17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen Read Free Book Online Page B

really need to ask CJ about something,” says Megan.
    â€œOkay, I’ll let you girls talk.” She flashes one last smile over her shoulder before she manages to pull herself away from theabundance of tween-age popularity in our doorway.
    â€œWhat’s up?” I ask.
    I narrow my eyes. The three of them are smiling at me like they’re going to eat me or something.
    â€œCan we go up to your room?” asks Megan.
    â€œSure.” I turn, puzzled, and lead them upstairs.
    They take in the kiwi-colored walls and sports paraphernalia with something between curiosity and disdain. Amberly and Britney sit on the star-patterned quilt my mom made and look at Megan like they’re waiting for something. She prances over and stands in front of my desk like she’s about to give a presentation at school.
    â€œAs we all know, Chessa moved away last month. It’s been tough, but we’ve been looking for a replacement. And today we finally decided.” She clasps her hands in front of her and smiles. “CJ, we want you to be a member of the Crown Society.”
    â€œWhat?” I fall out of my chair, I’m laughing so hard. “You’re kidding. This is a joke, right?”
    Britney crosses her arms over her chest. “I told you we should have picked Amanda Bell.”
    â€œWhy do you have to have a fourth person anyway?” I ask. “Why can’t it be just the three of you?”
    â€œBecause four is the magical number of girlfriendship,” says Megan, like I was supposed to have learned this in Friendship 101.
    Amberly nods fervently. “It’s the trifecta.”
    I refrain from pointing out what
trifecta
means.
    â€œIt’s like
Sex and the City
,” explains Megan.
    My mama would skin me alive if she caught me watching
Sex and the City
, so I’ve never seen it, but I nod like I get it anyway. Megan still hasn’t asked me if I want to be one of them. She just assumes I do. Any girl in seventh grade would roll around naked in broken glass for the chance I’ve been given.
    â€œBut, why would you pick
me?
”
    Megan shrugs. “You’re nice and funny, and you have a good body. Being popular should be no problem for you.”
    â€œPlus you’ve started dressing way cuter this year. We’ve noticed,” adds Amberly.
    â€œBut there must be dozens of other girls . . .”
    Megan cuts me off with a brisk shake of her head. “Yearbook,” she says, like a doctor asking for a scalpel.
    I find it on my shelf, and they explain how they systematically whittled down the list of girls to me and one or two others.
    Megan closes the yearbook with a snap. “So, you see. There was no one else we could have chosen.”
    â€œWell,” begins Britney.
    â€œThere was no one,” says Megan.
    I’m still not convinced, though. “But I’m a tomboy.”
    â€œSo you play soccer. Soccer is fine. We can work with soccer. As long as it’s not
softball.”
Megan shudders.
    â€œPlus, we’ll make you over, just like in
Clueless.”
Amberly’s eyes light up at the thought.
    â€œWhat do you say?” asks Megan.
    I can’t picture myself spending time with these girls, letalone being one of them, but the image of Megan hiding out on her patio pops into my head. I really do want to get to know her better. And if they could make me look as confident in dresses as they do, that wouldn’t suck either. Before I can stop myself, I say, “I’m in.”
    â€œAwesome!” says Megan. “You’re coming to my house to get ready for the dance with us.”
    With that, they kidnap me. Well, they drag me across the street to Megan’s house while my mom waves good-bye with tears of joy shining on her cheeks. We gallop up the stairs to Megan’s room, and because all the houses in our neighborhood have almost the same layout, her room is in exactly the same place as