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I scrunched my toes in my red ballet flats. “I kept telling myself that I’d figure out how to do everything and it would take time. But I realized I do have too many tough classes right now.”
Ms. Utz turned to her computer, clicking her mouse. “You have several advanced courses, Lauren. I think if you were to make a change, you might find yourself able to excel even more. You wouldn’t be stretched so thin and could give each class more attention to achieve the grades you desire.”
“That’s what I was hoping,” I said, relaxing a little in the oversize leather chair. “I thought about the class that takes me the most time. I love Mr. Spellman’s advanced history course, but it’s incredibly time-consuming. Can I keep taking the same class but stop doing the advanced work to get regular credit?”
Ms. Utz looked back at her computer monitor and clicked a few more times. “Let’s see . . .” I waited, crossing my fingers. “Yes,” she said, finally. “I put a request through to Mr. Spellman. Unless you hear otherwise from me, please do not complete any of the assignments for advanced credit.”
Très parfait!
“Thank you, Ms. Utz,” I said. “You’re welcome,” she said. “If you find that you’re still struggling after this adjustment, I want you to set up another appointment with me. You’re still taking a tough history course and, if necessary, we can transfer you to another class.”
I promised her that I would keep her in the loop of how things worked out and left her office.
Lauren:
Good news 2 share w u ltr!
I sent the message to Khloe. My phone buzzed seconds later.
Oooh la la! Can’t wait 2 hear! Learn something fun in French 2 teach me!
I pocketed my phone, feeling lighter with every step that I took toward Mme. Lafleur’s classroom.
Later that afternoon, I was steps away from Ms. Snow’s fashion class when my BlackBerry buzzed.
Drew:
How’s ur day, L?
I stopped—midstep—and stared at my phone.
“Hey!” someone said, bumping into my arm. A dark-haired girl with green eyes shot me a look. “Don’t just stop in the middle of the hallway. Are you trying to get run over?”
“Sorry,” I said. Before I could apologize again, she was gone. I hurried over to the wall and flattened myself against it. I read Drew’s message again.
Lauren:
Good! Fashion is nxt. Looking fwd 2 riding. U?
He wrote back immediately.
Drew:
Glad ur having a good day. Same here. Catch u @ the stable?
Lauren:
Def. We could warm up 2gether if u want.
Drew:
4 sure. C u there.
I exited BBM and dashed through the doors of fashion class. Cole was already inside and in his usual seat. I took mine next to him, not even putting down my stuff before I grabbed his arm. Ms. Snow wasn’t here yet, so I had a few precious seconds to talk to Cole.
“Cooooole!”
He looked at me sideways, laughing. “Laaaaaureeeen,” he said, mimicking me. “What’s up?”
“Drew BBMed me! Just now. Like, two seconds ago. He asked me how my day was. I said good. I asked him, and he said his was fine too. Then we said we’d warm up Whisper and Polo together.”
I took a breath, needing one after the mouthful I’d just spit out at Cole.
“Whoa, LT.” Cole grinned. “Sounds like you made the right decision about Drew, huh?”
I nodded. “Thanks to you. I saw Ms. Utz today and got approval to switch from advanced history to regular credit. It’s going to make everything so much more manageable.”
Cole offered me a palm for a high-five. “That’s great! You did this all on your own. I’m sure the change will make a huge difference in everything.”
We fell silent when Ms. Snow entered the classroom.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” Ms. Snow said. My eyes went to her outfit—she definitely won the Best Dressed Teacher award. Today, she’d paired tall black boots with flared black pants and a red silk shirt with adorable gold buttons down the front.
“I want to start class by discussing the elusive project that I’ve mentioned a couple times,” she said. “I’ve told you to get to know someone else in class—someone you feel compatible to work with. That will be vital today because you will each be signing up with a partner for our first class project.”
Hands went into the air. “What is it?” asked Allie, a girl with red-framed glasses.
Ms. Snow smiled. “I’ve been working with the theater department and have been in discussion with Mr. Barber, the drama coach, about the fall production of Beauty and the Beast.”
