Just Your Average Box Set (Just Your Average Princess, Just Your Average Geek, & Just Your Average Celebrity)

by Kristina Springer

  I don’t care, do I? Well, that is, I didn’t used to care. Not until I got caught up in all this Boy Swap stuff. Hmm.

  “Thanks, Delaney. Thanks for reminding me of me.”

  Chapter 26: Sheer Poetry

  It’s been two weeks since the Boy Swap Club died that early morning in the school gym. Cassie still hasn’t come back to school and people are speculating that she transferred to the town’s Catholic school. I would if I were her. Absolutely everyone here hates her. Word of the Boy Swap Club and our big fight spread throughout the school at lightning speed and you can guess whose side everyone took. Okay, if you can’t guess, I’ll tell you—they took my side!

  I have to confess, though, I’m not completely unhappy that I joined the BSC. I mean, at first I thought Cassie really screwed up my life and stole my true love and all. But in a way she kind of helped me. Chris wasn’t the right guy for me and it might have taken me a lot longer to figure that out if it wasn’t for her. And I had thought that I wanted to be more popular, and I guess technically I am. But it doesn’t matter because I know now I’d be happy either way. I like my new friends and I love my super fantastic old friends. The ones who really pulled through for me when I needed them. And I also got something else. Something really wonderful that I totally wanted.

  “Are you ready to start hanging these puppies up?” Carter interrupts my thoughts, waving a pile of yellow fliers in front of me.

  I glance at the flier:

  Want to meet new friends?

  Share lots of laughs?

  Drink lots of coffee?

  Join POETRY CLUB!!

  Co-founded by Brooke Thomas and Carter Jones, POETRY CLUB meets the first Monday of every month in the Bookends Bookstore Café @ 4 p.m. Bring your favorite poems to share!

  “It’s perfect!” I stand on my tiptoes and give Carter a long kiss on the lips. Now this is definitely the kind of club I am more than happy to be a member of. And if no other members show up, you sure won’t find me crying into my latte. I will be happily listening to Carter’s beautiful voice read me poetry.

  Just Your Average Celebrity

  Just Your Average Celebrity

  By Kristina Springer

  Copyright 2015 by Kristina Springer

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This story was previously published as “The Paparazzi Project” and has been re-titled for inclusion in the Just Your Average line.

  Just Your Average is a line of fun standalone young adult contemporary romance novels about average girls in extraordinary situations.

  www.KristinaSpringer.com

  Chapter 1

  It’s passing period between first and second hour, and the halls are jam packed. Students are checking their hair in locker mirrors, swapping out books, and texting on their phones, which technically aren’t allowed in school but no one pays attention to that rule. I look around for an escape to whisk my best friend Tessa through, but there are swarms of kids everywhere.

  “It’s not him!” Tessa over-enunciates into a freshman girl’s face. Tessa throws me a panicked look over her shoulder. “I’ve gotta get out of here, Livvie. Right. Now.”

  “Follow me,” I say. I know Tessa can be a drama queen, but I still hate to see her being scrutinized by the entire high school.

  “Hey, Tessa,” Bella Clark yells in our direction, “is that…”

  “No!” Tessa screams before Bella gets another word out. “Now, Livvie. I want to go now.” She draws out the last “now” in a long painful whine, kinda like a cat that just got its tail stepped on.

  I almost smile but quickly stop myself, knowing it would only make the situation worse. Tessa freaking out is not a new thing. Last week it was that her foundation was labeled wrong and was more orange than the natural ivory it had promised. She e-mailed the company three angry letters within twenty minutes of her first application. And her going off on the lunch lady for mislabeling the regular ranch with the fat-free label will go down in history at Thompson High. She about blew poor Doreen’s hairnet off with all her yelling. It’s like, if there isn’t constant drama in Tessa’s life, she’s out of whack. Whereas I’m mildly allergic to drama. I’m feeling itchy now just witnessing her meltdown. But this time is totally different. She has every right to flip out. Mike is such a jerk! I can’t believe he did this to her.

  “Okay, bathroom,” I say, grabbing her elbow and pulling her through students, down the hall, and around the corner to the nearest girl’s restroom.

  Once inside, Tessa punches both hand dryers on and then slowly slumps down to the ground between them, placing her head in her hands. I’ve never seen her like this. I mean, those floors look like they haven’t been washed since 2008.

  “It’s not that bad, Tess,” I say over the noise of the dryers, trying to calm her and ignore the clump of sticky hairs on the floor just to the right of her thigh. They’re different colors too, like they’ve been collecting for a while. Ew.

  Her head jolts up and she glares at me. “Not that bad? Are you kidding me? It isn’t a picture of your boyfriend messing around with a big-haired skank getting forwarded from phone to phone, now is it?” she snaps.

  Okay. She’s stressing right now. She doesn’t mean to lash out at me. And fine, it’s true. I don’t know how it feels to have everyone in school have visual proof on their cellphones that my boyfriend is cheating on me. I don’t even have a boyfriend. I’m sure she’s feeling super sucktacular.

