Stepping Up Read online

Jenna interrupted them. “The correct answer is neither. I’d want to listen to music.”

  “That’s not an option, Jenna,” said Mary. “I’m starting to think you don’t get how this game works.”

  Jenna laughed. “Maybe not. But it’s doing a great job of keeping my mind off tomorrow.” She stood up. “I need another drink. Anybody else want more soda?”

  “Bring me one,” said Rita.

  Jenna headed down the hallway. She knew that Edward was also spending the night with Steven, and she hoped for a chance meeting with him in the kitchen. She didn’t see anyone other than her parents, however, so she returned to her room.

  She found her friends discussing the bridge project at school.

  “How’s it going with Moira?” asked Pam.

  Jenna frowned. “Not great.” She handed Rita a can of soda and popped hers open. “We don’t see eye to eye. On anything. For instance, Moira is absolutely convinced that our bridge should be shorter, and nothing I say can change her mind. I don’t know why I even bother talking. It doesn’t make a difference.”

  “That was bad luck getting paired together,” said Pam. “It’s like Mr. Padgett has never even met the two of you before.”

  “I know.” Jenna plopped down next to her friends. “But do you want to hear the sick part? I think she might actually be right. Our bridge is too long, but I’ve spent so much time arguing for the opposite that I don’t think I can switch my opinion now.”

  Rita groaned. “Jen. Don’t you know the point of teamwork?”

  “I can’t help it. She just drives me batty. I will say this for her, though – she hasn’t so much as mentioned my dad’s layoff. Ever since I accidentally let it slip, I’ve been waiting for her to crow over me.”

  “I told you,” said Rita. “She’s not so bad.”

  “Even if she’s not, she is really stubborn.”

  “Not like anyone else we know,” teased Pam.

  “Me and Brandon are almost done with our bridge,” said Mary. “I think it’s going to turn out pretty good, too.”

  “You’re back to calling him Brandon now?” Rita raised her eyebrows. “Whatever happened to ‘The Hair’?”

  “I slipped and almost called him that to his face.” The girls all laughed. “I figured ‘Brandon’ was safer.”

  Jenna looked at Mary. "What is up with you and Brandon anyway?"

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "Oh, come on."

  "Well, if you must know… “ Mary swooned backward onto the bed. “I’ve got it bad.”

  "From the looks of things," said Rita, "so does he."

  "I hope so."

  Jenna hesitated. "Have you actually, um, told him that you like him?"

  "No!" said Mary, sitting up. She looked horrified. “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know.” Jenna felt uncomfortable, but soldiered on. “I mean, it can’t be all bad to let a boy know you like him, right?”

  “I guess it depends on the boy,” said Rita.

  “Why are you asking?” Mary peered at Jenna. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

  “No.” But Jenna couldn’t stop the smallest smile from creeping onto her face.

  “Shut up!” shouted Mary. “Jenna’s got a crush!” Pam’s mouth dropped open, and Rita gasped.

  “Shh! I don’t want him to hear you.”

  “Why would he hear me?” Mary looked confused until comprehension dawned on her face. “You mean he’s here – in this house?” she hissed.

  “Edward?” whispered Pam.

  Jenna nodded.

  Her friends squealed, and Pam squeezed her arm. “Edward is really nice,” she said. “I don’t blame you.”

  Jenna found herself unburdening the details of her crush. “I don’t even really know how it happened. Just one day, I suddenly noticed that I… noticed him, you know what I mean? He’s so sweet and helpful, and he bought us all dinner one night, and… oh, I don’t know.”

  “Steven’s gonna freak,” said Rita.

  “He’ll get over it,” said Mary, waving her hand. She leaned forward in excitement. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Nothing?”

  “You can’t do nothing.”

  “He might like you, too,” said Pam. “He’s always friendly to you.”

  “He’s friendly to everyone.”

  “And he brought you that space heater.”

  “That’s true…”

  “Just wait and see,” said Rita. “That’s what my mom always tells me.”

