Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date Page 4

  I nod.

  “But she’s Natalie Flores Griffin!” Ajay continues. “And you’re—”

  “Nobody,” I say.

  Gram taps me on the head with her pencil again. “You are not nobody.”

  “Natalie Flores Griffin is a superstar,” I tell Gram. “She’s supermodel pretty. She’s super smart and super talented.”

  “And Danny’s a super nobody!” Ajay shouts.

  “Thanks,” I tell my best friend. “Thanks a lot.”

  Mr. Maggio approaches us from across the room. “Am I hearing right? Is Natalie Flores Griffin coming to Cuper Cove?”

  “It looks that way,” my grandmother tells her boss.

  Now Mr. Maggio is in shock.

  “Natalie and Danny have been friends since preschool,” Gram adds.

  “We haven’t talked in a long, long time,” I tell everybody.

  “Danny,” says Mr. Maggio. “This could be a very big deal for your mother’s campaign.”

  “No,” I say. “This has nothing to do with my mother.”

  Ajay nods thoughtfully. “I bet Natalie Flores Griffin could get a million people to vote for your mom, Danny.”

  “That would be a problem,” says Gram.

  “Why?” asks Ajay.

  “Because then she’d be mayor,” I say.

  “Because there are fewer than ten thousand voters in Cuper Cove,” Gram explains.

  “Missy Constantino is a very strong supporter of public education,” Mr. Maggio tells us. “A vote for Missy is a vote for Cuper Cove Middle School!”

  Gram holds up a hand. “Wait a minute,” she says. “This isn’t some kind of stunt, is it?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  Gram turns and speaks directly to me. “This isn’t some trick to get a million people to pay attention to you for three seconds on InstantFace or SnapCracker or some other stupid thing?”

  “Why would Natalie do that?” I ask.

  “I’m not talking about Natalie.” Gram looks at Asha and Ajay and then back to me. “I’m talking about you.”

  “No!” we all say together.

  “Because Natalie Flores Griffin is a real person,” Gram continues. “She might be famous, but she’s a real girl. And Danny Constantino, you better be planning on taking her on a real date at the actual Halloween festival, including real dancing inside the Cuper Cove Middle School gym. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Very clear!” I say even though I’ve never been on a real date, I don’t know how to dance, and I have no idea what I’m talking about.

  “Good,” Gram says, “because that poor girl is going to be far from home, surrounded by strangers, and holding on to the arm of a boy who thinks pouring soda into a cup without spilling makes him debonair. It will probably be the scariest night of her life.”

  “Scarier than mutant zombie soul pirates?” says Ajay.

  “That was the movies,” Gram tells him. “This is middle school.”

  “And I bet this is your first date,” Asha says to me.

  “So?” I say.

  Gram just shakes her head. “I love you, Danny. But Natalie Flores Griffin is doomed.”

  Chapter 6

  it’s always now somewhere

  I start the next day inside Gram’s Camaro, which always smells a little bit like wet leather and motor oil. Not only that, the black vinyl on the dashboard is cracked, the radio doesn’t work, and the seats are uncomfortable. At least once a week, Mom suggests selling it, but there’s no way Gram is ever going to let go of this car.

  “Did you talk to your mother about Natalie?” Gram asks as she accelerates through a yellow light.

  “Not really.” By which I mean not at all because I’m sure that Mom is going to launch into super-planning overdrive over this whole thing. She’ll want to manage every aspect of Natalie’s visit, including what we wear, where we go, what we eat, and who knows what else. She’ll probably hire a photographer to follow us around and then use the pictures to attract potential home buyers to Cuper Cove. I can’t even imagine all the ways she’ll try to fit Natalie into the run for mayor.

  Gram downshifts and then powers through a turn. “How did you manage that?”

  I grab the armrest and hold on tight. “Mom worked late. I ate supper at your house. I did homework at Ajay’s, and then I came home and went to bed.”

  “What about this morning?”

  “I left the house early to ride with you.”

  Gram brings the car to a stop at another light. “So you’ve been avoiding her.”

  “That’s my plan,” I admit.

  “For how long?”

  “Four or five years?”

  Gram sighs. “You realize that she probably already knows.”

  “You think?”

  Gram starts revving the engine in anticipation of a green signal. “She probably knew Natalie Flores Griffin was coming before you did.”

  The light turns and Gram hits the gas. The Camaro’s big engine roars like a troop of angry lions. “I’d like to try and keep the whole thing with Natalie kind of low-key,” I shout over the engine.

  “Then you might be hanging out with the wrong girl!” Gram hollers back.

  I’m not sure if she’s talking about Natalie, Mom, or herself.

  I cross my arms over my chest, which is easy in the Camaro because the seat belt does not include a shoulder strap. “I wish Mom didn’t have to make everything such a big deal.”

  Gram lightens up on the gas and shifts into a long straightaway. “This is your first date ever, Danny. You’re going with a Hollywood movie star. It’s a big deal.”

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I guess it’s too late to worry about it now.

