? No one thinks we’re doing anything worthwhile.”

“Little do they know,” Bee says, leaning in toward Leo.

He pulls out his phone and swipes his finger across the screen. “Okay. I followed Alex from the fire station to some guy’s house.”

I nod slowly. “Nice. And you got pictures? Did you go all superstalker and peek in her windows or something?”

“I didn’t have to.” He sips his shake. “I waited around and they both came back out of the house and got in his car. I could tell by the way they were dressed they were heading someplace fancy.” He winks. “That’s when I went all superstalker. I followed them to the restaurant.”

“You sure she wasn’t just eating out with her brother?”

“At Tony’s?”

Bee whistles. “The Tony’s? Downtown? Wow.” Tony’s is the kind of place where the bill runs triple digits and you have an entire team of trained servers taking care of you.

Leo slides his phone across the table. There’s Alex, in all of her flame-haired glory, sitting across from a guy who looks to be in his mid-twenties. Next pic: they’re holding hands across a white-linen tablecloth. Next pic: they’re kissing.

“I’m hoping that’s not her brother,” Leo says.

“These are amazing,” I say. “I’m sending them to my phone.” The hummingbirds start fluttering around in my stomach again as I transfer the pictures one at a time. So the girl who stole my boyfriend has her own boyfriend, eh? Serves Jason right. Maybe once he feels the sweet burn of rejection he’ll figure out he walked away from a good thing. But how can I get the information to him without admitting I had her followed? “What do you think I should do with them?”

“Nothing right this second,” Leo says. “Don’t try to force the issue. Do like Sun Tzu. Wait for the right moment.”

“Right,” Bianca chimes in, arranging her braid over her left shoulder.

“But what if the right moment never comes?” I check my own phone to make sure the files all transferred and then slip it back into my purse.

Leo runs one finger around the rim of his glass. “Then maybe it’s not meant to be.” He glances from me to Bianca before continuing. “I think that’s what I decided about Riley. I’m done trying to win her back.”

“What? Why?” I’ve been looking forward to hanging out with him again. It’s not only about the money. Helping him makes me feel good, like I’m doing something important for once. Not to mention, I’d never know how much I liked plays if it weren’t for him. My first order of business when school starts will be to switch into Karlsson’s Intro to Acting class.

“I don’t know. I went to another cast party and we had a good talk. She’s not dating anyone right now but she seems really happy on her own.” Leo leans back in his chair. “And she’s right. We are going to be living in radically different worlds next year.”

“We could do another date,” I say. “Maybe if she saw you with me again . . .”

“Nah. If the only reason she wants me is because she doesn’t want anyone else to have me, then I don’t think it’s going to last anyway.”

“But that’s kind of the whole idea of The Art of War plan, right?” I drum my fingernails on the table. “Scam someone who quit wanting you into wanting you again for the wrong reasons? That doesn’t mean the wrong reasons can’t become the right reasons again, does it?”

“I think you’re really smart.” Bee smiles at Leo. “Sometimes it’s easier to fight for the wrong thing than to recognize it’s time to let go.”

I clear my throat. “Somehow I feel like that’s directed at me, Bianca.”

She toys with the end of her braid. “Not necessarily,” she murmurs. “But I think even you should be open to the possibility that what you want might not be what you need.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I know what I need.” I yank my ponytail holder out of my hair and let it fall around my shoulders in soft waves. “And I’ll miss hanging out with you, Leo, but Bee’s right. You’re a really smart guy. You’ll find someone else.”

His voice goes flat. “Thanks.”

“No, seriously. Don’t downplay it. It’s your thing. You have to work with what you got, you know? Don’t hide the things that make you unique or you’ll end up . . .” I think about the day I walked into work with Bianca and neither Micah nor Leo even registered my presence. “Invisible,” I finish.

“Pretty sure you could never be invisible,” Leo says. “But you’re right too. Trying to be someone else doesn’t fool anyone for long.”

The wind chimes do their clunking thing and Coach Halstead, the Hazelton girls varsity soccer coach, and his wife wander into the shop.

“Look.” Bee angles her head toward our coach. “I’m going to go say hi.”

“Be right there.” I turn back to Leo as Bianca grabs her purse and scampers across the shop. “We’ll still be friends, right? If it weren’t for you, I’d still be wishing on planets.”

“Of course,” Leo says. “My astronomy knowledge is forever at your beck and call.”

“I’m giving your money back too,” I say. “All of it. I’m sorry I wasn’t more help.”

“You don’t have to.” Leo glances around furtively and lowers his voice. “I’ve been talking to this new girl, actually. I might not have had the courage to if you hadn’t given me that pep talk the night of the play.”

My eyes light up. “Awesome. Did you ask her out?”

He holds up his hands. “No, I’m not ready for all that yet. But getting to know her is making things hurt less. Not like she’s replacing Riley or anything, but just the idea that there’s more than one person out there for each of us.”

I nod. It’s really similar to what Bee said. Maybe Jason hasn’t called because it’s not meant to be. I should ask my mom to do one of her tea-leaf readings about it. Not yet though. It’s my turn for a fake date. Maybe the second one will turn out better than the first. I’m not ready to accept that things are over.

“Well, let me know if you change your mind.” I glance over at Bianca. Coach Halstead has made his way up to the register, and his wife has found them a table near the front window. Bee appears to be explaining some of the menu choices while Ebony waits patiently to take his order. “I’m going to go say hi to them.”

Leo gives me a little wave and then goes back to his book. I bound over to the register. “Hey, Coach,” I say. “Welcome to the coolest coffee shop in town.”