A Girl Like Gracie by Scarlett Haven Page A

was
crazy.”
    “ The moral of the stories is never eat
fifty chicken nuggets before going on a roller coaster,” Jace
says.
    We all laugh.
    The guy next to West, the last guy in the
circle, goes next. “Next have I ever gone viral.”
    Noah is the only one to take a drink.
    “ You’ve gone viral?” I ask
him.
    Once again, everybody starts laughing.
    Noah just shakes his head, letting me know
he’s not going to say a word.
    “ Let’s just say that Noah on morphine
is hilarious,” Alfie says.
    “ Morphine?” I ask.
    “ I broke my leg. Which is another very
long story. But they gave me morphine and the hospital and I said
some pretty hilarious stuff,” Noah says. “But you can never watch
the video, because it would ruin the good impression you have of
me.”
    “ What good impression?” I
ask.
    “ Nobody tell her where to find it,”
Noah says. “I have enough dirt on every single one of you that you
should all be scared.”
    Nobody says a word.
    “ Aw,” I say, pouting.
    “ She’s even cute when she pouts,” Noah
says.
    If I were in Korea, I would use egyo so I
could watch the video, but I’m not sure that egyo works in
America.
    “ Oppppppa ,” I
say, pouting more.
    “ Don’t use the on him,” Alfie says,
bumping me with his elbow. “My mom used to always do that to our
dad when she wanted something and he would agree every time. It’s
called egyo, right?”
    I nod.
    “ What’s egyo?” Noah asks.
    “ It’s when a girl acts cute to get her
way,” Alfie answers. “I know for a fact that Gracie is really good
at it. She could always convince me to give her anything when we
were kids.”
    I smile at the memory.
    “ It doesn’t really work well on
American guys,” Alfie tells me. “If any other girl besides you did
it, I would call her whiney.”
    “ That’s because they’re not Korean,” I
say.
    “ Well, either way, you’re not seeing
the video,” Noah says. His voice is stern. “It’s
embarrassing.”
    “ Fine,” I say.
    But eventually, I will see it.

Saturday, August 27
    It kind of is a big
deal.
     
    Early on Saturday morning, I find Claire
getting ready to head out.
    “ Claire, I need your help,” I say,
right before she walks out.
    She turns around and looks at me. “What’s
going on?”
    “ I um… Noah invited me to his father’s
wedding,” I say.
    “ Noah Pennington?” she
asks.
    I nod.
    “ You’re going to Charles Pennington’s
wedding?”
    I nod again.
    “ And it’s happening today?”
    “ Yes,” I say.
    “ Why are just just telling me now?”
she asks.
    I shrug. “I don’t know. I didn’t think about
it until now. But I’m kind of stressed about what I should wear or
how I should fix my hair. I thought that maybe you could help me,
if you’re not busy.”
    “ I’ll cancel my plans,” she says.
“This is much more important.”
    “ Noah said it’s not a big deal,” I
say. “It’s like his fifth wedding. I just am freaking out cause
there will be paparazzi taking pictures, and I don’t want to look
bad.”
    “ Well, it kind of is a big deal,” Claire says, pulling her phone
out of her purse. She dials a number. “I have an emergency and need
to get in right away.”
    Emergency?
    Who is she talking to?
    “ That’s perfect,” she says to the
person on the phone, and then ends the call. “We have to leave
now.” Claire grabs my arm and pulls me out the front door towards
her car.
    “ Where are we going?”
    “ Shopping,” she says. “You need a
dress. And after, I’ll get you an appointment to get your hair
fixed.”
    “ You had to make an appointment to go
shopping?” I ask.
    “ Gracie, this isn’t just anybody’s
wedding. It’s Charles Pennington. And you’re going as Noah
Pennington’s date. You have to look good,” she says, getting in the
driver’s seat of her car. I climb in the passenger seat.
    “ Date? Who said anything about a date?
I’m going with him as a favor. We’re friends,” I say.
    “ Friends or