Chapter 7 A Misunderstanding
It was a warm Monday afternoon, and Macy was spending time with her grandma at St. Augustine's after school. Whenever she had any down time, the Misa girl would head to the nursing home and have quality time with the matriarch of her family. Even though she always does it on her own volition, she still felt bad for being late to her grandmother's birthday bash two weeks ago so she made sure to stay extra long that afternoon.
The nursing home felt extra cozy today because the hallways were adorned with fall décor with garlands made of leaves and acorns hung at every corner. There was a big display of yellow, white, and orange pumpkins and a friendly looking scarecrow in the middle of the main hallway. Posters advertising the annual Fall Festival were placed on the walls. Because she usually volunteered her time there during the summers, St. Augustine felt like a second home to her. She knew most of the staff and residents and it is where she also learned her new favorite hobby- quilting. However, the activity for that day was making bracelets. And so, Macy was busy braiding two pieces of red yarn together to secure a jade bead that was in the middle of the piece of jewelry.
"Oh, I see you're making two bracelets," her grandmother noted with raised eyebrows. "Is one of them, perchance, for a special someone?"
Macy could feel herself blushing but chose to play coy.
"Goodness, look at you, missy. No need to be shy about it!" teased her grandmother. "Is this the same guy from the other week? The one that made you late to my party?"
Macy again shifted uncomfortably in her seat but then admitted shyly, "Yes."
"And…?"
"And what?"
"Macy, dear, I'm not getting any younger," her grandmother chuckled. "Well, tell me about him! What's his name?"
She let out a loud sigh because besides her sister, Macy really had not talked about him to anyone because this was still very new for her. She never had a boy to brag about before and this was no ordinary boy. This was pop star sensation Nick Lucas for crying out loud.
"Well…um… his name is Nick," she started off saying. "He's in my class."
"Okay. And?"
"And… he's part of a band."
"Oh! Now we're getting somewhere," his grandmother said excitedly. "What kind of band?"
"Well…um…you know JONAS?"
"Of course, I know of them! They are the pride and joy of our hometown," her grandmother beamed. "And I know you've been a fan of them for years. And from what I remember they're quite handsome."
Macy blushed even more and nodded her head.
"Hm, is Nick the youngest one who plays the guitar?"
"Yeah," Macy said quite dreamily because she still could not believe that she nabbed a guy like Nick Lucas. She was counting this as a stroke of luck courtesy of the JONAS gods.
"Well, well, well," said her grandma happily. "You need to bring this nice fella to meet me one day. I need to make sure he is good enough for you."
"Grammy…"
"I mean it," her grandmother said. "I'm happy that you're getting to experience this part of life. Treasure it! I have to say my life completely changed when I met your grandfather. I know I tease and say he was the one who pursued me but the truth is, is that I chased him."
"You did?" asked Macy and now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows.
"Yes, he was just so cool with his red Cadillac," she said dreamily. "How could I resist?"
The brunette girl laughed because if that was the case, then she and her grandmother had something in common because she definitely "chased" Nick as a JONAS super fan. Thankfully, it was beginning to pay off this year since he finally started to show interest in her. Could she be lucky enough to have a similar love story as her grandparents?
"Just remember to not lose yourself in the process."
"What process?"
"The process of falling in love," her grandmother clarified. "Sometimes it can be overwhelming but don't forget who you are. A relationship is a partnership. You guys needs to grow together. It's not one catering to the needs of the other."
"I promise to remember that, Grammy."
A silence followed as Macy let her grandmother's words sink in. She was concentrating on the bracelets she was making and did not notice that her grandmother was watching her closely.
"You know I still have your grandfather's car," her grandmother admitted.
"The Cadillac?"
"Yep, your grandfather had it stored in Mrs. Delaney's garage, you know the one by the cemetery," her grandmother explained and then admitted a bit hesitantly. "Don't tell your mother, but I was actually thinking about selling it."
