Playing the Field by Janette Rallison

McKay. I was just calling
to see how you’re doing.”
    “I’m doing just fine,” she said.
    “Good, because I love you, and I always want
you to be healthy.”
    “I’m glad to hear that,” she said.
    “And of course being healthy starts with
healthy water.”
    “Oh?”
    “And since we’re talking about healthy water
did you know Hendricks now has their very own reverse osmosis
system?”
    There was a pause on the line and then
Grandma said, “Why are you telling me this?”
    “Because I want you to be healthy—and because
I’m trying to sell reverse osmosis systems for Dad. Do you want to
buy one?”
    “Not really.”
    “But it has four patented clear-water
filters.”
    Grandma sounded a little impatient. “McKay,
what are you getting out of these sales?”
    “Dad gets two hundred dollars.”
    “I see.” There was another pause and then,
“How about I just pay you ten dollars to drop the subject?”
    I was persistent. “Oh come on Grandma, don’t
you want clean water?”
    “My water is just fine, but if your parents
need the money they can call me, and we’ll talk about it.”
    I knew that would never happen. When Grandma
came to visit us, my parents didn’t even like her to put gas in the
car. They’d never accept money from her.
    I mumbled, “Well, thanks anyway.” We talked
for a few more minutes and then hung up.
    I lay down on my bed, and when I was finished
staring at the ceiling, I got the rest of my homework out of my
backpack. I saw my algebra book and shoved it further into my
backpack. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Swenson,” I said out loud. “I’m not
about to try for a career as a salesman.” I couldn’t. I was so bad
at it, even my own grandmother wouldn’t buy anything from me. All I
could do was hope Mom and Dad worked out the details of Kirk’s room
soon.
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    Over the next week Tony and Rachel were
constantly together. He was at her locker in the morning. She was
at his locker before math. I even saw them hold hands outside of
Mrs. Swenson’s room. Tony gave Rachel a bracelet and she not only
wore it all the time, she was constantly fiddling with its blue
beads. At baseball practice Tony gave me Rachel updates. He always
did this in a superior sort of way, like I was supposed to be
impressed at what an adult he was.
    I still taped the math class and brought it
to Serena every day. She helped me with my homework and we talked
about school. It was absolutely the first time in my life I had
ever liked algebra. I was getting so good at it, I could actually
tell what x was on a regular basis. It may have been my
imagination, but it seemed even Mrs. Swenson had a newfound respect
for me. Every once in a while, when I passed her on the way to my
desk, I’d say, “Go ahead and ask me, just ask me when those trains
will meet.”
    She always told me to sit down, but her smile
didn’t seem quite as dour as she said it.
    But the best thing of all was that I felt
like Serena and I were becoming friends, and it was a nice
comfortable feeling.
    Brian, however, was still in the picture. I
knew he was either calling or coming over to see Serena because she
kept saying things like, “Brian said the pep assembly yesterday was
really lame.” I could never figure out why she mentioned him to me,
or what it meant. Did she consider Brian, or me, or both of us as
just friends? Did she like one of us as more than a friend? If so,
which one? I never tried to find out. To find out meant I had to do
something about it, and it was easier to be ignorant and pretend
she liked me and was just putting up with Brian.
    After a few more days, Serena’s knee healed
enough that she came back to school, at first on crutches and then
without them. We said hi to each other when we passed in the halls,
and sometimes I walked her to math class. It was nice to have
someone to walk with, since Tony was always goofing off with Rachel
outside of the door. Once or twice I saw Brian while I was