Moby Clique by Cara Lockwood Page A

notebook.
    “Is this Ryan ?” I say, pointing angrily to the R.K. “Are you crushing on my Ryan?”
    Lindsay’s eyes widen a little, a guilty look flitting across her face, and then she grabs the notebook back.
    “He’s not your anything. You broke up with him,” she says.
    “Not true,” I say. Technically, I broke up first, but then he broke up second. “Besides, you cannot like him. You just can’t.” I am angrier than I should be. But, objectively, there are a million reasons why this won’t work. One, Parker would kill her if she found out. And two, hello—he’s my ex. Sisters cannot date each other’s exes. It’s a rule. Somewhere. Definitely in stone.
    “It’s my life,” Lindsay says, flipping her Parker pony-tail. “I can like who I want.” And with that, she pushes past me, pressing her “Lindsay loves Ryan” notebook tightly to her chest.
    This time, I will kill her. I swear.

Eight
    “Ryan won’t go for her,” Blade tells me with certainty. She and Hana and I are standing outside the cafeteria after dinner.
    “She’s way too young,” Hana agrees.
    “She’s way too something,” I agree. I still get a bitter taste in my mouth anytime I think about Lindsay and that stupid notebook of hers. Ryan is objectively gorgeous, but Lindsay’s my sister and she ought to show a shred of loyalty. Borrowing (read: stealing) my shoes is one thing. Stealing my ex is in a whole other league, even for Lindsay.
    “Anyway, forget them,” Blade adds.
    “Yeah, forget them, and come to the pit with us,” Hana says.
    The pit is a giant stone circle at the center of campus in front of the chapel. Every night, there’s a lit fire. There are stone benches around it, and it’s too dark to study. The only other gathering places are the library and the dining hall, and both of them are heavily monitored by Bard faculty and Guardians. The pit is monitored, too, just more at a distance.
    There’s not much to do at Bard. There are no computers or televisions or mobile phones, so the pit is pretty much it in terms of excitement. Unless you just want to sit around and count the gargoyles hanging off the eaves on buildings around here (so far, I’ve counted ninety-three), then the pit is it.
    “I don’t know,” I say, hesitating. Hana and Blade have been trying to get me to go to the pit since the start of school. The pit also is the place you go when you want to see and be seen. I used to hang out there a lot when I was dating Ryan. The idea of going there sans Ryan just makes me feel like a loser.
    “Plus, we’re juniors now, so we get the comfortable benches,” Hana reminds me. Technically, all the benches are made of stone, but the ones closest to the fire are unofficially officially reserved for upperclassmen. It can get cold at night, even during warm days at Bard, and the cold stone benches suck the heat right out of you.
    “Miranda got to sit on the comfortable benches with Ryan last year, remember?” Blade says. Swiftly, Hana pokes her for reminding me. Not that I could forget. Ryan—a year older than me—would always save me a place next to him, and when I’d sit down, he’d wrap me up in his letterman jacket and keep me warm.
    “I just don’t think I feel like it,” I say, hesitating.
    “Come on. You can’t avoid Ryan forever,” Blade tells me, practically. “Besides, if you keep hiding, then Parker wins.”
    “Yeah,” Hana agrees. “You’ve got to show her you’re totally over Ryan.” She pauses, giving me a doubtful look. “You are over him, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah, of course,” I say, with more conviction than I feel.
    “Good. Then we’re going,” Blade says, dragging me by the arm.

    When we hit the pit, it’s packed, as I expected. It’s after dinner, and we only have one free hour before curfew, when we have to head back to our dorms for mandatory study time. Everything at Bard is very strict and regulated, so you don’t have a lot of free time. The school’s