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shoulders.
    “I’m serious. That’s what he said.”
    Kat spun a full circle, pivoting her Mary Jane’s on the concrete. “Adorable? W-o-w.” She let out this squeal that was nearly at dog whistle decibels. Jackson wished that it had been only the dogs that heard it. His ears would be ringing for at least an hour.
    Her eyebrows raised and she gasped. “Then he was asking me out.” And then she groaned. Her eyebrows furrowed. “Cr-ap.”
    Jackson was a little delighted in her torment. Whatever it was. She was upset about something that had to do with Ben. That was good. “Was he too forward?”
    “No.”
    “Arrogant?”  
    “No.” Kat grabbed her head like it ached. “I just didn’t realize ...” she grabbed Jackson by the arm, “I thought it was just a hang out thing. He asked if I wanted to go out for ice cream tomorrow, after filming—since it’s Friday and all. He made it sound like it was a bunch of people going. You know, like a cast party or something. I told him I couldn’t go.”
    Phew, Jackson thought. And ha, Ben. Rejectamenta.
    “Oh well,” Jackson said. “I’m sure he’s used to being turned down.” Smack. “Stop that! It’s sibling abuse!”
    Now Jackson felt a little bad. He could tell Katrina was really in anguish. “I turned down Ben Wilder,” she said numbly.
    “Don’t sweat it, Kat. It was a good move. You don’t want to go out with a guy like him.”
    She groaned again. “No! I totally do. I would die to go out with him. But I have a dance performance. I didn’t feel so bad when I thought I was missing a group thing. But it was a date! With Ben freaking Wilder. And I said, ‘Maybe some other time.’” She leaned on the back of her Beetle. The sloped hatchback was a mistake for someone looking for support. She nearly slid to the asphalt. “What do I do, Jack? Should I go back in there and tell him I changed my plans? I can skip the performance. “
    Jackson squatted to her level and gave her a hand. “No, Kat. You can’t do that. You’d look like you don’t have any convictions. Like you’re willing to give up anything just to be with him. He’d lose all respect for you. Don’t go there.”
    Katrina grabbed the offered hand and let Jackson pull her up. “Your right.” Then she groaned again. “But Ben Wilder, Jack! Holy Hoople!”
    Kindly putting his arm around her shoulder, Jackson said, “Kat, he likes you. He’ll ask you again. Let it go.”
    Her face softened. “Really? You think I’ll have another chance?”
    “Sure.” Jackson gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll get to come back with me next week. He’ll see you and … bam! He’ll be crushin’ all over again.”
    She wrapped her arms around Jackson and held him tight. “Thanks, Jack.” She stopped hugging him, but still held on to his arm. “You’re the best brother ever,” she said with a smile.
    “Right back at ya, sis.”
               
    ……

    J ackson knew Kat well enough to know that the parking lot pep-talk wasn’t the end of the conversation. She talked about it the entire way home. Jackson wished that he would have driven his own car. Instead, he was trapped in Bugsy listening to an entire recap of Ben asking her out. Again and again. He could perform it verbatim in a one-man play if necessary.
    As Katrina drove into their subdivision, Jackson took a good look at her. She was wreck-ish. Pale face, scowling eyes, and her hair—she really shouldn’t fluff it when she gets stressed out. It looked kinda poodle-puffish.
    Jackson foresaw a problem: if he could read Kat like an open book, surely others could as well. Her dad would see Kat and instantly know something was up. And Kat would either blurt out the Ben Wilder secret … or lie about it. The lie would be bad and require lots of smaller lies to corroborate. Jackson didn’t know that he had the brainpower to keep up with another lie.
    “Hey Kat,” Jackson said, “Do you