Art Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noël Read Free Book Online Page B

this the same friend that told you you were beautiful?”
    I nod, and look out the window, because I’m starting to feel embarrassed.
    “So, what’s his name?” she asks.
    “Um, Jas,” I say, hoping she won’t remember the last time she heard that name.
    But she does.
    “Isn’t that your detention friend?”
    “Don’t call him that,” I say, mentally scolding myself for trying to open up to her.
God, I should have known better.
    “I don’t know about this, Rio.” She looks in the rearview mirror as she merges into the arrivals lane.
    “Fine. You don’t have to take me shopping, but I already said yes to the date.” I fold my arms across my chest and shoot daggers at her from behind my sunglasses.
    “There’s your father,” she says between clenched teeth. “We’ll discuss this later.”
    She pulls up to the curb and jumps out to hug my dad, and I climb into the backseat where I sulk until he notices me.
    “Hey, kiddo, did you miss me?” he asks, reaching back for an awkward hug.
    “Yeah, Dad, I missed you,” I say, hugging him with one arm.
     
    We have dinner at this place called Roy’s, and like the minute my mom gets up to use the bathroom I pounce. “Dad, someone asked me out for tomorrow night, but Mom doesn’t want me to go because you’re home. But I kind of want to go, since I’m just starting to make friends here, and you and I can hang out during the day all day tomorrow and again on Sunday.”
    “Go! Have fun! Don’t miss out on account of your old man.” He smiles and squeezes my shoulder.
    That’s what I was hoping he’d say.
    So when my mom comes back to the table, my dad looks at her and says, “I told Rio to go ahead and hang out with her friends tomorrow night.”
    She looks at me and narrows her eyes into tight, angry slits.
    “I figured we could find some way to entertain ourselves,” he says.
    And then she looks at him and smiles. And he winks at her.
    Gross.
    But totally worth it.
     
    On Saturday afternoon while my mom and dad were looking at linens in some specialty shop in South Coast Plaza (which is like the most amazing mall
in the universe
), I was wandering on my own looking for something to wear for my big date with Jas.
    Not that Jas seems like the kind of guy who cares hugely aboutclothes, and not that my closet’s not already full of things that my mom buys for me and sticks in there, I just kind of wanted something new to mark the occasion.
    So as I’m about to go in some store called Ron Herman that has a very cool window display, I bump straight into Katrina Wood and her Mini Me, Kristi. I’m not kidding. They’re both wearing low-slung jeans, with pastel thongs (sandals, not underwear!) that match their pastel pedicures and little velour Juicy Couture hoodie tops (that match the thongs and the pedicures), and they both have long dark hair, flat-ironed into submission.
    “Hi, Rio!” they both say like they’re actually happy to see me.
    “Oh, hey.”
    “What are you doing here?” Mrs. Wood asks, while her daughter stands there and stares at me just like in English.
    “I’m just shopping around. My parents are looking at stuff for the house.”
    “Are you going tonight?” Kristi asks.
    “Where?” I ask nervously, wondering how she could possibly know about Jas and me.
    “Winter Formal!”
    I can tell she wants to add
“Duh?
” to the end of that statement, but doesn’t because of her mom.
    “Oh, no. I’m not going.”
    I don’t think I sounded depressed when I said it, but Kristi and Katrina exchange sad looks, then Mama Wood goes, “Oh, honey. You got a late start. You’ll be going next year, you’ll see.” Then she smiles tenderly and gives me a little pat on the arm. Gag.
     
    When I’m finally rid of them, I go inside the store and browse through this rack of amazing ninety-dollar T-shirts. I mean, at first you might think they look like every other T-shirt in the world, but on these hangers and under these lights, you