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3

The Highs and Lows of Celebration Pizza

Hey, Mrs. Carter, is Rachel around?” I say into the phone.

“Well, she is supposed to be in her room doing her homework, but you know Rachel.”

So, I told you Rachel is smart, but the weird thing is she hates pretty much everything to do with school, especially homework. Her mom is always on her case about this. I guess it makes sense though since her mom is a teacher, well actually a university professor. She teaches holistic nutrition, which, according to Rachel, just means she teaches people how to be completely obsessed with organic food. Rachel’s dad is a pediatric surgeon. So, it’s not surprising that Rachel’s IQ is like over 140, not that she seems to care. This is the one thing I don’t get about Rachel. I’d love to be smart like that. I know it drives them crazy when she goofs off, which I hope she’s not doing now, but I know she probably is.

“Rachel Lynn Carter!” I hear her mom bellow. “Turn the music down! What are you doing?”

I hear Rachel mumble something in the background. She’s probably doing a Josh portrait again. She’s super talented, and she should be; she gets lots of practice. I think every girl in our class has at least one of her Josh Taylor sketches.

“What’s up?” she says, with a sigh.

I can tell by her voice that I was right; she’s in trouble again, but right now I’ve got much more important things on my mind.

“You are not going to believe what I am about to tell you!” I squeal.

“What?”

“It’s the best news!”

“What!”

“Oh, you are going to be so excited!”

“What is it?”

“Well, how would you like to see …”

“Wait …” she cuts me off in midsentence. “My mother is freaking! I have to go. Call you later.”

Then there’s a click and a dial tone.

This is beyond terrible on so many levels. I didn’t get to tell her about Josh, and she didn’t get to help me with my plan!

Suddenly, as if by magic, the phone rings. Thank god!

“Hey!” I say anxiously. “Wow, that was fast! So, like I was saying, how would you like to see …”

“Hannah, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, Dad … it’s you.”

“You were expecting someone else?”

“Yeah, Rachel.”

“Well, never mind about that now,” he says. “Tell your mom I’m bringing home pizza and I’ve got some exciting news.”

Hmmm … pizza … exciting news? What a coincidence! We both have exciting news today. Unless his exciting news and my exciting news are the same exciting news! It must be! I mean what else could it be? I bet Mom felt bad and called him, or maybe he heard it on the radio. Well, one thing is for sure, he wants to surprise me and he’s bringing home pizza to celebrate! My dad is so cool!

“Tell me now! I can’t wait until you get home,” I squeal.

“You’re just going to have to wait, but it will be worth it. I promise!” I can hear the smile in his voice.

Well, that’s proof enough for me; Josh Taylor here I come!

I’m going crazy waiting for Rachel to call, which hopefully will be soon. I mean this is way too exciting to keep to myself!

About fifteen minutes later, Dad arrives home with our “celebration pizza.”

“Hi, honey,” he says, smiling as he puts the box down on the counter.

“Hi, Dad. I can’t wait to hear your news!” I say, beaming. His smile gets even wider and he throws me a wink. A wink! You know what that means …

At the table, even though I’m sure I know what’s coming, I’m still sitting on pins and needles, barely tasting my supper, waiting to hear those words: Sweet Hannah, we’re taking you to the Josh Taylor concert!

And then I’ll say (for Mom’s benefit), But Dad, I can’t go to the concert. I have no money to buy a ticket.

Then Dad will say, Oh darling, you don’t need money. We want to take you because we know you are Josh Taylor’s biggest fan!

And then I’ll look into my mother’s eyes and she’ll see how happy I am, and she’ll look into my father’s eyes and see how happy he is, and then she’ll reach across the table and take our hands in hers, smile, and say, Okay you can go to the concert and we will totally pay.

“Hannah, lift up your glass, your dad is making a toast!” Mom frowns.

“What … now?” I stammer. Oh, here it comes! I can hardly wait! Okay, pretend to look surprised.

I lift my glass of Coke and Dad starts, “Today I learned some very exciting news. I think you’re going to be very …”

Just then the phone rings. Mom gets up.

“Hannah, it’s Rachel.” She gestures for me to make it quick.

“Hi,” Rachel whispers, “tell me what’s going on, but do it fast ’cause if Mom catches me on the phone, I’m dead.”

“Hi,” I say quickly, “I can’t talk now because we’re eating supper! I’ll call you back later!” I slam down the phone and rush back to my seat at the table. “Okay, Dad, as you were saying?”

“Okay,” he says, raising his eyebrow. “This afternoon I got some wonderful news. Actually, it’s great news for all of us! I just found out I’m getting a big promotion at work.”

“But Dad, I can’t go to the concert. I have no money to buy a ticket,” I say with a sigh.

Dad shakes his head. “Hannah, what are you talking about?”

“You just said you were taking us to the Josh Taylor concert, and I said I don’t have money for a ticket.” I glance over at my mom, who is frowning.

“I didn’t say anything about a concert.” He looks confused.

“You didn’t? I’m sure you just said you were taking us to the concert. Didn’t you?”

“No, Hannah, I said I got a big promotion at work.”

“Promotion?” I repeat dumbly.

“Yes, promotion! This is my exciting news! This is what I’ve been trying to tell you!” His face is beaming. “Today I got a promotion.”

You know when you’re in a soccer game and you’re right beside the net, the ball is speeding toward you, and you’ve got a clear shot to score the winning goal, but instead the ball slams you right in the gut …

No one seems to notice that I’m in a state of shock. Why would they care? They have exciting news to talk about. What’s so exciting about a stupid promotion anyway? I mean a promotion is just … well, a better job and more money and … wait a second … I think I may have possibly found a silver lining to this grey cloud of information.

“Hey, Dad,” I say, flashing a big smile, “congratulations on your promotion. So I guess that means you’re going to be making, like, tons of more money, right?”

He smiles back. “Well Hannah, it means a lot of things, and yes, a nice boost to my salary is one of them. It also means that there’s going to be a few changes around here. I’ll be working a lot and so I won’t be home as much as I am now. Your mother is going to need you to help out more.” He reaches over to give my mom’s hand a squeeze. For some reason she isn’t smiling back. Weird … you’d think she’d be crazy happy about a nice fat paycheque! Instead, she gets up and starts clearing the table.

“So, Dad,” I say in my sweetest voice, “I heard some exciting news today, too. Josh Taylor is coming to Glen Haven. Isn’t that exciting?”

“I’m sure it is for you, Hannah,” he says.

“Yeah, so I really want to go to his concert,” I blurt out.

“That’s nice,” he replies, totally not taking the bait.

“Well, Dad, with your new raise and everything, do you think you’d have enough money to buy me a ticket?” I half whisper.

“Yeah, I think I could manage that,” he whispers back, smiling.

“Really! You could manage it?” I say in a hushed squeal.

He nods. “Yup, I think I can definitely manage it.”

Wow, that was easy! He said yes! It’s totally official! I am going to see Josh Taylor, live in concert, breathing the same air and …

“Manage what?” says my mother from across the kitchen.

I shove a piece of pizza in my mouth.

“Hannah just asked me …” Dad starts.

“Mmmmm,” I say loudly, with my mouth full, “this pizza is so good!”

My mother’s eyes narrow. “Hannah, what did you ask your father?”

“Oh, Mom,” I scold her, “this is Dad’s night, not mine. Let’s not talk about me.”

“Hannah, I know what’s going on here,” she says, frowning, “and it’s not going to happen.”

Great, and just like that another soccer ball slams me right in the gut.

My stomach hurts.