The Jerk Magnet

Chelsea smiled nervously, clutching her things toward her like a shield. “I was just telling Trey that it was time for me to go have dinner with my dad,” she said evenly.

“Were you now?” Dad peered at Trey, then at her, and finally back at Trey again.

“That’s right.” Trey took another step back, almost as if he thought Dad was about to deck him. “She was just leaving.”

Dad seemed to see Chelsea’s bikini top for the first time, and his reaction looked like a combination of horror and outrage.

“Let’s go, Dad.” She tugged on his arm. “I’m starving now.”

“Yeah, all right.” He tossed one last glance at Trey, who was now scurrying away like he couldn’t disappear quickly enough.

Before they reached the lobby, she managed to slip her tank top over her head and was just pulling it down to meet the waist of her towel sarong as they reached the elevators.

“Is that one of the, uh, swimsuits Kate got for you?” he asked as they went into the elevator.

She nodded and pushed the button for their floor.

“Well then, I better have myself a talk with that woman.”

“Oh, Dad,” Chelsea said in a scolding tone. “Don’t start calling Kate that woman.”

“I just want to know where she gets off giving you something like that, Chelsea.” His face was getting red, and it looked like he was more than just mildly irritated. Her earlier imaginings of a stroke didn’t seem too far-fetched. “It was one thing for Kate to do all this makeover business with you. But if she thinks she can turn you into a little—” He stopped himself, but Chelsea knew by his expression that he’d been about to use an offensive word.

“Dad!” She shook her head like she was disappointed.

“Well, I have a right to my opinion, Chelsea. I am your father.” The doors opened to their floor, and Chelsea hurried out ahead. Her dad came sputtering behind her. “You listen to me, Chelsea. Just because you look like a grown-up woman doesn’t mean that you are one. You’re only sixteen, and you’re acting like—”

“I know how old I am,” she said in a stern but even voice, sticking her key card in the door. “But thanks for reminding me.”

“We’re going to talk some more about this,” he said as she headed straight for the bathroom. “At dinner!”

“Great,” she called back as she closed the door. “I can’t wait.”

She felt a flurry of emotions as she showered. On the one hand, she’d been somewhat relieved to see her dad down by the pool. That whole scene with Trey had been getting weirder and weirder. Yet she’d felt flattered at the attention Trey had been showering on her, and knowing that he was older was kind of cool too. Yet there was that whole sociopath fear. What was up with that?

Now her dad was not only mad at her but at Kate as well. Somehow she needed to smooth this whole thing over. To do that, she decided it would be wise to just tell the truth. Well, most of the truth. She didn’t have to tell him everything.

During dinner she explained about wanting to give herself a test. “I wanted to see if I could be comfortable in my own skin,” she told him. “And for some reason that bikini seemed like a good idea.”

He groaned.

“But I realized that I’m not really comfortable in a swimsuit as skimpy as that.”

“Really?” He looked up from his salad with a hopeful expression.

“Yes. I doubt I’ll ever wear it again.”

He shook his head with a puzzled look. “I just don’t know why Kate thought that was appropriate for you.”

“Because lots of girls wear bikinis, Dad.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to wear something like that.”

“I’ll bet Kate has a bikini.” She shook her finger at him. “And I’ll bet that if she wore a bikini on your honeymoon, you wouldn’t complain.”

He looked embarrassed.

“Would you?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I might complain if I saw some guy ogling Kate the way that big testosterone-driven goon was ogling you down by the pool.”

Chelsea laughed. “Well, don’t worry, Dad. I was actually trying to lose that big testosterone-driven goon anyway.”

“That’s reassuring.” He gave her a relieved smile.

For a moment she considered confessing her crazy fear about how Trey might’ve been a sociopathic serial killer. But she knew that was ridiculous, and it would probably upset her dad as well. Better to just let this pass and forget about it. In the future, she’d be more careful.

“I’m so glad you’re still a sensible girl, Chelsea.” Dad took a sip of iced tea. “Even if you look, well, different on the outside, it’s good to know you’re still the same underneath.”

Although she nodded, Chelsea knew that wasn’t really true. She wasn’t the same underneath anymore. Oh, some things were the same, but she was working hard to change herself. She was determined to evolve far beyond the scared wallflower from before.

As planned, they got up early the next morning. After a long day, in which they took turns driving and practiced the lyrics of the San Jose song, they arrived at the hotel just a little before midnight.

“I got the suite for a full week,” Dad told her as they carried their bags down the hallway.

“A suite?” she asked.

