Boyline

When Brooke and Sadie win a place on Boyline, a one- time cruise ship for teen girls to meet teen guys, life couldn’t be better. That is, until Brooke’s ex turns out to be one of the boys up for grabs! Will old feelings catch up with her or will new ones spark fireworks in her heart?

xoxoxoxoxoxo

 I. Gumdrops and Flip Flops 

Oh, no. Gumdrops. The first sign that something in your best friend’s life is going seriously wrong. Well, at least that’s usually the case for my best friend.

I could sense them from a mile away if needed. I dropped my car keys on the little table inside the front door of the house and walked into the relatively clean kitchen. That was a surprise I get to see maybe, oh, I’d say… twice a year? At most, anyway. Sadie’s kitchen is usually known to have week-old plates of lasagna strewn over the countertops, garbage cans overflowing, twelve cereal boxes out at a time, and enough soda to fill the world’s largest lake. And that’s on a good day. But hey, who could blame her? She lives in a congested world made of six men, if you may call them that, whose lives are in danger at this very moment as the billions and billions of germs I can only imagine inhabit this sink fill in every gap possible. They’re practically begging for ants and flies to come running (or flying) at the first sign of chopped onion.

There they were.

The big, gross bag of blobby things, with perfectly punched hole and all sat there on the island counter staring at me. It took everything in my power not to grab the damn things and shove them into the garbage, where they belong. Only, there was currently no space to be filled in the gross abysses of crunched up cola cans and rotting apple cores, as previously mentioned.

Ugh.

Mental note to self: Sometime, preferably in the near future, teach this family the art of recycling and a little thing called the garbage disposal.

Well, you lucked out this time, but the next time I catch you just sitting out here alone, your little plastic ass is over the fence, got it?

Woah.

Am I really standing here talking to a plastic bag full of sugary, sticky globules that make me want to hurl my guts out?

Okay, that’s it. Must find Sadie, pronto.

“Sadie Marie Sainsbury! Wherever you are, just drop the gumdrops and I’m sure we can figure out a better way to solve whatever problem it is you’re having this week!” I yelled sweetly.

I walked into the next room where Sadie happened to be, hunched over a small coffee table looking very glum and, quite frankly, out of it. On top of that table was what appeared to be a gingerbread house, a huge tube of light blue frosting, and a big bowl of gumdrops, every color and flavor you could imagine. I don’t know where she gets them. Not that I even remotely want to know, of course.

I stood there with my hands on my hips, looking down at her with my best pouty look.

She completely refused to look at me; hence, a perfectly good impression of her was wasted.

Oh, well.

“Sadie, it’s practically the beginning of summer and you’re building a gingerbread house? What on earth is wrong with you, dear best friend of mine?” I questioned.

She looked up now and squinted her eyes at me with a testy look.

I waited.

“It’s not a gingerbread house, Brooke. For your information, it is a state-of-the-art, calorie-powered summer beach shack. See, all of these gumdrops here have been formed into the shape of a beach ball.”

“Uh huh. Sure. Whatever you say, blondie. Would you mind telling me what this is about before I have to get on the phone and call every gossip queen in the school to find out why my best friend was not in sixth period Calculus today, because my best friend doesn’t even have the decency to tell me herself?!” I let out a breath.

“Dylan asked Jennifer to Prom. Jennifer.”

She sullenly took a bright green gumdrop out of the bowl and popped it into her mouth.

“Jennifer Delaney? You have got to be kidding me! Sadie, why didn’t you tell me this right away?! Hell, I’m ready to join in the gumdrop fest with you if one of the hottest guys in our school is going out with the fake blonde bimbo who hasn’t changed her retainer in, like, eight years!”

“No offense,” I added. “About the hair, that is.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry; you’ve made it your point over the years to tell me how much you hate blondes, with the exception of poor, poor little me. Why are we friends again?” she asked.

“Oh, quit it, Sadie. I don’t hate all blondes. Just the ones who have undergone plastic surgery yet totally overlook personal hygiene and still manage to attract one of the hottest guys around,” I said spitefully. “I mean, how is that even possible? Never mind, actually. I already know the answer-guys are brainless idiots who could care less about who they are dating, just as long as they have boobs and can wear a short skirt.”

We both sighed.

“I’ll take a red one,” I added, handing out my hand as she quickly plunked a big fat one right in the center of my palm.

I instantly regretted the decision, though, when I recalled that the flavor of the red one was warm spice. It took the disgusting thing practically corrupting my taste buds with repulsion for me to do so, though.

I grabbed a tissue and spit out the red mess.

“Ew, gross Brooke,” Sadie commented.

“Sorry, but I don’t see how anyone could stand the taste of such a thing, no matter how depressed or insane they might be.”

“Suit yourself…” Sadie bit off the top of a purple one and sighed.

“I’m sorry, Sades. I know how much you like Dylan and how much you wanted him to ask you to Prom, but hey, it’s his loss if he can’t realize how special you are, you know?” I said empathetically, putting my arm around her in a half-hug.

“Thanks. It’s just we’ve been talking so much lately and it’s been a ton of fun hanging out, and I was just stupid to believe maybe he thought so too. But I guess that’s not enough to want to go to Prom with somebody. You’re right, his loss. We haven’t been dealing with yours, though, lately. Gosh, here I am moping over a guy I’m apparently just friends with, and you’re here being so supportive when the whole Nathan thing just happened a month ago.”

“Oh, please, Sadie…I don’t want to talk about it,” I groaned.

“Dylan may be a cutie, but you had the Lake Hill High Sex King wrapped around your finger, and then…”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry, Brooke. I don’t want you to be down now too or anything, but I have noticed you haven’t really been your old self since the whole, uh, incident…and I guess, I was just always rooting for you guys to be together. It seemed right to me.”

“Me too. But that’s over now…and I have to move on. We both do…which is why I actually came over to tell you some exciting news. The best thing to fix this current situation, actually. Are you ready?” I said, perking up a bit and giving her a cheesy grin.

She laughed a little.

Mission accomplished.

“Yeah, sure, lay it on me. I guess we could use a little exciting news around here once in a blue moon, right? So, what is it? Did you finally learn your ABCs today?” she asked, feigning an excited yet good-humored interest.

“Ha-ha. It’s good to know you still have that little bit of spunk in you, though. But no. I mean come on; I learned those in like the fourth grade,” I said shrugging it off. “Everybody knows that L comes before M and X before W.”

Sadie stared at me with a look of sarcastic horror painted all over her face, and I just had to laugh.

I did sound pretty ridiculous.

“Okay, scratch that. I totally did not just say that. But seriously, I have like the best news which is going to make our summer totally rock!” I stood up and jumped up and down in excitement as I said this.

“Well, I’m waiting…really, don’t hold back any longer now,” Sadie said sarcastically.

“Miss Sarcastic, I think ya need to stop being so cynical and start being a little more energetic because we, my friend, are going on BOYLINE!!” I shrieked.

At this, Sadie also jumped up from her slouchy position on the floor and started jumping up and down.

“Eeeeeee no way! Are you kidding? I totally forgot about the cruise!” she asked as we continued to do our little lunatic dance around her large living room.

“Oh, I wouldn’t kid about something like this, would I? Only twelve girls who entered from our school got picked and we’re two of them! Nathan and Dylan are history because we are going to find ourselves some real boys this summer.”

“I…I can’t even believe it!”

“Pack your flip flops; we’re going to the Virgin Islands!” I yelled as I headed to the front door.

“And Sadie, never again do I want to hear you refer to him as a Sex King!”

I have enough nightmares as it is.