âBut I agree with Lana that we should at least check out this event. I want to see how Michael looks. Arenât you curious, Mia?â
âNo,â I said firmly. âAnd besides, Iâm sure we wonât be able to get in. Itâs probably closed to everyone but invited guests and press.â
âOh, that wonât be a problem,â Lana said. âYou can get us in. Youâre a princess. And besides, even if you canâtâyouâre on the staff of the Atom . Get us press passes. Just ask Lilly.â
Lifting up my lunch tray, I shot her a very sarcastic look. It took Lana a second or two to realize what sheâd said. Then, when she finally did, she went, âOh. Yeah. Heâs her brother. And she was really mad at you for dumping him last year, or something. Right?â
âLetâs just drop it,â I said. I swear, I wasnât even hungry anymore. My tofurkey burger, sitting on its plate in front of me, looked completely unappetizing. I thought about ditching it for tacos. If ever thereâd been a day I could have used some spicy beef, it seemed like today.
âIsnât your little sister writing for the Atom this year?â Shameeka asked Lana.
Lana looked over at her little sister Gretchen, who was sitting with the other cheerleaders at a table by the door.
âOooh,â Lana said. âGood suggestion. Sheâs such a little butt kisser, trying to get extracurriculars for college, sheâll have been to the Atom meeting this morning for sure. Let me go check and see if she got assigned to the Michael story.â
I could have stabbed them both with my spork.
âI am going to go sit down now,â I said from between gritted teeth. âWith my boyfriend. You guys can come sit with me, but if you do, I donât want you to be talking about this. In front of my boyfriend. Do you understand? Good.â
I kept my gaze locked on J.P. as I made my way across the caf to our table, determined not to glance in Lanaâs direction. J.P., chatting with Boris, Perin, and Ling Su, noticed me coming, looked up, and smiled. I smiled back.
Still, out of the corner of my eye, I managed to see Lana hit her sister on the back of the head, grab her Miu Miu purse, and dig around in it.
Great. That could only mean one thing. Gretchen had press passes to tomorrowâs event.
âHowâs it going?â J.P. asked me as I sat down.
âGreat,â I lied.
Mia Thermopolisâs Big Fat Lie Number Five.
âFantastic,â J.P. said. âHey, thereâs something I wanted to ask you.â
I froze with my tofurkey burger halfway to my lips. Oh, God. Here? Now? He was going to ask me to the prom in the cafeteria, in front of everybody? This was J.P.âs idea of romantic?
No. It couldnât be. Because J.P.âs made me dinner at his apartment before when his parents were out of town, and heâs pulled out all the stopsâ¦candles, jazz on the stereo, delicious fettuccini Alfredo, chocolate mousse for dessert. The guy knows romantic.
And heâs no slouch on Valentineâs Day, either. He got me a beautiful heart locket (from Tiffany, of course) with our initials entwined on it for our first, and a diamond journey necklace (to show how far weâd come from that first kiss outside my building) for our second.
Surely he wasnât going to ask me to the prom as I was biting into a tofurkey burger in the cafeteria.
Then againâ¦he thought he didnât have to bother asking me to the prom at all. Soâ¦
Tina, overhearing J.P.âs question as she slid her tray down next to Borisâs, gasped.
Well, letâs face it. She would. This is another reason I can never tell her about Ransom My Heart . Sheâd never be able to keep it to herself. Especially the steamier parts. Sheâd want to know how I researched them.
Then she recovered herself and said, âOh? You have a question for Mia,
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