“Yes. One side has a kitchen and living room with a pullout bed. There’s an adjoining bedroom as well. That way we’ll have some space.”

“Shall we flip a coin for the bedroom?”

He chuckled. “That’s an idea, but I thought I’d let you have it. You’ve been a real trouper these past few days, but I hear that teen girls need their privacy.”

She grinned. “Thanks, Dad.”

They both slept in late the next morning, ordering room service around noon and just taking it easy. Then they spent the afternoon driving around and checking out the lay of the land. Dad had already narrowed down which part of the city they’d relocate to, close to the corporate headquarters where he’d be working. After driving by there, he swung by the high school. “Thought you’d like a sneak peek at your new stomping grounds,” he told her.

“It looks like a nice school,” she said.

“It’s ranked quite high in the state,” he said. “You might want to check out the school’s website and see if you can preregister.”

He drove through some of the nearby neighborhoods. It didn’t take long before they both agreed that San Sebastian Estates was by far the nicest development, and there were several houses for sale.

“I’m guessing the homes in here will be in the top of our price range,” Dad said a bit dismally.

“They say you get what you pay for, Dad.”

He chuckled. “Unless you’re in the designer discount outlet business. In that case, you get a bargain.”

“Oh, Dad.” She pointed across the street. “Hey, check out that house—it’s for sale.”

He parked on the street in front of a pale yellow stucco house and nodded. “That’s definitely a nice-looking one.”

Chelsea hopped out of the car, grabbed one of the flyers, and started reading. “It’s got four bedrooms,” she said as she got back in. “And three baths—that would be one for each of us!”

“That sounds good.” He leaned over to see the flyer. “The price isn’t as bad as I’d expected. It’s still a little high, though.”

“But you can offer less,” she told him. “People do that all the time.”

He nodded. “That’s true.”

“Oh, it has a pool!”

As she continued to gush about the house, Dad agreed to call his Realtor, but all he could do was leave a message. As they drove back to the hotel, Chelsea informed him she wanted to continue being involved in the house hunting. “For Kate’s sake,” she assured him. “No offense, but I think I might know her tastes better than you.”

The next morning the Realtor picked them up at the hotel, and they started looking at properties in San Sebastian. For some reason the Realtor was unenthused about the yellow stucco house. Although he was polite to Chelsea, she could tell he wasn’t interested in her opinions when it came to real estate. Finally she pulled Dad into a laundry room of another ho-hum house and closed the door. “Have you noticed that Greg is only showing us houses that are listed with his real estate company?” she said in a hushed tone.

Dad’s brow creased. “Now that you mention it . . .”

“And he doesn’t want us to look at the yellow stucco house.”

“So it seems.”

“I think we should lose this Realtor, Dad.”

“Maybe so. But first let me give him one more chance to show us the yellow house.”

She agreed and they went back out. Greg was looking all pleased with himself now, like he thought they really liked this house and were discussing making an offer on it.

Dad cleared his throat. “Chelsea and I would really like to see that yellow stucco house over on Laredo Lane.”

“Oh, you don’t want that house,” Greg said quickly. “I heard it’s had water damage and—”

“I think I need to go back to the hotel.” Chelsea held her stomach like she was in pain. “I don’t feel too well, Dad.”

Dad looked curiously at her, then realizing what she was up to, he played along, even putting his hand on her forehead. “You feel like you might have a fever.”

“Uh-huh.” She gave a sickly sigh. “Please, Dad, I need to go back to the hotel now.”

Realtor Greg looked slightly irritated, but he complied, and as soon as they got back to their hotel, Chelsea called the phone number from the flyer for the yellow stucco house, telling the Realtor that they’d meet her there.

“Wow.” Dad looked impressed. “Maybe I should let you handle the whole house-buying business.”

“Fine with me. Do you want me to drive too?”

“No thanks. Not this time.”

Before long they were strolling through the yellow stucco house, which was as sweet inside as out. “Did this house have water damage?” Chelsea asked the Realtor as they stood in the spacious kitchen.

Maria frowned. “Water damage?”

“Another Realtor mentioned something about it.”

Maria shook her head. “I’ve never heard of such a thing here. I haven’t seen any repairs or stains to imply that’s true. But I can check the insurance records to see.”

While Dad asked her more questions, grilling her about utilities and taxes and other boring stuff, Chelsea took another walk through the house. The wood floors echoed as she walked, and she tried to imagine where they’d place their furniture. She decided to call Kate.