"What?! Why?"
"I know how stressed your mother has been about the store and I think it'll help you guys a lot if I sold it," her grandmother said. "Of course, it needs to be worked on. It hasn't been used for over twenty years but it is a collectible."
"Oh, grammy," Macy said thoughtfully. "Thank you but you shouldn't have to do that. It's Grampy's."
"Oh, sweetie, what am I going to do with a Cadillac? I can't drive anymore," the Misa matron argued. "Although, I would want to ride it one time before it's sold."
Macy was about to respond but suddenly, Miss Gregory, the head of the activities department, interrupted their conversation when she burst into the hall to exclaim, "We're going to have to cancel the Fall festival!"
The exclamation was directed more to her colleagues who were situated in a table in the back of the room but because Macy knew them well enough to interrupt their commotion, she asked, "Oh, no. Why?"
"Robert quit! We can't have a fall festival without live music," the department head exclaimed.
There were loud murmurs now emanating throughout the hall as all the residents, who were eavesdropping, were clearly disgruntled by this revelation. Clearly, Robert was a hit with the senior citizens.
"Maybe we can have a DJ instead?" asked Rebecca, who was also part of the activities department. "My cousin Larry is a DJ and he could always use a new gig."
But before Ms. Gregory could reply, Agnes, the opinionated Polish resident, gave her opinion instead, "No DJ! I'm not going if Robert isn't here!"
A sound of agreement came from the group of ladies sitting around her. Chatter around the hall began to escalate.
"Okay, let' settle down everyone," Miss Gregory assured everyone. "We will find a solution. Just need to find a replacement…"
She said the last part with a a look of apprehension as she bit her lip.
"You need a musician?" Macy's grandmother finally piped in. "Macy, knows someone to replace Robert."
"Grammy!" Macy exclaimed with widened eyes.
"You do?!" Miss Gregory asked the brunette girl excitedly.
"Erm… I mean…uh… I could ask a friend."
"Yes! Her boyfriend is a musician from the band JONAS!" her grandmother revealed excitedly.
"Oh wow! You don't say!" Ms. Gregory now exclaimed in disbelief. "Can you ask your boyfriend? This will really help us out."
Macy was definitely put on the spot but, Nick was not her boyfriend…yet. However, she felt the pressure on her as everyone stared at her with hopeful looks and so she replied, "Yes, I can…um…ask Nick."
And after this, the atmosphere in the room changed completely as everyone started to talk eagerly amongst themselves. It did not help that now someone pulled up a photo of the band JONAS and by the sound of Agnes's group, Nick definitely got their approval as they loudly appreciated his good looks with colorful commentary. Although, Macy was glad to have "saved" the day, she was not too sure if volunteering Nick without his consent would be met with equal enthusiasm from the handsome boy.
Ever since Sunday dinner, Nick was conflicted because now this lie of a relationship was now involving his family. He did not foresee that his mom and Macy would get along so well. Every morning now, his mother would ask about her and she encouraged him to bring her over more. It really was unnerving. DZ and Randolph were equally as shocked when he told them how well the dinner went for Macy because everyone knew Mrs. Lucas was hard to please.
Furthermore, Nick also noticed that Macy was back to her normal self, which reassured him that she was fine now but with that, the brunette girl returned to being a much more constant presence in his life. Everywhere he looked, she was there. She resumed her post on the same bench outside the boys' locker room after his baseball practice. She even began spending time with him at lunch and took it upon herself to prepare meals for him. However, that only went on for a couple days because when she tried to make him her own version of mac and cheese, let's just say the handsome boy ended up in the infirmary with a severe case of food poisoning. Safe to say, Macy now thought twice about bringing him any homemade lunch in the future.
"She's going to kill me before this year is over," Nick lamented to DZ and Randolph after school. "I don't think my stomach can take any more of this abuse."
"It's not like she purposely wanted to make you sick, Nick," Randolph argued.
