Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin

set it on my tray. “Is it so wrong to want a good education? I want to get into a good college, and I don’t want to be behind when I start.”
    â€œI guess I’m just more realistic than you,” Mimi said.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” I asked. My stomach felt suddenly cold.
    She handed the cashier a crumpled five-dollar bill. “My grades aren’t the best. But there’s not too much I can do about it now. I’ll probably live at home for a couple of years, get a job, and go to a community college. Then—who knows?”
    â€œDon’t you want to try to go to someplace good?” I asked, sitting down at the empty end of a long table.
    She frowned at the expiration date on her milk carton. “What I want is to be able to eat lunch without getting sick.”
    We ate quickly before the cafeteria filled up. Then Mimi took me to the back of the school, to a courtyard that was surrounded on three sides by a brick wall. The overgrown hedges on the inside gave the place a private feeling.
    â€œWelcome to the Maze,” she said, moving quickly through various throngs of kids. “When the weather’s nice, this is one of the few perks of being a regular-track student. The Maze is off-limits to GATEs.”
    My eyes widened. “That seems illegal. Can a school really do that?”
    â€œOh, it’s not an official thing,” she said, leading me over to a sunny section of the wall. “In case you haven’t noticed, GATEs are kind of hated by the rest of us. They know it too. The security guards don’t monitor the Maze too much, so GATEs are afraid to hang out here.” She threw her backpack to the top and climbed up. I hesitated for a minute. The wall was steep and crumbly. Mimi laughed and reached down to give me a hand. “You can do it. Promise.”
    Scrambling to the top, I took in the view. There were mountains everywhere, their summits as jagged and pointy as knives. The air smelled wonderful—like earth and pine trees. “This is more like it!”
    â€œThose are the Cascades to the east,” Mimi said, pointing. “The mountains to the west are called the Olympics. Have you heard of the Olympic Peninsula? It’s where Twilight is set.” She eyed me speculatively. “Jacob or Edward?”
    â€œNo-brainer. Edward.”
    â€œHmm. I go back and forth.”
    I made a face. “Jacob’s just too…werewolf.”
    â€œBut Edward is so mopey . Plus, he’s kind of snobby.”
    â€œHe has good taste!” I protested. “What’s wrong with having standards?”
    A loud laugh echoed through the Maze. Looking down, I saw a flash of pink. Amanda Munger was immersed in a crowd of tough-looking skater guys. They were like puppies in her presence. She was flirting with them in that you-can’t-have-me kind of way—which only made them want her more.
    I turned to Mimi. “She’s a GATE. Why does she get to be here?”
    â€œShe’s Girl Wonder. The rules don’t apply to her.” Mimi’s cell phone started ringing—the first evidence I’d seen that she maybe had a life. She pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the number. “Hold on. I’ll just be a sec.”
    While Mimi talked—she seemed very irritated with whoever was on the other end of the line—I slid on my sunglasses and studied Amanda. She was laughing again. It was such a wonderful, joyous sound—uninhibited and completely natural. I wished I could laugh like that.
    â€œUgh!” Mimi said, tucking her phone back into her purse. “My mom is such a drunk. She’s about to go in to work and she couldn’t find her keys.”
    â€œDoes Amanda have a boyfriend?” I asked, though I was sure she must. I imagined he would be a god. I wanted to know just how good she had it.
    Mimi looked disappointed. She’d wanted me to take the bait about her apparently