“Oh, I’m so glad you answered,” Chelsea exclaimed when Kate picked up. “I thought I’d get your voice mail.”

“What’s up?”

Chelsea told her about the house. “It’s so beautiful,” she gushed. “I think you’ll like it. And there’s a pool and a hot tub.”

Kate let out a happy squeal. “I like it already!”

Chelsea realized how much she missed Kate. It was like Kate had become her best friend. “I wish you could come out sooner,” she said.

“Me too. But I have to honor my commitments here.”

“I know.” They talked a bit longer, and Chelsea told Kate they’d send some photos of the house. After she hung up, she went back upstairs to look around. She’d already decided that if they got this house, she’d take the bedroom up here. It had a tiny terrace that overlooked the pool, and the bathroom was just across the hall. Besides, she knew Dad and Kate would want the master suite downstairs anyway. It opened right out to the pool.

By the time they left, Dad was as interested in the house as Chelsea. “I’ll send Kate the website domain. Maria said it’s got some great photos,” he said as he drove them back to the hotel. “And she mentioned there’s someone else interested in the house—”

“Oh no!”

“She also said it’s not too late to make an offer.”

“We have to make an offer,” Chelsea insisted.

By that evening, Kate had seen the website photos and sounded thrilled with the house. The next morning, Dad met with Maria and made an offer. Chelsea hadn’t been much of a praying girl, not since middle school when she used to go regularly to youth group with Virginia and her friends, but she actually shot up a little “please, God” offering and hoped that would be better than just crossing her fingers.

There was some back-and-forth negotiating and adjusting on Dad’s offer for the house, but three days later Maria called and informed Dad that his offer had been accepted. It turned out that because their offer was cash, thanks to the sale of their previous home, the owners were okay with taking less.

Papers were signed, money changed hands, Dad notified the moving company, and one week later they were given possession of the yellow stucco house on Laredo Lane.

Dad grinned as he handed her the key to the front door. “I think I have you to thank for finding this house. Why don’t you do the honors?”

Chelsea unlocked the door and walked inside. Everything still looked as light and bright and pretty as before. She was so happy that she shot up another prayer—a thank-you prayer.





Dad started back to work, and Chelsea took on the task of unpacking crates and boxes and getting things put away. It was hard work, but she was rewarded with breaks by the pool.

“Hello there.”

Chelsea jumped and looked up from where she’d been sunning herself to see a girl peering over the stucco wall on the side of the yard. “Uh, hello.” She sat up, feeling slightly self-conscious since she had on the barely-there bikini, but she had assumed she’d be safe in her own backyard.

“I’m Janelle Parker,” the girl called out. “Sorry to bug you, but I wanted to say hey. I live here, next door.”

“Oh.” Chelsea tipped up her shades for a better look at the girl in the shadows. “I’m Chelsea Martin.”

“So did you guys buy the Ruiz place?”

Chelsea thought for a moment before she remembered the name Ruiz. “Oh, yeah. We did buy it from them. We moved in a few days ago.”

“I must’ve missed that,” Janelle said. “I just got back from a summer camp up in Oregon.”

“Oh.” Chelsea was trying to guess Janelle’s age. She seemed young. Twelve, maybe?

“So are you still in school?” Janelle asked. “Or have you graduated already?”

“I’ll be a junior in high school.”

“Hey, so will I,” Janelle said brightly.

“Really?” Chelsea stood and walked over to get a better look at this outgoing girl. For some reason she’d assumed she was younger.

Janelle nodded. “So will you be going to Kingston High?”

“Yeah. My dad drove me by there a few days ago. It seemed nice. Do you like it?”

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

Chelsea climbed onto a large landscaping rock next to the wall so she could look directly at Janelle. With blue-green eyes, creamy skin, and shiny, shoulder-length brown hair, Janelle was pretty. Not flashy pretty, but pretty in a quieter way. Chelsea glanced past Janelle into her backyard, which was mostly grass. “You guys don’t have a pool too?”

Janelle made a face. “My dad hates pools. He says they’re a hole in the ground you throw money into.”

Chelsea nodded. “My dad wasn’t totally excited about a pool either, but I promised to help with the maintenance. Now I just need to learn how to do that.”

“I can help if you want.”

“I thought you said your dad hated—”

“The house before this one had a pool. He hated it. That’s why we moved.”

“Oh.”

Janelle sighed. “I still miss it. Especially on hot days like today.”

“Do you want to come over?”

Janelle brightened. “Sure. I mean, if you really want me to. I hope I didn’t sound like I was hinting for an invite.”

