Melinda’s Story
Eventually, Diego went in search of his girlfriend, who had found us boring and wandered away. I turned to Pat.
“Uh, where’s the restroom?”
He put an arm around me. “I’ll go with you.”
I smirked as he led me back toward the house. “I don’t think we’ve reached that stage of our relationship yet, cowboy.”
Pat shook his head.
I winced. “Totally doesn’t work.”
Pat kissed the top of my head before opening the glass door for me. “It was a good try, though.”
There were more people in this room than when I had first arrived. As we wove through all the bodies, Pat took my hand. I squeezed it tightly. I was afraid of losing him.
The bathroom was in the back corner of the room. Pat waited for me just outside the door. When I emerged, he was talking to someone I recognized.
“Lily? What are you doing here?”
She frowned as she looked me up and down, shrieking when she recognized me. “Roomie! I totally didn’t recognize you. I love that hair!”
“Thanks.”
Lily pointed to Pat. “I was just telling Patrick that Bianca Garrett is my floormate at school. She invited me, but I lost her somewhere in this crowd.” She glanced around, biting her lip as she turned back to me. “So, is it just you two, or is Wally here?”
Pat shrugged. “He’s somewhere. Not sure where. Haven’t seen him much tonight.”
Instinctively, I glanced at where I had last seen him. He hadn’t moved. He was still sitting with two guys on the floor in the corner of the room. Walter looked alert, but the two guys with him seemed a little dazed.
When I gestured to him, Lily glanced in that direction before turning back to me with a smile. “Oh, yay. I’m going to go say hi. Come with?”
I bit my lip. “Uh, I’m not feeling so great. All this smoke.” I made a circle above my head. “I’m going to head back outside.”
Lily nodded. “Okay. We’ll meet you out there.”
As she bounded across the room, Pat narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you and my brother fighting?”
I inclined my head to the door. “I really need some air.”
Pat didn’t drop the subject. As soon as the glass door closed behind us, he asked again. “What happened with you and Walter?”
Sighing, I tried to shrug him off. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I just don’t really feel like I know anything about him anymore.”
“Yoo-hoo! Patrick!”
We both turned to the voice. Natasha Winters was waving two fingers as she clomped toward us in ultra-high heels. Her smile was a little too sweet for me, but I gritted my teeth and let Pat do all the talking.
He frowned at her. “Hi, Natasha.”
She beamed. “Long time no see. I thought our auditions today were incredible. Maybe we’ll get to work together again.”
Pat didn’t look happy about the idea. “Yeah. Maybe. Oh, look.” He pointed to a large crowd inside the house. “Tony’s calling me. I’ll talk to you later, Natasha.”
Grabbing my hand, Pat dragged me to another area of the pool deck. I smirked. “Avoiding exes, are we?”
“Just the crazy ones.”
“Which is all of them.” I frowned. “What’s that say about me?”
Pat smirked, pulling me close. “That you’re a thousand times better and saner than the rest of them. You still didn’t tell me what’s going on with you and my brother.”
I sighed but didn’t answer. Walter was walking toward us, his arm around Lily. I nodded in their direction.
Pat put his arm around me, drawing me close and whispering in my ear. “They look good together.”
Lily approached with a wave. “Hey, you two. How’s it going?”
Walter sent me a hesitant look. “Melinda? Can we talk?”
Although he didn’t say it, I could practically hear him pleading please. He looked hurt. I couldn’t be mad at him. I gave Pat a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll be back in a little while. Try not to talk to any more exes.” I took a step closer to Walter, gesturing to some nearby deck chairs.
Nodding, he followed me. We sat on the edges of two neighboring chairs, facing each other so we were only inches apart. He sent me a pleading look. “I’m not really sure why you’re so upset with me.”
I sighed. “I met a lot of people tonight. Know what I heard multiple times? That the people who stay inside are the ones getting high. Or in the bedroom.”
“Not seeing your point.”
I pursed my lips. “I could see you most of the night. Didn’t look like you were in the back room.”
Walter’s voice turned angry. “Are you accusing me of something?”
I sighed. “I’m just trying to understand. Right now, I feel like I know nothing about you.”
“I’m sober. Like I always am.”
“Then why were you inside all night?”
“Because my friends were in there. I’ve barely spoken to them in six months. I wanted to spend some time catching up with them. Unfortunately, that means watching them get high. But they don’t pressure me to join them.”
“But you said Benny—”
Walter shook his head. “That was a long time ago. And it was just that once. I promise. I don’t do that stuff.”
I nodded. “I believe you.”
He sent me a hesitant look. “We good now?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
Walter shrugged. “Me, too.”
