“Hey, sunshine!” Lee said the next morning to Rai. She grimaced, knowing that the decision that she had made the night before was a now-or-never deal.
“Listen, Lee,” she started, “I’ve been thinking and I’m not sure this whole dating thing is a good idea. I’m just not sure it’s smart. It could totally change our reliability on each other, on Jaff, and on the government. Also, as we get older, our,” she cringed, not knowing how to explain, “our priorities might change. We could end up getting ourselves into something not smart.” She let out a deep breath, watching Lee’s face as he processed what she had said. Looking in her eyes, he said,
“You’re probably right, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. I’ll see you around, Raichelle.” With that, he grabbed his jacket and walked out of the house. Rai rushed to the window, watching him walk down the dirt trail and into the woods. He had called her by her full name. Rai wasn’t sure what to do, and she got even more distressed when Jaff walked in, asking,
“So what happened between you and Lee? I saw him walk out… whatever you said must’ve been pretty heavy.” Rai couldn’t help but feel a spark of anger flaring up inside her chest. It was like Jaff thought that it was all her fault! She almost never saw the angry side of Lee, and it was even rarer that she saw this judgmental side of Jaff.
“You know what?” Rai said, angry at both Lee and Jaff. “I’m sick and tired of this! I’m going to my room. Also, Jaffrey, I will call Mikeyla, okay? She doesn’t need your garbled narrative of events.” Rai stormed away into her bedroom and grabbed the phone.
“Hey Mikeyla, this is Rai,” she said, trying to keep herself from crying. Mikeyla could obviously tell something was off, though, because she responded with,
“Rai-girl, what’s wrong?” Rai tried to calm herself down enough to say,
“Lee and Jaff are both mad at me. And all because I made a mature and smart life decision!”
“You broke up with Lee, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I was afraid that as we got older, it could get… I dunno, messy. And it could completely become a liability! I did the right thing, right, Mikeyla?”
“You did, Rai-girl. You did.”
“But what am I supposed to do if they’re both mad at me?” Rai could hear Mikeyla sigh as she said,
“Boys! Rai, I’m not sure exactly how to fix this, I’ll tell you the truth. But I think the best thing for you to do right now is give them time. There isn’t any school today, as it’s Saturday, so I think that if you let them breathe for a while, it will get better. In the meantime, why don’t you let me come over and I’ll give you a makeover?” Rai laughed a tiny bit,
“Okay, Mikeyla. See you soon.”
“See you in a few, Rai-girl.”
Ten minutes later, the rusty pick-up truck that Mikeyla drove pulled into the lot. Rai ran out to meet her, smiling when she saw all of Mikeyla’s supplies in a box in Mikeyla’s arms. There was nail polish, hair accessories, makeup, hair dye, clothing, and so much more inside the container, and Mikeyla looked ready for some serious makeover action.
“Okay, Rai, are you ready to find a whole new you? ‘Cause my makeovers are legendary!” Rai nodded, leading Mikeyla into the big bathroom of the farmhouse. Mikeyla set her stuff down on the counter, first pulling out of the box a cute necklace that had a gold, diamond-studded heart hanging from it. Mikeyla said,
“This is a necklace my mother gave to me. On the back,” she turned the heart over, “it says, ‘Don’t need a hero- I got my heart’. It was always a reminder to me that I didn’t need anybody else to tell me who I need to be. I want you to have it.” She clasped the necklace around Rai’s neck, a smile of care for the girl in front of her present on her face. Rai held the heart in her hand and then looked up at Mikeyla,
“Thank you!” Mikeyla grinned,
“Of course!” Then she got out her makeup, “Time to get started!” Rai spent the next several hours being pampered by Mikeyla. She let herself forget about Lee and Jaff. When Mikeyla was done, Rai laughed at her reflection.
“It’s… interesting!” she told Mikeyla. Mikeyla laughed with her.