"Well, tell that to Coach. He gave me an earful today for missing practice," Nick retorted. However, he already knew Macy was not on Coach Finnegan's good side, so Nick made sure to leave her name out of his food poisoning episode when he was grilled about his absence.
Yet his friend continued to defend the brunette girl and said, "You should appreciate all that she does for you, Nick. She was really upset during biology class and kept blaming herself."
This gave Nick pause. Maybe he was being a bit harsh. No one asked Macy to make him lunch. She did it with good intentions but Nick could not afford to have any more mishaps especially with their big game coming up in two weeks against their rival school, Don Basco.
"Sigh…I wish a girl would make me lunch," DZ interjected but then added a correction. "A girl not like Macy. Someone who can actually cook."
Nick chuckled but then asked Randolph, "Was she really upset?"
This caught his shaggy haired friend off guard. He noticed the pensive look on Nick's face which for some reason started to make Randolph feel uneasy and so he replied, "I mean she was but I talked to her and assured her that you'll be fine. I joked with her that she can use me as her taste tester before giving you anything and that seemed to cheer her up."
That put him at ease but he knew not to be upset with Macy because Randolph was right that it was not intentional. Nick was lost in his thoughts until he saw another girl waiting for him by his locker.
"Penny?" greeted Nick more like a question.
"Hey, we need to talk," she said sternly as she walked towards the atrium.
"Okay," answered Nick as he followed her.
Penny sat down and motioned for him to sit next to her.
"Are you really serious about Macy?" his ex asked him bluntly. "I mean I thought it was a joke at first but when you left with her after Keith's party, it made me wonder. And I can't stand the way she's been hanging around you all the time."
"I mean it's nothing serious," Nick admitted truthfully. He really was struggling with what he should do with Macy especially now that his family were such big fans.
"And then those rumors that she slept over your place. Don't tell me that's true too?" the blonde haired girl demanded to know.
This was definitely an uncomfortable topic to talk about with his ex. He was hesitant to admit it but he truthfully answered, "She did sleepover but nothing happened. She was really drunk so she sobered up at my place but we didn't do anything despite what people are saying. You know I wouldn't do that."
"I know," answered Penny as she now seemed relieved. "When I heard everyone saying it, I just… I don't know…I mean we never got to that point even though we've been together for 2 years …"
"Penny…" said Nick slowly. It still pained him to see her so distraught. He had an urge to hug her like how he would have done in the past but stopped himself when he realized something. "But what's going on with you and Jimmy? Are you guys officially broken up?"
The girl avoided his gaze as she stared at the ground and answered, "Yeah, pretty much. I don't want to talk about him. But Nick I really want to make it up to you. I screwed up. I know something would have happened between us at the party if we weren't interrupted…"
She said the last part while playing with his uniform tie but Nick nervously looked around because the atrium was far from being secluded since it was surrounded with glass walls.
"Wait, Penny not here," Nick said as he took his tie out of her hands.
"Yeah, you're right," the girl said but then added playfully. "Why don't you come over my place this Saturday. My parents will be out of town. We can pick up where we left off."
Nick gulped.
"If you think about it, it's kinda hot sneaking around like this," Penny said with a seductive smile.
They heard the bell signaling the end of their lunch period.
Nick gulped and said shakily, "Um…Y-yeah, sure."
And because Penny was having fun with how anxious Nick looked, she brought her face centimeters close to his face and said, "Great. It can be our secret rendezvous."
And with that she left Nick speechless as he turned a deep shade of red.
Crap. Nick could not believe Penny still had that power over him. He felt his heart racing. What did Penny have planned on Saturday? A sense of anticipation and a feeling of guilt passed over him because in the eyes of everyone at school he was not technically "single" and that was made evident when Nick made his way out of the atrium and heard a small voice say, "Nick?"
The voice alone made him freeze and he turned around and standing there was none other than the petite brunette girl.
"Oh…um…h-hey Macy," Nick said nervously.
