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  “What’s the matter?” the policeman asked.

  “I—uh—I don’t have it with me,” Gary said. “But I can explain that, too. You see—”

  The officer cut him off. “I see that you’re illegally parked and driving without a license.”

  “Like I said, I can explain—”

  “You’d better save your explanations for the chief, kid.” The policeman jerked his thumb in the direction of his squad car. “We’re going to the station. You too, miss,” he added.

  Gary and I were silent during the short drive to the police station. The only sound was the occasional squawk of the two-way radio. Gary sat beside me in the backseat, staring gloomily out the window, his shoulders slumped. All the confidence he’d gained over the past few weeks seemed to have melted away. I was pretty sure he was thinking of Colette, and although I’m not usually a vindictive person, at that moment I found myself hating her.

  I gave a little sigh of pure helplessness, and Gary turned at the sound, giving me a slightly forced smile as he reached for my hand. He gave it a quick squeeze, and didn't release it until we arrived at the police station.

  Once inside, we were each allowed to make one phone call. Fortunately, we were both able to get through to our parents this time. I hadn’t realized just how awkward it would be until I heard Dad’s voice on the other end of the line. How do you break the news that your parents have to come and pick you up at the police station?

  Somehow I managed a brief explanation, and when I hung up, our arresting officer led us to the desk sergeant on duty.

  “Names, please?” the sergeant asked without looking up from the paperwork on his desk.

  “Gary Hadley,” Gary said.

  “Molly McKenzie,” I said.

  “All right, what happened?” the desk sergeant asked.

  “Well, you see—” Gary began, but the sergeant put up a hand to silence him.

  “You’ll get your turn in a minute.” He turned to the policeman who had brought us in. “What’s the story, Cummings?”

  “At nine twenty-five I got a call from the night manager at Randolph Drugs,” Officer Cummings droned. “Earlier this evening, he’d noticed a 1985 Toyota parked in the lot Randolph Drugs shares with the Lamplighter restaurant. Said he noticed it because the parking spaces at that end are designated one-hour parking only. When he closed up, the car was still there. I went to check it out, and while I was writing up the ticket, these two came out of the restaurant. Hadley here admits the car is his, but when I asked for a driver’s license, he said he didn’t have it with him.”

  “But I can explain—” Gary began again. This time a new voice interrupted him.

  “They ought to make that parking lot bigger!”

  We turned and saw a seedy-looking middle-aged man who had apparently been listening to Officer Cummings’s endless report.

  “Yes, sir, they ought to make it much bigger!” he said, standing up. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. First thing in the morning, I’m going to go to Randolph Drugs. I’m going to hand Mr. Randolph a check, and I'm going to tell him to make that parking lot bigger!”

  “What are you doing here, Wilson?” the sergeant asked wearily. “Have you been writing bad checks again?”

  “No!” Mr. Wilson said indignantly. “I never wrote a bad check in my life! It’s those computers they use at the bank, that's what it is.”

  “Never mind the computers! You sit there and be quiet while I hear Hadley's explanation.”

  Mr. Wilson sat down again, and the sergeant turned back to Gary. “All right, Hadley, you were saying?”

  “Well, it’s sort of a long story,” Gary said.

  “We've got all night,” the sergeant told him. Somehow that didn't sound very reassuring.

  “Well, sir, we—Molly and me—we went to dinner at the Lamplighter, and we parked in a one-hour space because we didn't think it would take that long, but when we got ready to leave, I found out I'd left my wallet at home in my other pants, and I didn’t have any money and neither did Molly, so we had to wash dishes to pay for our meal because my folks weren't at home, and Molly’s phone was out of order, and—”

  “Aw, come on, Sarge, have a heart!” Mr. Wilson urged. “The poor kid’s been through enough. Let him and his girlfriend go!”

  “You stay out of this!” the sergeant warned. “All right, Hadley, what happened next?”

