Chapter 6

MORE NEWS about tragic TV teen Madison Dahl. The disappearing girl now seems to have a disappearing role, despite studio claims that her turn in a fat suit were meant to be Emmy catnip. She has the chops, so I have to wonder, why the brush off?

—NY Post After school on Monday, I couldn’t wait to get to BRRB. I mean, I’d had a pretty crazy weekend, and there was no one I wanted to talk to about it more than Jeremy. It was shocking to me how much I liked him now. And I mean really liked. It wasn’t just that we had sorta similar taste in pop culture. I was like we had this connection… oh, I can’t explain it without sounding like a soap opera reject. Anyway, even if he didn’t have a solution to my problems, he’d at least make me laugh.

I decided to sneak in the back office door to surprise him. Tiptoeing up behind him, I liked what I saw. He looked like he’d fallen out of a J. Crew catalog, his shoulders broad beneath his upturned polo shirt collar. Damn, he was cute!

I was just about to reach forward and clamp my hands over his eyes when I realized he was on the phone.

“Sure, baby. I’ll pick up the tickets, and we can get dinner before the show. Of course, we’ll get sushi, I know you can’t survive without sushi. You’re so cute. Love you, too.”

Jeremy hung up the phone while I stood there, feeling like an absolute dumbass. Of course, he had a girlfriend. He was a cute college boy with a job in Hollywood. And I was just the kid he joked around with at the office. And here I was, standing over him wanting to run my fingers through his hair.

He turned and saw me loitering there like a frozen caveman, and he looked almost as surprised as I did.

“Oh, um, hi,” I stammered. “I was going to sneak up on you.”

“You did,” he said. “Good job.”

“I’ve got scripts to read,” I said, hightailing it to the safety of my office.

A few minutes later he came in, plopping down in the chair opposite my desk like a bad employee. “I have a girlfriend. Marlene,” he said grimly, as if this was a bad thing.

“That’s nice,” I said in my best “whatever” voice. But he shook his head.

“No, no. I mean, sure, she’s nice. But she doesn’t get me at all. She’s… high maintenance. A sorority girl. It’s over, I just haven’t told her yet.”

I felt my heart do a little cartwheel of joy but tried not to show it. “That’s too bad.”

“But I’m going to. I am. Because I was thinking we could go out. You and me.” Jeremy looked at me, his green eyes impossibly beautiful, flecked with gold and grey and blue.

But. “You have a girlfriend, though,” I said, resisting the urge to leap across the table and rip off his shirt.

“I won’t by this weekend. By Friday night, I’m thinking.” Jeremy traced a finger around the tape dispenser on my desk slowly, carefully. His hands were broad, masculine, the kind that could grab you and hold you and never let go.

“Okay,” I said. I felt guilty and excited and a little bad. But it wasn’t like I was stealing someone’s boyfriend. Was it?

“Dinner and a movie? Or should I take you dancing?” He stood up and mimicked my dirty dancing with Taz, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth like a lizard’s while his hands roamed up and down his body.

At first I was laughing so hard that I didn’t see Ozzie quietly walk in and lean against the door. He was soaking up every embarrassing moment of Jeremy’s routine, even biting his lip to keep from laughing out loud. Then, when Jeremy turned to give me his best hoochie-mama butt wiggle, he saw Ozzie, who gave him a friendly wave.

“What’s this, Jeremy?” he asked, as calmly as if he was requesting a double latte.

Jeremy straightened up like a soldier at attention and answered, “Sorry, Ozzie. Just, you know, blowing off steam.”

Ozzie laughed and started walking toward his office. “Just as long as you don’t do it at the company Christmas party,” he yelled back to us. “Dear God, boy, you dance like you’re having a seizure.”

“That was priceless,” I said, still laughing so hard I’d started crying off my eyeliner.

“You could have told me,” Jeremy said with a pout that made his lower lip stick out in an unbearably sexy way.

“Just be happy I didn’t take a picture and slap it up on the internet,” I shot back. Jeremy made a face at me, then walked back to his desk. It occurred to me that I might not get much work done now that we were (almost) dating, but I knew I’d never drag my feet about going to the office again. And I didn’t think twice about Marlene.

***

After work, or more accurately, after standing next to Jeremy’s car in the parking lot and talking and laughing and finally sharing a sweet, gentle kiss that made my fingers tingle, I headed over to the Dahl House. I hadn’t even mentioned what has happened with Jeremy to Madison, and I figured it was time for an update. Maybe we could double date. Even though I had thought Todd was kind of a loser at first, listening to Madison talk about him non-stop was starting to win me over.

