The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger Read Free Book Online

entered the freezing student parking lot. “What? But Jess loves
     Basketball Homecoming. It’s her favorite after prom and Football Homecoming.”
    I smiled a little, in spite of myself. “And Sadie Hawkins.”
    “Why didn’t I know about this? Homecoming is getting close. Why didn’t you all tell me?”
    I shrugged. “Sorry. I didn’t even think about it. And I guess Jessica is still moping. She might not want to talk about not
     being able to go.”
    “But… but who will I go to the dance with now?”
    “Um, a boy,” I suggested. “Casey, it’s not as if it’ll be hard for you to get a date.” I fished the car keys out of my back
     pocket and unlocked the doors of my Saturn.
    “Right, who the hell wants to go with Sasquatch?”
    “You are
not
Sasquatch.”
    “Besides,” she said, ignoring me, “it’s way better to go with you guys.” She climbed into the passenger’s seat and wrapped
     herself in the blanket Jessica had used a few nights earlier. “Damn it, B. You really need to get that fucking heater fixed.”
    “You really need to get your own car.”
    She changed the subject. “Okay, so back to the dance. If you two aren’t going… do you guys care if I crash your movie fest?
     It could be a Girls’ Night In. We haven’t had one of those in a while.”
    Despite my crappy mood, I smiled. Casey was right. Wehadn’t had a movie night together in a long time, and it would be nice to hang out without the drama of boys or loud techno
     music. For once, I might actually have fun on a Friday night. So I reached for the volume on my stereo and said, “A week from
     Friday, it’s a date.”

6
    When the Friday of our Girls’ Night In finally rolled around, I was more than ready for a nice, relaxing evening with my best
     friends—and the wonderfully Scottish James McAvoy, of course. I’d shoved the copy of
Becoming Jane
that Jessica had given me for Christmas, a pair of barely used pajamas (yeah, I sleep naked at home—so what?), and my toothbrush
     into my backpack. Casey was bringing the popcorn, and Jessica promised us big bowls of chocolate swirl ice cream.
    As if my ass wasn’t big enough.
    But naturally, the day couldn’t be all good. Mrs. Perkins, my English teacher, made sure of that during fourth block.
    “So, that’s
The Scarlet Letter,
” she said, closing her book. “Did you enjoy it, class?”
    There was a low grumble in the negative, but Mrs. Perkins didn’t seem to notice.
    “Well, because Hawthorne’s work is so extraordinary and applicable to contemporary society, I want each of you to write a
     report pertaining to the novel.” She ignored the loud sighs. “The report can be about any part of the book—a character, a
     scene, a theme—but I want it to be very well thought out. I will also be allowing you to work in pairs”—the class buzzed with
     excitement—“which I will assign.” The excitement vanished.
    I knew I was in trouble when Mrs. Perkins pulled out her roll sheet. That meant she would be assigning partners based on alphabetical
     order, and since there were no kids whose last names started with Q in that class, my partner was bound to be—
    “Bianca Piper will work with Wesley Rush.”
    Shit.
    I’d managed to steer clear of Wesley for a week and a half—since the day he’d harassed me after school—but Mrs. Perkins had
     to go and screw that up.
    She rattled off the last few names on her list before saying, “I expect the reports to be no fewer than five pages long—and
     that’s twelve-point font, double-spaced, Vikki. Don’t pull that stunt again.” She laughed good-naturedly. “Now, I want partners
     to work together. Both must contribute to the report. And be creative, people! Have fun!”
    “Not likely,” I muttered to Jessica, who sat at the desk next to mine.
    “Oh, I think you’re lucky, Bianca,” she said. “I’d be thrilled if Wesley was my partner. But my heart belongs to Harrison.
     It is
so
unfair that Casey gets