  “Well, we finally left about nine-thirty. I’d forgotten all about where we were parked until I saw the policeman, and he wanted to see my driver’s license, but I didn’t have it, because—”

  “Because it was in his other pants!” offered Mr. Wilson.

  “Be quiet, Wilson!” the sergeant bellowed.

  “So Officer Cummings brought us here,” Gary concluded.

  Mr. Wilson stood up and whipped out his checkbook. “I like this kid. I’ll tell you what I'm going to do, Sarge. I’m going to pay his fine for him. Just tell me how much it is, and I’ll write you a check.”

  “Wilson, your checks aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on!” the sergeant growled, growing red in the face. “One more word out of you, and I’ll write you up for obstructing justice!”

  Mr. Wilson lapsed into sulky silence, and the sergeant turned back to Gary. “Were you able to reach your parents when you called just now?”

  “Yes, sir,” Gary said. “They're on their way.”

  “Mine are coming, too,” I added in case anybody was interested.

  “Are they bringing your wallet with them?” the sergeant asked Gary.

  “Well, they should be. At least, I asked them to.”

  “Fine. If you can show me a valid driver’s license, I’ll tear up both tickets. Meanwhile, I’ll have to hold you in custody until your parents arrive.”

  Officer Cummings led us to a small room he called a holding pen, but it sure looked like a jail cell to me. He stepped back and allowed us to enter, then pulled the door closed behind us. It shut with a loud clang.

  I sank down onto the bench that ran along one wall, then took off my high-heeled shoes and stretched my aching legs out in front of me. Gary paced back and forth like a caged animal, running his hands through his hair.

  “I kind of like that guy Wilson.” I said, making a feeble attempt at conversation. “I have a feeling he'd be a pretty good fellow to have on your side.”

  Gary smiled slightly but kept on pacing.

  “You might as well sit down,” I said at last. “You'll wear a path in the floor.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He sat down beside me on the bench, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees and his chin in his hands.

  As I watched him, I found myself wishing our parents wouldn’t hurry to our rescue too soon. Colette might have Gary tomorrow, but at least for tonight, he was all mine. A night in a jail cell with Gary suddenly seemed wonderfully romantic, and it was definitely something that he would never be able to share with Colette.

  “I'm so sorry about all this, Molly,” Gary said, breaking the silence. “I can’t seem to do anything right!”

  “Oh, Gary, please don’t apologize.” I reached out and touched his arm. “It wasn't your fault. And I thought you were terrific back there at the Lamplighter, talking to the manager.” Steeling myself to say the despised name, I added, “I bet Colette would have been proud of you.”

  Gary gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, right.”

  “Well, she should be! After an evening like this, any girl would be proud to go out with you! Look at it this way. How many people know what it's like behind the scenes at the fanciest restaurant in town? How many people get to ride in the back of a squad car? How many people have adventures like these when they go out on dates?”

  Too late, I remembered that this was not a date, and lapsed into embarrassed silence.

  Gary slipped his arm around my waist. “You’re a good sport, Molly,” he said softly. And then he bent his head and kissed me lightly on th
e cheek.

  At that moment Officer Cummings reappeared, jingling the keys to our cozy cell. “Hadley and McKenzie, your folks are here,” he said.

  I reached for my shoes, glad of an excuse to hide my face from Gary before my expression gave me away. A good sport, he’d called me. I didn’t want to be a good sport. I wanted to be the girl Gary loved—but Gary loved Colette Carroll.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The rest of the evening seemed sort of anticlimactic after all we'd been through. Officer Cummings unlocked the door and led us back to where the sergeant sat, talking to our parents. Gary claimed his wallet as if he were being reunited with a long-lost friend, then presented his driver’s license to the sergeant. He studied it for a moment, then looked at Gary intently, as if he weren’t quite convinced that the bespectacled, shaggy-haired boy in the photo and the boy standing in front of him were one and the same. Finally satisfied, he returned the driver’s license to Gary and tore up the tickets, just as he had promised. Then Gary left with his parents, and I left with mine.