  “Well,” I begin, choosing my words carefully so as not to get screamed at again, “you know, it could be anyone, really. I mean, it might not even be Mike.” It very well could be a long-lost twin he never knew he had. That kind of stuff happens to people all of the time. On soaps, anyway.

  She gives me a pissed-off look. “Are you freaking kidding me? It’s Mike, all right. That two-timing jerk. What’s that frizzy-headed water buffalo got that I don’t? Certainly not six months invested in a relationship with him like I do.”

  Hoo-kay. So she’s just going to keep right on yelling at me. She’s lucky we’ve been best friends for sixteen years, or I wouldn’t stand here taking the abuse. But she knows where I live, being that we’re next-door neighbors, so it’s not like I can cut her off forever or anything. Not that I’d even want to. She’s actually really fun and personable when she’s not screaming in my face.

  “Oh, Livvie,” she wails.

  Uh-oh. We’ve got tears. Poor Tess.

  “Why did he do this?” She slaps the ground right where that gathering of old hair is. So gross. I am literally dying for some paper towels and antibacterial Windex right now. “Why? Why did the big jerk do this to me?”

  “I don’t know, Tess,” I say, a little too loud. The dryers suddenly turn off and the bathroom echoes. “I don’t know,” I repeat, quieter.

  I tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, kinda like when you’re going to check if the iron is hot yet. I want to comfort her and at the same time not get decked. She’s got a quick right punch from all of those kick boxing classes she takes at the Y. “I’m so sorry though. If there was anything that I could do, you know I’d do it.” I chance her lightning reflexes and lean down to give her a hug anyway.

  Tessa sniffles and rubs at her face with the back of her hands. There are mascara streaks going up her cheeks to her ears. I dodge into a stall and grab a
handful of toilet paper, bringing it to her. She nods her thanks and slowly gets up on her feet. She wipes her eyes while looking in the mirror over one of the sinks. You gotta love Tessa. Even in her time of great misery, I notice her check a new pimple near her hairline.

  “I hate him, Livvie. I do,” she declares. “How can he humiliate me like this?”

  I look at her reflection in the mirror. “Because he’s an evil robot clone from the future sent back in time to torture teenage girls and collect data to bring back to his home planet for analysis.”

  She looks at me like I’m speaking Swahili. “What? What the heck are you talking about?”

  I guess we’re not ready for humor yet.

  Her face turns sad again and she drops the crumpled-up toilet paper on the ground. Whoa. Litter much? I pick it up and toss it in the trash can.

  “How can I face anyone again?” she asks, her shoulders slumped. “Everyone knows. The whole school is talking about me.”

  I think about this. “It’s a small picture, you know. And you can’t really make out his face. Mostly you see the back of the girl’s head. All that blond, poofy hair. Could be just about anybody behind that. Maybe you don’t have to say anything.”

  Tessa sighs loudly and places her fingers on her temples. “I’m getting a stress headache. I think I’m going to go lay down in the nurse’s office.”

  I nod. “Want me to walk you there?”

  “Nah, don’t miss your class. I’ll be fine,” she says, heading for the bathroom door.

  I follow her out. “It’ll blow over, Tess, don’t worry.”

  She gasps. “Uh! Livvie!”

  I try to hide my smile. Still too soon for jokes? “Sorry, bad word choice. I mean, things will look better later. Like, tomorrow. Or, you know, the next day. You’ll have to deal with Mike at some point, but I wouldn’t worry about everyone else. People have short-term memories. No one will remember the picture tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” she says in a small voice. I can tell she doesn’t believe me quite yet. But there’s not much I can say that will make her feel better at this point.

  The bell rings, indicating I’m now late for my Interpersonal Communications class. Tessa and I walk into the hallway.

  “Sure you’re okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah, yeah. Go on to class. I just need to lie down for a while.”

  “Okay, I’ll check on you later.” I head down the hall, happy for the break from Tessa’s current crisis. I know it’s awful to feel this way and I should stay with her and comfort her until she feels better, but I’m no good in these situations.

  Ugh, I hate drama. I don’t do well when people are hysterical and there’s yelling and emotions all over the place. It’s so not my thing and I avoid it at all costs. Ever since the awful fight with Becca Stevens in 8th grade.

  Becca and I were friends, or I should say we were friendly in that we shared the same circle of friends, but Becca was always a bit of a big mouth and she often commanded the bulk of the attention from the group. Maybe I’m an easy target, but Becca liked to pick on me to entertain herself. I hated it. But I never really stopped it either. One afternoon, we were sitting around the Pizza Palace having a slice when Becca decided to rip on me again. She said, “Hey guys, do you know why Livvie didn’t swim with us yesterday? It’s because she has her period and didn’t know how to use a tampon.”

  To say that I was completely mortified is an understatement. I just didn’t understand how they worked. I’d tried to ask my mom but she launched into some lecture about young girls and toxic shock syndrome, and that was the end of that. Becca was laughing like she made the greatest joke ever, but I wasn’t.

  I felt hot all over, like I might pass out or throw up. I wanted to escape under the table or get swallowed into the ground. Everyone was giggling. Becca looked at me like she expected me to join in and laugh at her joke too. Only I couldn’t. The impulse to attack back welled up inside me and before I knew it I’d blurted out, “So sorry, I’m not as mature as you. I guess that happens when you have sex with a junior behind the shed in your backyard.”

