Okay, so according to Sparky, Trixie was madly in love with me. What did he know about girls and relationships? Lack of girls and other distractions in his life was why Sparky ranked so high in his engineering class! So I concluded that, if I wanted to know Trixie's true feelings for me, I'd have to find out myself.
The sophomore semi-formal dance was approaching, a kind of 'Ha-ha, you made it, but wait until we bust your ass in junior year!' Trixie and I had unofficially decided between us that we weren't going. Almost everyone else, however, just assumed we were going together. Why 'almost?' Just wait, it's coming.
"Silly idea, really," said Trixie, sitting down as gracefully as she could into the foldout cafeteria seat. "Just mindless recreation."
"Yah-huh," I agreed feebly. Across the lunchroom, I could see Twinkle Banks sauntering through the crowds to get to the vending machines. She was like the Moses of the school cafeteria. When she walked in, crowds parted for her. She was generally thought to be the prettiest girl in the sophomore class. Guys wanted her, girls (except Trixie, apparently) wanted to be her. She was pretty cool, famous for doing crazy stunts to promote her father's Universal Circus. They called her the Girl Daredevil.
"Her hair is so dyed," commented Trixie. I turned to look at her, blinking myself out of a kind of daze, "Wha--?"
"Look at those roots," Trixie snorted. "She's been hitting the bottle." She tapped her fingers on my Trigonometry book and demanded, "Come on, Speed, you have a quiz on trigonometric proofs in…" she glanced at the clock "… forty-five minutes, and you still don't know anything about them."
"I just don't get this stuff the way you do," I said. "We both know you're the brains of this operation."
"But you've got to believe in yourself," she demanded. "Or you'll make me feel stupid for believing in you."
When I looked into her eyes after she said that, they looked different. Brighter, somehow. It was a strange moment that almost took me off kilter.
"Um … Trixie?" said an unknown voice. We looked up.
"Oh, hi, Kim!" said Trixie. "Speed, this is Kim Jugger. Kim, this is Speed Racer."
Everyone in school knew Kim Jugger. He was the star player of the football team. His father was General Cardonce, and he was going to be a racer when he graduated. He'd come to Trixie once for some help in Geometry.
"The famous Speed," he said. "She's always talking about you and how far back you go."
"That's because I'll need someone to have heard it all before he becomes Mr. Super-Famous Race Car Driver and forgets all about his old pals."
"You're not easy to forget," I said. To myself I added, And besides, it's not like Pops would ever let me behind the wheel to become 'Mr. Super-Famous Race Car Driver.'
"Maybe I'll see you on the track someday," said Kim. He turned his attention away from me quickly to instead talk to Trixie. "So, Trixie, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the semi-formal with me."
I frowned. Sure, Trixie and I weren't together, but what if we had been? Rude much? Jeez, nobody has manners anymore.
"Oh," she said—and did she glance at me?—"I'm sorry, Kim, but I wasn't going to go to semi. Dancing's not really my thing."
"Oh," he, too, said. "Well, that's cool."—Did he just glance at me?—"I'll see you around." He turned to walk away. I'd only seen the guy for five minutes tops, but I had concluded that I didn't like Kim Jugger. Who even names their son Kim! I mean, in America.
Wait, isn't my name Speed Racer? I'll shut up now.
Trixie decided to come home with me that night, something about her father bringing so many snooty partners over it might as well have been the Geneva Convention.
I nodded. Obviously I was supposed to know what the Geneva Convention was.
About halfway to my house, she chuckled, "I can't believe Kim asked me to the dance. I've barely spoken to him in all this time we've gone to school together."
"Hey, Trix," I began. "Can I ask you something?"
She took on a whole new demeanor; totally bright and giggly. Her backpack bounced on the one shoulder it hung from. A grin came upon her face. "Well, you just did. But you can ask me another if you want."
"Do you think if I asked Twinkle Banks to semi she'd say yes?"
Trixie stumbled backwards, as if I had pushed her. Her mouth was open wide and her eyes were so big I thought they were about to fall out. She murmured, "Twinkle Banks?" Then her voice went unnaturally high, "Of course she'd say yes. I mean, you're awesome, and everyone says she's so awesome. I bet you'll be really happy together." And she turned away.
"Wait, Trixie! Where are you going?" I asked.
"I forgot my—my mom's letting me test drive the copter today," she whispered. "I have to go. I—I—I'll see you at school."
She walked back up the street, hitched her backpack a little higher on her shoulder, glanced back at me, and turned the corner. I tried to drown out the sounds of sobs and running footsteps once she went out of sight, but I'll never forget them.
This made me sure of two things: Trixie was in love with me.
And I was the biggest jerk on the face of the planet.
