The plan had come to her almost a month ago but she was still gathering the courage to implement it. Hannah knew it was wrong—she still had a conscience, still had a moral compass—but her parents had done the right thing and look what it had cost them? Fucking everything. If they’d been trying to teach her a lesson, it had worked: nice guys definitely finished last. And she had two whole years left at Hillcrest. She could wade through them in a state of fugue, wallowing in ennui and mediocrity. Or, she could try to salvage some of what she had had … what she had almost had. She took a fortifying breath, picked up her phone, and tapped the messenger icon. She typed:
Lauren was at Hillcrest again today
She hit send and waited. The tiny icon indicated that the message had been received and read, but there was no response. Hannah’s heart was pounding in her throat. This strategy could backfire, it could solidify her outsider status, turn her into an object of laughter and derision. But she couldn’t give up, not yet. Because as badly as things had turned out, Hannah couldn’t forget the feeling of being popular: the admiration, the respect, the sense of power… . It was so much better than being invisible. She sent another message.
I can’t believe she dares to show her face there after what she did
After a few seconds, it came… .
???
A feeling of relief flooded through Hannah. She had hooked her. Sarah Foster was dangling on her line, and she would not let the popular girl get away. Hannah knew exactly how to reel her in, because the two had much in common: they had both been in, they had both been out … and they both despised Lauren fucking Ross. Hannah tapped the tiny keyboard.
I haven’t told anyone this but …
At my party, Lauren pushed Ronni into that glass table
No one saw it but I did
Hannah waited until she knew that Sarah had read the messages and then she typed again. It was just one more line, four little words, but Hannah knew Sarah Foster would not be able to resist.
We could destroy her
Nothing. Maybe Sarah thought Hannah was lying. Maybe she thought it was just some desperate attempt to get back on the A-list. Maybe she considered Hannah grasping, needy, and pathetic. And then it came …
Wanna get a smoothie? Bruno’s in 20?
She had done it. Hannah had opened the door a crack and now she could slip inside. She would worm her way into Sarah Foster’s inner circle, become her second-in-command, the Ronni to her Lauren, and together, they would crush that bitch.
C u there
A small but triumphant smile on her lips, Hannah flicked off the oven and walked out of the apartment.
acknowledgments
Huge thanks to Karen Kosztolnyik, Jennifer Bergstrom, Molly Gregory, and everyone at Scout Press. To my team, Joe Veltre, Matt Bass, and Bob Hohman. To Yvonne Prinz and Justin Young, my San Francisco insiders. To Andrea Thorpe and Nikos Harris, for advice on the legal process. To Tanya Shklanka, for understanding what this means to me. To John, Tegan, and Ethan … you guys are everything.
about the author
© TALLULAH
ROBYN HARDING is the author of several books and has written and executive-produced an independent film. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband and two kids.
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Scout Press
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by Robyn Harding
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First Scout Press hardcover edition June 2017
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Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco
Cover design by Lisa Litwack
Front cover image © Lumina Imaging/Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-5011-6124-7
SBN 978-1-5011-6129-2 (ebook)
The Party Page 27
