by Meg Cabot
Six secrets that will help turn that No, thanks into an I can’t wait:
1. Study dates are good because they are low pressure. For instance, you can ask a guy to come over (while your parents are home) so that the two of you can quiz each other for your World Civ exam. Group dates are also an excellent way to get to know someone. Going ice skating, out to eat, or to the movies in a large group is fun and less intimidating than one-on-one dating when you are just beginning to get acquainted with someone.
2. Ask the guy out to a specific event scheduled for a specific date. Don’t say, “Do you want to hang out sometime?” This is bad because there is no polite way he can get out of it if in fact he likes someone else. Instead, ask, “Would you like to attend my coronation with me on Saturday night?” This way, if he likes you, but he is busy Saturday night, he can say, “Sorry, I can’t. But I can go Sunday.” Or, if he doesn’t like you, he can just say, “Sorry, I can’t.”
3. Generally you should ask someone out two to three days before the event—at least a week or more in advance if it is a special event, like the Prom. It is rude to call someone on Saturday night and ask them out for that evening, unless it is for a casual group thing. To wait until the last minute to ask someone out implies that you assumed he or she did not have other plans.
4. Ask him out in person, over the phone, or through e-mail. Don’t have someone else ask him out for you because you’re too chicken to ask him yourself! No one likes a scaredy-cat. Besides, if he says no, all these other people will know about it, and you will be mortified.
5. Ask when he is alone, not hanging out with a group of friends. Most guys are pretty immature, and give each other a hard time about these things. Spare him—and yourself—the agony. And if you are calling, call at a decent hour, like before nine in the evening. No need to get his parents upset before they’ve even met you!
6. Generally, the person who does the asking is the person who does the paying. Never ask a guy out and expect HIM to pay your way! If you are not prepared to pay his way, make sure he knows that in advance, so he brings enough money. For instance, you might say, “Want to go bowling at Chelsea Piers on Friday Night? I’ll pay for the pizza if you pay for the shoes and games.”
Tina says: If HE Asks YOU Out…
You lucky girl! He asked! He finally asked! Now don’t blow it by jumping around, pumping your fist in the air. Be enthusiastic, but be cool.
[If you are like me, and your father, the prince of a small European country won’t allow you to go out with a boy he hasn’t met, you must confess this IMMEDIATELY to any boy who asks you out. It is not fair to the boy just to spring it on him at the last minute. He needs time to prepare mentally, because meeting monarchs can be very intimidating.]
Tina’s Five Possible Answers to the Big Question:
1. If you have to check with your parents before accepting a date, say, “Oh, I’d love to go to the planetarium with you on Saturday, but I have to check with my mom first. May I call you back when I know for sure?” Then be sure to call him back promptly.
2. Once you have said yes to a date, it would be very unprincesslike to change your mind and cancel at the last minute because: a) someone you like better has asked you out, or b) you decide you do not like the boy as much as you thought.
You HAVE to go on the date. Canceling is only acceptable if you become ill or there is an unavoidable family emergency, like a coup in your kingdom. If either of these things happens, you must call your date at once to let him know. Never, ever just fail to show up on a date. Think how you would feel if someone did that to you!
3. If someone you don’t particularly like asks you out, think before you say no. Sometimes people don’t make very good first impressions, or act differently around other people than they do when they are just with one other person. That boy in your Lit class who cracks all the jokes may not be as cute as the slightly dim guy who sits next to you in World Civ, but remember it is more fun to laugh than it is to gaze at a chiseled profile.
4. If you really can’t stand the guy who’s just asked you out, say, “I’m so sorry, but I already have other plans.” You don’t need to elaborate, or invent complicated lies. For instance, if you say, “I’m sorry, I have to christen a battleship that night,” and then the guy sees you at the movies instead, his feelings will be hurt. And princesses try never to hurt other people’s feelings. That’s why a princess would never call every single one of her friends after turning down a date and go, “You’ll never believe who just asked me out.” A princess tries to treat others the way she would like to be treated.