"What did Penny want with you?" she asked him with a concerned look on her face because she saw them in what looked like an almost-kiss.
Crap. She did see.
Nick never cheated on anyone before but if he did, he would be feeling exactly how he felt right now when talking with Macy.
"She just wanted to talk," Nick brushed it off.
"I don't trust her, Nick," Macy said in a tone that Nick never heard her use before. She and Penny always had this rivalry between them whether it was sports or academics and now Nick. However, she was getting worried that she was losing Nick to her. It reminded Macy of those rumors she heard last week. Did Nick lie to her? Was he cozying up to his ex now because he was upset that she gave him food poisoning?
"Nothing happened, Macy," Nick argued as he continued walking to class.
A feeling of possessiveness overtook Macy and so she continued to follow closely behind him and because she did not like how he was ignoring her feelings on this matter, she said in a tone that even surprised her, "Nick, I don't want you talking to her anymore."
"What? Why not?" argued Nick as he now turned around to face her because he was starting to get annoyed that Macy was imposing an unreasonable demand of him.
Macy raised her eyebrows because she was shocked by his tone and so she argued back, "Because it's clear that she still has feelings for you!"
At this point, Nick chose to ignore her as he turned around and walked in a much quicker pace but unfortunately for him, Macy, the seasoned athlete that she was, was able to keep up and tried to continue the conversation.
"Nick!" she called out to get him to talk to her.
Because now he was starting to get annoyed, Nick abruptly turned around to face her.
"Macy, you can't tell me who I can't talk to. Penny is going to always be someone in my life and frankly if you-um- don't like it then maybe this isn't going to work out for us."
He looked firmly at Macy when he said this. A look of shock spread across her face while he remained steadfast because he actually surprised himself when he said this out loud. Was this the end for the Nick and Macy "relationship"? Was this his exit?
Macy could not believe what Nick just said. She always looked at Nick with fondness and admiration but right now she could not help but feel irritated towards the boy in front of her. Was Penny really still that important to him?
"I just…uh…" Macy said completely flustered. "You're missing my point…"
The hallways were clearing out as students made their way to their classes but Nick and Macy stood frozen as they stared at each other. Nick was wondering if this could be his way out of this farce with Macy. Even though this is what he wanted, a wave of uneasiness started to creep in as he stared at the girl's shocked face.
However, before the two teens could continue their heated conversation, Mr. Peterson, their geometry teacher yelled at them for their tardiness and so Macy and Nick ended their conversation short and headed to their class.
Throughout the rest of the day, Macy had this unsettling feeling. She could not believe she just had her first fight with Nick. It was warping her mind because up until this point, Nick was perfect in every way but why did he not see where she was coming from? Did he still have feelings for Penny? Why was he being stubborn?
Macy was being tormented by her thoughts. Every time she looked over at Nick, she felt conflicted. She was at an all time high after this weekend, because she was so relieved that his family liked her. She even gained his mother's phone number to keep in touch. How did it become like this? There was no way she could ask him now about the fall festival. She snuck glances at the Lucas boy during class and was annoyed that he did not seem bothered by their fight. It did not help that he also made no effort whatsoever to talk to her which caused Macy to become even more distressed.
It was almost the end of the day and Macy decided to be the bigger person and clear up their misunderstanding. She was on her way to visit Nick after his baseball practice when all of a sudden she was pulled into a classroom.
"Macy, where do you think you're going?" Abby exclaimed as she reeled her into a classroom. "Don't tell me you forgot about the meeting!"
"Meeting?" repeated Macy.
"For the fashion show, silly! Didn't you get the memo that we rescheduled it for today?"
"Uh…yeah sure?"
It was just then that Macy looked around and saw an almost full classroom with their drama school teacher, Mrs. Snark, at the front desk. Written in chalk and in big print on the chalkboard were the words "PTA meeting." She noticed a group of middle-aged women sitting at the front and caught a familiar face.
