Page 20 of The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean

When she put the pillow down, Ashley stood in the doorway. “Everything okay?”

Nothing was okay. Practically everything had gone wrong, and she hadn’t even gotten her hair done yet. The absurdity of that question made Mandy laugh.

And laugh.

And laugh.

Fuck, her stomach hurt from laughing so hard. It was like doing a million crunches all at once. She could barely catch her breath. The entire day was falling apart, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

That was it. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Thank god it wasn’t noon. There was still time. Candy would fix the fish problem. Nikki was probably sharpening her clippers at that very moment. And Mandy needed to get her hair done, so she could get dressed, take pictures, and then get married.

She could do this.

The universe was testing her. Seeing if she would fall apart. Screw you, Universe! Not today!

Okay, maybe not “screw you,” but she got it. And she could do this and the next thing, and she would get through it.

Mandy caught her breath and finally responded to Ashley, “I’m good.”

There was a knock on the door.

“That’s room service with your muffin.” Ashley dipped away to answer it.

See. Her muffin was here. The thing they said they wouldn’t be able to get when they delivered the sandwiches, but they did. Things were going to finally fall into place.

Ashley popped her head back in the doorway. “Victory!”

“Victory!” Mandy echoed.

“Now let’s get you gorgeous!”

“Let’s do it.” Mandy’s cell rang. Laura’s name was on the screen. Not today, satan. Mandy clicked the phone to silent, placed it under her screaming pillow, and walked away.

Chapter Ten

September 1999

Isa had issues withher schedule and needed to see the counselor during lunch, leaving Mandy to sit at their usual table without her. Their group of friends were all nice, and they all got along really well. Isa and Mandy weren’t as close with any of them as they were with each other, but they were still their friends. Every sleepover and birthday party and field trip—and every lunch—they all were together.

The cafeteria at the School for the Gifted and Talented wasn’t like the ones Mandy saw on TV shows. They were a magnet school, and parents were super involved—meaning they were required to put in a number of volunteer hours each year, which the administration claimed made them care more about the school; and maybe they did, because the cafeteria looked like a giant living room in someone’s house, with student artwork on the walls, potted plants, and comfy chairs around round tables that all had napkin dispensers in the middle. The food servedwas always something multicultural—just like the student body—although lots of kids also brought lunch from home. Another nice thing about GAT was that everyone kind of got along. Although they all had their friend groups, it wasn’t cliquey like onSabrina the Teenage Witch.

Laura plopped down at their table with her lunch tray, pulled the scrunchie from her wrist, and threw her raven-black hair up into a high ponytail, making a performance out of it in the process. Then again, everything Laura did was a performance—pulling up her hair, applying her lip gloss, scrunching her pale freckled nose when something annoyed her—everything. “Who else wants to go to the movies this weekend?” She set the contents of her lunch in front of her—a vegan rice bowl, sliced apple, and Oreo cookies.

“I’m in.” Sara threw her hand in the air, showing off the henna that was still lingering from her sister’s wedding that summer—it was intricate and beautiful, and Mandy was a little jealous of it. “Wait, what are we seeing?” She took a bite of her turkey and lettuce wrap.

“My mom wants to seeDouble Jeopardy.” Laura stuck her finger in her mouth and made a gagging noise. “But maybe we can go see something else instead.”

Mandy opened her paper bag and pulled out her peanut butter and pickle sandwich. “What else is playing?” Her friends thought it was weird, but they didn’t comment about Mandy’s favorite sandwich anymore. The few of them brave enough to try it even admitted it wasn’t bad. Mandy thought it was much better than plain old PB&J, that was for sure.

“I think10 Things I Hate About Youis still playing.” Sara blinked her dark brown eyes innocently.

Mandy loved that movie. She and Isa went to see it on opening weekend, and then she went back again the weekend after with Mom and Dad for family movie night. Mandy was already planning to buy a copy on DVD whenever it came out and had been searching for a movie poster she could hang in her bedroom. There was something really special about that movie—the way it made Mandy feel. As she took a bite of her sandwich—the sweetness of peanut butter mixing with the salty crunch of pickle—she thought back to her absolute favorite scene. Kat was all annoyed and decided to go to a house party, and she kept throwing back shots of something. At one point she jumped up on a table and started dancing. The song that played in the background thumped through Mandy’s seat, and she froze mid–popcorn bite, watching Kat. She was so cool, and her hair was amazing, and the way her ashy violet tank top came up and showed off her belly button—

“We all know you just want to see Heath Ledger again.” Nikki threw a tortilla chip from her enchilada lunch at Sara.

It bounced off her arm, leaving a dusting of salt behind. “Yeah, so? He’s hot.” She picked up the chip and threw it back, hitting Nikki in the forehead.

“Heath Ledger is hot,” Laura confirmed.

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