Chelsea laughed. “No, not at all. The truth is it’s been kind of lonely. It would be nice to get to know someone.”

Janelle looked curiously at Chelsea. “It must’ve been hard for you to leave all your friends behind. Were you really bummed to move?”

“Yeah, it was hard to move. But the truth is I didn’t have that many friends.” As soon as those words were out, Chelsea wished she’d been more cautious.

Janelle looked surprised and even a little dubious. “Really? Why is that?”

“It’s a long story,” Chelsea said.

“Okay then, if you really don’t mind me crashing in on you, I’ll go change into my suit and come over, and maybe you’ll tell me your long story.”

Chelsea nodded and climbed down from the stone, but as Janelle disappeared back behind the wall, Chelsea wondered how much she really wanted to tell this girl. She didn’t even know her. How much could she trust her? Especially since they’d be going to the same school in a few weeks. Chelsea remembered how Virginia and the others had hurt her. Did she want to go through that again?

By the time Janelle rang the doorbell, Chelsea had decided to play it safe. She would be careful with how much information she disclosed, and at the same time she’d try to figure out what kind of a person Janelle really was. She would start by finding out how much she actually knew about pool maintenance.

To Chelsea’s surprise, Janelle not only knew a lot about pools, she was a hard worker and she seemed pretty smart too. And she was funny. By the time they went back into the house to take a break from the sun, Chelsea realized that she actually liked Janelle.

“You still haven’t told me why you didn’t have many friends at your old school,” Janelle said as she peeled newsprint from a glass tumbler and set it on the countertop. She was helping Chelsea to unpack. But because she was short, barely five feet tall, Chelsea was putting things in the upper cabinets.

“I wasn’t sure I really wanted to tell you,” Chelsea said slowly. She set a stack of plates on a high shelf.

“My mom’s always telling me I’m way too nosy.” Janelle smiled apologetically. “I guess I’m just overly curious. Sorry.”

“No, that’s okay.” Chelsea decided to just tell her. Janelle seemed trustworthy. Really, what did Chelsea have to be afraid of? So she spilled the beans, telling how she’d been an ugly duckling wallflower and how her soon-to-be stepmom had made her over.

“That’s hard to believe,” Janelle said finally.

“I know.” Chelsea went over to the wall mirror that she’d hung in the dining area and looked at herself. Her hair was a little stringy from the pool and her face was devoid of makeup, but even so, she still looked much better than before the makeover. “Trust me, it’s hard for me to believe too.”

“So what are your interests?” Janelle asked from where she was opening another box in the kitchen.

Chelsea came back and started removing pots and pans from a crate. “Well, the truth is I’ve always been kind of an academic nerd. I think I replaced friends with books, high grades, and an obsession on education.”

“A good education can come in handy.”

“I know. But now I want something more too. I feel like I’ve been socially starved.”

Janelle laughed. “Socially starved?”

“Seriously. I’ve been lonely for years. And since we moved here, I’ve even been missing my dad’s fiancée. How lame is that?”

“Well, Kingston is a big school. You should have your choice of friends.”

Chelsea nodded, but she wondered what that meant. Was Janelle gently hinting that she didn’t have room in her social life for Chelsea, and that she’d have to find her own friends?

“So you must have some other interests,” Janelle persisted. “Beyond academics, I mean.”

“Well, I do have this weird addiction to a couple of reality shows.” Chelsea felt embarrassed. Maybe she was truly hopeless. All those years of retreating and hiding might have permanently damaged her. Maybe she was socially retarded. But she reminded herself of one of Kate’s self-confidence rules. Keep your inner voice upbeat and positive. Don’t listen to the lies.

“I’m into drama,” Janelle told her. “Last year I got to play Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“I thought Puck was a guy.”

“We made him unisex.” She laughed, waving her hand over her petite form, which was much less curvy than Chelsea’s. “Besides, as you can see, I can still pass for a boy.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about getting more involved in drama. I was in drama before, but thanks to my social anxieties, I remained way back behind the scenes.”

“With your looks, you could probably get a good part. That is, if you can act.”

“I’d be willing to try.” Chelsea didn’t want to admit that she felt like she was acting most of the time these days anyway. Mostly she hoped her act would feel natural by the time school started. She just needed to get some more practice in the meantime.

Janelle tossed an empty box onto a stack of others. “Hey, we’re almost done in here.”

“Thanks so much for helping.”

Janelle looked at the clock on the stove. “I should probably get going. I have a youth group thing at six.”