Everyone exchanged glances.
“Our class is being given a wonderful opportunity to be hands-on with the play this season,” Ms. Snow continued. “We are going to redesign and create many of the costumes for the seventh grade production.”
“What?”
“Omigod!”
“We are?!”
Everyone started talking at once.
“No way!” Cole said. He looked at me, eyes wide. “Did you know about this?”
I smiled. “Khloe told me yesterday. We have to get her costume!”
Ms. Snow, smiling, let us talk and get it out of our systems. I listened to murmurs of “I have no clue how to sew!” to “I’m sketching Belle’s costume in my head already. Who plays her? It’s that girl Riley, right?”
“All right, everyone,” Ms. Snow said, putting up her hands in a quiet-it-down motion. “Let me explain how this will work. I’m going to pass around a sign-up sheet. Write down your name and your partner’s. This evening, I’ll look over the selections and will assign each pairing a costume at random. There’s no reason for worry—I will not be expecting you to begin sketching and creating a costume immediately. We will have several classes before we even begin discussing how to create a new costume.”
Today was très amazing! One more class after fashion, then I’d be at the stable. With Drew. And tonight I’d be able to actually hang out with Khloe because I wouldn’t have to stay up past lights-out to finish homework. She was going to be so happy. When the sign-up sheet reached me, I signed my name next to Cole’s with a flourish.
That night, Khloe was stretched out on her bed, having finished her homework about an hour ago, and was reading the latest Entertainment Weekly. She’d asked a zillion times what “good news” I had, but I’d ducked her questions, wanting to surprise her. I’d changed the topic to my warm-up session with Drew, which had been the perfect distraction. Khloe had asked a dozen questions, and I’d been only too happy to spill every detail. Drew and I had ridden together and I’d felt what I’d always thought was impossible—that clichéd electricity in the air between us.
Now I closed my books, packed them up, and swiveled in my desk chair to look at her.
“Want to watch a movie?” I asked.
Khloe looked up, one eyebrow arched. “What?”
“Movie? There’s a new comedy that looks good.”
Khloe slowly put down her magazine. “How can we watch a movie,” she started. “You have a ton of homework, don’t you?”
I got up and plopped on my bed, grinning at her. “Nope! I’m done!”
Khloe shook her head. “Did you work during a class or something?”
“Even better. I left lunch early to go see Ms. Utz. Khlo, you and Lex were right. I needed to lighten my schedule.”
Khloe’s brown eyes brightened. “Omigod! Laur! Really?!”
“Really,” I confirmed. “I know I fought you before. I was really embarrassed and I wanted to do everything I said I would. But zero free time wasn’t fun. I wanted to hang out with you after riding and not be chained to my desk.”
“What did you change in your schedule?” Khloe asked. She sat up, straightening her white pocket tee that went with blue-and-gray striped leggings.
“History,” I said. “Mr. Spellman’s class takes too muc
h time. I switched from advanced to regular credit. If there’s a problem with it, and Ms. Utz doesn’t think there will be, I’ll transfer into a different class.”
Khloe looked down, picking at her bedspread. “You might change history classes?”
“Probably not,” I said. “I don’t want to. I think Mr. S will be cool with everything and I’ll keep the same schedule.”
“Did Ms. Utz suggest history or did you?” Khloe’s tone had lost its earlier excitement. I didn’t understand why she was fixated on history.
“I did,” I said. “Khlo, I thought you’d be happy about this. What’s wrong?”
Khloe shook her head. “Nothing. I’m happy, really, that you’re going to have free time. You deserve it. I just . . .”
“What?” I asked, my tone soft.
“History is the only class we have by ourselves. I hope you don’t get transferred.”
I sat back a little. She didn’t think—I mean—there was no way she thought I’d tried to switch classes because of her. “Khloe, I won’t get transferred. You know I picked history because of the workload. I definitely do not want to be yanked from a class we have together.”
