Read Online The Mosts by Melissa Senate - Free Book Online

that make any sense to you?” Caro asked.
    “Oddly, yes,” Fergie said. “Madeline is Most Popular. She’s teaching them how to be more like her.”
    “Right. Because all it takes is some advice on clothes and makeup and conversation to be like us,” Caro said. “They’re throwing away their money.”
    Maybe not. I had some cute clothes of my own and some hand-me-downs from Caro and Fergie. (Selena wasn’t a great dresser, and Annie was a bit hopeless in the style department and tended to go sporty.) I had a pair of Sevens that my aunt Darcy had bought me in Rome and some very nice tops and shoes. Why couldn’t I just put Elinor in the outfit I was wearing now? Cute flippy skirt. White T-shirt, interesting necklace. Great sandals. She could borrow some of my stuff the way I borrowed a lot of Caro’s and Fergie’s clothes.
    I shrugged. “If Elinor straightened her hair or cut it and lost the headband and maybe got new glasses and new clothes and stood straight—”
    “Madeline, you are way too nice,” Caro broke in. “Yeah, she could change her clothes and lose the stupid glasses. But what about her entire personality?” She added, laughing, “Mosts are born , darling. Not made .”
    “I totally agree,” Fergie said. “Take you, for example, Madeline. You were a Most in boring clothes and blah hair before you went to Rome. But you were always a Most. I mean, don’t be so shallow . Being a Most is more than how you look on the outside; it’s the kind of person you are on the inside . And everyone knows that’s what really counts. Like, if you lost everything in a flood or something and had to fashion a top and pants out of a garbage bag, you’d still be a Most inside. Because you’d still be you . You’d still rule.”
    Wow. That was … so sideways.
    And of course Caro was beaming at Fergie.
    The Nots were in trouble.

Chapter 7
    I n history class, as Mr. Fortunata droned on about President Kennedy and Cuba, I tried to figure out how exactly I was going to impart my mighty wisdom to the interns. The Not list was always decided a few days before the Most list came out, which was on the Monday before school ended. That gave me almost five weeks to spin straw into gold.
    Hmmm. I figured I could go through my stack of magazines and flag pictures of trendy clothes. And hairstyles. And maybe I could give the interns a list of TV shows to watch that might help them socially. I could give them a cheat sheet of things I picked up when I was in Italy.
    But I couldn’t overwhelm them. I’d have to start small. For Elinor, the hair. Just doing something about the horizontal frizz puffs would make a big difference. For Joe, we’d untuck the shirt. And Avery … she would be tricky, because nothing was glaringly wrong. I glanced around the class, trying to get ideas.
    And there she was. Watching me.
    Avery was in this class? I’d never noticed.
    I shot her a quick smile, and she smiled back. Did she always surprise people like that? Well, no wonder she had no friends. We’d start with mentioning things like I’m in your history class .
    I glanced back and she was still staring at me.
    So was Sam. He sat one row behind, diagonally across. I smiled, and he smiled that dazzling smile of his, then glanced down at his textbook.
    He did like me. There was no denying it.
    And there was no denying that it gave me a secret thrill. Not because he found me prettier than Caro. But because … I wasn’t sure exactly. I didn’t like Sam that way. Well, maybe a teeny, tiny bit if I was very honest.
    The bell rang, and Avery was out like a shot. She was making this easy. Lesson number two, Avery: Say hi to the popular person you actually know instead of fleeing the room . That was how you made friends and showed people you were on chatting terms with the popular crowd.
    I closed my notebook, full of useless notes about transforming the interns, slid it into my messenger bag, and checked my cell for a text from