5. If someone you do like asks you out but you can’t go because you already have something scheduled for that evening, you need to convey your regret sincerely, so he’ll ask you out some other time. Say, “I am so sorry I can’t, I have to assume my place on my rightful throne that night. But I’m free next weekend, if the invitation is still open.” This way, he will know you really do want to go out with him, and are not just making up an excuse.
Tina says: So He Dumps You…
Everybody gets dumped. Even totally gorgeous movie stars like Nicole Kidman. Even princesses.
Here is what you should do while you are waiting for your heart to heal: Throw yourself into some fun extracurricular activities. Join your school drama club, or volunteer at your local no-kill animal shelter, or take up karate, or get a part-time baby-sitting job and watch dopey Disney movies with the kids. Do something—ANYTHING—to get your mind off the guy.
Which is not to say that the merest glimpse of him in the hallway won’t pierce your heart like a red-hot poker. But in time it won’t hurt as much as it used to.
And then one day you will realize that it doesn’t hurt at all, and that this other guy—the one you always liked but didn’t think knew you were alive—actually liked you back all along, and the two of you will fall into each other’s arms and live happily ever after. Even if you don’t happen to be a princess.
TINA HAKIM BABA’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AN ACTUAL GUY, ROYAL CONSORT MICHAEL MOSCOVITZ
Tina Hakim Baba:
We are extremely fortunate to have been granted access to an actual live guy, Michael Moscovitz, who has agreed to a no-holds-barred interview on the topic of his love for Mia. Michael, first question: Would it be fair to say that your heart sang the first time you saw Mia?
Royal Consort Michael Moscovitz:
Um, well, technically, since the first time I laid eyes on Mia she was six years old, hanging upside down from a set of monkey bars, and her lips were blue because she’d just eaten a Rocket Pop, I would have to say, um, no.
Tina HBB:
All right, well, when did you become aware that your life without Mia was an empty page, a blank book, a flimsy tissue of lies?
RC Michael M:
Do I really have to answer this?
Tina HBB:
You said no-holds-barred.
RC Michael M:
Well, then I would have to say the first time I saw her on in-line skates. Mia’s the worst in-line skater I ever saw. She kept falling down. But then she’d get right back up again like nothing had happened. It was cute.
Tina HBB:
Cute?
RC Michael M:
Yeah. Cute.
Tina HBB:
Moving on. Does the breeze in the trees seem to sigh the word Mia as you walk by?
RC Michael M:
Not really.
Tina HBB:
It doesn’t? Okay. But when your gaze meets Mia’s, do you feel sparks inside?
RC Michael M:
You know what? I actually have to go. I have a thing. A thing to go to.
Tina HBB:
Just one more question: Which would you say attracted you to Mia most:
a) Her mist-colored eyes
b) Her tawny hair
c) Her puckish yet highly kissable mouth or
d) Her sylphlike figure
RC Michael M:
; Um, I would have to say her sense of humor.
Tina HBB:
That is not one of the choices.
RC Michael M:
I know. But it’s true.
Tina HBB:
I see. Well. Does every sinew in your being cry out to be reunited with your love when you are apart?
RC Michael M:
I really do have to go now.
Tina HBB:
Okay, but answer this first: Does Mia make you feel complete, fill a hole in yourself you didn’t even know you had, make your lips tingle with a single look, inspire you to be better, more courageous, more giving, just to try to deserve her?
RC Michael M:
Um. Yes?
Tina HBB:
It has been a pleasure interviewing you, Michael. You are truly a man among men.
Conclusion
A Note from
Her Royal Highness Princess Mia
I hope you have found this guide helpful. As you can see, there is a lot more to being a princess than just how to wear a tiara and pluck your eyebrows.
Just remember:
Kindness Counts Random acts of kindness rock! Instant messaging someone who seems down; offering to go to the movies with the new girl who no one likes; letting your best friend borrow your tiara to wear on her cable access television show—are all extremely princessy things to do.
