Read Online Envy - 2 by Robin Wasserman - Free Book Online Page B

traced a path down the muscles of his neck. She’d gotten under his skin—again.
    Kaia laughed to herself. It probably wasn’t very nice of her to pick on Adam again. After al , he was such an easy mark, and clearly stil smarting from their last encounter. On the other hand, she considered, she’d given him a true gift—one that he’d certainly enjoyed enough at the time, no matter how much he may now claim she’d ruined his life. Didn’t she deserve to have some fun too? And if it was fun at Beth Manning’s expense, even better. Much as she tried, she couldn’t forget the fact that Mr. Powel had chosen that simpering softie over her. Yes, it was clearly because he thought Kaia spel ed trouble, while Beth would be easy prey. Powel was a predator; it was why she liked him so much. But stil , there it was—
    he’d rejected her in favor of Beth, and while that was a lapse in judgment she was wil ing to forgive, Beth stil needed to pay.
    This time, she’d decided, there was no reason to go it alone. Not when such a good game was already afoot.
    So she headed to the library. She’d spotted Harper heading in that direction at the beginning of lunch period, and she had a sneaking suspicion she’d find her huddled over a desk with Kane, hatching some pathetic plan. It was time to lend these smal -town tricksters the wisdom of her experience.
    Why?
    Why the hel not?
    She found them just as she’d imagined, heads together, arms waving animatedly, whispers flying. She crept up slowly behind Harper, finger to her lips, trusting Kane to keep his poker face, which he did, right up to the moment that Kaia tapped Harper on the shoulder and smiled angelical y into her face, which reflected, in quick succession, surprise, guilt, and disgust. Harper settled on the latter, but Kaia kept up her icy smile.
    “What do you want?” Harper hissed. “We re busy here.”
    “I don’t mind if the lovely Kaia joins us,” Kane said generously.
    “Shut up, Kane.” Harper glared at him, then turned back to Kaia. “Why are you stil here?”
    “What, is this where you tel me, ‘This is an A, B conversation, and I should C my way out of it?’” Kaia sneered.
    “I was leaning more toward, ’This is an X, Z conversation, so Y don’t you just go away,” Harper corrected her. “Or at least I would have been if this were 1998 and we were ten years old. What do you think this is, VH1’s Lamest Slang of the ’90s ?”
    “Wel , your outfit does say ‘retro gone wrong,’” Kaia pointed out, “but I guess you’re not out of time, just out of taste. I can live with that.”
    “I’m supposed to take fashion tips from someone who makes Paris Hilton look classy?” Harper scoffed.
    Kane, whose eyes had been bouncing back and forth between the two as if he were fol owing a heated Ping-Pong match, began to softly applaud. “Bring it on, ladies. When do we take out the mud wrestling pit?”
    “Shut up, Kane,” they snapped in unison.
    He chuckled softly. “Okay, okay, I know when I’m not wanted.” He checked his watch and stood up, col ecting his books. “Besides,” he gave Harper a meaningful look, “I’ve got to go meet someone. We’re setting up a study ‘date’ for later. See ya.”
    Harper shot him a vicious, how-dare-you-leave-me-here-alone-with- her look, but he just grinned and disappeared.
    “Such a studious guy al of a sudden,” Kaia commented.
    “Yeah, wel , you know Kane, needs to win at al costs,” Harper said uncomfortably. “Even if it means some hard work.”
    “It’s going to be pretty damn hard to win at the rate you two are going,” Kaia pointed out.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Kaia laughed to herself. It would have been cute if it weren’t so pathetic, this little show of ignorance and innocence. Harper was going to have to work on the poker face a bit if this whole thing was going to work.
    “I think you know,” Kaia said simply.
    Harper sighed. “Kaia, it’s a little early in