The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg Read Free Book Online

our new, three-way friendship.
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    chapter Ten
    AFTER FOUR YEARS OF BASICALLY ignoring each other, it surprised me how quickly Diane and I fell back into place. I assumed it would be awkward, but it wasn't. It was the Penny and Diane of old.
    I was waiting for Diane at my locker at the end of the day when Ryan turned the corner, looking upset. He threw open his locker and started shoving books into his backpack with so much force I expected the strap to break.
    I looked up and saw Diane approaching me with a smile on her face.
    I kept looking between them. I knew they'd been speaking since the breakup, but I didn't want to find myself in the middle of it.
    Ryan slammed his locker shut and nearly ran into me when he turned around.
    "Sorry," he said.
    "Um, that's okay!' I replied, Diane was nearly at our lockers. "Um, everything okay?"
    "Huh?" He looked agitated. "I didn't do well on my Chem. Lab."
    "Oh, okay." I didn't know what else to say to him. I'd never
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    had trouble speaking with Ryan, but with Diane corning over, I felt like I was betraying her in a way.
    "Hey, guys," Diane greeted us.
    I noticed people in the hallways slowing down so they could watch Diane and Ryan.
    Ryan and Diane noticed, too.
    there was an awkward silence in our group as people were hovering, dissecting their every move. I just said the first thing that came to my mind. "Ryan didn't do well on his Chemistry Lab."
    Ryan gave me a weird look.
    "Sorry, I just..." I was embarrassed.
    Diane rolled her eyes, "Like a B is hardly something to get bent out of shape about. Plus, aren't you getting extra credit or something for that student advisory thing?"
    "What advisory thing?" I asked.
    Ryan blushed. "it's nothing. Principal Braddock has asked some students to meet with him on a regular basis to give him a better sense of the concerns of the student body."
    I was confused. "Isn't that what Student Council is for?"
    Ryan shrugged, "I don't know. We've only met once, and all he wanted to talk to me about was football. I guess he just wants to relive his glory years."
    Back in his day, Braddock was McKinley High's star athlete, and if one were to forget, there were a bunch of pictures of him in the trophy cases to remind us.
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    "Yeah, so much for--" Ryan was interrupted by a high, shrieking sound coming from the hallway. I nearly fell over when I saw that it was coming from Tracy.
    She ran over with a look of pure excitement and ended up running me smack into my locker.
    "Ow!"
    Tracy put her hand over her mouth and tried to stifle her laughter. "Sorry! You're not going to believe what happened!
    I moved my shoulder to make sure it was still in its socket.
    "Paul is having a party at his house on Saturday and asked me to come!"
    "Paul Levine?" I asked.
    "Yes, can you believe it? He's number three on the list,
    "Wow, Tracy, that's great!" I looked over at Diane, who gave me a little wink.
    Tracy was absolutely glowing, "So you're going to come with me, right? It's going to be so much fun. His parents are away and he's a senior, so there will probably be a ton of seniors there, probably even Kevin. You're going to be there, right, Diane?"
    Diane looked shocked that Tracy was including her. "Of course."
    "See, Pen, you have to got Right, Diane?"
    Diane laughed. "Come on, Penny.'"
    Just a few hours ago Tracy was at Diane's throat. And now Tracy was using Diane to bully me into going to a party.
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    "Of course, I'll go with you!' I said. Ryan was looking at the three of us with a combined look of confusion and amusement.
    I was a little nervous about attending a house party. Parkview was a pretty small town -- only ten thousand people, and my parents knew most of them. if I was ever caught at a party where the parents weren't at home, I knew I'd be in so much trouble. My mother was a small woman, but she carried the wrath of God in her. I didn't like to make her angry. You wouldn't like her when she's angry.
    It was just one more thing I was going to have to