Little White Lies (4 page)

“But,” I started, “I—”

“Excuse me,” Callie said, interrupting. “My summer was
great
. Don't come over to our table and be like that. It's not Sasha's fault that you guys cheated and got kicked off the team.”

Julia glared at Callie. “Let's go,” she said to Alison. “I don't know why we even bothered wasting our time.”

“Some things never change,” Callie said.

I nodded, pretending to agree. If only Callie knew
everything
had changed.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“Nooo,” Paige said, groaning. She rolled over and slapped the Hello Kitty alarm clock that was on the nightstand between our beds.

“We
just
went to sleep,” I mumbled. I got up and flicked on our floor lamp. “Maybe since it
is
the first day of school, we'll get a break and the teachers won't make us do much.”

Paige shook her head as she walked into the bathroom. “I'm not even going to bother justifying that with a response.”

Sigh. She was right. Last year, teachers had given us tons of homework on the first day. But I'd been Union Sasha then—I hadn't known what to expect, had zero
friends, and couldn't handle the workload. Canterwood Sasha had friends and an amazing boyfriend and she rode for the YENT. Eighth grade was going to be perfect … as soon as I figured out how to deal with Jacob.

Paige and I showered, did our hair, and got dressed. We slipped right into our old routine as though we'd never spent the summer away from Canterwood.

“Do I have to wear these?” I asked Paige, glancing down at my shoes. “I might hate myself later if I wear them and my feet start to hurt.”

Paige laughed and eyed me. “The shoes have to stay. They make the outfit.”

And they kind of did. I'd never worn them before, but they were black wedges that matched my heather gray shirt and black skirt.

I nodded. “True. I can deal. And the green shirt was def the right choice for you.”

“Thanks!” Paige put tiny diamond studs in her ears. She'd picked a capped-sleeve hunter green shirt that made her fair skin look perfect and creamy. Plus, she'd paired it with skinny black jeans—jeans I planned to borrow (read: steal) next week.

I grabbed my backpack and checked my reflection one more time. Paige had given my hair tousled waves with
her curling iron and she'd pulled her own hair into a sleek ponytail. We'd gone with the barely-there look for makeup—brown mascara, concealer, and lip gloss.

“It's weird not rushing off to the stable,” I said. “We actually get to leave for class together.”

Paige picked up her soft brown leather messenger bag and adjusted it over her shoulder. “Totally selfish—but I won't miss you getting up at six and clomping around in your boots.”

I stuck out my bottom lip. “I tried to be quiet.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “I was kidding, dork. I learned to sleep through it. Especially after listening to you snore every night.”

Laughing, I pulled open the door and pushed her out into the hallway. The entire Winchester building had been given a makeover during the summer. The once bright yellow walls had been painted an eggshell white and the glossy wooden floors were shiny enough that I could practically see my reflection.

Paige and I walked by Livvie's office and she waved at us. She was a little neurotic—hello, she organized her paper-clip collection by size
and
color—but she was the best dorm monitor on campus. “Have a great first day, girls! Come see me if you need anything, okay?”

“We will,” I promised.

Paige and I walked outside and started down the sidewalk toward the science building. It was at the far end of campus by the tennis court.

“I'm glad we have our first class together,” Paige said. “Think we'll know anyone else?”

“I don't know. I know Eric and Callie aren't in this class. With our luck, we'll probably have the Trio
and
Jasmine.”

“But maybe we'll have …” Paige let her sentence trail off.

I playfully pushed her arm. “Maybe
you'll
have Ryan, you mean. Just say it.”

Paige blushed. “Well, yeah. But we only IMed a little over the summer. That was it.”

“A little? Every week is not ‘a little'!”

“Okay, okay! We IMed a lot, but I don't even know if he really likes me. We just talked about general stuff.”

“He likes you,” I said. “I saw it at your
Teen Cuisine
party.”

