Please, please R&R! I'm new here, and I would love to get some feedback! Thanks!
As the weeks went on and September morphed into October, the freshmen became more and more comfortable with their classes and their new routine. Lizzie and Miranda enjoyed Student Government, where incidentally they made many new friends and also met several very cute boys.
They also tried out for Cheerleading, where the dance skills, charm, grace and confidence they had perfected over the summer earned them a spot on the team. Gordo came by with his video camera to document their practices for a short feature he was doing for the AV Club, which would be seen on the morning announcements.
Gordo was actually having a better time in high school than he had anticipated. The work in his advanced classes did not bore him, and the AV Club gave him an opportunity to express himself creatively. There were only two problems.
One: He seemed to have stopped growing any taller.
Two: He, Lizzie and Miranda could not find a club they were all interested in joining.
Gordo suggested the Debate Club, because he wanted to improve his presentation skills. After all, someday he may have to convince a big movie producer to take on his latest film project. Lizzie, however, cringed when she got up in front of the group. In fact, the worst possible thing happened.
As Lizzie stood behind the podium, some of the kids suddenly recognized her as that girl they had seen on the local news and Good Morning, America, tearing down the curtains at her middle school graduation. Embarrassed beyond belief, Lizzie ran from the room and never came back. In a show of support for her friend, Miranda also left. Gordo stayed.
Miranda suggested the Spanish Club. Her cousin Carlos had been teaching her the language quite a bit lately, so she thought this club would be a lot of fun. Mrs. Alejandro was so pleased to have such an able speaker in the club that she made Miranda her assistant. This essentially meant Miranda was required to spend hours tutoring other students, which was actually more work than fun.
Miranda was glad when Cheerleading practice moved to Wednesdays, making the Spanish Club impossible for either her or Lizzie. Without his friends to keep him company, Gordo also abandoned ship.
Now it was Lizzie's turn to think of a club they could all enjoy. Weeks went by and she had no suggestion. Between her schoolwork, Student Government and Cheerleading, there was not much time for anything else.
Except Brett.
Miranda knew about Brett, but Gordo did not. But he was about to find out.
-
"Gordo! Gordo!" Lizzie called across the courtyard.
Gordo heard his "name" and looked to see who was calling it. There was Lizzie, sitting on a bench in the late afternoon sunshine. She looked beautiful in a baby blue sweater and blue jeans. Her hair was practically shining. Gordo walked over to her, smiling. He couldn't remember the last time he and Lizzie had been alone together.
"Hi," he said. "What are you doing here so late? Did you miss the bus?"
"Oh, no," she said. "I'm waiting for…for my math tutor. We're going to go over a few things."
"On a Friday evening?" Gordo laughed. "I know you can't be doing so bad in math, Lizzie, that you need to start your weekend with a vigorous session of 'If A plus B equals C, then what does Y equal?'"
Lizzie didn't say anything, but she looked down at her books.
Something didn't feel right to Gordo. He thought he knew what it was. "Hey!" he said suddenly, sitting down next to her. "If you're having trouble with math, you can come ask me. You know I'm always here for you."
"Oh, Gordo---"
"No, really. Show me what you've got. I want to help."
"Gordo---"
"And please," he said gently. "Please stop calling me Gordo."
"All right…Dave." Lizzie grimaced. Then, "That doesn't sound right."
"But it's who I am now. At least who I'm trying to become."
"But what was wrong with Gordo?"
"Gordo is this dweeb from middle school who thinks he knows it all."
"But Gor---! But…but…you do know it all," Lizzie insisted. "At least you know a whole lot."
"No, I don't," Gordo said. "I know some stuff, school stuff mostly, but I'm pretty shaky on the really important stuff." He took a deep breath, deciding to go for it. "For instance," he began, "let's say there's this girl I like---"
"Oh!" Lizzie brightened. "There's a girl you like?"
Gordo sighed. Maybe he was going to have to hit her on the head with a brick. "Yeah," he said. "This girl I like…and I've liked her a really, really long time…"
"Oooh! Oooh!" Lizzie exclaimed, but she was not responding to him. She was responding to a cute boy walking across the courtyard.
