Страница 7 из 53
“I have to go,” I mumbled, extricating myself from their clammy grasp and ducking away so that no one could see my eyes.
“Wait, what?” Trevor said.
“You just got here! We’re go
I would have laughed if I hadn’t been so miserable. On my way out the door I almost barreled over some punk-looking chick with blond hair who had just walked in—right in time to see my ignominious exit. I sputtered an apology, then almost tripped again when I realized she was A
My legs pumped the pedals with all their might as I raced away from Co
I was never going to lie out under the sun with Chloe again or ride bikes with Sha
Not that I had been daydreaming about those things for the last two days. Not at all. Clearly it was time for me to officially grow up. I turned my back on Vista View and rode on.
My mother was going to die when she heard what had happened tonight. All she wanted was to move home and reclaim her old friends, her old life. That was all she wanted for the both of us. Well, it appeared that, for one of us at least, that was not going to happen.
God, I hated my father. How could he do this to us? To them? How could he lose all their money, move us out of a town we loved, and then just drop us? Just disappear without a word, without an explanation? Where the hell was he? Was he ever going to come back? Was he ever going to try to rectify what he’d done?
I tipped my front wheel down the hill at the top of Harvest and took my feet off the pedals, just letting myself fly. Letting the wind clear my head and tug a few tears from the corners of my eyes. At the bottom I almost forgot to stop. Almost flew directly into the two-way traffic on Orchard Avenue. But as soon as I saw the cars whizzing by, my brain snapped back into focus. I hit the brakes hard and yanked my wheel to the left, stopping two inches away from the brick wall of the bagel shop at the corner. My chest heaved. My heart raced. My pores oozed hot sweat into my clothes. And only one word came into my mind.
No.
Just like that, I knew. I knew my mother would never find out about tonight. She didn’t need to know I’d pathetically reached out to them and been brutally rejected. Clearly, my new life in Orchard Hill was going to be just that—a new life. I didn’t need the Cresties. I felt, suddenly, foolish for ever thinking I did. Somehow I’d survived the last year and a half without them. I could survive the next two. And so what if Bedroom Boy hadn’t defended my honor back there? I could handle myself. Sort of. At least, I would. From now on.
I turned my bike down Orchard Avenue and headed for my new home. Faith was right. I was a Norm now. It was time to start living like one.
september
Did you guys hear what happened at Co
What?
Faith Kirkpatrick completely bitched out Ally Ryan.
Wait a minute. The Ally Ryan? She’s back?
Where have you been? I’ve been tweeting about this for days.
Wait. You 6uu were invited to Co
Um, no. What am I, sleeping with the guy? Please. A
A
Oh, she goes to all the Crestie parties. She’s, like, obsessed with Faith Kirkpatrick or something. Ever since Faith dumped her at that Spring Fling dance freshman year?
Oh my God! Yeah! Remember that?
Wait, Faith’s a lesbian?
No, you loser! They were just friends. Faith was, like,
the only Crestie who ever even acknowledged us.
Until she turned to the dark side.
And Ally.
Ally what?
Ally was always cool to us too.
jake
“I’d better get eighth-period study hall,” Sha
“Why? It’s not like you can leave campus,” Faith said as she checked her reflection in a tiny mirror for the fourteen thousandth time that morning. She clicked it closed and sighed. “Seniors get all the perks.”
“Yeah, but I can sleep,” Sha
“Unless I get study hall too,” I said.
Sha
We knocked fists as Faith rolled her eyes at us. “Just try not to destroy any school property. My mom’s this close to not letting me hang out with you guys anymore after the whole founder-clown incident.”
Sha
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ally Ryan waiting at the bottom of the hill on the other side of Orchard Avenue, at the corner of the OVC complex, which was where she lived now—according to all the rumors I’d heard last night after she’d left the party. She was wearing jeans and a white top with buttons and short sleeves. Her hair was down. It looked nice down. Standing next to her was her mother. At least, I figured it was her mother. They looked a lot alike. Except that as they crossed the street toward the school, her mom actually seemed happy to be there.
I felt bad about what happened at Co
“So what the hell happened last night with that Ally girl?” I asked. We were all climbing the steps together, and the girls stopped as soon as I asked.
“What do you mean? You were there,” Faith said.
“I know, but I mean . . . what did she do to Chloe that was so bad?” I asked.
Faith and Sha
I saw at least ten guys take notice of her because of that one gesture. Sha