  I was quiet during the drive home, but my mind was racing with thoughts of Gary and me—and Colette. The minute Gary had kissed me, I knew I couldn’t go on coaching him and then just turn him over to Colette. I would have to tell Mark that from now on Gary was on his own—even if it meant telling Mom and Dad about the speeding ticket. Funny, but that didn’t seem nearly as big a deal as it had just a few hours earlier. I guess going to jail has that effect on a person.

  It was after eleven o’clock when we finally got back home. I was exhausted and my feet still hurt, but I was determined to settle the whole thing before I went to bed. I followed Mom upstairs to my parents’ bedroom and tapped lightly on the open door.

  “Mom, can we talk?” I asked timidly.

  “Of course, honey,” she answered. “But the sergeant explained everything, and your father and I understand that you and Gary weren’t to blame. In fact, we think you both handled the situation with a lot of maturity.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said, coming into the room. “I’m glad you understand. But—well, to tell you the truth, this wasn’t my first brush with the law.”

  Mom’s eyebrows drew together in a frown. “Oh? What do you mean?”

  I sat down on the edge of the bed, then began hesitantly to tell my story. “A while ago—last month, to be exact—I got a ticket for speeding. I wasn’t going all that fast, but I knew you and Dad would have probably grounded me, so—well, I decided not to tell you. Mark loaned me the money to pay the fine, and I’ve been paying him back out of my allowance every week.”

  “I see,” Mom said thoughtfully. “So what made you decide to tell me now?”

  “Well, because Mark wanted me to help Gary get a date with Colette Carroll—she’s this gorgeous girl at school, and Gary is prime-time in love with her,” I said, although the words almost choked me. “Anyway, I didn’t want to do it, but Mark threatened to tell you and Dad about the ticket. So all this time I’ve been helping Gary get ready to ask Colette to go to the prom with him. But I can’t do it anymore because he—I mean, I—but he doesn’t…”

  I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I buried my face in my hands and burst into tears. Mom put her arms around me and held me close.

  “I think I can guess the rest,” she said gently. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything about you and Gary, but tomorrow I’ll pay off your debt to Mark, and you can make the rest of your payments to me. But I’m going to have to take your car keys for a while.”

  “I know,” I sniffed. “You might as well ground me on prom night, too. I won’t be going anyway.”

  “The prom is still a month away,” Mom said. “A lot can happen in that time. Who knows? You might get an invitation from somebody you like even better than Gary.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” I said sadly, rising slowly from the bed. “’Night, Mom.”

  “Good night, dear. And I hope you’ve learned something from all of this.”

  “I sure have, Mom,” I said fervently.

  “And that is?” she prompted me.

  “Always stay within the posted speed limits, and don’t try to hide things from you and Dad. Oh, and one other thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Never borrow money from Mark!”

  Then I went to bed with a heavy heart but a clear conscience.

  I should have known that my brother would be waiting for me the next morning with plenty of jailbird jokes. I endured it all patiently, “good sport” that I was, until Mark made some wisecrack about how he was going to tease Gary at school on Monday.

  “Don’t you dare!” I exclaimed. “Gary feels just awful about the whole thing, and if you say one word to him about it. I’ll—I’ll—” I paused, trying to think of something really awful to threaten him with.

  Before I could come up with anything, Mom called from the kitchen, “Mark, will you come here a moment, please?”

  Mark disappeared into the kitchen. When he emerged a few minutes later, his blue eyes were blazing with anger.

  “Mom just told me everything. I can’t believe you did this!” he sputtered. “Just when everything was going so great!”

  “Did what?” I asked, although I had a pretty good idea.

  “Pulled out on Gary and me like that! How could you play such a dirty trick on your own brother?”

  “I never wanted to do it in the first place,” I reminded him.