  Mary lay backwards. “Two of us with crushes. I feel so old.”

  Jenna wished she felt older. Then she’d know how to talk to Edward.

  When the girls finally settled into bed later that night, Jenna struggled to shut her mind down. She was nervous about the following day. She knew the recital would have the chance to make her dance dreams possible or send her straight to empty afternoons with nothing to fill her time.

  Jenna believed that Eva and Ella were ready for the performance. After countless run throughs, they could do the routine perfectly. Rita and Mary said lots of people expressed interest about the recital, so they expected a decent sized crowd the next day. Everything was in place.

  Jenna fell asleep that night secure in the knowledge that the next day would go off without a hitch. With her friends by her side, what could go wrong?

  When Jenna awoke the next morning, her room seemed unnaturally bright.

  She squinted. Were the lights on?

  She glanced around her room. Mary and Pam sprawled in their sleeping bags across her floor. Rita was curled up in Jenna’s beanbag chair. Why did the room look off?

  The window. Sunshine streamed through the glass.

  Even as Jenna squinted her eyes to deal with the glare, she had wits enough to rejoice in the sunshiny day. After the cold weather lately, there was nothing like a bright cloudless day to get people outside. Hopefully they’d have a great turnout at the recital.

  Still, even though she was glad of the sun, Jenna wasn’t quite ready to get out of bed yet. She dimly remembered late-night bonus rounds of Friendtastic and endless sodas. The girls hadn’t gone to sleep until way too late.

  She slipped out of her bed, careful not to step on any of her friends. She made her way to the window, ready to pull the curtains for a little more sleep. But when she reached the window, she froze.

  One hand grasped a curtain; the other gripped her windowsill. She stood transfixed at the sight. Only after a minute of astonishment did it all come crashing down on her.

  No wonder the room was so bright. The sunlight was reflected over and over again in the blanket of white outside her window.

  Somehow, she had to throw a recital in the middle of what looked to be a foot of snow.

  Chapter 11

  “Wake up!” Jenna yelled.

  Pam sat straight up, knocking her pillow sideways. It landed on Mary’s face. “Huh… what?”

  “Why is it so dark?” came Mary’s voice from under the pillow. Rita just snored on.

  “It snowed. Outside. Here. It actually snowed.”

  “Go back to sleep,” murmured Rita.

  “Oh, my gosh, what are we going to do?” Jenna stared out the window, unable to fully process what she saw. “It’s never snowed here. Not for real.”

  “Are you being serious?” asked Pam. She crawled out of her sleeping bag and over to the window. Her eyes widened as they crested the windowsill. “Golly.”

  “I think we need a much stronger word than ‘golly.’”

  “Fair enough.”

  Mary and Rita joined them groggily. “What are you going on about?” asked Mary. “Why are we already up? And – Oh, my Lord, it snowed!”

  Rita’s mouth fell open.

  All four girls turned with one mind and tore out of the room. They passed Jenna’s mother in the hallway.

  “I take it you saw,” said Jenna’s mom. “Isn’t it exciting?”
r />   They ran past her without a word and went straight out the front door.

  It only took one step outside for Jenna’s toes to hit the snow. The freezing crystals stung her skin, her ears picking up the quiet crunch that came with each step.

  An unusual quiet lay over her neighborhood. The morning sun glinted off the undisturbed drifts, though a few areas bore the footprints of some neighborhood children who had already jumped into playing.

  “So this is snow,” said Pam.

  “Brr,” said Rita. “It’s freezing out here.”

  “What are we going to do?” asked Jenna. “The recital’s today!”

  Mary grabbed her arm and gently tugged her back toward the door. “Let’s start by going inside. This snow thing is new to me, but I don’t think we should be out here without shoes.”

  “The recital…” continued Jenna in a daze.

  “I think she’s going into shock,” said Pam.

  “I’m going into shock,” said Rita. “My feet are icy.”

  The girls bustled back inside, Mary dragging Jenna behind her. They gathered around the kitchen table.

