Wired by Francine Pascal Page A

anywhere fancier than Gray’s Papaya. But they hadn’t even talked about prom yet.Jake had sort of forgotten it was coming up, now that he had bigger things on his mind. And Gaia … well, Gaia wasn’t the type to work herself into a State of neurosis about something like the prom. Or at least, she hadn’t been when he’d first fallen for her. Lately he wasn’t so sure. “I, uh, don’t know, to be honest,” he admitted. “If she has, she hasn’t shown me yet.”
    â€œOoh, maybe she wants it to be a surprise,” Megan offered. “You know, like the groom not seeing the bride’s dress before the wedding.”
    â€œYeah, just like that,” Melanie said witheringly. “Except this is the prom, not a wedding.”
    â€œWell, you know Gaia,” Tammie oozed in a tone that could possibly be construed as less than sincere. “Whatever she wears, she’ll look fabulous.”
    Jake grinned. “That’s definitely true. I’m not too worried about it.” He stole another peek at his watch. It was getting late. He couldn’t waste any more time with these girls and risk making Oliver wait for him. He knew timing was everything with these little spy game interludes.
    â€œOh, do you have somewhere to be?” Melanie teased.
    â€œActually, yeah, I do,” Jake replied, struggling not to reveal his impatience. “I’m in kind of a hurry. But if I talk to Gaia, I’ll mention that you guys wanted to take her shopping.”
    â€œOh, definitely,” Melanie cooed. “You should definitely do that.”
    But whether or not she was kidding, Jake was already gone, headed down the street at practically a jog.

A Pathetic Project
    â€œWELL,” MELANIE EXCLAIMED, ONCE Jake had disappeared down the block, “it looks like we won’t have to bother with Operation Revenge after all. I guess Gaia’s relationship is falling apart without us even having to interfere.” She grinned nastily. “Whatever. I told her Jake was a total player.” She didn’t look at all sorry to be proven right.
    â€œYou think so?” Megan looked genuinely curious. “I mean, yeah, he’s a flirt, and yeah,
I
definitely wouldn’t mind if he was interested in taking a break from Gaia, but I don’t know…. I mean, like we said, she has a way with guys, and he didn’t act like they were on the skids.”
    â€œWhy would he tell us if they were?” Laura pointed out.
    â€œI bet they’re not done yet is all,” Megan said. “And to be honest, after the way she was acting in calculus, I kind of hope they’re not. I actually feel a little bad for her. It looks like being a freak has finally gotten the betterof her. It’s like… she finally
cares
what we think or something. Which she should,” she hurried to add. “I mean, it’s about time. But I still say there’s something to be learned from hanging around with Gaia Moore.”
    â€œPlease,” Melanie replied. “She’s a total loser and completely hygienically challenged. I mean, really.”
    â€œIf she hangs with us, we can help her out with that,” Tammie mused. “Anyway, like Megan said, maybe it’s worth a shot. She
was
being a little pathetic in class today. Come on—boyfriend trouble sucks. We’ve
all
been there.”
    â€œGreat, just what we need. A project—a
pathetic
project.” Laura shook her head. “It’s like we’re in some bad eighties movie where we do a makeover on the uncool girl and suddenly she’s gorgeous and steals all of our men. I mean, cheerful dressing-room montage? No, thanks.”
    â€œSweetie, I’ve got news for you,” Megan responded. “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s
already
stolen all of our men. We might as well bring her over to our side.”

Crime-Stopping
    GAIA STRODE PURPOSEFULLY UP