Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better by Lauren Barnholdt, Nathalie Dion Page A

pick people up.”
    “Well, great,” I say. “Maybe sometime we can all meet up.” A summer camp boyfriend? How many ex-boyfriends has Barelli had? I can hardly keep up with my one. Of course, mine is fake, and hers are probably real. But still.
    “Actually, I’m having a party,” Bailey says, smilingall innocently up from under her long lashes. She definitely has mascara on. “It’s my birthday.”
    “That’s right,” Luke says, smiling.
    What? Why? How is it he can remember his ex-girlfriend’s birthday, and not remember that there is a very big semiformal coming up to which I am currently dateless?
    “Anyway, you should all come,” Bailey says. “It’s on Saturday.” She’s having a boy/girl party? Great. I’ve never been to a boy/girl party. But of course I can’t tell her that. She’s probably been having tons of boy/girl parties since she was five. Not to mention all the boy/ girl parties she’s probably
been
to. And I know Luke’s been to boy/girl parties, since he’s always been A-list, and they have tons of those things.
    “Sure,” I say. “I’ll come.” No way I’m letting Luke go by himself to Bailey Barelli’s birthday party. Hmm. I wonder if he’ll get her a present. Do I have to get her a present? Probably, otherwise she’d know that I didn’t get her one just because I don’t like her. I wonder if Luke and I can get her a joint present. Something kind of generic, like a scented candle or a journal. Perfectly nice, but not that personal. And I’ll sign the card, “Best, Devon and Luke.” Definitely not ‘love.’
    “Great!” Bailey says. “And make sure you bringGreg.”
    “I’ll ask him,” I say. “But I’m not sure he can make it.”
    Kim Cavalli comes up to us at that moment, which makes no sense, because I know for a fact that her first class is math, which is on the complete other side of the school, and the bell is about to ring in one second. I guess she doesn’t care about being late. She’s wearing super big hoop earrings that almost touch her neck, and her hair is in a ponytail.
    “Ohmigod,” she says. “What’s going on out here?” But she smiles when she says it, like she can’t imagine anything could possibly be going on, since she’s not involved.
    “I was just inviting everyone to my party,” Bailey says. “Devon’s going to bring Greg.”
    “Well,” I say. “I said I’d ask him if he wants to go.”
    “It seems like maybe you don’t want to bring him,” Luke says. He looks slightly upset.
    “It’s not that I don’t want to,” I say. starting to feel a little sick to my stomach. Why isn’t the bell ringing? Seriously, every time you want or need the bell to ring, it never does. “I just can’t promise that he’s going to come.”
    “He might be sick.” Mel, who up until this pointhas been pretty quiet, offers up this gem.
    “Sick?” Kim laughs. Her earrings sparkle, catching the light as she moves. “Why, what’s wrong with him?”
    “Nothing’s wrong with him,” Mel says. “He just sometimes . . .” She trails off.
    “Gets sick,” I finish for her, lamely. “He has a very compromised immune system.”
    “Eww,” Bailey says. “That sounds gross.” She wrinkles her tiny little nose and pushes her hair out of her face. Ohmigod. Is Barelli wearing a nose ring? She is! A little nose jewel right on the side of her nose. It’s one of those stick-on ones, obviously, since she didn’t have it yesterday.
    “It’s not gross,” I say, not wanting Luke to think that the guy I dated before him was gross. “I had to take care of him a lot.”
    “Because of his compromised immune system?” Kim looks at me skeptically. “Well, hopefully he can make it on Saturday. I mean, after that whole thing with you making up a fake relationship with Jared, it would be nice if you could prove you were trustworthy.”
    I’m about to ask her to whom, exactly, I have to prove I’m trustworthy. Her? Barelli? The only people in