Teen Cuisine
was the hottest show on The Food Network for Kids. Paige would never bring it up, but she hosted the show and was kind of a campus celebrity.

Paige smiled as we walked up the stairs and into the
English building. Canterwood's buildings looked more like an Ivy League campus than a middle school and high school. The two arched windows above the double doors flooded the marble hallway with light. Students hurried down the main hallway that split off into different corridors. Along the central hall, framed black-and-white photos of famous writers and authors who had graduated from Canterwood hung on the walls.

Paige took a purple folder out of her bag and consulted her schedule. “Room 302. So, third floor, obvi.”

“Oooh, the special floor. I've never been up there,” I said.

“Me neither. It's just for advanced classes.”

We took the stairs and wandered down the hallway until we found the room. I opened the door and stopped, almost causing Paige to plow into my back.

“Whoaaa,” I said. “
This
is our classroom?”

Eleven cozy-looking chairs were arranged in a circle around a square coffee table. Under the chairs and table, a plush burgundy rug made the vanilla-colored walls feel warm and cozy. We were the first ones there.

“If
all
advanced classes get rooms like these, I'm dropping my other classes and signing up for these,” Paige said. “I'll just never sleep to keep up with the workload.”

“I had Mr. Davidson last year and I can't believe he made us stay in a regular classroom when his eighth graders had
this
,” I said.

The rest of the class, including Alison, trickled in and a guy I didn't recognize sat in the next-to-last empty seat as Mr. Davidson walked in.

“Welcome, everyone,” he said. “For those of you who weren't in my class last year, my name is Mr. Davidson and I'll be your teacher for advanced eighth-grade English. As you can see, there are only ten of you. The setup may be a little different from what you're used to.”

I looked around the circle as the other students nodded.

“This class will consist mostly of discussion. Yes, you will write papers, but it will mainly be a class open for dialogue. I hope you'll learn more debating each other about literature than dashing off a paper on Hemingway two hours before it's due.

“I want everyone to feel comfortable enough to express his or her opinion about whatever book we're reading,” Mr. Davidson said. “That's why I chose this setting. I want each of us to come prepared to class every day ready to talk about what we've read. No one's opinion is dumb or wrong, so don't be afraid to speak.”

Mr. Davidson ran a hand over his short blond hair. “But do not make the mistake of thinking this will be a class where you can show up and let everyone else talk. If you have not done the reading and cannot participate in intelligent discussion, you will be dismissed from my class. Understood?”

We nodded.

He lowered himself into his chair and looked at us. “To ease us into discussion, we'll spend the period introducing ourselves and getting to know one another. You'll tell me one thing about yourself, and name your favorite book. I'll start.”

Everyone looked at him.

“So, as you already know, I'm Mr. Davidson. My favorite book is
The Call of the Wild
. I love dogs and on the weekends, my wife and I train a search-and-rescue dog that we sponsor.”

“Really?” asked one of the girls. “That's so cool.”

We all nodded. I never expected him to say anything like that.

Mr. Davidson turned to the girl sitting next to him.

“Hey, I'm Vanessa,” she said.

And we kept moving around the room until it was Alison's turn.

“Hi, I'm Alison. My favorite book is actually a graphic novel—
The Black Cat
. I love it because it has a good story and because I, um, draw. I'm trying to become a better writer so I can have good stories for my illustrations.”

“I haven't read many graphic novels, Alison, but perhaps you could recommend me a few of your favorites,” Mr. Davidson said.

“Okay,” Alison said, grinning. She scribbled a note in her folder. The more time I spent with Alison, the more I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about her. I'd seen a couple of her horse sketches, but I had no idea she wanted to write. I wondered if her graphic novels were about horses.

Mr. Davidson looked over at me, smiling.

I looked around at the group. “I'm Sasha. I've read
My Friend Flicka
only a hundred times. My mom had to buy me another copy because the pages started falling out. I'm on the riding team and spend most of my time at the stable.”