He got to his feet, opening his arms. I stood, giving him a tight hug. I wasn’t sure what to make of Wally, but at the moment, I knew I had been talking to Walter. And he was still my best friend.
Pat and I spent the rest of the night with Walter and Lily. We danced a little by the pool. We grabbed refreshments from the upper deck, where the adults were partying. But mostly we made small talk with the random people who passed us.
Pat and Walter knew many people. They were invited to more parties over the next few days. They seemed ecstatic to reconnect with their old friends.
Around midnight, Lily’s phone beeped, and she checked the readout. “My mom is looking for me. I better go.”
Walter took her hand. “I’ll walk you to the car.”
Lily smiled. “Oh, that would be great. She said she’s going to wait for me outside the gate.”
As they left, Pat turned to me, tucking a hair behind my ear. “I feel like we haven’t been alone all night.”
I smiled. “I know. But I don’t mind. I had fun meeting all your friends.”
Pat’s phone started singing “She Bugs Me.” I raised my eyebrows. “Why’s your mom calling you?”
He shrugged. “No idea.” Swiping, he held the phone to his ear. “Hello? . . . Yeah, we’re by the pool . . . Yeah, okay . . . Yeah, he gave me the keys already . . . I’ll tell him. Be there in a sec.”
Ending the call, he shoved the phone in his pocket and grabbed my hand. “Mom says it’s time to go.”
I shrugged. “Okay. Should we text Walter?”
Pat waved a dismissive hand. “If we don’t find him on our way, I will.”
It took a while to leave. Pat had to say goodbye to a lot of people. Eventually, though, we were walking along the long driveway. I squeezed his hand.
“Did I overhear you tell your mom you have the keys?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Dad knew he’d probably be drinking, so he passed them to me when we got here.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Does that mean he’s sitting in the backseat with me and Walter?”
Pat laughed. “Tell you what. Why don’t you sit shotgun? Let Mom and Dad both squeeze with Walter.”
I laughed all the way to the car. Walter was passing it as we reached it. He sent Pat a disapproving look, though his tone was one of amusement.
“Whatcha up to?”
Pat sneered. “Mom wants to leave. Told her we’d meet her here.”
Walter smirked. “Oh. Then you guys won’t mind if I stay? No sense in going back to the party if we’re leaving.”
I could tell he didn’t believe his brother. Rolling my eyes, I opened the front passenger door as Pat smacked his brother.
“Doofus. Get in the car.”
Walter frowned. “Why does Melinda get to sit in front?”
“Because I’m driving. Now get in.”
After closing the door behind me, I turned around to face Walter. “So, what’s going on with you and Lily?”
He shrugged. “Nothing. We’re friends.”
I smirked. “You and I are friends. You don’t kiss me goodnight.”
“How’d you know I—”
I laughed. “You just told me.”
Walter called me a very insulting name, but he was smiling, so I didn’t think he meant it.
I shook my head. “So, we’re here for another week. You gonna see her again?”
“As a matter of fact, I am. You two are forcing me to go on that stupid nature hike this weekend. So I invited her to come along.”
I smiled. “Ooh. Yay. I can ask her about what happened when you walked her to the car.”
Walter smirked. “Trust me. You don’t want to know the details.”
Melinda’s Journal
Friday, March 9
I feel like tonight I finally met Patrick and Wally McGregor. Watching them interact with their LA friends showed me a new side of them.
Pat seemed more relaxed around his friends, even more so than when we’re hanging out with our friends at school. He joked around with them and seemed to have a lot of fun. It made him even more fun to be around.
Walter was almost the opposite. He was more subdued, observing rather than engaging in conversations. He wasn’t the playful friend I see when we’re alone together.
For the first time, I feel like I’m finally getting to know my friends. Unfortunately, I’m no closer to finding a nickname for Pat.
Pat’s Story
For nearly an hour, Melinda named songs. After I found them on my phone, Diego would recreate the music with his voice while Melinda danced. Zelda declared she wasn’t having any fun and went to find some better company elsewhere. I enjoyed watching my girlfriend. I loved that she was getting along so well with my friends.
When Diego decided he had better find his girlfriend, Melinda turned to me. “Uh, where’s the restroom?”
Unfortunately, inside. I drew Melinda close. “I’ll go with you.”
She giggled. “I don’t think we’ve reached that stage of our relationship yet, cowboy.”
I shook my head, but I knew she had heard it, too.
She made a face. “Totally doesn’t work.”
“It was a good untry, though.” I kissed the top of her head to applaud her effort before opening the door.