  Gram brings the car to a stop at a curbside spot across the street from our school building. She shuts down the engine and turns to me. “What does Natalie have to say about the whole thing?”

  I don’t reply.

  “Have you talked to her yet?”

  “Not yet,” I admit.

  Gram reaches across the seat and smacks me on the back of the head.

  “What was that for?” I holler.

  “There’s a girl who says she’s going to travel three thousand miles across the country to go to a dance with you, and you haven’t called her yet?”

  She reaches out to hit me again, but I duck out of the way. “I’ll call her after school!” I promise.

  “No,” says Gram. “You’ll call her right now.”

  “It’s barely seven thirty in the morning,” I point out. “And it’s three hours earlier in California.”

  Gram shakes her head. “It’s now in California. It’s now here too. You’re going to call her now.”

  “But—”

  “She probably won’t even answer. You can just leave a message.”

  “What if she does answer?”

  “Tell her hello from Cuper Cove.” Gram opens the door and steps out of the car.

  “Where are you going?” I say.

  Gram leans back into the Camaro. “Do you really want me to stay here while you call your date?”

  “I guess not.”

  “Good choice.” Gram closes the door and leaves me alone in the Camaro.

  I sit quietly for a moment, then quickly pull out my phone and dial Natalie’s number before I lose my nerve. It rings once. Twice. It’s weird to think about a phone ringing somewhere near the Pacific Ocean because of something I’m doing just a few miles away from the Atlantic. The phone rings a fourth time. Fifth. I decide to hang up, but that’s when a groggy voice says, “Hello?”

  “Natalie?” I don’t mean to shout, but then, she is very far away.

  “Huh?”

  “Natalie Flores Griffin?”

  “Who is this?�
�

  I try to get my voice under control. “Natalie? This is Danny Constantino . . . Good morning?”

  “Danny . . . Danny from Cuper Cove?”

  “That’s me! Hi! Is this Natalie . . . um . . . also from Cuper Cove?”

  I hear a low chuckle. “That’s me. Do you know what time it is?”

  I glance at the dashboard clock. “In Cuper Cove it’s . . . now.”

  I get another laugh.

  “Is it now there too?” I ask.

  “It’s always now somewhere.” Natalie yawns. “But now here is four thirty in the morning.”

  “I know,” I admit. “Sorry.”

  “Thanks for asking me to the dance,” she says.

  “Thanks for saying yes.”

  For a moment, there’s an awkward silence between us.

  “Everybody’s excited to see you,” I finally offer.

  “I’m excited too,” she says. “But please tell them all that I’m feeling fine.”

  “Huh?”

  “I don’t know why, but there’s a whole bunch of Cuper Cove kids who think I’m sick,” she explains. “They keep posting get-well notes and prayers for me online.”

  Note to self: Find that little redheaded girl.

  “I can’t believe you’re coming to Cuper Cove,” I say.

  Natalie laughs. “Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Sure.”

  “I came last year too. I love Cuper Cove, and I love Halloween. My aunt Jenny still lives in town. We come to Cuper Cove just so I can be normal for a little while. We made our own costumes, and then she took me trick-or-treating. I even went to the parade, but I stayed in disguise. I was LEGO Princess Leia.”

  “Why didn’t you let me know you were here?” I say.

  “Why didn’t you call me before now?” she asks.

  “Why did you stop emailing me?” I wonder aloud.

  There’s a long pause. “My parents got divorced,” she finally says. “It happened about two years ago. I didn’t want to talk to anybody for a while.”

  “Oh,” I say. “That makes sense.”

  “It does?”

  “I have no idea,” I admit.

  Natalie laughs again. “Do you still dress up for Halloween?”

  “We make our own costumes too,” I tell her. “Do you remember Ajay Kalli? Last year, he and I were a cow.”

  She laughs one more time. She has a really nice laugh. “A cow?”

  “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “Were you the front or the back?”

  I decide to ignore the question. “This year we’re going to build a giant cardboard unicorn.”

  “I’d like to see that.”

  “Do you want to go trick-or-treating with us?” I ask.

  “Could we?” she says.

  “Sure,” I say. “Definitely.”

  “I’d like that. And the dance sounds like fun too,” she adds.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” I say.

  “What is it?” Natalie asks.

  “I don’t know how to dance.”

  “That’s okay,” she says. “We’ll figure it out.” She hesitates a moment, then asks, “Are people at your school making a big deal about me coming?”

  “They sort of are,” I admit.

  There’s another pause. “Is that why you asked me?”

  “No,” I tell her. “I asked you because . . .”

  I stop. The truth of the matter is that I did not ask her at all. In fact, I don’t care about the dance. I don’t really care about trick-or-treating either. On top of all that, I don’t even care that Natalie is a movie star now.

  “Because why?” she says.

  “Because you’re my friend,” I blurt out.

  There’s a long silence before Natalie speaks again. “Danny,” she finally says.

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s a really good reason.”

  I’m just smart enough to know that I shouldn’t speak right now.