Khloe gave me a tiny nod. “I know. Sorry I acted weird. I’m really, really happy that you saw Ms. Utz. Having more time to hang out is awesome.” She smiled. “You pick a movie and I’ll go make popcorn. Depending on what movie we choose, maybe it’ll give us ideas for Riley payback.”
And it was definitely time to tell her before she concocted a full plan.
“Khlo, the other night when I was at the library, I asked Jill about the DVD,” I said. “I asked if there was any way that Riley could have planted it somehow.”
Khloe’s eyes widened. “Omigod! I totally wasn’t planning to ask anyone—I was thinking a rogue mission—but what did Jill say?”
“Unfortunately, and I mean very unfortunately,” I said, “Jill swore that Riley had zero alone time with the DVDs. Jill said she handpicked the DVD and there was no way Riley had tagged it somehow for her to choose. It really was an accident.”
Khloe started to shake her head. “Maybe Riley sneaked out in the middle of the night . . .”
“And assumed we’d watch a horse show in the morning?” I smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry, but it wasn’t Riley. Not this time.”
Khloe sighed. “Well, I guess there’s still time.”
“Time until we graduate,” I said, smiling.
That made Khloe smile back. “So, Riley is innocent this time. But she’ll slip up and we’ll be ready!”
Khloe hopped off her bed and was out the door before I could reply. I sat alone in our room, second-guessing my decision about visiting Ms. Utz. It felt like I’d been doing a lot of that lately.
21
GUESS WHO’S NOT
ON THE LIST?
“IT’S OUT! THE LIST IS OUT!” KHLOE POUNCED onto the end of my bed as I blinked, still half asleep. The glowing numbers on my clock revealed 6:57 on Friday morning.
“You never get up before me,” I said. “What’s out?”
Khloe looked at me like I’d asked her what year it was. “The list! I already printed it, but I haven’t read it yet.”
“Ohh! I forgot about that. My first official list,” I said. “Let’s look.”
I rubbed my eyes and Khloe crawled next to me, tossing my comforter over her legs and leaning back against my pillows that I’d fluffed up. She seemed like normal Khloe—not the Khloe I’d seen a flash of last night—though it wasn’t like her to be awake this early. Or, awake this early willingly.
Khloe and I each held a corner of the paper like it was some kind of ancient scroll.
“Ahh! Jill made Most Likely to be Class President!” Khloe said. “She’s going to love that.”
“And look, Clare’s Potential Girl Next Door! Whoa,” I said. “That’s cool.”
“Omigod, she must be freaking out.”
Khloe and I kept scanning the list, reading different names and awards to each other.
“Look, look,” Khloe said. “Drew’s Most Likely to Be Swim Team Captain.”
“That will make him so happy. Or it will if he cares about the list,” I said.
I reached for my phone, wanting to text him the news. Maybe he’d think it was silly, but I thought it was cool. Making captain was a big deal and someone at Canterwood thought he had the potential. Not a teacher, but someone close to his age. That made it a bigger deal.
“Oooh, Khloeeee,” I said. “Zack’s on the list too!”
Khloe looked over at the paper. “Most Likely MVP,” she said, grinning. “Um, yeah!”
I giggled. “Does it mean Most Valuable Player, like sports, or Most Valuable Player?”
Khloe squinted, tapping her forehead. “I’m going to go with sports. Just because, you know, I don’t want him to be a player!”
“It better be about sports if he’s dating my roommate,” I said.
But Khloe was staring at the piece of paper as if she hadn’t even heard me.
“Khlo?”
“You made the list!” Khloe said, looking up to meet my gaze. “Lauren!”
“I did?! Where?” I looked where Khloe had planted her finger, her nail painted Essie Raspberry.
“My roomie is on the list! You got Most Potential to Be Popular!” Khloe pushed her shoulder into mine. “This is huge! I mean, I already knew you were popular, but you’re on the radar.”
“This is so weird. I haven’t done anything to be ‘popular,’” I said. “But I’ll take it. It is kind of cool.”
