Read Online Stories from New York #3 by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Ads: Link
front of me, I saw a delicious steaming concoction of chicken and mushrooms and vegetables.
“Everybody has to use chopsticks. It’s good luck!” Tally announced.
I tried to pick up a piece of chicken with mine, but every time I got it just about to my lips, it dropped back onto the plate.
“Give her a fork,” Ivy said, laughing.
“No, no forks!” Tally insisted.
“Paulina, look. Watch me,” Miko said. “Hold the chopsticks like this.”
I mimicked what Miko was doing, picked up a piece of chicken, and could almost taste it when it slipped out of the chopsticks again. I groaned as Miko chuckled, and Tally protested as Ivy handed me a fork.
“Perfect!” Bob said. “That’s exactly what I needed. You guys look like you’re just unwinding after a long day of work and having some fun.”
It was no act. That was
exactly
what we were doing.
• chapter •
7
“Okay, now that I finally have you alone, what is the deal with Whit? How come you’ve never mentioned him?” I asked as I jumped onto my bed and faced Ivy.
Ivy smacked her hands over her face. “I had no idea Whit was going to be there,” she said. “I knew we’d be seeing Dakota, but I didn’t know Whit was interning this year.”
“So?” I pressed. “How well do you know him?”
“Well, like Whit said, all three of us had been in school together since kindergarten. My mom and Whit’s mom and Dakota’s dad all started working at
City Nation
around the same time, and we were all enrolled at the Montessori school a few blocks away. So we were sort of friends the way you are when you’re little, right? Like people you might not necessarily get along with when you’re older. Like Isaid, Dakota’s supercompetitive, and she always has been. But we coexisted
okay
. Then, for some reason, she kind of turned on me last year. She stirred up a bunch of trouble and got a group of girls to stop talking to me, then she tried to get Whit on her side and to get his friends to stop talking to me, too. For, like, no reason. But by then, my parents already had this plan to move, and after a month or so most people were forgetting they weren’t supposed to talk to me, so I just kind of let it go. But it really upset me. To this day, I have no idea what set her off.”
“Any chance it might have been Whit?” I asked.
“What? Why would you say that?” Ivy asked, though her cheeks were starting to turn pink again.
“Well, I was kind of getting the impression that
she
likes Whit,” I said. “And Whit obviously likes you. So…”
Ivy’s cheeks flushed bright red then. “He
obviously
likes me? Where did that come from?”
“Well, just from the way he acts around you,” I said. “Like how he looks at you when someone else is talking. He pays attention to you. He just kind of gets sparkly when you’re around.”
“Sparkly?” Ivy repeated, laughing.
I laughed, too. “No, I know, but you know what I mean, right?”
“About sparkly? In a bizarre way, yes. But you think Whit might really like me?”
“I’m just telling you the vibe I was getting,” I said. “Would that be a good thing? If he liked you?”
Ivy looked thoughtful. “It sure would have been if I hadn’t moved,” she said. “But he lives three hours away from me now. I mean yeah, obviously it would be a good thing, but…it would be kind of a bummer, too.”
“New York’s not that far away,” I pointed out. “And your mom is working here again now. Who knows—you could end up spending the summer here. It could happen, right?”
“It could, I guess,” Ivy agreed. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I
do
know,” I said. “You were pushy with me when I didn’t want to do anything about Benny Novak, and you were right! He ended up asking me out. So now I’m being pushy with you about Whit.”
Ivy smiled at me.
“Thanks,” she said. “I really was surprised to see him. Everything was happening so fast.”
“Yeah, what a long and crazy day,” I
“Everybody has to use chopsticks. It’s good luck!” Tally announced.
I tried to pick up a piece of chicken with mine, but every time I got it just about to my lips, it dropped back onto the plate.
“Give her a fork,” Ivy said, laughing.
“No, no forks!” Tally insisted.
“Paulina, look. Watch me,” Miko said. “Hold the chopsticks like this.”
I mimicked what Miko was doing, picked up a piece of chicken, and could almost taste it when it slipped out of the chopsticks again. I groaned as Miko chuckled, and Tally protested as Ivy handed me a fork.
“Perfect!” Bob said. “That’s exactly what I needed. You guys look like you’re just unwinding after a long day of work and having some fun.”
It was no act. That was
exactly
what we were doing.
• chapter •
7
“Okay, now that I finally have you alone, what is the deal with Whit? How come you’ve never mentioned him?” I asked as I jumped onto my bed and faced Ivy.
Ivy smacked her hands over her face. “I had no idea Whit was going to be there,” she said. “I knew we’d be seeing Dakota, but I didn’t know Whit was interning this year.”
“So?” I pressed. “How well do you know him?”
“Well, like Whit said, all three of us had been in school together since kindergarten. My mom and Whit’s mom and Dakota’s dad all started working at
City Nation
around the same time, and we were all enrolled at the Montessori school a few blocks away. So we were sort of friends the way you are when you’re little, right? Like people you might not necessarily get along with when you’re older. Like Isaid, Dakota’s supercompetitive, and she always has been. But we coexisted
okay
. Then, for some reason, she kind of turned on me last year. She stirred up a bunch of trouble and got a group of girls to stop talking to me, then she tried to get Whit on her side and to get his friends to stop talking to me, too. For, like, no reason. But by then, my parents already had this plan to move, and after a month or so most people were forgetting they weren’t supposed to talk to me, so I just kind of let it go. But it really upset me. To this day, I have no idea what set her off.”
“Any chance it might have been Whit?” I asked.
“What? Why would you say that?” Ivy asked, though her cheeks were starting to turn pink again.
“Well, I was kind of getting the impression that
she
likes Whit,” I said. “And Whit obviously likes you. So…”
Ivy’s cheeks flushed bright red then. “He
obviously
likes me? Where did that come from?”
“Well, just from the way he acts around you,” I said. “Like how he looks at you when someone else is talking. He pays attention to you. He just kind of gets sparkly when you’re around.”
“Sparkly?” Ivy repeated, laughing.
I laughed, too. “No, I know, but you know what I mean, right?”
“About sparkly? In a bizarre way, yes. But you think Whit might really like me?”
“I’m just telling you the vibe I was getting,” I said. “Would that be a good thing? If he liked you?”
Ivy looked thoughtful. “It sure would have been if I hadn’t moved,” she said. “But he lives three hours away from me now. I mean yeah, obviously it would be a good thing, but…it would be kind of a bummer, too.”
“New York’s not that far away,” I pointed out. “And your mom is working here again now. Who knows—you could end up spending the summer here. It could happen, right?”
“It could, I guess,” Ivy agreed. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I
do
know,” I said. “You were pushy with me when I didn’t want to do anything about Benny Novak, and you were right! He ended up asking me out. So now I’m being pushy with you about Whit.”
Ivy smiled at me.
“Thanks,” she said. “I really was surprised to see him. Everything was happening so fast.”
“Yeah, what a long and crazy day,” I
Similar Books
