Strange Girl (36 page)

Authors: Christopher Pike

That particular Friday ended up being a wasteland of regrets. After a two-hour graduation ceremony that set a dismal record for scorching heat and crippling boredom, I learned from my best friend, Alex Simms, that both Ted and Jimmy would be driving with us to Las Vegas. Alex told me precisely ten seconds after I collected my blue-and-gold cap off the football field—after our class collectively threw them in the air—and exactly one minute after our school principal had pronounced us full-fledged graduates.

“You’re joking, right?” I said.

Alex brushed her short blond hair from her bright blues. She wasn’t as pretty as me but that didn’t stop her from acting like she was. The weird thing is, it worked for her. Even though she didn’t have a steady boyfriend, she dated plenty, and there wasn’t a guy in school who would have said no to her if she’d so much as said hi. A natural flirt, she could touch a guy’s hand and make him feel like his fingers were caressing her breasts.

Alex was a rare specimen, a compulsive talker who knew when to shut up and listen. She had a quick wit—some would say it was biting—and her self-confidence was legendary. She had applied to UCLA with a B-plus average and a slightly above-average SAT score and they had accepted her—supposedly—on the strength of her interview. While Debbie Pernal, a close friend of ours, had been turned down by the same school despite a straight-A average and a very high SAT score.

It was Debbie’s belief that Alex had seduced one of the interviewing deans. In Debbie’s mind, there was no other explanation for how Alex had gotten accepted. Debbie said as much to anyone who would listen, which just happened to be the entire student body. Her remarks started a tidal wave of a rumor: “ALEX IS A TOTAL SLUT!” Of course, the fact that Alex never bothered to deny the slur didn’t help matters. If anything, she took great delight in it.

And these two were friends.

Debbie was also driving with us to Las Vegas.

“There was a mix-up,” Alex said without much conviction, trying to explain why Jimmy was going to ride in the car with us. “We didn’t plan for both of them to come.”

“Why would anyone in their right mind put Jimmy and me together in the same car?” I demanded.

Alex dropped all pretense. “Could it be that I’m sick and tired of you whining about how he dumped you when everything was going so perfect between you two?”

I glared at her. “We’re best friends! You’re required to listen to my whining. It doesn’t give you the right to invite the one person in the whole world who ripped my heart out to go on a road trip with us.”

“What road trip? We’re just giving him a three-hour ride. You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to.”

“Right. The five of us are going to be crammed into your car half the afternoon and it will be perfectly normal if I don’t say a word to the first and last guy I ever had sex with.”

Alex was suddenly interested. “I didn’t know Jimmy was your first. You always acted like you slept with Clyde Barker.”

Clyde Barker was our football quarterback and so good-looking that none of the girls who went to the games—myself included—cared that he couldn’t throw a pass to save his ass. He had the IQ of a cracked helmet. “It was just an act,” I said with a sigh.

“Look, it might work out better than you think. My sources tell me Jimmy has hardly been seeing Kari at all. They may even be broken up.”

Kari Rider had been Jimmy’s girlfriend before me, and after me, which gave me plenty of reason to hate the bitch.

“Why don’t we be absolutely sure and invite Kari as well,” I said. “She can sit on my lap.”

Alex laughed. “Admit it, you’re a tiny bit happy I did all this behind your back.”

“I’m a tiny bit considering not going at all.”

“Don’t you dare. Ted would be devastated.”

“Ted’s going to be devastated when he sees Jimmy get in your car!”

Alex frowned. “You have a point. Debbie invited him, not me.”

On top of everything else, Debbie had a crush on Ted, the same Ted who had a crush on me. It was going to be a long three hours to Las Vegas.

“Did Debbie think it was a good idea for Jimmy to ride with us?” I asked.

“Sure.”

I was aghast. “I can’t believe it. That bitch.”

“Well, actually, she didn’t think there was a chance in hell he’d come.”

That hurt. “Love the vote of confidence. What you mean is Debbie didn’t think there was a chance in hell Jimmy was still interested in me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No. But you both thought it.”

“Come on, Jessie. It’s obvious Jimmy’s coming with us so he can spend time with you.” Alex patted me on the back. “Be happy.”

“Why did you wait until now to tell me this?”

“Because now it’s too late to change my devious plan.”

I dusted off my blue-and-gold cap and put it back on. “I suppose this is your graduation present to me?” I asked.

“Sure. Where’s mine?”

“You’ll get it when we get to Las Vegas.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’ll see.” I already had a feeling I was going to pay her back, I just didn’t know how.

Christopher Pike
is a bestselling author of young adult novels. The Thirst series,
The Secret of Ka
, and the Remember Me and Alosha trilogies are some of his favorite titles. He is also the author of several adult novels, including
Sati
and
The Season of Passage
. Thirst and Alosha are slated to be released as feature films. Pike currently lives in Santa Barbara, where it is rumored he never leaves his house. But he can be found online at
www.Facebook.com/ChristopherPikeBooks
.

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Also by Christopher Pike

THE THIRST SERIES

Remember Me

The Secret of Ka

Until the End

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Red Queen

WITCH WORLD, VOL. 2:
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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Cover designed by Regina Flath

Interior designed by Hilary Zarycky

The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the paperback edition as follows:

Pike, Christopher, 1955–, author.

Strange girl / by Christopher Pike. — First Simon Pulse paperback edition.

p. cm.

Summary: Told from the perspective of a seventeen-year-old boy in love with a mysterious girl who seems to have an unearthly ability to heal, but the ability carries quite a cost.

[1. Love—Fiction. 2. Supernatural—Fiction. 3. Healers—Fiction. 4. Goddesses—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.P626St 2015 [Fic]—dc23 2015012476

ISBN 978-1-4814-5059-1 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-4814-5058-4 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-4814-5060-7 (eBook)

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