Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade Read Free Book Online

nonstop yammering at the various times she’d stalked me like this, Claire and Eric hadn’t actually been dating. Claire had just called dibs.
    Look, I am…or I was a power player at Groundsboro High. I know the ins and outs of our social hierarchy likeI know the contents of my closet. Give me fifteen minutes, and I could probably do the same thing at any other school, too. You have to know who the competitors are, how to makefriends…and the right enemies. (A good enemy, or frenemy, for that matter, will earn you more cred than you could possibly accumulate with years of just the right clothes, hair, etc.)
    But one thing you don’t do? Mess with another girl’s crush. Yes, it gives you a reputation boost temporarily, and if you end up in a relationship with him (see my best friend, Misty, and my ex, Chris), then most people will excuse it as “true love.” But that’s risky. And to do it just because you can? Because you’re bored, lonely, needing a self-esteem fix? When it falls apart, expect instant whoredom.
    Because you’ve just announced, in so many words, to every girl in the school that you have no intention of respecting the unspoken, agreed-upon boundaries of dibs, and their crushes could be next.
    Yeah. Not a good idea. Ever.
    “You’re like nine hundred thirty-six on the list or something,” I said. I’d sent Liesel to the end, just for being a pain in my ass. “As they say, today’s not your day and tomorrow’s not looking good, either.” I was pretty sure Will had that on a T-shirt somewhere.
    “You need to move us up,” Liesel said sharply.
    I pretended to think about that. “No.”
    “You did it for Mrs. Ruiz,” she pointed out in a shrill voice that was just so grating. “You put her right at the top.”
    “And look at how well that worked out,” I muttered.
    She frowned. “What?”
    Evidently, the undead gossip train, which usually moved with bulletlike speed and accuracy, hadn’t reached her with the latest details yet.
    I sighed. “Nothing.”
    “We’re running out of time.” She touched her feathered and heavily sprayed bangs carefully, making sure everything was still in place. A nervous habit left over from life, most likely, when stuff like the wind messed with your look. Unless, of course, you’d used twelve cans of hairspray.
    I narrowed my eyes at her and then at Eric behind her. “You look fine to me.” Neither one of them appeared to be in any more danger of disappearing than before. Their forms were as solid as ever.
    “Claire started dating someone,” she said. “His name is Todd.”
    I raised my eyebrows.
    Mrs. Pederson’s divorce a couple of years ago had been legendary, especially after the day she’d shown up to teach, allegedly half-looped on some kind of mood upper. Fortunately, it had turned out to be a Saturday. Unfortunately, more than enough people were in the building—practices, yearbook, detention, etc.—for the rumor to be alive and kicking on Monday.
    “So…you want to stop her? You can’t be happy, so she can’t be happy until she forgives you? Will would never go for that.” I turned away.
    “Whose side are you on?” she called after me.
    “Not yours,” I said over my shoulder.
    “Yeah, I noticed. We’ve all noticed.”
    I turned at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “All you care about is what he does.” She folded her arms across her chest. “We don’t even matter to you.”
    I assumed that the “we” she referred to was the general ghost population of the Decatur/Groundsboro area rather than just Eric and her specifically.
    “I’m his guide,” I pointed out.
    “But you’re one of us,” she shot back.
    I shook my head.
    “You think you’re better than us just because you work for the breather?” she demanded.
    “Work with ,” I corrected with an edge. “And no, I think I’m better than you because I am better than you.” I kept walking.
    “You’re not alive anymore, you know!” she shouted