Madison wasn’t there, so I wandered over to the set. The red light above the stage door was flashing, so I knew they were filming. I waited for the light to turn off, then opened the door.

In the dark I crept around the set backdrop until I could see the soundstage. Ren was sitting in a director’s chair, nodding and whispering to the cameraman. Nikki stood in the middle of the set in a sexy black skirt and pink lowcut shirt, a make-up girl fixing her face. Clive was next to her, and even from a distance I could see he looked irritated.

“Okay,” the director yelled. “Let’s do it for real this time, people. Action!”

Nikki flounced up to Clive and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “You know, I’m so close to Brianna, it’s almost like we’re family,” she cooed.

Clive, consummate actor that he is, leered appreciatively. “The things I want to do with you I don’t want to do with family,” he purred.

I don’t even know how long this creepy exchange went on, but long enough for me to realize that Nikki wasn’t just a sidekick on the show, not anymore.

Just when I thought I couldn’t stand another second of Nikki’s sleazy acting, I saw Madison waddled into the scene in her fat suit.

“You guys should get a room,” she huffed.

“And… cut! Great job, people,” the director said.

I hustled up to Madison as she was walking off the set. She already had out her phone.

“It’s so awful, baby,” she moaned. “I wish you were here. I miss you so much. Okay, kisses.” She clicked the phone shut and turned toward me. “He’s in Arizona,” she sighed.

“I take it Nikki hasn’t made any headway with Ren,” I said, giving her fat suit a poke as we walked into the Dahl House.

Madison made a snorting sound in the back of her throat, which, given the fat suit, made her seem vaguely piglike. “That’s funny. Read this and tell me what you see.”

Madison threw her script for the week at me. I leafed through it, looking for Madison’s lines. There couldn’t have been more than ten, which is nothing for series television. Not for the star, at least.

“Where’s your role?” I asked. After all, the big fat suit plotline was supposed to be Madison’s opportunity to flex her acting chops.

“It’s been eaten by Nikki’s,” Madison said, pointing to page after page of dialogue, all of it devoted to Nikki’s character. “And I should mention that ratings are just getting worse. I’m the star of this show, and no one can even see me!” Madison tossed the script across the room, her pudgy arm flopping against her side.

“Sounds like Ren’s got Nikki on the brain,” I said, trying to find room on the sofa so I could sit down. It wasn’t easy.

“Clive heard a rumor that they’re sleeping together. Surprise, surprise.”

I squeezed myself into the corner of the sofa, already feeling hot pressed up against Madison’s fat suit. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. And Todd’s not coming back for, like, a week.” Madison heaved herself up from the sofa and walked heavily over to the refrigerator, pulling out a vitamin water. “As soon as I can get out of here, I’m going to visit him. He said he’d take me rock climbing.”

“Since when did you like rock climbing?”

“Since Todd, silly.” Madison looked at me like I was stupid. “And he said the summit of this one rock has a really gorgeous view. Very secluded. So, you know.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re going to have sex on a rock. What do you have against beds, Madison?”

“Nothing. We’ll do it one of those, too. It’s just a little more exciting when there’s danger involved.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I sighed. “But I might find out. I’m going out with Jeremy on Friday night.”

“That jerk you work with? Didn’t you say you hated his guts?”

“That was before we talked. He was jealous of me, that’s all. And I get it. He had to work hard to get a job at BRRB, and I only needed Clive to make a phone call.”

“So that gives him an excuse to be a complete tool?”

I shrugged. “No. But he’s funny and cute and I like him, okay?”

Madison raised her hands up in the air. “Fine, fine. Go for it, girly.”

I pictured Marlene for a moment, some faceless bimbo in a sorority sweater. I wondered if Victoria knew her. “He’s breaking up with his girlfriend to go out with me.”

Madison raised an eyebrow. “And that’s good?”

“Isn’t it?” I wasn’t thrilled that Madison was trying to play the disapproving older sister with me. For starters, I already had a disapproving older sister, and Madison was one step away from getting arrested for lewd conduct. Not exactly a role model.

“It’s just that Dr. Phil says, if a guy cheated on his last girlfriend to be with you, then he’ll probably cheat on you, too.”