Again with the cute boys! Gordo thought. This was really getting out of hand.
But then things got worse. The cute boy, who was blonde and tan and appeared to stand at least six feet tall, was walking in their direction. Suddenly he waved and smiled. "Lizzie!" he yelled.
Gordo felt the bottom fall out. He also felt Lizzie getting all goosepimply beside him as she stood up and bounced a little. "Hi, Brett!"
Brett reached Lizzie, and to Gordo's great relief he did not kiss her or hug her, but an intense and obvious eyelock left no doubt in Gordo's mind that even if this was Lizzie's math tutor, he was also a lot more.
"Hi," he said, his eyes smiling into hers.
"Hi," she repeated, smiling back.
"Hi," he said again.
It was getting a little ridiculous.
Gordo wanted to be anywhere but here. He shifted his backpack, wondering if there was any way he could inconspicuously sneak away. He was sure Lizzie would never miss him.
But suddenly Brett said, "So who's your friend?"
"Ooh!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Brett! This is my friend! This is one of my oldest friends in the whole world, Gor---Gor---David Gordon. Sorry. And Gor---and Dave," she said with difficulty, "this is Brett. Brett Billingsly." She almost sang his name, then added, "He's my math tutor."
Brett snickered for a moment before he gave Gordo a casual nod. "Hey."
"Hey," Gordo returned, striving to appear equally casual, though in reality he felt he was about to explode with jealousy.
"So…Lizzie's friend…"
"Yeah…"
"The one that always used to hang out with her and Miranda…"
Gordo nodded. He felt small and stupid sitting there while Lizzie and Brett were standing. He thought about standing up also, but seeing Brett up close now he guessed that his estimate of six feet was not too far off. Standing up next to Brett wouldn't make anything better, and it might just make things worse.
"So," Brett said suddenly to Gordo. "I hear you're pretty smart." It sounded like he was issuing a challenge.
"Oh!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Gordo is like a genius! And he's so creative. You know the morning announcements---"
"Gordo?" Brett laughed.
Lizzie gasped. "Just a nickname. He doesn't use it any more. I mean Dave---"
"So how's it hangin'…Dave?" Brett said, using a phrase Gordo absolutely detested.
Gritting his teeth and pulling himself together, Gordo answered, somewhat testily, "It's hangin'…Brett. How's it hangin' for you?"
Lizzie gave Gordo a funny look. It had been many weeks since they had even talked, but she knew him well enough to sense the negative vibes pouring out of him. This was horrible! Her best friend and her new boyfriend at odds, only minutes after meeting. She had to do something to fix this! And quick!
"So, anyway!" she sang. "Big night tonight, huh? The new Johnny Depp movie."
Brett looked at Gordo and said, "The chicks really dig Johnny Depp, don't they?"
"Yeah," Gordo agreed. "Chicks."
"So anyway!" Lizzie repeated, now directing her words more towards Gordo. "A bunch of us are going out to see it tonight, up at the mall. Probably hang out afterwards. You should come, Gor---Dave. Please come!"
Lizzie's only thought was that if the two men she most adored in the world did not seem to like each other, the only possible explanation could be that they simply did not know each other. This outing would give them a chance to become friends.
The last thing Gordo wanted to do was spend an evening watching Lizzie and Brett make goo-goo eyes at each other---or worse! But Brett was giving him a look that dared him to accept the invitation.
"Oh, come on!" Lizzie encouraged. "Miranda will be there She just broke up with Jimmy. You can be her date."
"Sure," Brett said. "Lizzie and I would love to have you hang out with us."
Gordo was torn, knowing this evening could too easily end in heartache and torment. Yet he was unable to resist the challenge. Brett dared Gordo to intrude upon his time with Lizzie, and as if that wasn't bad enough, Gordo realized he was challenging himself not be intimidated by this good-looking doofus.
"Well," Gordo said, forcing a smile. "I haven't seen Miranda for a while. Sure. It sounds like fun."