Khloe had her phone out, texting. “I’m telling Lexa and Clare. Today is the best day ever! You made the list and I have a date tonight!”
We laughed. I picked up my phone again to finish my BBM to Drew.
Lauren:
R the guys in Blackwell going crazy like Hawthorne girls right now? Have u seen The List?
Drew is typing a message.
I watched my phone. “He’s writing back,” I said. “I just wrote him.”
“Someone’s taking his phone everywhere,” Khloe teased in a singsong voice.
Drew:
Don’t tell, but guys just as into it as the girls. I just saw ur name, Miss Popular! Congrats.
Lauren:
*shakes head* Pls don’t call me that, lol! & what abt U?? *salutes captain*
Drew:
Oh, geez. LOL. Thanks. U should come c me swim some time.
Lauren:
I’d like that.
Drew:
Gotta get ready, but TTYL!
Lauren:
Bye!
I exited BBM, grinning.
“Drew just asked me to watch him swim,” I said. “Oh my God.”
“That,” Khloe said, “is awesome.” She looked back at her phone screen.
“Um, Khloe?”
“What?” She looked up from her BlackBerry.
“There was a name we missed. You’re on the list.” I bit my bottom lip, looking at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, K. I feel like I need to be the one to show you. You shouldn’t be alone when you see this.”
Khloe put down her phone. She looked at me. “Just tell me. I guess nasty categories started this year.”
I took a deep breath. “Khloe, you were named . . . Most Likely Broadway Star!”
I burst into laughter, shoving the paper in front of her. “Sorry, but I had to, after all the times you’ve gotten me. Look!”
“No way. No way!” Khloe’s finger hovered below the words.
Khloe Kinsella: Most Likely Broadway Star.
“Khloeee!” I twisted around to hug her. “You so deserve that! Oh, mon Dieu!”
Khloe shook her head, looking dazed. “I can’t believe it. It’s like it’s a joke and my name’s going to disappear.”
“It’s no joke. You, my dear roommate and best friend, are on your way to discovery. I’m so proud!”
I slid off the bed, walking across the room and opening our door.
“Making sure everyone knows!” I said.
I took the purple dry-erase marker from the ledge on our door’s whiteboard and erased Khloe & Lauren are out! with my hand. In its place I wrote Khloe Kinsella: Voted Most Likely Broadway Star!! I drew a star and wrote, She lives HERE!
Khloe’s brown eyes got teary. “Laur, geez. You’re so sweet.”
“I told you that all of the hard work you’re doing was going to pay off. Do you see a name missing from this list?”
“Riley’s.” Khloe didn’t even pause.
“Exactly. Let her go to New York on a chance. This list is certain, and you’re on it.”
“This is like a daytime talk-show fest, but I’m hugging you again!” Khloe said, grabbing me. Together, we got ready for class, talking about the list and everything we were going to do this afternoon to prep Khloe for her date. When we were ready, Khloe and I linked arms and left Hawthorne.
22
TU ET
MOI–DÉJEUNER?
FRIDAY CLASSES FLEW BY. TEACHERS WERE oddly nice about weekend homework and barely assigned any. Plus, it was as if the goodwill flowed to the stable. An e-mail had been in my inbox this morning from Mr. Conner. He’d given the seventh-grade intermediate and advanced teams the afternoon off from practice. An afternoon off from lessons sounded so good and the timing was even better. Khloe had freaked that we would have more time to prep for date night. My phone buzzed in the middle of Mr. Davidson’s English class. We were all reading to ourselves, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hid it behind the pages of my textbook.
Drew:
Hey! U wanna grab lunch @ SS?
I read and reread the message. Then I translated it to French. Tu et moi—déjeuner? I typed to Khloe, who was sitting next to me.
Lauren:
!! Drew just asked me 2 lunch @ SS!!
Khloe’s head popped up and she grinned at me. She held her phone low and typed.
Khloe:
Today is AWESOME! Go! Write him now and say yes!
Lauren:
I’m going 2! OMG!
I exited my chat with Khloe and opened Drew’s convo.
Lauren: