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“WHAT DO YOU WANT, CHRIS?”
Standing outside the pool complex, Christy worries her hands together in front of her as she blocks Luke’s path. He just finished his morning practice, and the bell is about to ring. But this can’t wait until lunch.
After their fight last night, she couldn’t sleep. She has to make things right with him. At this point, she’ll grovel if she has to. Hannah calls her obsessed, but the amount of love she has for Luke Donovan rivals the depths of the ocean. Tony never made her feel like she’d die if she couldn’t have him. And Luke needs her, even if he doesn’t realize it.
Unfortunately, there is one person standing in their way.
Damnit, if Penny Ramsay screws this up for me, she’ll pay!
“Hi, Luke.” Christy bites the edge of her lip and gazes up at him through her eyelashes. The innocent persona always works best on him. “Can we talk?”
Arching an eyebrow, he runs his fingers through his damp hair. “Make it quick. I’ve gotta get my books before class.”
As they walk along the corridor, an awkward silence stifling their conversation, she holds her breath. People greet them as if they’re royalty. She links her arm with his. When he doesn’t pull away, she gives him a soft smile.
He glances at his watch. “You’d better talk fast. Class starts in ten.”
Taking a deep breath, she says, “I want to say I’m sorry.”
Luke grunts. “Okay.”
She places her hand on his arm. “No, really. I know I can be pushy. I just miss you. Between practices and Homecoming stuff, it feels like we haven’t seen each other.”
His shoulders relax. Rubbing his temples, he nods. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, too. I’ve been on edge, and my dad’s constantly riding my ass about swimming. I didn’t mean to take everything out on you.”
She gives him a flirtatious smile. “So, we’re alright?”
Brushing a thumb across her cheek, he grins. “Yeah, we’re gonna be fine.”
She giggles, and his smile broadens. It’s taken her years to perfect her flirty laugh.
He loves it.
He takes her hand. “Are you going to the parade tonight? What are you dressing up as?”
“I told you it’s a secret,” she purrs. “But you’ll love it.”
“I’m sure I will. I’ll see you at lunch?”
She kisses his cheek. “Yes, you will.”
As he turns the corner, she releases a sigh. That was easier than she thought it would be. It won’t be long. She has Luke wrapped around her little finger, and she plans on tethering him to her permanently on Homecoming Night. “But first, I have to exterminate an annoying fly.”
“Hey, Chris! Have you seen Hannah? She was supposed to meet me before class.”
As Addy Linbrook bounces up next to her, Christy sneers. This girl is a stereotypical strawberry blond... ditzy and completely oblivious to everything around her. Although maybe that’s a good thing.
“Sorry, I haven’t seen her.” Christy drapes her arm around Addy’s shoulder and smiles. “I heard you and my cuz found Dotty’s journal. Nice.”
Addy’s overlarge lips pull across her face as she laughs. “Hell yeah, we did! The cow didn’t see it coming. It was Hannah’s plan all along. She saw Ramsay writing in it in the library one day.”
Christy nods. “That’s what I hear. That was a smart move.” It was actually her idea that Hannah steal Ramsay’s journal as insurance, but Addy doesn’t need to know that.
Addy clasps her hands against her chest, cheer style. “If Ramsay gets mouthy, we can leak the whole thing!”
That’s been the plan from the start. Since Ramsay has no friends, it only makes sense that she’d write her feelings in that stupid diary instead. Christy isn’t interested in the ramblings of a geek like Penny, but when half the entries are about her boyfriend, she needs to know everything the girl is thinking. Worse, the cover is signed by Penny Elaine Donovan about a million times.
Seriously? Who does that?
“Ha! Hannah even bribed Ramsay to do her history paper for her. Isn’t that genius?”
“What?” Anger explodes through Christy. Hannah has dyslexia. Ramsay is smart, but there is no way she can forge a paper that looks authentic.
Christy grabs Addy by the arm. “If Ramsay gets caught, she could blow the whole thing.”
Addy shakes her head. “She won’t. She might be an ugly cow, but she isn’t stupid. Honestly, I think the girl just wants this to be over.”
“That isn’t going to happen until she’s gone. For good.”
Addy’s eyes widen. “Wait... what are you saying? You’d kill her?”
Christy huffs. “Don’t be so dramatic. Of course not. But she needs to be humiliated so badly she’ll never want to come back to RHHS.”
“I’m not sure that’ll keep Luke from talking to her, Chris. I mean, even if we chase her away, she lives down the street from him, doesn’t she? They’ll still see each other.”
Christy grins. “I’ve already thought of that.” She pats the girl on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Hannah and I have a plan.”
Giving Christy a sidelong glance, Addy shrugs. “Works for me. I’ll see you at the parade?”
“I’ll be there.”
As Addy continues down the hall, irritation spreads through Christy like an uncontained forest fire. She lied. She doesn’t have a solid plan. But she needs one before her boyfriend finds out she and Hannah are pushing Ramsay out.
Christy had Penny Ramsay pegged from the start. The girl is manipulative. She plays up the big sob story about her dad dying and uses it to get Luke’s attention. Add in the fact that she’s been crushing on him since grade school, and it all makes sense. No matter how much she denies it, Penny Ramsay is trying to steal her boyfriend.
Christy tightens her fists. “Like hell she will.”
Thinking about Penny’s journal sitting in her backpack, she pulls up Brandon Ellis’ number and hits send. The guy is a wizard with computers. According to Hannah, he’s hacked MySpace accounts more than once. And right now, he’s the only one desperate enough to help them pull off the prank of the century.
After a few rings, he answers in a whisper-hiss, “What the hell, Mefford? I’m going to get suspended if you keep calling me during morning services.”
Christy rolls her eyes. This guy is almost as dramatic as Hannah. The only reason he answered was because he’s as desperate as she is. “I’ve got a better deal for you, if you’re game.”
“Hold on.” Jostling accompanies the sound of Brandon asking to use the restroom. He comes back on speaker. “Make it quick.”
Ducking into an empty classroom, she lowers her voice. “I need you to commit to a little more than just taking Ramsay to the dance.”
He huffs. “It better be worth it. One bottle of Oxy isn’t going to cut it, Mefford.”
“How about major humiliation for one of my dad’s prescription pads?”
A soft hiss echoes through the speaker. “Holy fuck! You’re serious?”
Christy chuckles. “I haven’t worked out the details, but since you’re a computer genius, I thought you could help with that.” Christy’s nostrils flare. “We need to make this stick. And it has to go beyond humiliation. I want this bitch gone. So?”
Brandon snorts. “For a full script pad? Hell, yeah, I’m in. I’ll be in touch.”
A slow grin flickers over Chris’ face. When this is all said and done, Penny Ramsay won’t just be humiliated. She will hate Luke Donovan.
*****
This is the private journal of Penny Elaine Ramsay. Do not read!!
OCTOBER 24, 2007
Alright, so maybe I’ll get through Homecoming without major injury. Sparks hasn’t said anything to me since she stole my journal a week ago. And Mefford is being nice to me. For the moment.
I’ve spent most of our lunch periods asking her about Brandon. If I focus on my upcoming date, it seems to calm Mefford down. Not that I’m particularly interested in this guy, but whatever it takes to keep the peace. See? She and I can coexist.
Brandon’s called me a few times. He’s okay. We seem to have a lot in common. He’s also at the top of his class. He wants to be a lawyer. He’s a leader of his youth group and a member of the debate club. He probably suits me better than someone like Luke Donovan.
Not that Luke isn’t smart. I think he’s ranked pretty high in his class, too. But I’m better off with someone who prefers academics over sports. Brains over brawn.
Sure. I’ll keep telling myself that.
Brandon just turned sixteen and has his license, so he’ll drive us to the dance. Dinner will be served at the school. The only things I have to get are the tickets. I’m not sure how that plays into the whole going on a date thing. That’s fine with me. Being friends is better.
God knows I could use a friend.
Three years, seven months, and twelve days. Then I’ll be free.