“Well, I don’t want to be a basketball player anymore. That’s kid stuff. I’m going to be a lawyer. Do you still want to be an actress?”
Shirley laughed a little selfconsciously. “Don’t be silly. I want to get married and have a family, obviously.” She looked at Lily. “You’re next. What do you want now?”
Lily couldn’t decide whether Shirley was goading her or not. Her tone was politely interested, but whenever Shirley sounded that way, it usually meant she was up to something. “Well, I guess I want to find a job like my Aunt Judy’s,” Lily said. “She works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a computer,” she explained to Kathleen.
“Really?” Kathleen brightened up again. “What exactly does she do?”
“Oh, she does math. They design rockets there—not my aunt, but the engineers.”
“Are you taking Advanced Math with Mr. Burke?” Kathleen asked. “Next period?”
“Yes, are you?”
“Yep. I heard he only gives one A each semester.” Kathleen leaned back in her chair and pointed her pencil at Lily. “I bet you’ll get it.”
“Oh no. If that’s true, the A will go to Michael Reid—”
“Girls, you’re getting off track,” Shirley interrupted. “What’s the next question? Oh, name three steps you can take to achieve your dream.”
“But Kathleen hasn’t said what her current dream is,” Lily objected.
Shirley’s expression tightened. “So what’s your current dream, Kathleen?”
Kathleen’s eyebrows lifted slightly at the curtness of Shirley’s tone, but she didn’t comment on it. “I still want to be a pilot.”
“And how will you achieve your dream?” Shirley asked.
“Well, step one is to go to college, maybe major in aeronautics or engineering. Step two—”
“I didn’t think you were college material,” Shirley said.
Lily stared at her friend in shock. She had no idea what had gotten into her, but Kathleen didn’t seem entirely surprised. She merely smiled slightly before she responded.
“Cal takes anyone in the top fifteen percent of their graduating class,” Kathleen said. “I’m not going to have a problem. Neither will Lily. But I don’t think we’ll see you there.”
Shirley’s cheeks turned pink, but before Lily could do anything to defuse the situation, Miss Weiland arrived at their group. She smiled benignly and asked, “How are you doing? Any questions?”
“We’re fine,” Kathleen said. “Lily’s taking excellent notes, and Will’s going to be our chairman.”
“That’s good to hear,” Miss Weiland said. “I’m glad you’re working so well together.”
After Miss Weiland moved on to the next group, the four of them sat in silence for a moment. Will looked slightly stunned. Shirley was still red-faced, while Kathleen was the only one who looked calm. Lily was strangely thrilled by what had just happened. No one ever stood up to Shirley like that.
* * *
—
After school, Shirley waylaid Lily at her locker and asked, “What are you doing Saturday?”
“I don’t know, why?” Lily asked as she packed up her book bag.
Shirley leaned against the wall next to Lily’s locker. “Will invited us to a picnic in Golden Gate Park. I think Hanson and Flora are coming, too. You should come.”
“I have to study,” Lily hedged. She and Kathleen had been the only girls in Advanced Math, and she’d gotten the distinct sense that the teacher anticipated neither of them would last long. She was determined to prove him wrong.
“You can study before the picnic. Come on, don’t make me go alone.”
“You just said Hanson and Flora are going.”
Shirley pouted. “If it’s just the four of us, Will’s going to think it’s a double date or something. You have to come.”
Shirley had always been demanding this way, almost like a boy in her assertiveness. Sometimes her insistence was flattering—it could make Lily feel like she was the only friend who mattered—but it wasn’t quite working on her today.
Shirley suddenly linked their arms together, pulling her close, conspiratorially. “Lily, you have to come. I’ve already told Will that you would. His brother’s cultural group is throwing the picnic—we don’t have to do anything except be there for Will.”
“So it’s not just the four of you,” Lily said.
Shirley looked at her entreatingly. “Please come. It won’t be any fun without you.”
Lily sighed, but even as she pretended to be exasperated, she felt an incriminating little buzz of pleasure. “All right, fine, I’ll go with you.”
Shirley squeezed her arm in excitement. “Wonderful! I’ll come by your house Saturday just before noon and we can walk over together. I have to go to student council now. Are you going home?”
“Yes, I—”
“All right, then I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Lily watched Shirley rush off down the hallway. She thought she saw Kathleen Miller crossing the hall over by the athletic trophies, and it occurred to her that the two of them could study for math together. She quickly finished packing her book bag and hurried in Kathleen’s direction, but by the time she got to the trophy case, there was no sign of her.
5