  “I guess my hip-hop class is cancelled,” said Jenna. “And the rest of my life.” She dropped her head onto the table. “Well, guys, this is it. Thanks everybody for all of your help, but the universe is against me.” She shook her head. “Honestly, the first snow day in probably 50 years, and it had to be today. It’s a sign.”

  “Could we put the recital off for another week?” asked Pam.

  “I’m out of time. My dance tuition will be due before then.”

  “It’s ok, Jen,” said Rita. “We’ll still get people there.”

  “Who’s going to come to a recital today? Every kid will be out playing in the snow. And if they aren’t, they’ll be curled up in their warm living rooms with slippers on.”

  “And, not to be a downer,” said Pam, “but who knows what shape the pavilion's in right now anyways? We can’t exactly send Eva and Ella out to dance on a snowy stage.”

  “I don’t think Mrs. Ryley would like that,” said Mary.

  “Morning, girls.” Jenna’s dad entered the kitchen. “Isn’t this amazing? We haven’t had real snow in this area since I was a boy! Who’s up for a winter walk?”

  The girls looked at him blankly.

  “Ok,” he said slowly. “So, you are not in the mood for a walk. I’ll give you ladies some time to wake up, shall I?”

  “Please,” said Jenna. “Hey, where’s Steven?”

  “Out shoveling snow, if you can believe it. That club of his started getting calls first thing this morning. He and Edward commandeered my garden shovels and went out to work on people’s driveways and sidewalks.” He shook his head. “That kid’s going to make a fortune today.” He left the room.

  “At least this is working out for one of us,” said Jenna, She dropped her head back down. “I’ll never pay my tuition now, but maybe I can bum a few bucks off Steven and go see a movie about dancers. That’s practically the same thing, right? Maybe Eleanor Finley will visit the Russian ballet or something.”

  The girls sat in silence, the only sound in the room the steaming of the coffeemaker. Jenna had never felt so depressed.

  “You know, for a while, I really thought we were going to pull it off.” Her voice broke, and she fell quiet.

  All the girls jumped when a phone went off.

  “That’s me,” said Mary. “Sorry.” She pulled her phone out. “It’s a text from Mrs. Ryley. She wants to know if the girls will still be dancing today.”

  “Tell them to go play in the snow,” said Jenna.

  Mary looked up from her phone and hesitated. “No.”

  “No? What do you mean?”

  “I can’t do it. I can’t let you just give up.”

  Pam sat up. “Oh, good, are we moving into the pep talk portion?”

  “Sounds like it,” said Rita.

  “No,” said Jenna. “We’re not. This is it, guys. I give up. I’m beaten.”

  “You’re not beaten,” said Pam. “Jenna Marlow is never beaten.”

  “But…” Jenna shrugged helplessly. “You guys know all the things standing in our way today. We’ll never get people there. It’s too cold. We can’t make the little girls dance in the snow.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” said Rita.

  “That’s right,” said Mary. She started to type on her phone. “I’m telling Mrs. Ryley that everything’s a go.”

  Rita met Jenna’s bleak expression. “Relax.” She put a hand on her shoulder. “We can do this.”

  One hour later, the kitchen table had been transformed into command central.

  All of the girls were dressed. Jenna wrapped up in her warmest sweatshirt and fleece pants. She didn’t own snow boots, but she packed some warm wool socks into her rain boots. Hopefully that would be enough to keep the snow at bay.

  Jenna put her phone down. “Why is Steven not picking up?”

  “He’s probably just in the middle of a job,” said Pam.

  “You could always try Edward,” said Mary with a grin.

  “I don’t have his number.”

  “Who’s number?” asked Jenna’s mother, who had just entered the room.

  “Edward’s,” Jenna said, trying not to blush. “I’m looking for Steven.”

  “I’ve got his number, dear. Let me grab my phone.”

  As her mother read off the number, Jenna saw no choice but to dial. She tried to keep her voice easy and nonchalant when Edward picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Edward? It’s me, uh, Jenna.” She watched her mom leave the room.