“Youth group?”

Janelle shrugged like she was uncomfortable. “You know, for church.”

“Oh.”

“Are you into that sort of thing?” Janelle seemed tentative.

Chelsea shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I mean, a lot of kids think it’s kinda lame to still be going to youth group in high school.”

“I don’t think it’s lame. What kind of church do you belong to anyway?”

“It’s a nondenominational Christian church. And the youth group is actually pretty cool. Tonight’s a barbecue, and if you want, you’d be more than welcome to come along.”

“Really?”

Janelle seemed surprised. “Absolutely. You really want to?”

Chelsea nodded. “Sure.”

“Cool. We need to be ready to leave by 5:30 since I’m helping to set up the drinks table. Can you be ready by then?”

“No problem. How do we get there?”

“Alice is picking me up. She’s one of the leaders. The barbecue is at a park near the church, and you can dress pretty casual. Just come over to my house when you’re ready. Okay?”

“Sounds good.”

After Janelle left, Chelsea called Dad to let him know she was going out. At first he sounded concerned, but when she assured him that a youth leader was driving and that Janelle lived right next door, he seemed pleased. “That sounds great,” he told her. “In fact, I’ve been thinking it might be good to get involved in a church again. It’s like we sort of lost track of all that when your mom died.”

“I know.” Chelsea felt sad to remember how she’d gotten uncomfortable being around Virginia and the other girls at church and how she’d let that discourage her from attending. “I guess that was my fault.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re doing this, Chels. Have fun!”

“Thanks.” Chelsea hurried to take a shower, blow her hair dry, and do her makeup. Then she went to her new room, where everything was already unpacked and in its place. She opened her new walk-in closet and looked at the wardrobe Kate had helped her to build and wondered what to wear. Janelle had said casual, but Chelsea didn’t want to be too casual. She might be meeting kids she’d go to school with, and she wanted to make a good first impression.

She pulled out several items, holding them up in front of the mirror attached to the back of the closet door. Finally she decided on a white denim skirt. Stitched like jeans, it was kind of like shorts and it showed off her legs. She topped this with a light blue cami top that accentuated her tan as well as her curves. She added sandals and some hoop earrings that Kate said went with everything, then fluffed her hair, retouched her lip gloss, and took one last look in the mirror. She knew she looked hot.

Thinking that this youth group barbecue would be the perfect opportunity to practice her self-confidence tricks, she looped her new canvas Chloe bag over her shoulder and donned her favorite Gucci shades—all purchased at bargain prices. Feeling like a million bucks, she locked the house and headed next door.

“Wow.” Janelle looked surprised when she opened the door. “You clean up nicely.”

Chelsea laughed. “Well, thanks, I guess.”

Janelle introduced Chelsea to her mom as they picked up some grocery bags of drinks. Before they left the kitchen, a dark-haired guy came in, and Janelle introduced him as her older brother Grayson. “He just graduated high school last year.”

“Nice to meet you.” Grayson’s eyes lit up as he shook her hand.

“Chelsea’s the same age as me,” Janelle told him. “She and her dad just moved into the Ruiz house.”

He made a disappointed face. “Too bad you didn’t move here last year.”

“Why?” Chelsea asked.

He smiled. “Then we would’ve been in school together.”

Janelle gave him a sisterly punch in the arm. “Grayson’s getting ready to go to school back east. He leaves next week.”

“I think your ride’s here,” her mom called from another room.

“A real pleasure to meet you, Chelsea,” Grayson said.

“You know, you could always come to youth group tonight if you want to,” Janelle called after him.

Grayson looked at Chelsea again. “That’s tempting.” He shook his head. “Except that’s for high school kids.”

“Yes, and you’re so beyond that now.” Janelle laughed as they went out the front door to where a small car was waiting in the driveway. “Brothers!”

They put the bags in the trunk, and as they got into the backseat, Janelle introduced Chelsea to Alice, one of the youth leaders, and a girl named Bretta, who was sitting on the passenger side. Janelle quickly filled Bretta and Alice in on Chelsea. “Bretta’s a senior at Kingston,” she added.

The three girls made small talk as Alice drove. Chelsea tried to insert a comment here and there, but as she looked around the car, she realized that she was actually overdressed. Everyone else had on shorts and T-shirts. Still, Chelsea decided, she would not let this get to her. In some ways, it was no different than being in a bikini. She just needed to remember Kate’s rules for confidence. It would be good practice. And judging by the butterflies in her stomach just now, she still needed the practice.