Pretenders (28 page)

Logan said, any guy would say yes to an M3 GTR!

This made Octavia squeal with joy. I froze.

“Did you say you rode an M3 with Sheridan Spencer?” I
asked. “As in Spencer BMW?”

“Hey, Vanessa,” Octavia said. “Awesome hair.”

Audri agreed. Then she whispered something in Jagger the Orphan’s ear, he nodded, and they took off giggling.

“Thanks,” I said to Octavia even though my eyes were still on Logan. He looked like a boy-band kind of guy. “Logan, did you really ride an M3 with Sheridan?”

“He did,” Octavia answered for him. “Not because he likes her, though. He was using her for the car.”

“When was this?” I asked. “Last Friday?”

“Think so,” Logan said, crushing a handful of chips and sprinkling them in Octavia’s hair. This cracked her up. She dumped the bowl on his head.

Me, about to start crying. “Did you lose a Noble High key chain that night?”

This got his attention. “Yeah, and a Hugo Boss jacket. Did you find them?”

I was too stunned to answer. A.J. was innocent! I wanted to punch Logan and hug him at the same time.

The front door opened. It was Sheridan Spencer.

“Hey, welcome,” Octavia purred. “Love the vintage dress.”
⁶¹

“Hey,” Sheridan said. She ignored the dress comment and
focused on Logan’s arm, which was resting on Octavia’s shoulder.

“You know my date, right?” Octavia asked.

“I thought you had a game tonight?” Sheridan said.

“He did,” Octavia said. “I invited him to come after.”

“Is this why you invited me here?” Sheridan asked. “To rub it in my face?”

Octavia smirked. “He’s not your boyfriend, Sheridan. I just wanted you to see that.”

“Boyfriend?” Logan said. “Who said anything about a boyfriend?”

“She did,” Octavia said.

“I did not!”

Sheridan’s phone rang. The screen flashed DUFFY. Logan grabbed it before she could talk. Sheridan fought to get it back. Octavia was laughing. I stood there feeling like an extra in a teen movie.

Sheridan had her hands full with those two unequivocally vapid morons. So I decided to check in with Blake and then circle back to ask her about the joyride that ruined my brother’s life.

When I got to the living room Blake was gone. Caprice Simmons said he got a call from Lily and took off. He left through the garage because he didn’t want to be rude. Then she went on about how cute and considerate he is and how lucky Lily was to have him.

“Have him?”

“Yeah, as her boyfriend.”

“How do you know they’re together?” I asked.

“He told me,” she said.

I said something nasty in Creole and went to the bathroom. I sat on the seat and cried. Then I got angry and stopped.

Lily felt threatened so she set me up. Now I would take her down. I dialed the police to report a possible hacking at Noble High. Then I went to find Sheridan.

Oct. 12.

I pick Audri up on my bike and we double to Octavia’s party. I ride right through the puddles and I don’t even care.

She looks cuter than Ghoulia from
Monster High
.

She says my fedora is fedorable.

We laugh.

We are hanging out and having fun.

At one point she whispers, are we gonna do this or what?

My face turns red even though I’m not exactly sure what she means by
this
.

Depends.

On what?

What does it rhyme with? I ask.

Bake trout, she says.

I say sure.

I have never baked trout before but she doesn’t know this and I don’t want her to.

She takes my hand. Hers is clammy too. Normally a girl with a clammy hand makes me kind of sick but hers makes me feel better. Was this her first time too?

I follow her. Everything inside me speeds.

A few older guys are sitting on the landing at the top of the steps.

They are drinking from red plastic cups.

I can tell they don’t go to Noble because they are all pierced and tatted up and Noble doesn’t allow that.

I get closer. I stop. I freak. One of the guys has a tattoo of an electric chair on his arm. I know that tattoo. I know that arm. I check the face. It’s him.

I have to get out of there before he sees me. Before he gives me away. I say baking trout will have to wait.

I run down the steps.

Audri asks me what’s wrong.

I say Crazy Pat, the navy SEAL.

She tells me to hurry before I get caught.

She’s right.

Only it’s not Crazy Pat I’m worried about. He’s not real.

Nothing I told Audri is. Everything has been a lie and she almost found out. That’s what really scares me.

Friday, October 12, 2012

It was cold and dark and my butt hurt from sitting on a skateboard for two hours. My red dress was smeared with snot and my temples throbbed.

Blake clambered up to my side on the school roof. He took a hit off his inhaler and said, “How was your date?”

“Awful.”

“I knew that guy had Coxsackie,” Blake said, pulling me into his chest for a hug.

I was crying too hard to laugh.

“He invited Sheridan. He invited the entire style club. It wasn’t even a date. He doesn’t like me. I’m too weird. I spent
my computer money on masculine Euro clothes for a guy who thinks I’m weird.”

“That’s not true. I’m the only one who thinks you’re weird. Did he say you looked hot, because you do, Lil. You really look—”

“He didn’t even see me. I saw Sheridan and took off.”

“Why did you—”

“I can’t compete with that. She didn’t even attempt to look pretty. She just showed up in jeans, a hippie top, and a messy ponytail. Like she was so confident she didn’t have to try. I hate blondes. I hate blondes more than I hate homeschool. And I hate homeschool more than anything and I’m going to have to go back if—where’s Vanessa? Why isn’t she here?”

“I left the party before she got there.”

“Blake!” I punched his arm. “Why?”

“You called me collect. You were crying. I started wheezing. I thought you had been jumped.”

“I called you because I don’t know Vanessa’s cell phone number. I called collect because I didn’t have a quarter. Blake, why did you ditch her? You’re messing everything up.”

“I thought you were in trouble.”

“I am now,” I said, crying for a whole new reason. “She’s going to think you stood her up. Now she won’t come. My mom is going to see my real grades. I’m gonna be a Homie again!”

“Shhhh.” Blake pulled me closer. I thought he was trying to comfort me but he was being literal. “Hear that?” Police sirens
wailed on the street below. They were getting louder. “What’s going on?”

“Who cares.” I sighed and rested my head on his belly. I searched the sky for shooting stars but it was full of clouds. No surprise there.

Hello, Reader.

What do you think of our Noble heroes so far? Lies, betrayal, unrequited love, jealousy, cheating, and stealing. “Outstanding,” aren’t we? Of course, I’m being facetious. Or am I?

The Phoenix Five did manage to hide their true selves and convince their classmates that they had it all. How did they do it?

That’s the outstanding part.

To be continued…