SHORTCUTS Read online

  “Thank you, ma’am!” Without missing a beat, I crossed the small living room and poked my head in the tiny room at the start of the hall. “Hey, Mia.”

  “Oh! Parker! I didn’t know you were here.” Mia stood behind an easel across the room with a brush in hand. The painting itself faced away from the door. She slipped out from behind the canvas and wiped her hands off with a stained towel.

  The tiny room was stuffed. A bed, neatly made, was topped with bright orange cushions. A pile of books towered on the desk next to a laptop. Art supplies were stacked everywhere, with trays of charcoals, pastels, and paint tubes taking up most of the space. Mia must be serious about the Picasso business.

  Maybe she’d even have an online portfolio. Most artist-types around our school did. But I’d done a quick search online and found a big fat zero on Mia, which was more than odd. It was intriguing.

  Mia blushed. “Ah, come on in. If you can find a spot.”

  I could always find a spot. I moved a few pillows to sit on the bed. “Wow, you’ve already gotten your room cleaner than mine. You must be organized.”

  “I just wanted to get moved in.”

  “I can only imagine. I’ve had the same room since I was born, full of who knows what at this point. Avery’s bedroom is even worse, with her creepy design mannequins and plastic brain diagrams.” I gave an exaggerated shudder.

  Mia cracked a smile. “Avery’s the redhead, right? Hope her headache went away.”

  “Yep. She’s feeling better, thanks. She always bounces back.”

  Mia began piling one sketchbook after another in her arms, clearing a space on the little chair by the desk. “Uh, sorry, there’s not a lot of room. Let me move these, and you can sit in an actual chair—”

  A sketchbook toppled from the top of the pile and landed open at my feet. I scooped it up—to be helpful—and happened to take a quick look at the top sketch. A super cute guy. No one I knew, though. Blond hair. Light eyes. Sort of an arrogant expression. Across the page from Arrogant Boy was a woman who looked far too much like Mia to be anyone but her mother, with the same long dark hair, soft brown eyes, and Audrey Hepburn cheekbones.

  Mia snatched the book out of my hand. Our fingers brushed, and a shock of betrayal laced with fury and terror ripped through me. Ow. I jerked my hands back like I’d touched the wrong end of my flat iron. Riding on the emotion came an image of the arrogant boy, clear in my mind’s eye, like he was standing right in front of me, in flesh and blood. He looked beautiful, but … unkind. Scornful. The image faded, and I took a deep, quivering breath.

  Smells and sounds linked to emotions were thankfully rare. Mia had already shown her emotions ranked high enough on the pain scale to generate a horrible stench. But this had been like … seeing a clip of a memory, a regular 3-D experience for a split second.

  Empaths didn’t see things like that. Or who knows, maybe they did if the feeling was strong enough. It wasn’t like I had anyone to ask about it. Maybe I’d imagined it? How many times had my mother complained about my overactive imagination? Too many to count.

  Mia shifted her weight, tucking a lock of hair behind one ear. “Sorry. It’s just my sketches are sort of private, you know?”

  “No sweat. I know how artists are, believe me.” I made a mental note to look up local art contests Mia could win. Hard to sit around moping with a giant trophy reflecting your face. Band, track, basketball, art … the hobby didn’t matter. If I helped someone up their game, it always upped their attitude.

  Mia slid her notebook onto the desk with a casualness that didn’t match her trembling hands. “I was surprised such a small school had an art class. But glad.”

  So bland chit-chat it was. No problem—I could work most any topic to my advantage. “Yeah, the university here has its benefits. I’ve taken summer acting camps all my life. We’re practically swimming in theatre productions, art shows, you name it. Ooh, I’ll have to take you to the next art show hosted by the university. That’ll be fun!”

  Mia nodded but couldn’t seem to find a verbal response. The poor thing was so uptight, she might just explode before anyone could help.

  Such pain. I’d forgotten how much it hurt to purposefully open myself to other people’s pain. My best friends all kept their raw emotions to themselves. I could commiserate with all my fellow Fab Four members without living their painful moments. And with plain brains, I worked to make sure their lives were smooth. If I couldn’t fix them, I avoided their negativity. The impossible exception was, of course, my mom.