Just Say No Thank You Just because you are kind does not mean you have to be a pushover. Don’t let other people tell you what to do—unless what they are proposing is for your own good, like taking Algebra, or something. It is princesslike to be assertive. It is unprincesslike to be walked all over.
Smile Princesses always put their best face forward—not just because some reporter is probably going to jump out of the bushes and snap a picture of you and you don’t want to be looking heinous when he does it, but for the good of your kingdom’s morale. So you’re a too-tall, flat-chested Japanese anime lover with a D-minus in Algebra, and the guy you adore isn’t responding to the anonymous love letters you keep slipping into his locker. Never let your public see that any of it is bothering you! Don’t be fake, but don’t bring the kingdom down, either.
Always Be Gracious When we lose, we princesses don’t let anyone know it bothers us. Instead, we go home and pour out all our hateful, jealous feelings into our diaries. So the guy you like appears to like a girl who knows how to clone fruit flies. So your best friend has a date to the Nondenominational Winter Dance and you don’t. Don’t let them know it bugs you! Princesses don’t want anyone’s pity.
And most important:
Be Yourself Princesses set their own trends, they don’t follow the fashion dictates of others. Can a girl with green hair and a belly-button ring really be a princess? Absolutely, if she selected that green hair and belly-button ring because she wanted them, and not just because everyone else is wearing them.
Remember, being a princess is about how you act, not who your parents are, what kind of SAT scores you got, what extracurricular activities you choose to take part in, or how you look, in spite of what Grandmère, Sebastiano, Paolo, and everyone else says.
Being a princess is more of an attitude, really, than a way of life. And you know, even though there aren’t enough countries on the planet for each one of us to get a chance to reign supreme, it’s possible for all of us at least to act like a princess, even if some of you will never actually be one (and believe me, you are way better off that way).
THE END
or possibly,
The Beginning?
About the Author and Illustrator
Meg Cabot is the author of the best-selling, critically acclaimed Princess Diaries books, the first of which was made into the wildly popular Disney movie of the same name. Her other books for teens include All-American Girl, Haunted, Nicola and the Viscount, and Victoria and the Rogue. When not writing novels, Meg keeps busy brushing up on her etiquette, so that when her real parents, the king and queen, come along and restore her to her rightful throne, she won’t make any social gaffes. She lives in New York City with her royal consort and a one-eyed cat named Henrietta.
Chesley McLaren ’s work has graced the pages and windows of such fashionable clients as Vogue, InStyle, The New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bergdorf Goodman. She debuted as an author/illustrator with Zat Cat!, A Haute Couture Tail and illustrated You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! Though she could be quite happy living at Versailles among the chandeliers and ballrooms, Chesley resides in Manhattan with her royal consort and Monsieur Étoile, the original Zat Cat!
BOOKS ABOUT
Princess Mia:
THE PRINCESS DIARIES
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME II :
PRINCESS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME III :
PRINCESS IN LOVE
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME IV:
PRINCESS IN WAITING
Credits
Cover art © 2003 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Copyright
PRINCESS LESSONS: A Princess Diaries Book. Text copyright © 2003 by Meggin Cabot. Illustrations copyright © 2003 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061972034
Version 07132012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cabot, Meg.
Princess lessons : a princess diaries book / Meg Cabot ;
illustrated by Chesley McLaren.
p. cm. — (Princess diaries)
Summary: Princess Mia from “The Princess Diaries” offers advice on inner and outer beauty, character development, etiquette, and dating.
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*Because English is not Sebastiano’s first language, he has some difficulty pronouncing the second syllables of many English words. In this case, Bet means Better.
*model
*remember
*budget
*normal
*outlets
*It is never a good idea to introduce guests with radically different political views to one another. A communist, for instance, should never be seated beside an anarchist during dinner. Unpleasantness is guaranteed to ensue.
[The same goes for cheerleaders versus nerds.]
*together
*dozen
*imagination
*creative
*borrow
*mother’s
*necklaces
*wrapped
*people
*experimenting
<
br /> *fashion
*money
*summer
*every
*wardrobe
*sweater
*pantyhose
*underwear
*tennis
*jacket