  “And Danny?” she says.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s still four thirty in the morning here. Can we talk later?”

  “Okay,” I say.

  “Good. And Danny?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m glad you called.”

  “Me too.”

  Natalie laughs softly and then the line goes dead. Did I mention that she has a really nice laugh?

  Chapter 7

  unicorn pride is justified

  By the time I get into the office, Gram’s already dealing with a line of students, parents, and teachers who need her attention. I try to catch her eye, but she’s too busy, so I decide to check back later.

  “Mr. Constantino!” Mr. Maggio’s big voice stops me in my tracks. “I’ve been thinking about you. Any word from our friend Natalie?”

  I shoot a look at Gram, who glances up and gives me one quick shake of her head.

  “Not yet,” I tell the principal.

  Mr. Maggio crosses the room and pats me on the back. “I spoke to your mom. She let me know that Natalie Flores Griffin can sit with the festival judges at this year’s Halloween parade.”

  That’s news to me. “There are actual judges?”

  I thought the costume contest winners were simply picked out of a hat.

  “Of course,” says Mr. Maggio. “Did you think that we just picked winners out of a hat?”

  I offer my principal a hearty laugh. “Pick winners out of a hat? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!”

  “Right?” says Mr. Maggio. “The festival committee will have to approve it, but your mother has also suggested that Natalie can serve as a celebrity judge with voting privileges this year.”

  “Of course she did.” I wonder if I can send Mom to South America or maybe lock her in a bank vault until after Natalie leaves. “I’m sure she’ll tell me all about it when I get home.”

  “And Danny,” Mr. Maggio continues, “we’d love to have Natalie Flores Griffin as part of our annual Cuper Cove Middle School Halloween pep rally too.”

  The Cuper Cove Middle School Halloween pep rally takes place the day before the downtown parade, so everybody comes to school wearing their Halloween costumes. It’s supposed to be a regular day with regular rules, but it’s difficult to expect sane behavior when half the school is dressed like some version of Satan.

  “The pep rally can be a little overwhelming,” I suggest.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” says Mr. Maggio. “Miss Flores Griffin will have so much fun that she’ll wish she never left Cuper Cove in the first place.”

  I guess anything is possible.

  “When you think about it,” he tells me, “she could be just another kid at our school. If she were here, you and Natalie would probably sit next to each other in class. Maybe you’d even be going to the dance together.”

  “Maybe,” I say. “But maybe not.”

  Mr. Maggio nods thoughtfully. “You’re probably right. Lucky for you Natalie’s not here after all.”

  Thank you. Thank you very much.

  Just then, the school bell rings to start the day. “You better go,” says the principal, “or your grandmother might give you detention.”

  I look toward Gram’s desk. She’s on the phone now, but she covers the receiver and whispers at me, “Come back at lunch!”

  I nod, then leave the office and head down the hall as quickly as possible. I stop at my locker and put my backpack away. Meanwhile, I can’t help wondering what it would be like if Natalie really had stayed in Cuper Cove. I bet we’d still be friends. I’m sure I’d want to ask her to the Halloween dance. I wonder if I would get up the nerve to do it in person. I suspect that the answer is no.

  The morning goes by quickly, but
I’m still exhausted by the time my lunch period arrives. I never realized being a celebrity would be so much work. First, everybody wants me to tell them about Natalie. Second, everybody wants me to hear their story about meeting someone famous. Finally, everybody cares a lot more about Natalie Flores Griffin than they do about Danny Constantino.

  Thankfully, Gram is alone when I get to her office. She tapes a note to her computer screen, then turns to me. “Did you call your date?” she asks.

  I nod. “I called.”

  “Did you talk?”

  “We talked.”

  “And?”

  I can’t keep from smiling. “She’s nice.”

  “Of course she’s nice. You were that girl’s best friend.”

  “She was friends with everybody,” I remind my grandmother.

  “That might be how you remember it,” Gram tells me. “That’s not how it was in real life.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Natalie Flores Griffin was a little ticking time bomb. Her parents were struggling at home. Natalie was acting out at school. Actually, she was acting out everywhere. They signed her up for every club, class, and sport they could think of to burn off all her energy. I remember her in dance, soccer, theater, gymnastics, swim club, wrestling . . .”

  “Wrestling?”

  Gram laughs. “The coach made her quit.”

  “Because she was a girl?”

  “Because she was crushing everybody.”

  I sit at Gram’s desk and pull a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of my lunch bag. “They made her quit because she was good?”

  “No.” Gram reaches over and takes half of my sandwich. “They made her quit because she would beat her opponents and then sit on their heads and bounce up and down until they cried. She was literally crushing everybody.”

  I bite into my sandwich. “But Natalie was so nice.”

  “She was nice when she was with you,” Gram says through a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly. “You two were just good chemistry.”

  We eat the rest of the sandwich without speaking.

  “Have you told anybody about your call?” Gram finally asks.

  I shake my head. “No.”

  “Then don’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “People were going crazy when this was all just a rumor. How’s it going to be now that it’s real?”