  The color drained from Becca’s face, and the other girls gasped. No one was laughing now. As soon as the words left my mouth I wished I could grab them up and shove them back in. Becca had told me that in confidence one night at a sleepover and made me swear to never tell. And here I’d just blurted it out for all to hear at the Pizza Palace. Becca jumped up from the table and ran out of the restaurant. Two of her friends went after her. And I just sat there, my face stinging like I’d been hit though no one had touched me.

  I’d felt Tessa staring at me, probably wondering why I’d never shared that particular piece of info with her. But she recovered quickly and went into action defending me. “Becca’s always running her mouth,” Tessa said. “She should expect to get it back if she wants to give it like that. Livvie didn’t do anything wrong.”

  But I did. I knew I shouldn’t have said that. Even though she taunted me, I shouldn’t have said that because it was a secret. Becca didn’t want to be labeled and now all the girls knew what she’d done. Even if they told her it was no big deal they would still see her in a different light now.

  Becca and I were never friends again and that was okay. It wasn’t like we were close anyway. But I swore I’d avoid drama from then on. Just let people say what they want and laugh it off. Even if it was hard to swallow. I don’t like to be the center of attention, having everyone in a room focused on me. I like to hang in the shadowy edges, where no one is looking.

  I walk in the classroom, and Mrs. B., my Interpersonal Communications teacher, bellows out, “Tardy for the Party,” that really horrible song one of those reality star housewives made famous.

  The class groans. She sings this whenever one of us is late to class. I personally don’t mind. It’s better than getting detention.

  I slip into my desk in the back and pull out my favorite purple pen and a notebook. Mrs. B. is a really laid-back teacher. She’s always wearing those long, flowing hippie skirts, even before they came back in style. And her hair is a mass of salt and pepper curls. She told us once that she doesn’t believe in hair color and thinks we’re a nation of women bleaching away a few IQ points at a time with each dye job. In class, she generally never says anything that requires note-taking, but you never know. There’s always a first. And I’m sorta the conscientious type, so I like to be prepared just in case. No one else around me is rushing to get out something to write with. Everyone knows there are no tests in this class. Only feelings and sharing and talking about our feelings and sharing. Blah, blah, blah, touchy feely stuff. We’re supposed to have some projects too, but we haven’t received them yet. Or, I should say, we haven’t created them yet. Mrs. B. says we’re in charge of designing our own projects this semester. She says by letting us plan our own projects we’re going to become more responsible and independent and learn leadership skills and stuff. And interpersonally communicate with each other, I suppose. This class is an easy A. It’s an enjoyable break from my otherwise heavy schedule.

  Mrs. B. starts to talk about relationships and asks two girls near the front to stand up and role-play a scenario. This is why I sit in the back.

  While Mrs. B. is chatting away, my gaze drifts around the room and something catches my attention. Someone, to be specific. The girl in the second row two seats from the wall. The back of her head looks familiar. She’s got big frizzy blonde hair like the girl with Tessa’s boyfriend in the picture being forwarded around. Oh, wow! I’ve never really noticed her before. The junior class is kind of big, over 500 students, and we’ve only been in school for a few weeks, so I still don’t know everyone. And IPC is a mix of juniors and seniors. So she could very well be a senior. I’ve got to find out her name. Just in case Tessa ever needs to hunt her down and have a chat. Or something.

  “Livvie Peterson?” Mrs. B. tilts her head to the left to look at me at the end of my row.

  “What?” I s
it up straight in my chair.

  “I asked if you’d come up here and play the sister.”

  “Oh. Sure. Yeah, okay.” I stand up and take the long way around the back of the room so I can walk by the frizzy-haired girl’s desk. As I near it, I look down, hoping to see a name on her paper. I don’t see a name but I do spot initials written on the cover of her notebook, over and over again with blue ink. D.B.

  D.B. glares up at me and covers her notebook with her hand. Please. There’s a picture of her doing some nasty things with someone else’s boyfriend circulating the school and she glares at me?

  I join the other two girls at the front of the room, and Mrs. B. hands me a post card with the emotions I’m to display in our little scene scrawled across it. Like I said, easy A, even when I get called on.

  I love Interpersonal Communications.

  Chapter 2

  I arrive to IPC on time the next day, since Tessa’s home with the 24-hour, ahem, yeah right, flu. Mrs. B. is waiting just outside of the classroom with a stack of magazines cradled in her arms.

  “Here you go, Livvie,” she says, handing me this week’s Star. On the cover is the dimply, bikini-covered rear ends of three A-list stars, party girl Holly Lopez entering rehab for the fifth time, and the new hot young fashion model whom Harlin Adams, Hollywood’s highest paid leading man, is traipsing around New York with while his nine-months-pregnant wife sits home alone in their Malibu mansion. Scandalous.

  While I don’t like personally experiencing drama in real life, I love reading about the dramatic lives of the fake and the fabulous. “Mrs. B.,” I say in my most serious voice, “I want you to know, and I’m not just saying this, that you are hands down the best teacher I’ve ever had.”