I couldn’t help it. Dr. Phil? I burst out laughing. “Since when did you start watching Dr. Phil?”

Madison shook her water bottle in my direction, dousing me with the stuff, which smelled weirdly like old pennies. “I’m in a make-up chair for a long time, Erin. That’s what the girls like to watch in there. And he’s smart, you know.”

I wrung out my t-shirt. Hopefully I wouldn’t smell like a change machine for the rest of the day. “Well, he isn’t cheating. There will be no overlap. Okay?”

“Good.”

“So, what does Dr. Phil say about screwing in public?”

Madison made a face. “We may not do it outdoors anyway. Todd asked me to bring these.” Madison reached into her closet and pulled out two pairs of fur-lined handcuffs. “So, we’re gonna need bedposts.”

***

I got to the next Charity Action meeting a little early. I wanted to tell Cassie I’d figured out a solution to the whole car wash fiasco.

When I walked in, Cassie wasn’t there, but Kelly was. Sitting in the dark. Alone.

“Hi,” I said, snapping on the lights and taking the seat next to her. “What’s up?”

Kelly shrugged. I hadn’t seen much of her or Jenna lately. I’d been spending most of my free time at school in the library, trying to get my GPA up to UCLA standards. But even though I hadn’t been paying much attention, I could tell Kelly was different lately. Quiet and withdrawn. It wasn’t just the crying jag at the car wash.

This time I decided not to let it drop. “Jenna told me you’re going through some stuff.”

“My parents are splitting up. Big deal,” Kelly said, searching through her purse for something.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s better, really. All they do is fight.” Kelly pulled out a packet of gum, offering me a piece. I shook my head.

“You seem really sad, Kelly. We’re all a little worried.”

“Not all.” Of course, she meant Madison.

“I tried to talk to her.”

“Don’t worry about it. I deserve it anyway.”

As much as I wanted to defend Madison, I couldn’t. “She’s being a bitch.”

Kelly didn’t say anything. She just slowly unwrapped her stick of gum and stuck it in her mouth.

I wanted to say something to make her feel better, but I didn’t know what. Lots of kids have divorced parents, and Kelly and Madison had never been that tight, anyway. It had to be something more. But what?

I was still trying to come up with the right question to ask when Cassie and her crew poured into the room. Cassie spotted me and sauntered over, swinging her hips like a slutty gunslinger at the OK Corral.

“So, Erin, have you solved my charity problem yet?”

“Madison, Todd and Clive said they’d sign anything we gave them, like t-shirts or photographs, and we can auction them on eBay.”

“There’s no way a bunch of autographed stuff will bring in two grand, sweetie,” Cassie said calmly.

Jenna slammed her skull-embossed backpack down on the lab table to announce her arrival. “Auction off a date,” she suggested. “That will make two grand, easy.”

To my amazement, Cassie actually smiled. “Hell, I’d pay two grand to go out with Clive.” She turned to me. “Make it happen, Erin.”

I turned to Jenna once Cassie was out of earshot. “What are you thinking? They’ll never go for that!”

Jenna shrugged. “Just trying to help.” She watched as Kelly crossed her arms in front of her on the table and laid her head down. Jenna leaned over toward me. “Did you talk to Madison?” she whispered.

“I did. Nothing’s changed,” I whispered back. “I can’t fix this.”

Jenna’s mouth set into a thin, determined line. “You can give up if you want to, Erin. But I’m not that kind of friend.”

That so wasn’t cool. It was my turn to make an angry face. “Fine. Then you see if you can reprogram Madison. Because I’m out of ideas.”

Jenna didn’t flinch. “That’s okay. Because I’ve got a ton of them.”

***

By the time Friday rolled around, I’d picked ten outfits, eliminated two, bought three eyeshadows, and generally made myself crazy thinking about Jeremy. All week long we’d been making goo-goo eyes at each other walking back and forth to the copy machine, and I’d read exactly one script and taken zero notes (not unless you count doodling “I heart Jeremy” all over a few notepad pages).

After work, I changed clothes at the Dahl House (with a pre-date pep talk from Clive and make-up application courtesy of Madison), then met Jeremy at the parking lot.

“I hope you don’t mind the ride,” he said, pointing toward a beat-up Honda Civic that looked like a stunt car from a Mad Max movie. “The passenger seat doesn’t have springs, but I stuffed a pillow in there, so it’s not bad.”

