Read Online The Comeback by Marlene Perez - Free Book Online Page A

head and slept the rest of the day.
    It was dusk when I woke up, but I was completely recovered. The pancakes had done the trick.
    So I thought the breakup was the worst of it. That I couldn’t sink any lower. That was, until I went to school on Monday and discovered that someone had snapped a photo of me at the dance and sent it to every cell phone in the school—and posted it online.
    I could have lived with a photo of me with my panties showing being carted off by Dev. But the photo was of a disheveled and bleary-eyed girl tossing her cookies (or candies in this case) all over Jason Brady. I don’t know which was worse, the fact that the photo showed me at my worst or that I was clinging to Jason Brady.
    Some smart-ass had plastered copies all over my locker. I ripped them down and was stuffing them in the trash can when Monet stopped me.
    â€œI’d shred them,” she advised. “Otherwise, they’ll just hang them back up again.”
    She fished the photocopies out of the trash.
    â€œHow many of these are there?” I asked.
    â€œDev’s been taking them down since he got here for swim team this morning,” she said. “He called me to let me know. I tried calling you, but your cell went right to voice mail.”
    I grimaced. “Jason has been calling all weekend. I finally shut it off.”
    â€œHe has a lot of nerve,” she said, “after what he did.”
    â€œHe’s a cretin,” I said. But my mind was on Dev. Why was he being so nice to me? The Dev I knew would have reveled in my misfortune, not tried to help me.
    And who out of all the kids at the dance had taken the picture? Who disliked me so much?
    As the day progressed, I realized that apparently the answer was, a lot of people. First, Hannah laughed in my face in English. Then, in PE, I was the last to be picked for softball.
    â€œWhat a loser,” Kent Teramoto said.
    I knew he was taking about me. A week ago, he was telling everyone how hot he thought I was. Like I cared.
    By the end of the day, I was steaming mad. WhenI had been popular, I had never experienced so much grief from total strangers. Maybe I had ignored a few people, it was true, but I had never been mean for the sport of it.
    Outspoken, yes, bitchy and temperamental, maybe, but I’d never gone out of my way to be cruel. Was that what it was like for the normal kids? If so, I was glad I’d been popular.
    I didn’t dare show my face in Wicked Jack’s. Instead, I convinced Monet to hit Taco Bell at lunch. She didn’t mind. Turned out Scott loved Taco Bell and tagged along with us.
    I took a sip of my soda. “So what do you guys know about Angie?” I asked, carefully casual. “Where did she come from?”
    I hadn’t seen her with anyone besides Connor. And Haley and Vanessa were certainly friendly only because of their boyfriends. I needed to talk to someone who knew the entire scoop about Angie.
    Monet crossed her arms. “Why do you want to know?”
    â€œJust making conversation.” I smiled at her, but she just snorted. “Scott, don’t you have English with her?”
    â€œYeah,” he said. “She and Connor sit in the back and hold hands. I think she transferred from Eisenhower.”
    I beamed at him. It was a start.
    When Scott went to refill our sodas, Monet turned to me. “Sophie, it’s a bad idea.”
    â€œWhat’s a bad idea?” I said with studied innocence.
    â€œWhatever it is you’re planning,” she replied. “Can’t you just let it go for once?”
    I looked at her. “You think I should let it go that she started seeing my boyfriend behind my back?”
    â€œI heard that nothing happened before he broke up with you,” Monet protested. “She wouldn’t even let him kiss her until he did.”
    â€œOh, and that makes it better? She knew he had a girlfriend. She should have walked away. Period. And