Chapter 3 -- Double Date, Double Trouble
The ringing phone woke me up on Sunday morning. I idly wondered if it might be Carly. When my mother knocked on the door and told me Carly was on the phone, I felt a tightness across my chest. Maybe Nancy had called her and told her everything. It
would
be the ultimate revenge. If Nancy couldn't be happy, no one would be happy.
I answered the phone with trepidation. "Hi, Carly," I said as calmly as I could manage.
"Were you still sleeping?" Carly asked. I tried to gauge her emotional state from the sound of her voice, but her tone was neutral.
"Yes," I answered warily.
"Oh. OK. Sam, we have a problem."
I think my heart stopped beating right there. I felt like I had fallen down a flight of stairs. It was a good thing I was still in bed.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I knew I sounded terrified. Carly didn't seem to notice. She was too preoccupied with whatever the problem was.
"When I got home last night, my mom was still up. She wanted to know where we had been after the movie. I had to lie to her." Carly was almost whispering now so she wouldn't be overheard.
Was that the problem?
I was trying hard not to cheer out loud.
"Does she suspect something?" I asked, trying not to sound too jubilant.
"She sure does. She told me I can't go to the dance with you unless we double with another couple."
There was silence for about half a minute.
Carly continued. "This might work out. I'm going to call Nancy and see if she is going. She can double with us."
"No!" I realized as soon as I said that how guilty it sounded. I tried not to sound like a strangled cat as I continued. "I mean, I don't think she's dating anyone."
Yeah, like that reassured Carly
.
"I'm going to ask. It's worth a shot," Carly told me. "I'll call you back after I talk to her."
In her haste, Carly hung up before I could dream up a better excuse. The
last
thing I wanted was for Carly to talk to Nancy, especially so soon after what happened yesterday. I tried calling back Carly but her line was already busy. I tried a few more times but had no more luck. Carly and Nancy were talking a long time. I knew what they were talking about. I had lost Carly.
I tried doing anything to take my mind off my impending doom but I couldn't concentrate on anything else. The minutes dragged on as I waited for Carly to call back. Maybe she was too upset to call. Maybe she was coming over to break up with me in person. I wouldn't blame her if she was coming over to punch me in the face.
It was about twenty minutes before the phone rang. The sound made me jump. I didn't answer it. I wanted to prolong my relationship with Carly a few seconds longer. My dad answered the phone that time and opened my door to tell me it was for me. I thanked him and picked up the phone as gingerly as if it was a bomb I was trying to defuse.
"Hello?"
"Sam, it's Carly."
My heart was now beating so hard that I could look down and see my shirt moving.
"I talked to Nancy."
The seconds were like hours as I waited for the inevitable.
"We had a long talk."
In my agony, I understood why condemned prisoners looked so calm as they were escorted to their executions. They were ready to just get it over with.
"She said that she is not dating anyone, but she'll go with us if she can get a date."
Huh
? The blood was pounding so hard in my ears that I didn't think I heard Carly right. I
couldn't
have heard her right.
"Sam, are you there?" Carly asked.
"Yes, I'm here. Nancy said she'd double with us?" I tried not to sound incredulous but I don't think I succeeded.
"Yes, if she can get a date. Is there anyone you could talk to about asking her?"
It was about then that I remembered to breathe. I exhaled so loudly that Carly asked me if I was OK.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm justβ¦, oh, never mind. I'll ask around."
"Good. I'm sure you'll think of someone. Nancy is the only person I think we could go with who would understand if we wanted to go parking after the dance."
My harried mind was still trying to come to grips with the realization that Nancy hadn't told Carly about me -- about
us
. I had no idea what she was up to -- and that scared me.
Carly could tell I was preoccupied about something, so we hung up soon after that. Now all I had to do was find a date for the girl I was fooling around with yesterday behind my girlfriend's back, and everything would be fine. No matter how many times I repeated that statement to myself, it never sounded right.