"Macy! Come sit over here!" greeted Mrs. Lucas as she indicated a seat next to her. Seeing her there, gave Macy some comfort as she took her seat behind Nick's mom. At least, someone in the Lucas family still liked her. Sigh.
"Nice for you to join us, Ms. Misa," Mrs. Snark greeted. "But as I was saying. This year's fall fashion show is called "Belle of the Ball." The girls will be wearing gowns donated from Mrs. Madison's boutique. Thank you once again for providing us with the dresses, Cheryl."
"Yes, of course, it's my pleasure," said a pretty woman with shoulder length blonde hair. She smiled a familiar smile. Macy had to do a double take and then she saw why she recognized that look. Sitting next to Cheryl was the mini version of herself in the form of Nick's ex, Penny. Macy knew she had a sour look on her face when she laid eyes on her but she did not understand why Penny was also glaring at her from across the room. Safe to say, their feelings toward each other were mutual.
"Yes, thank you again and next, we're having catering done by Louisa's bakery," Mrs. Snark said as she was checking off her list. "All thanks to Miss Perkins. I still cannot get over those apple turnovers."
Macy quickly turned around to see who the drama teacher was addressing and then quickly narrowed her eyes at the pug-faced Rosalind, who was avoiding her gaze. They have not spoken since their last heated exchange when Macy was banned from her beloved club. Besides, Nick's mom, this meeting was turning out to be full of people Macy wanted little to do with.
"I'll make sure my aunt makes an extra batch for you Mrs. Snark," sucked up the new Jonas club president.
Macy looked around at the rest of the occupants in the room. The PTA committee consisted basically of the older copy-and-paste model of their offspring. There were about fifteen female students from different grades at Horace Mantic Academy. Most of the students who were there were from the cheerleading squad and part of Penny's inner circle. Macy felt so out of place.
Mrs. Snark continued with the agenda and Macy was half listening because she suddenly was aware that Penny and her group of friends were now busy whispering with each other while stealing glances at her direction. She tried to ignore them and thankfully, at that moment, Mrs. Lucas turned around to speak to her.
"Macy, I'm so happy to see you," Nick's mom said as she gave her arm a comforting squeeze. "I didn't realize you were volunteering for the fashion show."
"Yeah, I thought it would be good to show some school spirit especially for a good cause," Macy said sweetly but more than anything, she wanted nothing to do with these group of girls.
"I wish Nick had the same attitude," sighed his mother. "He never wants to volunteer his time in these type of things. Hm…maybe he will reconsider once he knows you're in it."
"I doubt it," Macy murmured quietly enough that Mrs. Lucas did not hear.
"Anyway, Macy, Frankie is having a baseball game next weekend and I would love if you could come," his mother invited her.
"Oh, thank you. Yes…um… I'll try to make it. I have to check with my mom first since she may need help at the store."
"Ah, I'm sure she will let this one time pass," his mother said cheerfully. "I actually called her the other day and it was so great catching up. I would love to have you both for dinner one of these days. I just had so much fun the other night.
"Oh thank you. I'll definitely love to come back," Macy said nervously because she did not exactly tell her mother about Nick just yet. Great. Another thing to worry about.
"Yes, please, do," Mrs. Lucas smiled warmly at her. "Don't be a stranger."
However, the rest of the week, Macy hardly interacted with Nick at all. Was her stranger status becoming a reality? It did not help that she noticed Penny was in much better spirits and was not glaring in her direction all the time which fed more into the brunette girl's paranoia. Penny no longer aimed for her head during tennis practice, which was great for Macy but it did give her an uneasy feeling because she wondered where that extra energy was going towards. She wanted to make things right with Nick but the spark that she usually felt whenever she saw him was now replaced with a feeling of apprehension. Thus, as the weekend approached the Misa girl's chance of reconciliation was impossible.
It seemed like the Fall festival was inevitably going to be cancelled and with that Macy's heart started to break.