“When I say legendary… I’m not sure it means good.” Rai grew serious again, and turning to Mikeyla, said,
“I need to make it right between Lee and Jaff, but I’m not sure how.”
“Honey, I think the best thing for you to do is go and tell them how you feel. All of you are never going to get anywhere if you don’t tell the truth.” Rai nodded her head, acknowledging the truth in Mikeyla’s statement. She said thank you to Mikeyla, and then, when Mikeyla had left, went into her room and looked through her stuff to find her lucky sweatshirt- the one she had been wearing when Lee had admitted to liking her back. Slipping it over her head, she walked out the door and into the forest in search of Lee and Jaff.
It was slightly chilly, and the leaves crunched underneath Rai’s feet as she walked. It was eerily quiet, and getting darker by the minute. She was sure that she had seen the boys come here, and they hadn’t come back to the house, so they must still be here. She squinted into the darkness, trying to find any hint of her two friends. She was about to give up hope when two strong arms wrapped around her. She twisted, expecting to see Lee, (Jaff wasn’t this strong), but instead found Aydeen!
“Aydeen!” she said in surprise. He smiled, but there was something off in his expression.
“Why do you live with Karl and Jeff?” he said. “Are you dating one of them?”
“Because our parents died and so we look out for each other, and no, I’m not.”
“Oh,” Aydeen said. “I’m just not sure what to think.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” Rai pleaded, hoping that their mission would still work.
“Well, I’ll see you at school, Shellie.”
“See you there,” Rai said, watching him lope off. She shook her head in defeat, and decided to head back to the farmhouse. Maybe the boys would be back.
She walked through the door and saw Lee and Jaff on the couch, talking. They immediately stopped their conversation the minute they sensed her presence.
“What do you want?” Lee asked. There was anger in his eyes, but also sadness.
“I want to make things right, Lee.” He sighed and turned towards her, Jaff following suit. She sat down in the chair, her hands trembling with nerves.
“Guys, you are my family. You two are like my brothers, and I love you both. Lee, you were an awesome boyfriend while it lasted, and I’m sorry it couldn’t continue. We need to forgive, because our mission just got complicated. Aydeen cornered me in the forest while I was looking for you guys. He knows that we live together. I think we’re going to have to work harder to get him hooked, because he looked pretty put off.” Lee and Jaff accepted her apology and agreed that they needed to come up with a plan. They thought for a while before Jaff said,
“Kendan.” Rai looked at him, confused, asking,
“What about him?”
“He’s smitten with you, Rai. So come to basketball practice and flirt with him. Get him to ask you out, and make Aydeen jealous. The minute he wants you, you make up some excuse to break up with Kendan and go for Aydeen.” Rai had to acknowledge that the plan was smart. Lee nodded his head,
“If you’re willing, Rai, it could put the whole mission back on track.” Rai sighed and said,
“I’ll do it.” The boys cheered, patting her on the back and hugging her worries out. She smiled and then said,
“Why don’t I make some dinner to celebrate?” Lee’s stomach growled, and Rai laughed as she walked into the kitchen. Lee and Jaff followed her, and they tried to help the best they could.
Soon, chili was on the table and the three teens were digging in. They enjoyed a peaceful dinner until they heard pounding on the door. Lee shot up and sprinted to the door, peeking through the peephole. He then breathed out a sigh of relief. Opening the door, he said to the group of agents,
“Hello. We were just finishing dinner.” They came in and the teens gathered in the living room. Rai sank into one of the chairs, shooting a smile at Mikeyla, who was standing in the corner. The lead agent said,
“How is the mission going?” Lee looked at Jaff, wondering what to say. Jaff spoke up,
“Rai is slowly but surely gaining his attention. Right now, she’s going to make him jealous by going out with someone else, and once Aydeen gets jealous, she’ll ‘switch her affections’ to Aydeen.” Rai smiled and gave a hopeful thumbs up to the agents. She assured them,
“I know of a guy who will ask me out. I’ll start on Monday.”