“How about I drive? Unless that makes me high maintenance.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. “Well, you will be missing out on a unique aroma unavailable in stores.”

We drove to Kalbis Grill in Westwood. It wasn’t the fanciest place (you had to place your orders at the counter), but the food was good, even for Korean fusion. “Are we here because I’m Korean?” I asked Jeremy, who looked at me funny.

“No. Because it’s good. Duh,” he replied. And it was, really.

I mowed through a kimchi pork bowl and ended up eating most of Jeremy’s fries. “Where do you put it?” he asked, pushing his plate toward me. “Oh, the high metabolism of youth.”

“What, you’re nineteen, maybe?”

“Eighteen. I graduated from school a year early.”

I grinned. “Smart and cute. I like that.”

Through the window, I watched the streetlights turning on. Sunset, the most romantic time of day. “How did she take it?”

“Who?” Jeremy looked at me like I was speaking ancient Greek.

“Marlene. When you broke up with her.”

“Oh,” he said, examining his fries as if they were a particularly interesting science experiment instead of food. “About that. Marlene called me last night, completely hysterical. Sobbing. Her dad had a stroke.”

I didn’t see what this had to do with breaking up with her, but I nodded. “Okay.”

“He’s on death’s door. He may never walk or talk again, even if he lives. And she’s just so fragile right now.”

I put down my fork and let my hand fall to my lap. “Uh huh.”

Jeremy took my hand under the table. “So, you understand, don’t you? Please don’t be mad.”

But I was mad. “I’m going home,” I said, reaching for my purse, a little white Prada Madison had loaned me for good luck. Some luck.

Jeremy grabbed my hand again, his fingers soft and warm against mine. “Don’t be this way, Erin! I really like you. Can we talk, please?”

His eyes, those gorgeous eyes, sparkled in the dimming light. A loose curl, soft black against his porcelain skin, grazed his forehead. I wanted to touch it, entwine my fingers in his hair. I let go of my purse.

Jeremy leaned across the table and kissed me. In that moment, I could forget about Marlene, and her stupid dad, and all my bad luck despite the Prada. Kissing Dax and even Taz had never felt like that. It was like Jeremy was this piece of me I didn’t know I’d been missing. I didn’t want to lose that feeling. Ever.

“Can we just be here, in the moment? Only the two of us without all this other bullshit?” Jeremy said softly, his breath warm against my face.

“Yes,” I said, letting the nearness of Jeremy push all other thoughts from my mind. “Yes.”

***

That weekend I was supposed to study. Supposed to. Instead, I watched hours of crap TV and polished off two pints of Ben & Jerry’s, trying like hell to zone out. But I couldn’t. Part of me couldn’t stop thinking about Jeremy. And the other part of me couldn’t stop thinking that he wasn’t really mine. Not yet, at least.

At the end of our date, I’d dropped him off at the studio parking lot and we’d ended up making out in my car. For once I was glad to be living at home, because if I’d had my own place I’m not sure I could have trusted myself. With Jeremy, I didn’t feel nervous, not even about losing my virginity. I didn’t have the doubts I had with Dax, or that skanky feeling I had with Taz. With Jeremy, everything felt right.

Except, of course, Marlene. That high maintenance sorority girl Marlene. And her dad. Why couldn’t the geezer have just died? Evil, I know, but come on!

I must have picked up the phone a hundred times to text Madison in Arizona, but I could never bring myself to do it. I mean, I already knew what she’d tell me. Dump him, or some lame Dr. Phil version of that sentiment, like that dog don’t hunt or don’t give the milk away if you’re a cow or whatever the hell. It was easy for Madison to play the love doctor now that she was with Todd, the magician who cured her anorexia and climbed big rocks and probably had other superpowers we didn’t know about yet.

It wasn’t like I could contact any of my other girls to vent. Talking to Jenna or Kelly meant getting into the whole Madison problem, and I knew Victoria wouldn’t be sympathetic. So that left one of the guys. Clive.

I had never really asked Clive how connected he was at BRRB. Jeremy could be his best friend for all I knew. But I had to talk to someone, and if anyone knew about guys, even if he did play on the other team, it was Clive.

“Jeremy’s a cool guy. Not my type, but definitely cute in his own pasty way,” Clive said, taking a bite out of his chopped salad. We’d decided to meet at the Abbey in West Hollywood. I’d been craving a lobster BLT, and Clive wanted to look at hot guys with a girl as his cover, so it was a win-win.