The room stank of alcohol and weed and bodies. There were entirely too many people crammed into this space. A lot of them solved the problem by sitting in each other’s laps. I was seeing way more skin than I should have been. It made me very uncomfortable.
And I was deathly afraid of losing my girlfriend. Grabbing her hand, I led her to the bathroom in the back of the room, praying there wasn’t a line. Thankfully, it was empty. I stood guard while she went inside.
“Patrick McGregor!”
It took a moment for me to place the girl who had magically appeared beside me. I smiled when I recognized my costar’s sister.
“Lily King!” I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?”
She shook her head. “A little lost. I was with Bianca Garrett, but I lost her.”
I raised my eyebrows. “When you say with, you mean?”
She hit me with a smile. “Bianca’s my floormate. She invited me tonight. She was introducing me to people, but I think she’s off giving some guy a tour of the house.”
I knew what Lily was trying to tell me. And I wasn’t surprised. Bianca had been sleeping around for a couple of years now.
Before I could say anything, though, Melinda emerged from the bathroom. “Lily? What are you doing here?”
I could tell from Lily’s confused expression that she had trouble recognizing Mae as Melinda. But eventually, she let out that girly high-pitched squeal.
“Roomie! I totally didn’t recognize you. I love that hair!”
“Thanks.”
Lily pointed to me. “I was just telling Patrick that Bianca Garrett is my floormate at school. She invited me, but I lost her somewhere in this crowd.” She glanced around, biting her lip as she turned back to Melinda. “So, is it just you two, or is Wally here?”
I shrugged. “He’s somewhere. Not sure where. Haven’t seen him much tonight.”
Melinda must have, though. She pointed to him sitting in the corner with Benny and Luca. My brother seemed sober, but his friends obviously weren’t. That surprised me. I hadn’t even thought the three of them knew about this room.
When Lily suggested we go bug my brother, Melinda bit her lip. “Uh, I’m not feeling so great. All this smoke.”
She made a circle above her head, trying to emphasize her point, but I knew her too well. She wasn’t telling the truth.
I waited for Lily to leave before calling her out on it. “Are you and my brother fighting?” It was difficult to fathom. I couldn’t remember them ever arguing before.
She nodded to the door. “I really need some air.”
I followed her through the room, but as soon as we were outside, I tried again. “What happened with you and Walter?”
She sighed. “I really don’t want to talk about it. I just don’t really feel like I know anything about him anymore.”
“Yoo-hoo! Patrick!”
Groaning to myself, I turned. Natasha really had the worst possible timing. I tried to keep my tone as unenthusiastic as possible.
“Hi, Natasha.”
She smiled. “Long time, no see. I thought our auditions today were incredible. Maybe we’ll get to work together again.”
The thought made me sick. “Yeah. Maybe. Oh, look.” I pointed back into the house. “Tony’s calling me. I’ll talk to you later, Natasha.”
I grabbed Melinda’s hand, leading her toward the house in case Natasha was watching. At the last moment, however, I veered to the side of the pool.
Melinda smirked. “Avoiding exes, are we?”
“Just the crazy ones.”
“Which is all of them.” She pouted. “What’s that say about me?”
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close. “That you’re a thousand times better and saner than the rest of them. You still didn’t tell me what’s going on with you and my brother.”
Instead of answering me, Melinda simply nodded behind me. When I turned, I saw Walter approaching with his arm around Lily.
Releasing Melinda, I whispered in her ear. “They look good together.”
Lily waved as she approached. “Hey, you two. How’s it going?”
Walter glanced at my girlfriend. “Melinda? Can we talk?”
He sounded pathetic. Something had definitely happened.
Melinda kissed my cheek. “I’ll be back in a little while. Try not to talk to any more exes.”
I made a face, but she didn’t see me. She and Walter were already heading to the deck chairs.
And I was alone with Lily. She was my brother’s crush, but it didn’t look like he needed me to put in a good word for him. Before I could think of something to say, she broke the silence.
“So, I’ve been living in LA for five years, and this is my first time at a party like this. Are they always this crazy?”
I shrugged. “This isn’t so bad. The people who live in Malibu beach houses? Those are the wild parties.”
She laughed. “Yeah. I think I’ll pass. I mean, I’m having fun and all, but to be honest, I think I’d rather be home watching NeoGenesis right now.”
I had forgotten she was a shunkhead. While we waited for Melinda and Walter, we discussed some of last week’s episode and what we thought might have happened on tonight’s episode.
When my girlfriend and brother returned, they were smiling. I still had no idea what they had been fighting about, but one thing was clear. They were friends again and we could enjoy the rest of the night together.
When Lily’s ride arrived around midnight, my brother walked her to the gate. Finally alone with my girlfriend, I took Melinda in my arms.
