Page 80 of My Life with the Walter Boys
I gritted my teeth and held back my response. When I finally made it to the top, I quietly hauled myself over the railing. The sliding glass door to the balcony had a curtain covering it, but my heart started to pound. I felt like everyone inside the house could see and hear me moving around, so I rapidly started to throw the white paper everywhere.
“Make sure you weave it in and out of the railing,” I heard Cole call up to me.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered to myself. If he was going to be so demanding, he should have come up here and done it himself.
“Jackie? Did you hear me? Do the railing.”
Glancing back down, I saluted him mockingly.
After wrapping the railing, I moved back to admire my handiwork. As I did, I tripped over the extra roll of toilet paper and fell back into the balcony door. I scrambled back up to my feet as my heart leaped in my chest. I held my breath from a moment, waiting to see if anyone had heard me. Principal McHale was probably inside right now, a few feet away sleeping.
When nothing happened, I let the air hiss out of my lungs, but it was too soon. A siren filled the night air and my eyes bulged. The house had a burglar alarm. For a moment I was frozen still, until I heard yelling on the lawn.
“What the hell, Cole?” Lee shouted. “What is she doing up there?”
“Jackie! Get down!” Alex yelled over the sound of the alarm. It helped unfreeze my mind, and I quickly vaulted over the balcony railing and onto the rose trellis.
“Come on, faster,” someone shouted.
I was almost to the ground when I heard a rip. My sweater was caught on the trellis by the sleeve.
“Jackie, we need to go now!” Isaac said.
“I can’t. I’m stuck!” I cried, trying to pull my sleeve away.
“Who’s out there?” a deep voice called from the patio door.
“Just take it off,” Alex said.
I tried to shrug out of it, but I was shaking too hard. Suddenly Cole was by my side, and he yanked me from the fabric.
“Come on,” he said, jumping down to the ground.
“But my sweater,” I said turning back to the rose trellis. “It’s still stuck.”
“Leave it. I’ll buy you a new one.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the cover of the trees.
“Damn kids!” someone yelled into the night.
Everyone ran as fast as they could back to the truck. When we got there, I was gasping for air.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Alex demanded and shoved Cole into the side of the truck. “You did that on purpose. You wanted her to get caught, didn’t you?”
“But she didn’t get caught, did she?” Cole asked. There was a smug smile on his face.
“She shouldn’t have been up there in the first place!” Alex yelled. “Just because you’re jealous doesn’t mean—”
“Wait!” I said, cutting them off. I could feel my heart sinking. “You don’t normally toilet-paper the balcony?”
“Are you crazy?” Isaac said as Danny shook his head. “That’s insane. We don’t want to get caught.”
But I wasn’t really listening to him. My eyes were on Cole, watching the way he reacted. His forehead was bunched together in a frown as if he thought everyone was blowing the situation out of proportion.
“Why would you lie to me?” I asked him. I spoke softly and slowly to keep my voice from cracking. But it didn’t matter—my question was filled with the ring of betrayal. If Principal McHale had seen me, it could have been the end to my Princeton dream and everything that followed after. Cole knew the importance I placed on school and my future, yet he purposely jeopardized it. I could feel the anger building up inside my chest, but then I made a terrifying realization. Tonight, I risked my future just as much as Cole did. Nobody forced me up the trellis. I climbed up all on my own. What had gotten into me lately? Never in my life had I ever been so reckless.
Cole crossed his arms. “It was just a joke,” he said. “Stop acting like someone died.”
Beside me, I heard Danny gasp. I didn’t turn to see the other boys’ reactions—I was focused on Cole, searching his icy gaze to see if he’d purposely meant what he said. How could he be so insensitive?
