“Let me just finish my burger first,” I said, taking another large bite and following it with a slurp of chocolate shake.
Hannah wrinkled her nose. “I thought you said you lost your appetite.”
I shrugged. “I have to get my energy back after all that shopping,” I said, popping a fry into my mouth.
Chapter Two
I parked my ugly yellow car in the student lot behind Geek High, hoping no one would see me. While I very much appreciated the car, which my dad had given me at the end of the summer, there was no getting around it: the car was truly hideous. It was short, stubby, and neon yellow, with amateurishly painted black racing stripes down the sides. Still, an ugly car was better than no car at all, and it was a nice, freeing feeling to be able to drive myself to school for the very first time.
Grabbing my backpack, I climbed out of my car and shut the door. The locks on the driver’s-side door didn’t work, but I didn’t think there was any danger of anyone stealing it.
“Oh. My. God.”
I cringed. I recognized the voice even before I turned to face Felicity Glen. She was the person I had most wanted to avoid, so it figured that she’d be the first person I’d run into.
“Is that your car?” Felicity asked, hooting with laughter.
I squared my shoulders and turned to face her. Felicity was annoyingly pretty. She was petite, with fine bones, dark brown hair, and catlike green eyes. Her full lips were curved in an evil smile as she looked from me to the yellow car and back again.
“As a matter of fact, it is,” I said, trying for an air of breezy indifference.
“That is the ugliest car I have ever seen,” Felicity said.
“Why do you think your opinion would mean anything to me?” I asked.
“You’re going to pretend you like driving that thing?” Felicity asked, tossing her hair back over her shoulders. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in it.”
“I guess I’m just not as superficial as you are,” I said.
“That’s for sure,” Felicity said. “Just look at the way you—”
I knew she was about to say dress, but then she looked me up and down and a frown darkened her face. I was wearing a navy and white striped tank top that tied behind my neck with my new khaki cargo miniskirt. The tank top on its own wasn’t strictly dress code compliant, so I’d brought a cotton navy cardigan to wear over it for when I got out of the heat. Hannah, of course, had helped me pick out my outfit for the first day of school. Actually, it had been a little insulting, as Hannah had insisted on not only selecting my clothes, but then actually laying them out on the floor with accessories—a trio of silver bangles and a necklace with a bird-shaped pendant—so that I wouldn’t make any mistakes while dressing.
I’d always thought that there wasn’t any point in getting all dressed up just to go sit in a classroom all day. But I had to admit, it felt pretty good to silence Felicity Glen.
“What were you going to say?” I asked sweetly. “Something about the way I dress?”
“Whatever. I don’t have time to stand around talking to you all day,” Felicity said, turning away. “And your car is hideous!”
I laughed at her departing back.
“Should I be worried that you’re standing here by yourself, laughing?” Charlie asked, appearing beside me. “You’re not having a nervous breakdown, are you?”
Charlie was one of my best friends. She was thin and her short, spiky hair was bright green. Today, she was wearing a purple tunic with a pink satin skirt over a black tulle underskirt. Somehow, Charlie managed to make it all look incredibly stylish.
“Green?” I asked. The last time I’d seen her—two days ago—her hair had been Strawberry Shortcake red.
“I thought I’d shake things up for the first day of school,” Charlie explained. “So, are you having a nervous breakdown?”
“No,” I said. “Just enjoying giving Felicity a smack down, thanks to my awesome new fashion skills.”
Charlie looked me over. “You are looking especially cute this morning. Did Hannah dress you?”
“No, I dressed myself, thank you very much,” I said.
“But she picked out your clothes, right?”
“Do you really have so little faith in my fashion sense?”
“Yes,” Charlie said.
“Thanks a lot,” I said.
“You’re the one who always says you were born without a fashion gene,” Charlie said, shrugging. “Have you seen Finn yet?”
Charlie’s tone was casual, but I knew better. Finn was our other best friend. Over the summer, Charlie had finally admitted to me what I’d long suspected—that she had feelings for Finn that went beyond friendship. I’d had reason to believe that Finn had similar feelings for Charlie. But it was a case of bad timing—Finn currently had a girlfriend, Phoebe McLeod, who was in Hannah’s class at Orange Cove High. He was also oblivious to Charlie’s feelings for him. I’d advised Charlie to just tell Finn how she felt about him, but so far she’d refused to do so. She was convinced that if she told Finn she had feelings for him, things between them would become awkward and strained and eventually ruin their friendship.