Be Mine by Sabrina James

lawyers, hadn’t been thrilled with her PSAT scores last spring. With the SATs coming up in May, they had gotten her a tutor last month. Eden hadn’t thought her scores were that bad — after all, it was a standardized test and you couldn’t really study for it — but her parents disagreed. They felt that she wasn’t applying herself enough, but that wasn’t true! She just wasn’t as smart as Shannon and Alyssa, and even though her parents didn’t mean to do it, they were always comparing her to them. She knew they didn’t do it on purpose, but they still did it when they said things like, “Shannon never had any trouble in Chemistry. Why don’t you give her a call and see if she can help you out?” Or, “Alyssa already had enough credits from her Advanced Placement classes to enter Columbia as a sophomore. Why don’t you think about taking a class or two this summer to finish your high school requirements and get a jump start?”
    In a family of overachievers, Eden felt like she was an underachiever, even though she always tried to do her best. Her father was constantly telling her she needed to think about her future. Well, she did think about her future. She knew what she wanted to do when she was finished with college. She wanted to be a model. She wanted to wear beautiful clothes, pose for photographers, and travel the world! She wanted to be the next Tyra Banks. Her favorite TV show was America’s Next Top Model and she watched it religiously every week. Often, she would practice different facial expressions in her bedroom mirror and work on her runway walk. She also subscribed to all the fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle, W, and Harper’s Bazaar. When it came to designers, stylists, models, and photographers, she knew everything, but she didn’t share that information with her family. If they knew she wanted to be a model, she was sure they’d be horrified.
    So she didn’t tell them.
    But someday she would.
    Last night she had spent hours in front of her closet, going through her clothes, trying to find the perfect outfit for today. If Keith was going to break up with her, then she wanted him to see what he was losing.
    In the end, she decided to wear a pink turtleneck with black jeans and gray and white fake-fur boots decorated with dangling pompoms on the side. She had decided not to put too much effort into it. No reason to let Keith know she was dressing for him! The look was very casual and “let’s cuddle up in front of the fire at a ski lodge.” She’d used a flat iron on her hair so it fell over her shoulders in a smooth sheet and dabbed only a tiny bit of smoky eye shadow and mascara on her lids and lashes so she could bring out the color of her chocolatebrown eyes.
    After waiting for thirty minutes, Eden saw Keith walking down the hallway toward her. She fought against the butterflies in her stomach. She was so nervous! But she couldn’t let him see that. She couldn’t let him see that he had upset her — although her frantic messages and texts from yesterday proved the opposite. She had to be calm. If she wasn’t calm, he wouldn’t listen to her. Guys hated weepy, clingy girls.
    As Keith got closer to his locker, he saw her. His gray eyes widened in surprise.
    â€œWhat are you doing here so early?” he asked.
    Eden closed the distance between them. Should she put her hand on his arm? She decided not to. It didn’t feel right. There was something almost desperate about it. “I wanted to talk to you.”
    â€œAbout what?”
    Eden held out her cell phone with his text message still on it. “About us.”
    â€œThere is no us.”
    â€œDon’t you think texting me was a little cold?” she asked. “Why couldn’t you call me?”
    Keith walked around Eden and opened his locker, taking off his navy blue parka and hanging it inside. “I don’t