spilling on her dress...he must have thought he’d been recognized.
“How is that possible? I mean between me and Angelina you’ve seen Dead of Night a million times.
Dead of Night , right. Wait. Oh my God. “I’m so stupid!”
“What?”
“I told him I hated Dead of Night . I went on and on about how gross it is.”
“You’re kidding me?”
I shake my head, recalling the brief moment in our conversation when I told him his movie sucked. Unknowingly, of course. But what does it matter now?
“So let me get this straight. You hit him with your chair, smacked him with your forehead, and told him the movie he’s most famous for is crap?”
“It sounds really bad when you lay it all out like that.”
“And he still kissed you?” Disbelief fills her face.
“Yes.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Join the club.”
***
Under Caroline’s forceful orders, we spend the rest of first period locked in the senior lounge, dissecting my meeting with Grant. She’s so busy marveling in the events of Saturday night that she barely notices how freaked out I am. Things like this don’t happen to me. My picture isn’t supposed to be featured on every website on the internet, my face isn’t supposed to be anywhere near recognizable. Maybe I was shoved into my corner of obscurity by my sisters and their flashy reputations, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t gotten comfortable there. Unpopularity is my thing. I revel in it.
The closer the clock ticks toward the end of the hour, the more anxious I get. Caroline wants to know what Grant’s lips tasted like, I want to know if I can start home schooling tomorrow.
“Snap out of it,” Caroline exhales loudly.
“Everyone knows what happened; everyone’s seen the pictures. It’s a disaster.”
Caroline scoffs. “A disaster? Sydney this is a miracle. You’re famous.”
“I’m not famous, I’m a freak show. Someone people can point at and talk about.”
“In the bathroom earlier I overhead Shawna Sands saying how you and her are practically best friends.”
“Who?”
“She’s on the squad with your sister. Bright red hair?”
“Her? We’re not friends. Last week she was over visiting Angelina and I’m pretty sure she thought I was the maid or something. She kept asking me to get her things.”
“Did you?”
“Of course not.”
“Whatever. Just keep an open mind Sydney.” Her eyes get all sparkly and it’s almost like I can see the cogs working in her brain. The smile that spreads across her face practically reaches from earlobe to earlobe. “This is the start of something big, and that’s a promise.
Chapter Six
Somebody, well my father, once told me that life is a series of tests and it doesn’t matter whether you pass or fail, only that you tried. My dad is full of crap like that. Sage wisdom he feels must be passed down to his daughters. I think he absorbed all his parenting skills from old episodes of The Brady Bunch , because if there’s ever been another dad so full of mushy crap, it’s Mr. Brady.
Still, I can’t help remember his words as I traverse down the first floor hallway between first and second periods. Everyone is looking at me. I can feel their eyes boring into every surface of my body. Looks of interest, curiosity, confusion, and in a few cases, open disdain follow my every move. If this isn’t a test I’m meant to fail, I don’t know what is.
I have history second period, and I’d skip it if my essay weren’t due and if Mr. Hughes wasn’t a complete jackass when it comes to handing in late assignments. I take my seat near the front of the room and attempt, in vain, to ignore the looks that people keep throwing my way as they file in through the classroom door.
I wish Caroline was in this class. But no, she had to take Biology second period and leave me here all alone. Well okay, I’m not completely alone, Paul sits like two seats behind me, and Shanae is in the back corner (we sit in alphabetical order,
“How is that possible? I mean between me and Angelina you’ve seen Dead of Night a million times.
Dead of Night , right. Wait. Oh my God. “I’m so stupid!”
“What?”
“I told him I hated Dead of Night . I went on and on about how gross it is.”
“You’re kidding me?”
I shake my head, recalling the brief moment in our conversation when I told him his movie sucked. Unknowingly, of course. But what does it matter now?
“So let me get this straight. You hit him with your chair, smacked him with your forehead, and told him the movie he’s most famous for is crap?”
“It sounds really bad when you lay it all out like that.”
“And he still kissed you?” Disbelief fills her face.
“Yes.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Join the club.”
***
Under Caroline’s forceful orders, we spend the rest of first period locked in the senior lounge, dissecting my meeting with Grant. She’s so busy marveling in the events of Saturday night that she barely notices how freaked out I am. Things like this don’t happen to me. My picture isn’t supposed to be featured on every website on the internet, my face isn’t supposed to be anywhere near recognizable. Maybe I was shoved into my corner of obscurity by my sisters and their flashy reputations, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t gotten comfortable there. Unpopularity is my thing. I revel in it.
The closer the clock ticks toward the end of the hour, the more anxious I get. Caroline wants to know what Grant’s lips tasted like, I want to know if I can start home schooling tomorrow.
“Snap out of it,” Caroline exhales loudly.
“Everyone knows what happened; everyone’s seen the pictures. It’s a disaster.”
Caroline scoffs. “A disaster? Sydney this is a miracle. You’re famous.”
“I’m not famous, I’m a freak show. Someone people can point at and talk about.”
“In the bathroom earlier I overhead Shawna Sands saying how you and her are practically best friends.”
“Who?”
“She’s on the squad with your sister. Bright red hair?”
“Her? We’re not friends. Last week she was over visiting Angelina and I’m pretty sure she thought I was the maid or something. She kept asking me to get her things.”
“Did you?”
“Of course not.”
“Whatever. Just keep an open mind Sydney.” Her eyes get all sparkly and it’s almost like I can see the cogs working in her brain. The smile that spreads across her face practically reaches from earlobe to earlobe. “This is the start of something big, and that’s a promise.
Chapter Six
Somebody, well my father, once told me that life is a series of tests and it doesn’t matter whether you pass or fail, only that you tried. My dad is full of crap like that. Sage wisdom he feels must be passed down to his daughters. I think he absorbed all his parenting skills from old episodes of The Brady Bunch , because if there’s ever been another dad so full of mushy crap, it’s Mr. Brady.
Still, I can’t help remember his words as I traverse down the first floor hallway between first and second periods. Everyone is looking at me. I can feel their eyes boring into every surface of my body. Looks of interest, curiosity, confusion, and in a few cases, open disdain follow my every move. If this isn’t a test I’m meant to fail, I don’t know what is.
I have history second period, and I’d skip it if my essay weren’t due and if Mr. Hughes wasn’t a complete jackass when it comes to handing in late assignments. I take my seat near the front of the room and attempt, in vain, to ignore the looks that people keep throwing my way as they file in through the classroom door.
I wish Caroline was in this class. But no, she had to take Biology second period and leave me here all alone. Well okay, I’m not completely alone, Paul sits like two seats behind me, and Shanae is in the back corner (we sit in alphabetical order,
Similar Books
