The Summer I Became a Nerd

#29

I tossed and turned all night. And I blame it all on Logan Scott and those perfect boy-lips of his. Sure, I won. I defeated the

evil fairy and saved the day. I can’t wait to go to the next game and be heralded as a hero. Facing Logan might be tough, though,

seeing as what I did wasn’t enough to save our relationship.

I looked for him but never found him. He also never called. I know, because I stared at my phone most of the night, waiting. His

disappearance has to mean something. Most likely, “Sorry, Maddie. He got what he came for and now he’s over it.”

“So, today’s the big day,” Mom says when I come downstairs. It is six o’clock in the morning, way too early to be wearing my

scratchy, maroon and gold cheer uniform, but even though Logan isn’t interested any more, I’ve worked too hard on this part of

the plan to let it go. It’s too important to me and everyone involved. So, I have to be there on time, thirty minutes from now.

“Yep.” I’m surprised my sleep-deprived brain can even say that simple word.

“How’d it go last night? Did you stop the evil…what was it?”

“Dark fairy. Yes, I did. Everything went as planned.” Except for the part where I was supposed to get Logan back. That went

completely against the plan.

“Good, good. You know, I just love you in your uniform. You look so nice, you have such a cute figure and the bow with the

ponytail is—”

“Cut it out, Mom. I don’t think I can take all the gushing this early.” I give her a playful love tap on the shoulder.

She returns the tap with a slight push on my arm. “Fine, be grumpy.”

As I slather some raspberry jam on a slice of buttered toast, she leans against the counter and watches me with a grin.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I say.

“Why?”

I take a huge bite of toast. “‘Cause it’s freaking me out.”

“I was just thinking.” She sips her coffee. “You really like this boy, don’t you?”

I stare out the window into the gray morning as I chew. Do I “really like” him? Is that the right way to put it? I’ve only

known him for the summer technically, but “really like” doesn’t seem to encompass it. If you “really like” someone, do they

insist on invading your every thought? Does just saying their name make goose bumps rise on your arms? Do you contemplate how many

freckles your children will have?

“Yeah, I really like him.”

Mom would definitely freak out if I told her how I actually feel.

…

When I get to The Phoenix, Martha, Vera, Jonah, and Mr. Scott are setting up tables in front of the display windows.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Martha says.

“Morning,” I say. Then, I’m almost knocked down when Vera runs into me and clasps her arms around me in a hug.

“This is going to be so much fun, Maddie. I can’t wait to see the cheerleaders. Are you guys going to do flips and cheers and

oh, a pyramid thing? Please do a pyramid thing!” Vera strings her words together. What has she eaten to be so awake this early,

and where can I get some of this magical substance?

“I’ll tell the girls you request a pyramid,” I say.

“Veer, go help Daddy with the boxes in the back room, please,” Martha says.

Vera takes off to the front door, pausing before she goes inside to attempt a hurky jump. The girl has decent form for a seven-

year-old.

“Want to help me hang the banner?” Martha asks.

I’m surprised she hasn’t begun interrogating me about what happened last night. I nod and pick up the large folded plastic sign

from one of the tables., and stretch it out on the concrete while Martha goes to get a ladder and scan the sign for typos.

1STANNUAL NATCHITOCHES SMALL BUSINESS FESTIVAL

The local signage place did a great job.

It suddenly hits me how unbelievable it is that we got all this together in such a short period of time when the Mi Pueblo van

pulls up. Corina hops out and opens the back doors. She waves as I walk up.

I help her pull out a cooler. “Good morning. I just wanted to say thanks for taking part in this.”

“Are you kidding? My mom thinks this is a wonderful idea. She’s been running around like a crazy person all week getting

everything ready.”

“I have not been crazy,” Mrs. Garcia says as she comes around the corner of the van.

Mi Pueblo was the first business I approached other than The Phoenix with the idea of having a small business festival. Mrs.

