How To Be A Perfect Girl by Mary Williams Read Free Book Online Page B

day.
    “Alright, looks like everyone’s here,” Ms.
Hughes, Val’s Homeroom teacher, had dyed-blonde hair and an
excessive amount of freckles. When she spoke, she looked at the
floor or the back of the room, hardly making eye contact with her
students. “When the bell rings, we’ll go to the theater.”
    It took almost two minutes for the bell to
ring; during that time Val had to endure the crude humor of three
boys sitting in the corner a few desks away, none of whom she
recognized. She tried glaring at them, and—when that didn’t
work—she decided to say something. “Seriously, what are you guys,
like five?”
    Two of the boys—the one with beady eyes and
the well-tanned one—quieted. The third boy, however, turned to face
Val, a smirk on his face; his lupine features made the expression
seem all the more menacing. “Excuse me, when did we invite you to
be a part of this conversation?”
    “Well—“ Val had no good answer, “—I’m
sitting right next to you—“
    “So what?” the wolf-faced boy asked, “That
doesn’t give you a right to interrupt our conversation.”
    Val was getting ready to argue until Carrie
tugged on her arm. “Yeah?” she turned toward her friend.
    “Time to go,” Carrie said; looking around,
Val realized Carrie had a point. The rest of their class was
already filing out the door, beginning the short trek to the
theater. If the two girls didn’t leave immediately, they’d probably
be stuck sitting next to the boys Val had just antagonized. They
got up and followed the rest of the class out; Val wanted to take
her bag, but Miss Hughes made her leave it.
    Seating in the theater was decided primarily
by who wanted to sit next to whom. Val chose a seat near a group of
Student Gov students—two of the three Trio members were sitting a
few chairs away from Aiden and Noah—and Carrie sat next to her.
    There was no easy way to discern the purpose
of this assembly; the stage was practically empty and the curtains
had not been drawn to provide a backdrop for a PowerPoint
presentation, the way they had been on Monday when the
administrators went over clubs at the school.
    “Oh damn, it’s the nosy girl from our
class,” Val heard behind her. She turned in her seat to find the
three boys from her homeroom sitting one row up. The wolf-faced one
waved, “Your thoughts, Miss Longnose?”
    “I don’t have a long nose!” Val
retorted.
    “Of course not,” the boy winked, “I’m sure
where you come from it’s completely normal to have a nose so long
you could be a stand-in for the Wicked Witch of the West.” The boys
all howled with laughter.
    “Huh?” was all Val could
say; what is that even supposed to
mean?
    “Let me break it down for you,” the
wolf-faced boy said; he pantomimed a Pinocchio nose growing from
his face, “You—have—such—a—long—nose—that—woodpeckers—envy—you.”
More laughter.
    “Hey! Leave her alone Dylan!” Val groaned;
it was Keenan who’d spoken, and from the looks of it he was ready
for a fight. From the corner of her eye, she could see a teacher
trying to gain everyone’s attention.
    The wolf-faced
boy—Dylan—turned to Keenan with a smile, “Or you’ll do what,
charity case? If you throw a single punch, you’ll be out of here
before I could hit you back. The only reason you’re here is because
your Mommy got a job way above her status.”
    Keenan tried to make his way to Dylan’s
seat, but Alex pulled him down into a chair. “Remember last year,
Dylan?” Alex asked.
    Dylan blanched and leaned back wordlessly.
Val wondered what could possibly have happened last year that would
shut the loud-mouth up. Whatever it was, she was grateful to Alex
for interceding—she couldn’t help but feel it would have been her
fault if Keenan had fought Dylan over making fun of her nose.
    The assembly itself was exceedingly
boring—Miss Stevens talked about how freshman had the most
important role in the school. “After all,” she