Read Online Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook - Free Book Online

another poke. In theory, emotional upset is supposed to make a person lose their appetite, but I was still starving.
    This was stupid. I was going to dump the gruel, consider today a diet, and call Anita back. As long as I was going to be hungry, I didn’t need to be starved of human interaction as well. I would force Anita to tell me what tasty thing they were serving at my old school. If she didn’t feel like talking to me, at least she could hold up her phone and I could listen in on their discussion.
    â€œWell, this has been fun, but I think I’m going to shove off.” My chair let out a shriek as I pushed away from the table and started to stand.
    Nathaniel looked up in surprise. “Wait a second.” He glanced around and then gave a tired sigh. He spotted my tray. “Do you want half of my sandwich?” He held it out, and I had the sense he was offering more than turkey on whole wheat.
    â€œThat would be nice.” I took the sandwich from him and sat back down. It wasn’t much, but it was progress. “You can have some of mine if you want.” I pushed my tray in his general direction. He pushed it right back.
    â€œNo matter what you might hear, I’m many things, but not crazy.”
    I laughed. I thought he was joking. He didn’t even crack a smile.

Chapter 9
    H igh schools are pretty much the same no matter where you go. There is an elite crowd, the losers, and the majority middle who are trying to either obtain elite status, avoid falling into the loser category, or are just doing their best to survive until graduation, when there’s hope of a better life. There might be slight variations on what it takes to be in the cool crowd, but a safe bet is money, good looks, or athletic ability. If you manage to have two out of the three, or all three (a genetic home run), then you are destined to be popular.
    I have zero out of the three. Generally, this doesn’t bother me. I’ve never been one of those girls who read all the teen magazines trying to glean advice on how to be popular. I’ve never cut my hair like a pop star’s. I never saw shaking my ass and a pair of pom-poms as a major life goal. Despite what the made-for-TVmovies would lead you to believe is the dream of all teen girls, I have no major aspirations of having the star football player take me to prom, where I could lose my virginity in a glow of pink taffeta and the stink of a carnation corsage.
    To be totally honest, most of the popular kids at my old school were dull. How many conversations can you have about the benefits of one brand of hairspray over another? I would rather tweeze my own eyebrows with kitchen tongs than spend hours dissecting who wore what to the dance and how so-and-so asked someone else’s boyfriend to dance, and oh my God did you see her hair? I mean, really, who cares?
    Anita and I weren’t bitter outsiders who hated popular kids and secretly plotted their demise because in our hearts we wanted to be one of them. We had our own thing going. We had our own hangouts, friends, and hobbies. The popular crowd was an abstract concept for me. Sort of like the country Bora Bora. I know it exists, but it has no impact on my life whatsoever. I didn’t expect things to be any different in my new school. Especially after all the strange looks I got by sitting with Nathaniel at lunch.
    This is why I was totally shocked when Nicole Percy sat next to me on the bleachers in gym while our teacher set up the volleyball net. I hadn’t been at this school for even a full day and I had already identified Nicole as the queen bee. I would have had to have severe social retardation not to notice that she was the most popular girl this island had going. She was most likelyawarded prom queen status while still in elementary school. Nicole is one of those people who exude popularity. When she walks down the hall, people part in front of her and a gaggle of wannabes trail in