Garcia was so stoked about it, she signed up in two minutes flat. The same thing happened with pretty much every other business I

went to. They didn’t even mind a small percentage of all of their proceeds would go to local charities and the college’s radio

department. That seemed to be the cherry on the cupcake for them, in fact.

There’s only so much room in The Phoenix’s lot, though, so when businesses started calling Martha about reserving a spot, I went

next door to Mes Amis. They offered up their lot as well. Then the problem of where people were going to park came up. Luckily,

the college library across the street was more than happy to help seeing as their lot is huge.

There were also permits to be gotten and that’s where Dan’s dad, a.k.a. Taxidermy Todd, came into play. Without his connections

in the city council, none of this would be happening.

Then it was just a matter of promotion. My cheerleading coach was all for recruiting the squad to help spread the word seeing as

her partner, Sarah, reserved a spot for her bookstore. Plus, the college radio station has been broadcasting the where and when of

the festival, like, every ten minutes for the past week.

Now, all I can hope for is the heat won’t keep customers from coming out.

By the time Martha and I get the banner hung, things are in full swing. I hand out copies of the layout to every business so they

know where to set up. Tents and tables start dotting the two parking lots. Everything is going smoothly. I couldn’t ask for

anything more.

Except, maybe, for a certain someone to show up.

I get a call, and I know it’s Dan before I answer because he’s earned himself his own ringtone: the Mario Brothers’ theme song.

“We’re in the back. Get your lazy ass back here and help us with this crap.” He hangs up before I even say hello.

As I come around the corner to the back lot, Dan’s dad steps out of his massive Suburban. I’m still slightly mesmerized by his

beauty. His long, lean legs were made to wear those cowboy boots. He smiles a dazzling smile as he smooths back his longish, wavy

hair and pulls on a baseball cap. I know the man is almost forty, but a girl can look. From the moment I met Mr. Garrett, I knew I

was right about Dan being the type of guy who’s going to get better looking as he ages.

“What do you think, Maddie?” Mr. Garrett points to his hat. It has the festival’s logo, then underneath it says, “Sponsored by

Garrett Taxidermy.”

“It’s perfect. Thanks again for your help, Mr. Garrett.”

“It’s no problem. This is a great thing you’ve thought up. And what better business to sponsor something like this than a small

business that’s made it big, like mine.”

Dan walks out from the back of the large, black Suburban carrying a big box. “If your puny arms can handle it, why don’t you

help us with these T-shirts,” he says.

“Someone’s not a morning person.”

“Bite my chunky—”

“Daniel!” Mr. Garrett yells from the alley. “What did I tell you about how to treat a lady?”

Dan just grumbles as he follows his dad.

When I go to the open back end of the Suburban, I freeze at the sight before me. Logan sits on top of one of the boxes reading a

notebook. My notebook.

I clear my throat, and he looks up. Mr. Garrett might have dreamy eyes, but there’s no competition when it comes to Logan’s blue

stare. He closes the notebook, drops it in a seat behind him, and opens the box he was sitting on. “I hope we sell the hell out

of these things because Dan’s dad bought about a million of them.” He pulls out one of the festival T-shirts and hops out of the

Suburban.

I notice some blue paint under his fingernail. My cheeks suddenly feel extremely hot because I know where that paint came from.

He opens another box. “And these are genius.” He holds up a fan/water squirter also sporting the festival’s logo.

I just nod.

We each take a box, and I follow him down the alley, questions flooding my mind. Where did he go last night? What did he mean by

“finally”? Did he mean, “finally this is happening,” or, “finally I can put my feelings for this girl to rest and move on,”

like I suspect? But when we make it to the front, I realize now is not the time.

Cars are already filling up the library parking lot. Plus, Terra and Rayann are jogging across the street.

Dan brings out a dolly, and Logan and I stack our boxes on it. I turn to Logan, hoping I might be able to get in at least one

question before everything gets hectic, but he’s looking at his phone.

“Ben’s here. I have to go help him.” He points at the alley.

“Okay,” I say, even though I feel the exact opposite.