Peregrine purses her lips at our exchange. “So, Caleb, catch any good waves lately?” she asks, turning to him. “I heard conditions are supposed to be ideal in the Gulf right now.”
“Since when do you follow the surf forecast?” Caleb asks suspiciously.
“You know I’ve always been interested in your hobbies,” she says sweetly. “You know I haven’t left town, Peregrine,” he says. “Give it a rest.”
She laughs as he turns away, and I have the feeling she’s not as over him as she wants everyone to think.
Twenty minutes later, I sit down next to Caleb in American history, expecting his usual inexplicable silent treatment. So I’m surprised when he says, “I see Peregrine and Chloe have gotten their hands on you.” His voice is deep and warm, and it makes my stomach feel like Jell-O.
My cheeks heat up. “You could say that. It feels . . . different.” I take a deep breath and ask, “So what do you think?”
“You look pretty,” he says, and for a moment, my heart both soars and sinks at the same time. “But I thought you looked pretty before too.”
He doesn’t say another word for the rest of class, and he strides out of the room at the end before I have a chance to talk to him. But his words stay with me and echo in my head for the rest of the afternoon.
I call Meredith on my walk home, but she doesn’t pick up. I swallow back a lump in my throat and leave her a message saying that I miss her. I call Liv next, because she avoided me in physics and was gone by the time I reached the hallway.
“Look, I’m sorry about lunch today,” I say to her voice mail when she doesn’t answer. “I don’t know why Peregrine and Chloe are so picky about who eats in the Hickories.”
I spend the rest of my walk hoping that Caleb will pull up alongside me like he did my first day of school, but only a few cars whiz past, and none are his. I try not to feel disappointed.
When I arrive home, I wander around the rose garden looking for Boniface, but he’s nowhere to be found, nor is Aunt Bea.
Liv calls back at four, and before I can even say hello, she says, “There’s no law saying you have to eat with the Dolls just because they invite you.”
“I know,” I reply. “I’m sorry.” I wish I could explain to her that like it or not, I’m linked to Chloe and Peregrine forever. But of course Liv’s not in on the Secret of Carrefour, so all she sees is that I’m choosing popularity and power over real friendship.
She’s silent for a moment, then she says, “No big deal,” but her tone tells me she’s still pissed off.
“Hey, so Drew invited me to go see his band play tonight,” I say.
“At Domion? Yeah, I was planning to go.”
“Cool. So would you want to go together, maybe?”
“What, are Peregrine and Chloe busy?” The bitterness is creeping back in.
“I didn’t ask them,” I tell her. “I’m asking you.”
“Oh.” She pauses. “Yeah, all right. And I’ll come get you. But dude, you need to get your driver’s license.”
“I know.”
“And Eveny? Don’t invite the Dolls, okay?”
“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I definitely won’t.”
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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15
Aunt Bea gets home fifteen minutes before Liv is due to arrive, her navy T-shirt and skirt smudged with flour. She looks surprised to see me in skinny jeans, boots, and a flowy top, all dressed for a night out.
“Don’t tell me you’re meeting up with Peregrine and Chloe,” she says, looking at me suspiciously.
“No, my friend Liv is picking me up. We’re going to see Drew’s band play in the Périphérie.”
She chews her lip. “Who’s Liv? One of the girls in Peregrine and Chloe’s sosyete?”
“Actually, she pretty much hates Peregrine and Chloe.”
Aunt Bea’s expression relaxes a little. “Well, I was hoping we could talk.”
“Me too. But Liv’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“The morning’s fine, I guess,” Aunt Bea says. She kisses me on the cheek and walks away without another word.
Five minutes later, I hear a horn honking outside. I look through the peephole and see Liv sitting in a pale blue VW Bug with rusted bumpers.
“I’m heading out!” I call up to Aunt Bea, who doesn’t respond. “Back by eleven!”
I lock the front door behind me and climb into the passenger seat of Liv’s car. “Hey,” I say, but she doesn’t reply. My heart sinks; she’s obviously still annoyed about today. “Look,” I say after she’s pulled out of my driveway and is sputtering down the hill. “I know you don’t like Peregrine and Chloe.”