was the type of clever girl who never bought the shirt she tried on at a store. She always put that one back and got a new one in the same size to take home. She was the only person Iknew who had an official jaywalking strategy. She only stood off the curb when attempting to jaywalk if she was standing behind someone else who took all the risk out of getting hit if a car jumped the curb because they were in front. Whoever heard of a jaywalking strategy? Jane was creative.
âThanks again, Jane, for the blended latte!â I said.
âOh, no worries. Youâre gonna need it if this is your first rendezvous on a weeknight since â¦â Jane said.
She looked at Cindy and whispered, âIs it cool to mention his name now, or are we still all mumâs the word since, you know, the Craig thing?â
Cindy looked at me. I shrugged like it was cool. Cindy tried to inconspicuously nod her head to tip Jane off.
âGreat! This brings me to my latest and greatest piece of meat,â Jane said.
Cindy gasped. Were they drama queens or what?
âSo, the word is â¦â Jane paused to take a sip of her latte. Cindy and I waited in anticipation. âMichelle wants to break up with Craig.â
âNo! She was just bragging about him in our section of the hall. Where did you get your info?â Cindy asked.
âSwear not to tell anyone,â Jane said.
Cindy looked at me, and I knew she would swear not to tell anyone but she would dare to tell everyone. That was kind of their thing. They liked to pretend that the gossip was sacred, but we all knew Jane would begin texting that to everyone in the morning.
âSwear,â Cindy said.
âLucy was whispering it to someone in the D3 bathroom,â Jane said.
D3 was, like, this half floor where the girlsâ gym class was.
âCheck it. Weâre about to roll up to this party in an over-priced foreign sports utility vehicle, dressed like supermodels,â Cindy said.
âIâm poised for a comeback,â I said.
âIn that outfit? Iâd say itâs going to be epic,â Cindy said.
I took a deep breath. I hoped I was ready for this. Jane jammed the breaks on her SUV in front of the house. My mouth dropped open maybe two nanoseconds before Cindyâs.
âWhat is she doing?â Cindy was as serious as a high school senior being interviewed for the college of her dreams, though even then she probably wouldnât have sounded so direct.
Cindy jumped out of the car as if it were on fire. She marched up to Carolina, who was holding Jasonâs hand. I, on the other hand, acted as if I had not even seen them. I didnât know what this had to do with my incidents, but I didnât want to look directly in her eyes without knowing what I was going to say. It took me a second or two, and then I had it.
Cindy stopped in her tracks. She surveyed Carolinaâs outfit. âI see last seasonâs pink, last yearâs poplin shirt, and an in-season belt with matching shoes. I get it. You, Jason, must be ushering her to the Secret Fashion Victimâs page photo-op. Did I mention I voted you in for that page, Carolina?â Cindy had joined the yearbook committee to even the playing field. Some of her enemies would go down in high school history as the worst dressed, least liked, most likely to be single forever, and best class kiss-up.
âJealousy is such an ugly color on you,â Carolina said.
âWhatever. I donât look ugly in anything. You should know. Seems like I had those shoes on last week. Of course they looked like showstoppers on my feet, but on your feet they look like bargain basement pumps!â Cindy said.
I wouldâve questioned Carolina if I thought I would get a straight answer out of her. If that ridiculous jealousy comment showed me anything, she was definitely not smart enough to be operating alone. Since when is jealousy a color? Though she was hand in hand with
âThanks again, Jane, for the blended latte!â I said.
âOh, no worries. Youâre gonna need it if this is your first rendezvous on a weeknight since â¦â Jane said.
She looked at Cindy and whispered, âIs it cool to mention his name now, or are we still all mumâs the word since, you know, the Craig thing?â
Cindy looked at me. I shrugged like it was cool. Cindy tried to inconspicuously nod her head to tip Jane off.
âGreat! This brings me to my latest and greatest piece of meat,â Jane said.
Cindy gasped. Were they drama queens or what?
âSo, the word is â¦â Jane paused to take a sip of her latte. Cindy and I waited in anticipation. âMichelle wants to break up with Craig.â
âNo! She was just bragging about him in our section of the hall. Where did you get your info?â Cindy asked.
âSwear not to tell anyone,â Jane said.
Cindy looked at me, and I knew she would swear not to tell anyone but she would dare to tell everyone. That was kind of their thing. They liked to pretend that the gossip was sacred, but we all knew Jane would begin texting that to everyone in the morning.
âSwear,â Cindy said.
âLucy was whispering it to someone in the D3 bathroom,â Jane said.
D3 was, like, this half floor where the girlsâ gym class was.
âCheck it. Weâre about to roll up to this party in an over-priced foreign sports utility vehicle, dressed like supermodels,â Cindy said.
âIâm poised for a comeback,â I said.
âIn that outfit? Iâd say itâs going to be epic,â Cindy said.
I took a deep breath. I hoped I was ready for this. Jane jammed the breaks on her SUV in front of the house. My mouth dropped open maybe two nanoseconds before Cindyâs.
âWhat is she doing?â Cindy was as serious as a high school senior being interviewed for the college of her dreams, though even then she probably wouldnât have sounded so direct.
Cindy jumped out of the car as if it were on fire. She marched up to Carolina, who was holding Jasonâs hand. I, on the other hand, acted as if I had not even seen them. I didnât know what this had to do with my incidents, but I didnât want to look directly in her eyes without knowing what I was going to say. It took me a second or two, and then I had it.
Cindy stopped in her tracks. She surveyed Carolinaâs outfit. âI see last seasonâs pink, last yearâs poplin shirt, and an in-season belt with matching shoes. I get it. You, Jason, must be ushering her to the Secret Fashion Victimâs page photo-op. Did I mention I voted you in for that page, Carolina?â Cindy had joined the yearbook committee to even the playing field. Some of her enemies would go down in high school history as the worst dressed, least liked, most likely to be single forever, and best class kiss-up.
âJealousy is such an ugly color on you,â Carolina said.
âWhatever. I donât look ugly in anything. You should know. Seems like I had those shoes on last week. Of course they looked like showstoppers on my feet, but on your feet they look like bargain basement pumps!â Cindy said.
I wouldâve questioned Carolina if I thought I would get a straight answer out of her. If that ridiculous jealousy comment showed me anything, she was definitely not smart enough to be operating alone. Since when is jealousy a color? Though she was hand in hand with
Similar Books