  But Mia was a sinkhole of sadness that I would now have to spend lots of time around. I’d better get those happiness shortcuts started today.

  I studied the room for clues. A dozen more sketches were scattered under the desk, lots of them images of Arrogant Guy. Mia certainly was focused on her subjects. All those sketches, plus the betrayal I’d felt, was painting a pretty clear picture to me.

  “Bad breakup?” I asked, gesturing to the pile. A bad breakup often called for a good fix-up, and I excelled at those.

  “You could say that.” Mia’s tone was clipped. She began cramming the loose sketches in a cubby of her desk, lips mashed into a thin line.

  Okay, then. Time to back away from Van Gogh over there before she chopped off an ear. I slapped my hand on my forehead. “Oh! I almost forgot!”

  I hadn’t forgotten, but it leant a feeling of spontaneity to the moment. “I came by to grab you because tonight’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Well, once this year, at least.” I described the annual stargazing event held at the top of what passed for a hill in the area. “The meteors should be starting up soon. They’re really something. You’ve got to come.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’m sort of in the middle of this.” Mia gestured at the canvas.

  “No problem. I can wait for you to clean up. Already got an assignment for class?”

  Mia picked up her brush and dipped it in the blue paint on her palette. “Oh, uh, no. I’m finishing something I started before I moved. Sometimes I can’t think about much else until I finish. So, I don’t think tonight’s going to—”

  Dr. Lopez stepped through the door. “Mia, mi’ja, this is the meteor shower I was telling you about earlier. Where I met your Uncle Max, bless his soul.” She shimmied and gave a wink. Mia flushed with an “Oh my God” under her breath.

  Dr. Lopez chortled loudly. “If you go, I can’t tell embarrassing stories in front of your friend.”

  I giggled and added, “It’ll be just for a little while. It’s like five minutes from here. After a few shooting stars, if you’re done, I’ll walk you home, promise.”

  Persuasion was my strong suit. Avery always said that used car salesmen could take lessons from me. But given Mia’s mental blocks, I was glad to have unexpected help today.

  “Dr. Lopez, tell her. It’s a big deal here.”

  “It’s true,” her aunt said. “You can clean up later.”

  Mia stood by her easel. Blue paint dripped down the brush, touching her fingers, but she still didn’t move. Another jab of Mia’s fear punched me, this time shaded with the scent of acrid smoke.

  Sympathy pushed me to give the girl a break. A small one. “How about I meet you on the front lawn in ten minutes? You can get ready without me breathing down your neck. And I promise—we’ll leave if you don’t have fun.”

  Mia nodded, too quickly. “Sure. Okay. See you down there. My aunt seems to think I’d better.” She gave a little glare to her aunt, who laughed. Her aunt’s relief lit up the room like a spotlight, so this must be the authentic Mia, not the polite one I’d been talking to all day.

  I took the chance of adding, “You know if you don’t show, I’ll just come back and drag you there, right?”

  “No doubt.” Mia included me in her small glare but reluctantly smiled.

  Progress for sure. I slipped out of the room, tossing Mia a thumbs-up.

  At the front door, Dr. Lopez whispered, “Don’t let her scare you o
ff.” Sadness floated out from the professor like a cloud, coated with love and concern. “She could use a good friend like you.”

  Yep. That’s what I’d heard. Avery was really never wrong.

  “You can count on me, Dr. Lopez. One happy niece, coming right up.”

  Satisfied, I paused outside the closed apartment door and rinsed off with my mental waterfall. Mia’s mood took three washes to get rid of.

  As I headed down the hall, I skirted past clumps of kids gathering to walk to the stargazing party. Lots of kids from school lived here—which still didn’t mean much in a town of 40,000, tops.

  I waved at everyone I passed. At least six of the boys sent zings of interest my way. It put a bit of pep in my step. Ethan might not see me like that, but it was nice to know I wasn’t invisible to everyone. I’d focus on the positive. Tonight was a night for fun.

  I raced down the two flights of stairs and strode along the hallway with determination in every step. Grateful to pass up my own door, I knocked three times on Avery’s, taking a deep hit of the scent of cinnamon and apples that wafted from the apartment. Everyone’s home smelled nicer than mine. I’d have to fix that. I would fix that. Positive thoughts. Anyone could use a diffuser or buy flowers. Or cook a frozen apple pie.