  Edward sounded surprised, but not unpleasantly so. “Hi, Jenna. What’s up?”

  “I’m trying to find Steven. Are you guys together?”

  “Sure. Hold on a sec. I’ll get him.”

  Jenna heard the boys’ muffled voices as she tried to ignore the expressive looks coming her way from her friends. “Stop it.” she mouthed.

  “Young Men At Work President, Steven speaking.”

  “Oh, brother.”

  “Yes, I am your brother. What do you want? I’m very busy.”

  “Steven, this may be hard to believe, but I would like to hire yu-maw.”

  “Say it right.”

  Jenna groaned. “Fine. Y.M.A.W.”

  “Excellent. What’s the job?”

  “I need you to clear off the pavilion by the playground. All snow has to be gone by two o’clock this afternoon so I can have the recital.”

  “I don’t know, sis. We’ve got a pretty big workload at the moment. What? Hold on.” Jenna heard him put the phone down and carry on a short muffled conversation with Edward. He came back on the line. “Ok, lucky for you, my number two has informed me that we can fit you in.”

  “Edward did?”

  “Yep. Hold on.” More conversation. Steven returned to the call with a groan that echoed in Jenna’s ears. “He has also informed me that we will do the job for free.”

  “Oh, my gosh.” Jenna felt a rush of pleasure. “Really?”

  “I guess so.”

  “That’s really nice of him. I mean, of you both.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m going to go before Edward signs us up for any more freebies.”

  Jenna could hear Edward laugh in the background. She hung up the phone and grinned at her friends. “Snow removal is a go.”

  “Great,” said Mary. “And don’t think that I won’t be getting details later about that lovesick look on your face. But for right now, Rita and I are going recruiting.” She tugged down on her jacket which she’d stretched over three different shirts. Her tiny frame had transformed into a marshmallow balanced on top of two sticks.

  Rita pulled her hair up and shoved it under a sock cap. “We figure that kids will all be out playing in the snow this morning, but, by this afternoon, they’ll be pooped. And ready to sit and watch a recital surrounded by a winter wonderland.”

  “Exactly,” said Mary. �
��So now we’re going to make the rounds and remind everyone to come.”

  “You guys,” said Jenna. “You really are the best.”

  Rita waved her hand. “No big.”

  “Besides,” added Mary, “Eva and Ella have been really looking forward to today. I’ll never hear the end of it if they don’t get to perform.”

  The two girls bustled out the door, leaving a blast of cold air behind them in the warm room.

  Jenna rubbed her hands together and turned back to the table. “What’s next?”

  “I’ve been thinking about Eva and Ella,” said Pam.

  “What about them?”

  “I don’t think we can make them dance in their little tutus. It’s just too cold. I mean, they’re only five.”

  Jenna hadn’t actually considered that, and now she felt guilty for overlooking such an obvious problem.

  “What do you think we should do?”

  “I’ve got an idea. Remember a couple of years ago when we did that snowflake dance?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “Do you remember our costumes?”

  Jenna wracked her memory. “Oh, yeah. The leg warmers and matching hats.”

  “I think I still have mine somewhere. It’ll be a little big on the girls, but it’s better than nothing. Do you think you can find yours?”

  “I can try. That’s a great idea, Pam.”

  “Thanks. I’ll run home and look for my costume. I’ll report back soon.”

  Jenna shook her head in wonder as Pam left. Honestly, where would she be without the help of her friends? And how would she ever repay them?

  Later that morning, Jenna emerged from the back of her closet holding the coveted costume.

  “Yes!” Her nose itched from the dust, but she could work around that.

  She texted Pam, Found it!

  Me, too! Pam wrote back.

  Jenna ran downstairs for a quick snack before getting back to work. Munching on a cheese stick, she ran through a mental list. What all did she have left to do?

  Rita was finishing up the neighborhood rounds. Pam would be back with her costume any minute. And Mary was off to pick up the speakers from Brandon. Things were under control.

  Just then, her phone rang. Jenna glanced at the screen but didn’t recognize the number.