Geography Club by Brent Hartinger Read Free Book Online Page B

still wasn’t exactly sure where he was going with this.
    “Yeah?” I said.
    “Well, I think I got one. A girlfriend, I mean.”
    “Yeah? That’s great! Who is it? Why didn’t you tell me?” I was genuinely happy for him, in part because I wouldn’t have to listen to him moan on and on about not having a girlfriend anymore.
    “Kimberly Peterson.”
    “Gunnar, that’s fantastic!” I said. “I’m really happy for you.” I’d never actually spoken to Kimberly, but I’d seen her around school. She had long blond hair. That was about all I remembered, but keep in mind I don’t exactly have a photographic memory when it comes to girls.
    “Well, she’s not really my girlfriend yet,” Gunnar said. “But she did agree to go out with me.”
    “Well…” I tried to think of something positive to say. “I’m sure she’ll like you once she gets to know you. Then she will be your girlfriend.”
    “Yeah,” Gunnar said, tight-lipped, and I knew there was something he still wasn’t telling me. Whatever it was, I had a bad feeling about it.
    “Go ahead and serve,” I said, and he did. I won the rally, but it was just plain luck. Now we were both distracted.
    “Trish Baskin’s really hot for you,” Gunnar said. “She’s friends with Kimberly. That’s who told me.”
    I faced him. “Gunnar. What’s going on?”
    He was suddenly fascinated by the strings on his racquet. “Remember when we talked about my getting a girlfriend?”
    I nodded.
    “And remember when you promised you’d do anything to help me out?”
    I nodded again, even though I didn’t remember promising to do anything exactly.
    “Well, Kimberly did agree to go out with me. But only on one condition.”
    “Oh,” I said, and instantly I knew what was going on. “Gunnar, no !”
    “Russ, why not? It’d only be one date!” Kimberly had agreed to go out with Gunnar only if I agreed to go out with her friend Trish, in case you haven’t figured that out already.
    “Gunnar!” My voice really echoed. I hadn’t meant to yell.
    “You said you’d do anything to help me!”
    I was about to tell him exactly what I was thinking—that I hadn’t said I’d do “anything” to help him. And even if I had, this wasn’t what I’d meant! I’d meant driving with him to the mall so he could pick out a tux for the prom.
    “Please, Russ. You know how important this is to me. Besides, it’s just one date. What’s the big deal?”
    The big deal was I wanted to be dating Kevin Land! But I couldn’t tell Gunnar that. Of course, putting up a big fuss about one little date with Trish Baskin was the next best thing to telling him. It was exactly the sort of thing that would make him suspicious.
    I sighed. “It’s a double, right? You and Kimberly and me and Trish?”
    “Definitely!”
    “When? Next weekend?”
    Gunnar nodded. “Saturday.”
    I hesitated a second longer, just to make him squirm a little. Then I said, “Okay, I’ll do it.”
    “Oh, thank God!” he said, far more relieved than he should’ve been.
    “Gunnar,” I said.
    He still couldn’t keep his eyes off those strings. “Yeah?”
    “You already told Kimberly I’d do it, didn’t you?”
    He looked up at me at last, a tiny smile on his lips. “Maybe.”
    “Gunnar!”
    But at least he had the decency to look properly ashamed about it, so I decided to let it slide.
     
     
    “A date with a girl, huh?” Min said the next day, when I met her for a walk in the park. “That should be one hot and heavy evening.”
    “It sure wasn’t my idea,” I said. “You know her?”
    “Trish? No. But I went to camp with Kimberly when I was eight. She used to eat paste, if that’s any help. What does Gunnar like about her?”
    “The fact that she has two X chromosomes.” Min knew how much Gunnar wanted a girlfriend, and she laughed at my joke, which always made me feel good. You had to be pretty smart to make Min laugh.
    “So,” I said. “You excited about the Geography