“That's a wonderful book,” Mr. Davidson said. “I read it several years ago and really enjoyed it.”

Paige was up next.

“Hi,” she said. “I'm Paige Parker and my favorite book is
Alice in Wonderland
. I read it after watching the Disney
movie a zillion times when I was a kid. I love to cook and spend waaay too much time dreaming up new recipes that usually fail.”

Everyone laughed. Paige could have told everyone that she was a TV star and gotten away with it because she was so nice, but she'd never do that.

Then, Mandy, Brad, Derek, Lee, and Aaron went. Paige and I traded smiles. This was the coolest class ever.

“I'm glad to know your favorite books,” Mr. Davidson said. “All of your picks say something about you and none of your choices were even close to the same book. I think we're going to have a great class.”

We smiled.

“Take a look at the syllabus,” Mr. Davidson said. “Read the assigned chapters in our first book—
The Secret Garden
—and be prepared to discuss tomorrow. It's time for everyone to get to their next class.”

Everyone looked at the clock. That was the fastest class ever! Paige and I walked out of the classroom together.

“That is
so
my favorite class,” I said.

Paige giggled. “It's only the first one.”

“Seriously? You think anything can top
that
?” I checked my schedule. “Not unless the Sweet Shoppe is catering our science class. Let's go.”

We started for the science building. It was just a short walk down the hill.

“Sooo,” Paige said. “I was looking at the calendar and there's something, like, special happening this week.”

“Really?” I pretended to be confused. “Like what?”

“Your thirteenth birthday! That's the only benefit of school starting a week early—we get to celebrate together!”

I smiled. “That's def a benefit.”

Paige whipped out her purple and white striped notebook. “Since your birthday's on Thursday and it's already Monday, it's way too late to plan a party on your actual birthday. I already texted Callie and we want to throw you a blowout party next Friday. Interested?”

I almost dropped my books. “Paige! Omigod! That's so sweet of you guys.”

Paige wouldn't even look at me as she wrote in her notebook; she just nodded. “You'll have the best night ever.”

We reached the science building, found our room, and took a couple of seats at one of the rows of long tables. Two giant whiteboards were at the front of the class and the teacher's desk was off in the corner. It was covered with geeky gadgets—like the swinging magnetic balls, orbs with electricity, and a vase of sand art.

As I took out my book, I couldn't stop watching the door. Jacob was going to be in one of my classes—I just had a feeling. I'd take the Trio
and
Jasmine in class over him.

I looked at Paige out of the corner of my eye as she took out a clean sheet of paper and got ready to take notes. I had to tell her about Jacob. She was my close friend and I needed someone to talk to or I'd go crazy. Even though Paige didn't have a boyfriend, she gave the best guy advice. If she ever quit hosting
Teen Cuisine
, she could totally write an advice column for
Fifteen
.

“Paige,” I said, leaning over. “After class, I want to talk to—”

I stopped talking when my eyes flickered to the guy walking through the door.

Ryan. Paige's crush. He was
so
her type. Dark brown hair, intense eyes, and fair skin. Not a football player, but he definitely spent time in the gym.

Paige blushed, ducking her head, then glanced back up. Ryan scanned the classroom for an empty seat and he saw Paige. He smiled and walked toward us. There was a seat at the table in front of us.

Take it! Sit there!
I tried to will Ryan through ESP.

He dropped his backpack onto the floor and slid into the right chair. He turned around, flashing dimples.

“Hey, guys,” he said.

I smiled back, keeping one eye on Paige to make sure she didn't decide to bolt for the door or something. “Hi, Ryan. Did you have a good summer?”

“Totally,” Ryan said. “I spent most of it at my brother's house on the Cape. I went surfing every day and rode his Jet Ski. It was awesome.”

I looked at Paige, waiting for her to jump in and start talking. She'd been awkward around Ryan before summer break, but I'd hoped the IMing would have made her more comfortable around him. Her face, however, was bright pink and she kept her eyes on the paper on her desk.