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Chapter Fifteen

We ended up losing the basketball game. I felt really crummy. Garrett was destracted the whole second half and I had a feeling it was because of the whole Trevor incident.

School on Thursday was awkward. Garrett was acting like there was nothing wrong, but I could tell something was. Lona informed me that some of the guys on the basketball team blamed the loss on me for messing with Garrett's mind.

It was a crummy day.

By the time I got the studio, I was mad. Dad picked up on my mood right away.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Everything's wrong. Don't you think it's funny that Trevor Tylers just all of a sudden gets enrolled at my rival high school? And don't you think it's funny he just happened to show up at the basketball game?"

"The timing is a little uncanny," dad admitted.

"It's not just a coincidence. I'm sure the record company has something to do with this."

The first thing I did when I got to the studio was corner my producer.

"What do you know about Trevor Tylers being enrolled in school?" I asked.

My producer, Rich Halux had been with me during my entire first album. I loved him to death but I also knew that he was just a puppet for the higher ups.

I might only be sixteen, but I'm not dumb.

"Oh is he going to school?" Rich asked nervously.

"You know something," I said.

"I know we probably should get going on these songs for today," he said.

"RICH!"

He sighed. "Okay, the company thinks it might make for some good publicity."

I snorted. "Good publicity?"

"For your duet. They want this image of typical high school kids doing typical things."

I narrowed my eyes.

"If it makes you feel better, I talked them out of enrolling him in your high school."

"UGH!"

"This whole Trevor thing has to stop," dad said. "I don't like it. The focus needs to go back onto music, not on Brooke's life. No one forces anything on her."

Rich sighed. "I agree, but truthfully the kid did need to go to school. I'm sure this will all blow over soon."

I hoped so. Because if it didn't, I was going to have to get nasty. I had inherited my dad's temper.

You didn't want to mess with a pissed off Carter.

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"So, do you want to do something tomorrow night?" I asked Garrett the next day. As always, we were sitting together at lunch. Garrett smiled. Whatever bad mood he was in the day before was gone.

"Can't," he said apologetically. "We have a road game. We're going to be gone until late. How about next weekend?"

I nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"How about a good luck kiss?" Garrett asked. The bell was about to ring any minute. I saw Noah glance our way.

We hadn't really publicly kissed at school. This was a major moment. I smiled and leaned over the table. We met in the middle.

"Ooooooh."

I blushed. I had a feeling that might happen. After all, the rest of the basketball team sat at the table right behind us. Garrett just laughed.

"You guys are just jealous," he said, pointing at his teammates. "Not all of you can have a beautiful girlfriend like me."

My eyes widened. Girlfriend!

"You are so flippin' lucky," Lona said with a sigh as we walked down the hall. Garrett was still talking to the guys.

I did feel lucky. I mean, I had a boyfriend. Not just a boy who was a friend, but an actual boyfriend.

Part of me probably should have had a problem with not really being asked if I wanted to be boyfriend/girlfriend, but my excitement was squashing that thought down fast. It was hard to be all liberal feminist when you were dating a member of the basketball team.

SQUEE!

-------------------------------

"How was school?" mom asked.

"GOOD!" Landon piped up. We all looked at him. He grinned.

"I took him to storytime today," mom explained.

"Oh," we choursed. Every time he went to storytime, he called it school. The poor Kindergarten teacher that was going to have him in a couple years would need a heavy supply of liquor to get through the year. In fact, I was surprised he was still being allowed to come to library storytime. He had glued his forehead to the table a couple months ago and then called Curious George a bad name.

"I need to make a volcano for the science fair," Peyton said.

"Does it have to explode?" dad asked. He sounded excited.

"Of course. I want the whole room to hear it when it goes off!"

Peyton and dad both grinned.

"What about you two?" mom asked.

"You should start with Brooke," Noah said. "Ask her about her boyfriend."

I tried to kick him under the table, but he moved his leg too fast.

NoNo was getting on my nerves.

"Boyfriend?" dad asked.

"A new development in Garrett land?" mom asked.

I blushed. "Well, kind of."

"When did this happen?" dad asked.

"At lunch."

"He asked you to be his girlfriend at lunch?"

"He didn't ask," Noah said. "He asked for a kiss, grunted, practically scratched himself, and declared that he had the best girlfriend. It ranked right up there with the all-time greatest caveman moments," Noah said.

"NOAH!" I yelled. I threw a dinner roll at him. He caught it, stuffed it in his mouth and laughed.

"Is that what happened?"

Dad was frowning.

"No," I said. "Noah's exaggerating."

"So did he ask you if you wanted to be his girlfriend?" mom asked.

"Well, no. But it's kind of implied," I said.

"You've only been on two dates," dad complained. "I don't know how that makes you exclusive."

"How many dates did you and mom go on before you were exclusive?" I asked sweetly.

Mom and dad were pretty open about the whole sex issue. I mean, I didn't go walking in on them or anything, but I knew how they met and I knew mom had gotten pregnant with me really quickly. And by quickly, I mean before she was even divorced from her first husband.

So, therefore, I didn't feel too bad asking the question.

"That was different," dad said. "We were both much much older."

"Dad's right," mom said. She smiled. "He had already gone through the phone book when it came to dates and girlfriends so he really didn't have much choice. I was the only one left."

Dad tried to look hurt, but he couldn't do it. He laughed.

"Smartass."

They started to banter back and forth. I was saved by parental flirtation.

Yuck.