  “Yeah, but lately you and Gary have been thicker than sorghum molasses! How can you leave him in the lurch? I thought you’d gotten to be pretty good friends.”

  “Well, that just shows how little you know,” I said coldly. If Mark ever guessed that I had fallen hopelessly in love with Gary Hadley, I’d never hear the end of it. “We made a deal, that’s all, and now the deal is off.”

  But now I’d have to break the news to Gary, and I definitely wasn’t looking forward to it. My only consolation was that I would have all weekend to prepare my speech before facing Gary on Monday.

  As it turned out, I didn’t have that much time. About halfway through the morning the telephone rang, and Mark went to answer it. A moment later he yelled, “For you, Moll. It’s your former cellmate!”

  I raced upstairs and took the call on the extension in Mom and Dad’s bedroom, hoping that Mark wouldn’t listen in. My heart was pounding, and my hand was trembling as I lifted the receiver and held it to my ear. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Molly.” Just the sound of Gary’s voice made me weak in the knees. “I wanted to call and make sure you were okay, after last night.”

  “I’m fine,” I said, touched and a little amused by his concern. What had he thought might happen to me—a terminal case of dishpan hands? “What about you?”

  “Well, I’m afraid my pride is still kind of bruised, but the rest of me is hanging in there. Listen, Molly, are you busy this afternoon? I thought maybe we could go to town and look at tuxes. I need to get my reservation in, and I sure could use your advice.”

  I took a deep breath. It was now or never. “No, Gary, I’m afraid I can’t,” I said.

  “Then how about tonight?”

  “No. I’m sorry, Gary, but I’m not going to be able to help you anymore.”

  There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Gary finally spoke, he sounded both stunned and hurt.

  “It’s because of what happened last night, isn’t it? Now you really do think I’m hopeless.”

  “No!” So much had changed since he’d overheard me saying that to Mark that I was horrified at the memory of my own words.

  “Then why?”

  “Because—well, because you don’t need me anymore,” I said, unable to keep the sadness out of my voice. “Like I told you last night, any girl would be proud to go out with you.”

  “Would you?”

  Would I! How could I possibly answer his question?

  “Well, I—if it weren’t for—I mean, if only— that is, I…”

&nb
sp; “Never mind,” Gary said, putting a merciful end to my idiotic stammering. “Forget I mentioned it.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  But of course I couldn’t forget. I spent most of the weekend sitting in my room, remembering Gary’s kiss and playing “No One in the World Like You” over and over again on my stereo.

  I wasn’t particularly looking forward to school on Monday morning. Now that I had resigned my position as Gary’s personal trainer, there was no reason for us to meet or even to speak to each other. I couldn’t imagine that anything unusual or interesting would happen—but I was wrong.

  I had just finished taking my books out of my locker, when I heard someone calling my name. Turning, I saw Colette Carroll hurrying down the hall in my direction. I didn’t even know Colette knew my name. But bigger surprises were in store.

  “Molly, have you heard that I’m giving a party for Gary?” she asked.

  “I’ve heard rumors about it,” I answered.

  “Well, the rumors are true. It’s this Saturday night. How would you like to come?” Colette asked, beaming at me. She seemed to expect me to swoon from the sheer thrill of being invited to one of her oh-so-exclusive gatherings.

  Needless to say, I didn’t swoon, but I certainly was startled. Why would Colette go out of her way to extend an invitation to a girl she’d hardly spoken to more than half a dozen times all year? It probably had something to do with Gary, but just what, I didn’t know.

  “I’m not sure if I’m free,” I hedged. “I’ll have to let you know. What time does it start?”

  “Eight o’clock. See you there, I hope.” Wiggling her fingers in farewell, Colette continued down the hall.

  When I told Beth and Jan at lunch about her invitation, they were as puzzled as I was.

  “Colette invited you to her party?” Beth gasped in surprise. “Molly, why?”

  “I have no idea,” I said. “But I’m sure she has her reasons.”