“I feel like we haven’t been alone all night.”
She smiled. “I know. But I don’t mind. I had fun meeting all your friends.”
Before I could kiss her, my phone started singing “She Bugs Me.”
Melinda sent me a curious look. “Why’s your mom calling you?”
“No idea.” But I knew I couldn’t ignore her. “Hello?”
“Hi Munchkin. Is Mel—I mean, Mae—with you?”
“Yeah. We’re by the pool.” I shook my head. Where else would Melinda be but at my side?
“Fantashtick. Dad and I are ready to go home. I have to be on shet tomorrow.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Dad is in no condition to drive. Can you?”
She didn’t sound that much better. But I kept my comments to myself. “Yeah. He gave me the keys already.”
“Fatashthick. We’ll meet you at the car. Oh, is Bubba with you?”
I smirked. “I’ll tell him. Be there in a sec.” I turned to Melinda as I stowed my phone. “Mom says it’s time to go.”
She shrugged. “Okay. Should we text Walter?”
I had a feeling he was still saying goodnight to Lily, and I didn’t want to disturb him. “If we don’t find him on our way, I will.”
Even though Mom had said she wanted to leave, I knew she wasn’t pacing beside the car. Leaving a party like this required patience. I had to say goodbye to literally every person I passed on my way to the front door. I was pretty sure my parents were doing the same upstairs.
Eventually, though, Melinda and I reached the car. Walter was nearby, heading back to the party. He frowned at me, although his tone wasn’t quite as disapproving.
“Whatcha up to?”
I knew what he was thinking. I made a face. “Mom wants to leave. Told her we’d meet her here.”
I could tell my brother didn’t believe me. “Oh. Then you guys won’t mind if I stay? No sense in going back to the party if we’re leaving.”
As Melinda climbed into the car, I hit Walter. “Doofus. Get in the car.”
Walter frowned. “Why does Melinda get to sit in front?”
“Because I’m driving. Now get in.”
“So, what happened to you last night?” I asked my brother as we hit our stride during our Saturday morning run.
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t see you for hours. Then I found you inside.”
He groaned. “You’re not going to lecture me, too, are you?”
“Who lectured you?”
He smirked. “Do you not talk to your girlfriend?”
“Not about you. Wait. Is that why you were fighting last night?”
He nodded. “Sort of. But it’s not what you think. I haven’t seen Benny and Luca in almost a year. They . . . They’re not great at texting me back.”
“They ghosting you?”
“Nah. They’re just usually too high to remember to reply.”
I was a little taken aback. “Since when?”
Walter laughed. “Seriously, man? Benny’s been growing his own weed for years. Luca taught him how.”
“How did I not know this?”
Walter shrugged. “You never asked. And it’s been a while since you’ve hung out with me at one of these things.”
I found that comment a little offensive. “That’s not true! Last time we were here, we went to that party at the Morgans. I hung out with you there.”
Walter smirked. “No. You went upstairs with Poppy.”
I shuddered. “We did not go upstairs. We went to the garden. Where I broke up with her. You know that.”
Walter shook his head. “My point is, last night was the first time you really included me in your circle of friends.”
I considered that for a moment. I hated to admit that he was right. Even when we were the tweens in the pool, I never let Walter play with me and my friends.
I shrugged. “You’re not a kid anymore.”
“Meaning you’re not embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“Yeah, I guess. But, there’s one thing I don’t get. If your friends are too high to make time with you, why are you still friends with them?”
Walter sighed. “Chloe was pretty, well, not nice last term. But you still talked her off a wall. Now you’re friends again.”
“That’s not exactly the same thing.”
“Isn’t it? Last night, I spent the first half of the party listening to my friends. Reminding them I’m still here. So if they ever decide to get clean, they’ll remember I’m still there to listen.”
I nodded. “Makes sense. I guess. How did our friends get so messed up?”
Walter raised his eyebrows. “Have you met their parents?”
I had to laugh.
Mom was making coffee when Walter and I finished our run. I gave her a big hug.
She patted my back. “This is unexpected.”
I stepped back with a smile. “Thank you for being normal.”
“You’re welcome?”
I sighed. “Some of my friends last night? I never saw them. They were too busy getting high. Walter and I? We figure that’s because their parents messed them up. But you and Dad? You helped us stay normal. So, thank you.”
Mom looked like she didn’t know what to say. I left her speechless as I headed for the shower.
Attention Hammerheads
Melinda is always trying to build her vocabulary. What were some words in this episode that were new to you? She will add them to her vocabulary journal.
Hartfield Chronicles 