Caitlin by Jade Parker Page B

like a play-music-go-on-tour kind of thing?”
    He grinned. “Yeah. They even cut an album, but it never amounted to much. But they’d do all this light stuff as part of the show and after a concert, people came up to the stage more interested in the light show they’d seen than in the music they’d heard. So Dad decided maybe his talent rested in lights instead of bass guitar.”
    “I’ve never known anyone in a band.”
    “You still don’t.” His grin grew.
    “I almost do. Do you play music?”
    “Nah, I’m kind of a computer geek, which works since the light show starts with the computer.” He angled his head. “What’s wrong?”
    I probably appeared stunned. Hadn’t I told Robyn that I wanted a geek?
    “You don’t look like a geek.”
    He laughed. “What does a geek look like?”
    “Geeky.” Not cute, not tan, not hot. Not like Michael Romeo.
    “I’m all about designing stuff on the computer,” he said.
    We talked a little more. He designed the Lights Fantastic Web site, created trailers for books he enjoyed reading and posted them on YouTube. It sounded neat and interesting. I was going to have to rethink what I considered geeky.
    I looked at my watch. “I need to get back to work. Thanks for the smoothie.”
    When I got back to my station, Tanner climbed down.
    “So who was the guy?” he asked.
    “Not your business.”
    I climbed to the platform and took my seat.
    I hadn’t planned to use Michael Romeo to get back at Tanner, but I had to admit that it felt pretty good that Tanner noticed.
    *  *  *
    “So what’s your problem lately?” Sean asked me after we got home.
    We were in the kitchen. I was looking over the pizza coupons. Mom had left us a note. She and Dad had gone to a movie. Sean and I were supposed to fend. Fend meant call out for pizza.
    “What do you mean?” I asked. He liked meat on his pizza. I liked vegetables, and since it was National Catfish Day, I was thinking of ordering cinnamon sticks to celebrate the holiday. I deserved a treat after the past few days.
    “Trent said you’ve been goofing off. That doesn’t sound like you.”
    “What? Trent doesn’t sound like me? I wouldn’t think so since he has a guy’s voice and I have a girl’s voice.” I held up a flyer. “How ’bout half pepperoni, half mushrooms?”
    “Just order a large all meat and a medium all vegetable.”
    I knew I could distract him with food. I placed the order. And what was Trent doing telling on me anyway? I know people have the impression that girls are gossips, but I swear boys are, too. And sometimes I think they’re worse because they aren’t as up front about it as girls, so the general population doesn’t know how much they gossip. I’ve listened at Sean’s bedroom door enough times to know that he really does talk about other people — a lot .
    I grabbed my latest teen mag from the stack of mail that had arrived that afternoon. I loved reading teen mags, taking the tests. I’d learned a lot of things. I knew I was outgoing, felt comfortable talking to guys, and was ready to be kissed. I plopped down on the couch in the living room.
    If the pizza wasn’t going to arrive in twenty minutes, I would have gone up to my room. But what was the point?
    The couch groaned as Sean dropped down on it. “Come on, Caitlin. Trentsaid you’ve been talking to a bunch of guys.”
    “A bunch? How about two? And it’s really not any of your business.”
    “It reflects on me if you’re not doing your job.”
    I looked over the top of my magazine. “I’m doing my job. I wasn’t even on duty yet when I was talking to Tanner yesterday.”
    He grimaced. “Tanner? Do you like him again?”
    “No. I don’t like anyone. If you’re talking to a girl, does it mean you like her?”
    “Forget it.”
    “Okay.” I wasn’t usually this agreeable around Sean, but since I didn’t want to discuss the subject —
    “There’s a test in here that let’s you determine how well you know your