“And?” I’d filled Clive in on that she-monster Marlene and her stupid dad before our food arrived. He hadn’t said much then, but he’d kind of squinted and winced at the same time, as if he’d tasted something foul. I just wasn’t sure what.

Clive took a deep breath. “There’s never a good time to break up with someone, you know? So why hang on? It’s not like it’s going to hurt her any less. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

Clive shook his head. “Look, the fact is, we don’t know enough. You’ve never even met this girl. Maybe you just need to take it slow with Jeremy. See how it plays out.”

“Easy for you to say.” I was already having a hard enough time keeping my hands off him at the office. God knows how I was going to do it when we were alone together.

“If I were you,” Clive said, “I’d try to meet her. See what you’re competing against.”

“We’re not competing!” I squeaked. “They’re over. He said so!” The idea that Jeremy was somehow on the fence, undecided, made me feel like puking up what little I’d already eaten.

“I’m just saying,” Clive said, sitting back in his chair. “Information is power.”

I couldn’t believe it. Jeremy, my Jeremy, might be dragging his heels not because of Marlene’s dad, not because he’s a good guy who doesn’t want to kick a girl when she’s down, but because he may just want that sorority girl back? “Let’s change the subject,” I said, not meaning to sound so terse, but feeling too bruised and confused to continue. For just a little while, I had to put the subject of Jeremy on hold. The way he’d put me on hold.

Instead, I told Clive all about Todd and how he’d become Madison’s magic cure-all. “That’s good, right?” Clive asked, smiling at a really cute African-American guy in a tank top.

“I guess. It’s just that he’s kind of wild. You know, the whole tattooed, bad boy thing.” I didn’t tell him about Todd’s preference for screwing in elevators, but I figured that was a little TMI.

“You girls,” Clive sighed. “It’s like you live for drama. It’s one reason I’m glad I’m gay.” He waved at Mr. Tank Top. “And that perfect specimen over there would be another, thank you.” Clive got up from the table and walked over to his new “reason,” and I realized that, if anything, I felt even worse about the whole Jeremy fiasco. At least my sandwich was good.

***

At school on Monday, Cassie sashayed up to me while I was grabbing books out of my locker, already late for class. “You, me. We post the date with Madison and Clive or whoever on eBay today during lunch. Okay?”

Crap. I’d totally forgotten to ask Madison about that. “Sure,” I said, fingers crossed.

Jenna and Kelly walked up just as Cassie was jiggling away. “You haven’t asked her, have you?” Jenna said, shaking her head.

“How can you tell?”

“Your eyes got all bugged out,” Kelly explained. “Which is pretty impressive on an Asian girl, you know?”

“So not funny,” I scowled, mentally promising myself I’d check myself out in the mirror later.

“So call her. Ask.” Jenna said, tapping impatiently on my notebook.

“What do you care? You could give a crap if Charity Action makes two bucks, Jenna,” I muttered, reaching for my phone.

“Hey, you’re the one Cassie’s going to finger if Pediatric Aids comes around looking for their moola,” Jenna shrugged.

My cell phone went off, and I looked at the number. “It’s Madison,” I said. “From Arizona.”

Jenna and Kelly grinned. “Speak of the devil,” Kelly said, her voice sharp as Cara Delevingne’s collarbone.

Madison didn’t even wait for me to say hi. “Hey. What’s going on?” She sounded breathless, like someone was chasing her. Which, knowing Todd, was entirely possible.

“I’m between classes. Why?”

“Oh. Well. I’m coming back early. If you’re around, you know. We could hang out or something.” Why did she sound so weird?

“Are you okay?” I asked. Jenna looked toward me, one eyebrow raised. I waved goodbye and took off down the hall. No reason to get a rumor started.

“Yeah, fine. Look, I need to know something. Taz. Is he kind of a freak, or is he okay?”

“Depends on how you define freak.” Personally, I considered him a little much, but he wasn’t a bad guy or anything.

“But he’s nice, right?”

“Sure. Why?”

“It’s just… Todd wants us to hang out while he’s out of town. Because I’m going through so much, with work and everything, and Taz can’t compete for a while. Pulled tendon or something.”

“Hang out?” My experience of hanging out with Taz had resulted in my almost having sex in a public place, only to have that proud, shining moment immortalized on the internet. There was no way Todd wanted his girlfriend to hang out with Taz, at least not like that.

