“Maybe,” Emma says, grinning genuinely for the first time... ever. At least, since I met her.
Emma is kind of gorgeous. Honestly, I think she might be the prettiest girl in this school. Her skin is pale, but more in a porcelain beauty kind of way. She’s got big brown eyes and long blonde hair. I could definitely see her hair up in a ponytail, swishing back and forth as she dances.
I finish up eating and walk towards my first class. On the way there, I text Brooks back.
ME: I’m not joking. I even went to homecoming with my brother’s best friend because nobody asked me. I was kind of a loser.
I hit send, then realize my mistake.
Crap.
It’s hard not to talk about Charlie to everybody, because Charlie is important to me. We did everything together when I was in Malibu. And now that I’m here, I miss him like crazy.
BROOKS: Maybe your brother ran all the boys off. I have a younger sister. She’s a freshman. I definitely warned all the guys to stay away from her.
ME: That’s awful! And Charlie wouldn’t do that. We are the same age. Well, he’s 3 months older. But he would’ve totally been okay with me having a boyfriend.
BROOKS: How is your brother 3 months older?
ME: Charlie is my stepbrother.
BROOKS: Oh. I thought your parents died when you were a baby.
Well, I’ve really done it now.
I’ve got to be better at this whole lying thing.
ME: They did.
ME: It’s a long story. One that is better told in person.
That way I have time to think of a lie.
BROOKS: Is that your not-so-subtle way of telling me that you want to see me again?
ME: Absolutely.
I enjoy flirting with Brooks way too much.
Seriously, I need to tell my friends about him. I’m lying about so much already.
But then I think about how both Estaine and Jason warned me to stay away from Brooks. Really, what is so bad about him? Is it just because he goes to our rival school? I’d ask, but then they’d know I was still talking to him.
As I’m walking into class, my phone vibrates again.
BROOKS: Soon.
And the thought of seeing him again, soon, makes me way too happy.
I’ve got it bad.
7pm.
He’s into you.
My first day of school is officially over.
It wasn’t so bad.
Except my first class of the day.
English with Mr. Anderson.
Okay, usually I’m not bad at English. But for some reason, my English class is a freaking poetry class. Poetry. I have never, ever understood poetry. And we have to interpret these poems. And you’d think, hey, you can’t get that wrong. Everybody interprets things differently, right? Wrong. We have to have a specific answer. And I hate it.
Also, Mr. Anderson is awful. He called me out in class twice. I mean, come on! It’s the first day! Stop making me answer things. I’m pretty sure he already hates me.
But now, I am hanging out with Zoey, Penelope, Samantha, Teagan and a girl named Layla.
Layla is on the cheerleading squad, and I guess that the cheer and dance teams are rivals. But Layla is the sweetest girl ever, and I’m pretty sure she would get along with anybody.
Emma was supposed to come, but I guess she’s hanging out with Bryce.
“So, Emma signed up to try out for the dance team,” Samantha tells us.
“Wow. That’s great,” I say.
“I didn’t think she would actually follow through,” Teagan says.
“If she makes the team, do you think she would flake on us half-way through the season?” Zoey asks.
“Maybe,” Teagan answers. “But she needs this bad.”
Everybody agrees.
“I just don’t understand why Emma is with Bryce,” Layla says. “She’s such a sweet girl. And Bryce is... a scumbag. He’s talking to half the girls on the cheerleading squad. I just don’t understand what any of them see in him.”
“Me, either,” Teagan says.
Definitely not.
I don’t get the fascination. Especially considering there are a lot of good looking guys at our school.
“So, what’s the deal with the whole East Raven versus West Raven?” I ask, changing the subject.
I’m tired of talking about Bryce.
“Originally, it was just Raven Academy,” Penelope answers. “It was founded by Prescott and Lawrence Raven in 1902. The story is that the two brothers got into a huge fight and so they split up the school in 1912. It then became East Raven and West Raven. They split the property down the middle. Prescott ran the east side and Lawrence ran the west.”
“Wait, so West Raven literally is attached to the East Raven property?” I ask.
“Yeah. Well, a road now splits it up,” Zoey says. “But it’s right across the road.”
“I guess I get the rivalry a little better now,” I say. “I just don’t like it. There are probably nice people at West Raven.”
“I have friends at West Raven,” Layla says. “They’re not bad. We just pretend to hate each other at the games and stuff. It’s fun.”
Estaine had said something similar.
“Okay. So, if I was friends with somebody from there, it wouldn’t be a big deal?” I ask.
“Of course not,” Teagan answers.