  “Hey, I thought you were getting Mia tonight.” Avery swung open the door, munching on potato chips, wearing pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt—her staying-in clothes.

  “No way,” I protested. “We all agreed to this. She’s meeting me out front in a few minutes.” I pushed past Avery, swept into her bedroom, and jumped onto the bed full of stuffed animals. This evening would require finesse. I was absolutely not going in there without my best partner in crime.

  Avery closed the door and sighed. “Look, you’ll be focused on Mia, Todd and I broke up, like, two weeks ago, and frankly, I don’t want to freeze tonight. That vision took it out of me today, and it’s supposed to get down to 55 degrees already. This rear’s too cute to fall off from frostbite.” She did a little shake with her lower half.

  I giggled but said, “I know that vision sucked, but didn’t you just tell me we were all in this together? What if you get another update from the great beyond when you see Mia tonight? Even the boys are going as secret backup. Are you going to let them out-psychic you?”

  “As if they could.” Avery pshawed.

  I gave sad puppy eyes and puffed out my bottom lip. “Pleeease? We neeeed you.”

  Avery was silent. Then she sighed. “Why can’t I ever tell you no?”

  “Cause you looove me!” I crowed and wrapped her in a tight hug.

  Avery swapped out her clothes in record time, adding her signature knee-length velvet coat.

  Mia was easy to find out front, despite the milling students meeting up with their own friends. Her black coat set off the silky darkness of her hair. I reintroduced the two girls, and we set off walking. Thankfully, Avery didn’t zone out this time. Now it was Mia who said not a single word. Whatever tiny bit of trust had begun in her room had evaporated. Back to square one.

  I chatted a mile a minute and looked at Avery meaningfully to say See what I mean? By the time we reached the hill, Avery was talking just as much to prevent any awkward silence. It was one of the things I loved most about Avery—she really did bounce back fast.

  It was crowded up at the hill. Love, desire, bitterness, disappointment. Pushing past people, I felt emotions raining on my skin like soft sleet. Ping, ping, ping. Thankfully, it was low key enough to ignore. Mia wasn’t sharing anything, though, not even a whisper. It left me a bit lost.

  I’d just have to improvise.

  The stars were taking their sweet time to die. Mia, Avery, and I had waited for thirty minutes. So far the meteor shower was a no-show. Talk about annoying. And Ethan and Deshawn might have planned on being backup, but so far, they were as absent as the falling stars.

  Avery had been right about the temperature. The tip of my nose was turning numb. The sky arched in a deep black bowl above us, perfectly cloudless. At least the meteor shower would have a perfect backdrop if it ever got started.

  Mia checked her phone. I didn’t need psychic empathy to know the girl was about to take off. I cast about for any distraction. A blond guy was staring at us from across the hill. No, not staring at us. Staring at Mia.

  The boy was one of the few new transfers into our grade. Josh Remmel. He wasn’t someone I’d forget, with those dark brown eyes and beachy white blond hair. His nose was a little crooked, as if he’d broken it before. He wore shorts with a sweatshirt. I wasn’t sure if that made him tough or an idiot. His expression required no X-ray.

  I always researched new people before considering them as possible matches, but this was an emergency situation, more of a Rainy Day Hair Frizz Shellacking Job than a careful updo.

  I nudged Mia on the shoulder. “Hey, a cutie is checking you out at one o’clock.”

  Mia looked up from her phone and met Josh’s gaze. A soft gasp escaped her lips.

  A jab of shock hit me, followed by a mental boom like a thunderclap. A rush of tangled emotions came with the mental noise—shock, fear, hope, interest, and … something I couldn’t quite place before the rush cut off to leave Mia as emotionally silent as before.

  A gust of wind blew Mia’s hair across her face, hiding her expression and any clues it held. But something about Josh had surprised Mia and triggered a whole landslide of messy emotions. One of those flashing feelings had been interest. Lots of it.

  The answer to our problem appeared to have landed on my doorstep on a pair of mighty fine muscular legs.

  “Well, well, well,” I murmured to Avery, raising an eyebrow. “Good possibility for the dance, yeah? For Mia?”

  “If she passes, sign me up.”

  “We’ve got a month. Plenty of time. Shoot, going with him might make me happy if she won’t take him,” I said.

  “It’s worth a shot. It’s what you do best.”

  “Truth. You take him, I’ll get her. Meet up in five.”

  The words volleyed back and forth swiftly, culminating with a discreet pinkie shake before we set off on our respective missions.

  “Mia! Look, here’s the perfect spot!” I squealed, stepping closer.

  The girl jumped. No one ever expected me to be so loud, but actors had to project to the back of a room. I had good lungs.

  Mia’s gaze flicked between me and Josh. Avery was already smiling up at the blond boy in her most charming way. For a moment, a hint of wistfulness shimmered from Mia, the way heat waves hovered above the streets in August. Then it was tomb-silent again.

  I sat down on the grass. “So. Josh. You know him?”

  “J-J-Josh?” Mia’s thick, dark eyebrows knitted together, a very Frida Kahlo look. She could carry it off, too.

  “Blondie over there? He’s new this year, too. Did you meet at a new student orientation or something?” I jerked my thumb at him. He was looking past Avery to Mia.

  Mia burned with a blush again. “No, I haven’t met him.”

  Faint embarrassment from her trickled along my skin like condensation on glass. I leaned forward and opened my mental shields to seek deeper, but my gift was immediately overrun with a rush of insecurity from the skinny girl to our left and the panicked confusion of some guy tripping over his own feet. Love, fear, anger, jealousy—they all crammed inside me, demanding to be heard, turning into a blurred surge of unrecognizable feelings.

  I pushed back mentally, struggling to wash everything else away. Understanding Mia was hard enough without random emotions blaring like a wrestling match in the background.

  Mia stared at the ground, but she must’ve snuck a peek at Josh again through her lashes. A stream of emotion poured from her like music blaring from a radio suddenly plugged in. Wistfulness, definite interest, and luminous hope flowed just for one short moment, but it was enough to confirm my plans.

  If I could maneuver the two of them together, Mia would be a happy camper in no ti
me. Crisis averted.

  A glance over at my bestie sent a little spark through me—Ethan and Deshawn had finally arrived, carrying an old blanket. They were talking with Josh, too. Excellent. All hands were on deck.

  I casually caught Avery’s attention with a quick jerk of my head. It was a tiny movement, but like clockwork, my girl knew what to do.

  Josh, Ethan, Deshawn, and Avery wove through the crowds toward us. Ethan sent a wicked smile that sped my pulse. They passed Sophie, but he didn’t look twice beyond a relaxed wave.

  I hid a smile. This night kept getting better and better.

  Mia looked up again in time to see Josh standing right in front of her. A warm blast of air raced past us. Someone must have started a campfire on the other side of the hill, perfect for later.

  Ethan jogged the last few steps and slid into an imaginary home base at my feet. “Score!” he yelled.

  “You weirdo, you’re supposed to say ‘safe.’ Get up. You’re getting dust on my boots.” I pulled Ethan up, and he bowed deeply, still gripping my hand. For one breathless moment, I thought he was going to kiss the back of my hand in a courtly gesture, but he dropped it instead. My heart dropped along with it, but I shook it off and smiled.

  Avery spoke with a cheery tone. “Everyone, this is Josh! He’s new.”

  I didn’t miss Mia’s frown directed at Avery’s delicate hand on Josh’s arm. Avery didn’t miss it either: her smug, I’m-secretly-laughing dimple popped up. She pulled away her hand and took a casual step back from Josh. Clockwork indeed.

  Mia blushed and focused on the stars like they were the most fascinating thing around when clearly, the most fascinating thing was standing right in front of her. Romance wasn’t for everyone, but it looked like there was interest from both parties, even if Mia felt out of her comfort zone for now. No doubt dancing with Mr. Mighty Fine Legs would be worth a little sweat from her up front.

  I said, “Hi, Josh. You’re not the only new kid here, FYI.” I gestured at Mia.

  Josh’s smile grew, his eyes warm as he gazed at Mia. “Nice to meet you …”