“It’s really sweet of him, honestly,” Madison rambled on. “He just feels bad he can’t be here all the time.”

“Sure. It’s nice that he’s thinking about you.” I guessed Todd’s idea didn’t sound so weird, even if Madison sounded a little freaked out about it. Anyway, I had other matters to attend to. “Look, I had a favor to ask you, Madison. Cassie wants us to have an eBay auction instead of you just signing stuff.”

“Auctioning what?”

“Like, you and Clive or Todd or someone would go out to dinner with the winner. Like a double date for charity.” I winced, waiting for the squeal of horror.

“Okay,” Madison said quickly. “That would give Todd an excuse to stay in Los Angeles for more than ten minutes. Totally. How soon can we do it?”

“Uh, soon,” I said. Since when did Madison want to hang out with some complete strangers and try to make awkward conversation over pasta?

“You know, I may just want to go to bed when I get home,” Madison said quickly. “I’ll call you.” The line went dead. I stared at my phone. Maybe it was time to cut off Madison’s vitamin water supply.

***

Considering that every interaction I’d had with Cassie Montgomery since middle school had been thoroughly unpleasant, let’s just say I wasn’t exactly looking forward to sitting next to her long enough to concoct an auction listing on eBay. So, color me completely shocked to discover the big, plastic Barbie doll was actually kind of cool. And, wait for it… not dumb at all. Go figure.

“Thanks for talking Madison into doing this,” she said as she pointed out a typo I’d overlooked. She’d rewritten almost everything I’d come up with for the posting, but I didn’t mind. I don’t think I’m a bad writer, mind you, but Cassie, she was good. Really good. At least when it came to writing ad copy. “I hope I didn’t go too postal on you at the car wash,” she whispered.

“Not really,” I said. “I probably should have just told that reporter I didn’t know where the money was going.”

Cassie shook her head. “No. That would have been worse. You thought fast on your feet. I wish I was good at that.”

Did I actually hear Cassie admitting to being less than perfect? “You seem to handle the Charity Action meetings pretty well.”

Cassie shrugged. “Yeah, but that’s because it’s mostly my friends. I’m working on it, though. I want to be a meteorologist. You know, like on TV. Eighty-seven over the weekend, sunny skies, and cloud cover in the mornings.”

I must have given Cassie an “are you serious?” look, because she shook her head. “You don’t understand. I love science. I bet you didn’t know that global warming is the reason why we’re having more extreme storms in the South and tornadoes in the Midwest. Weather isn’t just about taking an umbrella to school, you know.”

Okay, my jaw was pretty much grazing the linoleum at this point. Cassie must have known she was geeking out because she blushed. “I know, I don’t look like the science type. Not anymore. I’m sure you don’t remember me from middle school, but I was kind of a dork.”

I did remember her, but I wasn’t going to cop to it. “There’s nothing wrong with being smart,” I said instead.

“There is if you want to be popular. Or work in television,” Cassie shot back. “I could know pressure systems backwards and forwards, but no one’s going to give me a gig as a meteorologist unless I’m cute. You know it, too.”

She was right. Even though the grossest, fattest old guys were yakking away on the local news, all of the women were hot. So that explained Cassie’s sudden transformation into Chesty LaRue.

Cassie reached over and hit the “submit” button for the auction. “Thanks for helping out with this, Erin. You know, I’m having a party two weeks from now. You should totally come.”

One of the infamous keggers. Yes, I’d have to see that for myself. “Sure, I’ll try.”

“And stop lurking in the back at the meetings. You’re an officer, you should be up front with the rest of us.”

The idea of hanging with the in crowd was both flattering and nauseating. But now that I knew a little more about Cassie, I had to wonder if maybe I’d been too harsh on all of them. It was a totally world-shattering idea, like the earth being made of brie or something. “Thanks, but I don’t know,” I said.

“You’re not like Jenna and Kelly,” she said quietly. “You know what they call me, right? Bimbo. Cassie Hamlyn, Teen Hooker. It’s not cool.”

I felt the blood rush from my face. Unbelievably, I had to admit Cassie was right. Knowing what I knew now, the utterly shocking fact that Cassie wasn’t evil incarnate, it wasn’t cool at all.

After my last class I rushed to my car and screeched out of the parking lot on two wheels. I knew Jenna and Kelly would be waiting for me, wanting to hear about the time I spent with their nemesis, but I wasn’t up for it. I needed time to think. Make that a lot of time to think.