What If... All Your Friends Turned On You by Liz Ruckdeschel Read Free Book Online Page A

want to do something this weekend? Say, go to the Strand to see the latest foreign film? I believe they’re showing
Days of the Sun, Nights of the Moon
. It’s in Russian. Devon will love it, and Darcy won’t be able to get past the subtitles. It’s perfect.”
    Haley couldn’t miss the wicked grin on Irene’s face. “Good idea. I’ve seen it ten times. It’s part of my dad’s permanent archives.” She got up and straightened her skirt.
    Shaun used his girly voice again: “Now Darcy’ssaying, ‘Hey Devon, want to see my latest piercing? Bet you can’t guess where it is….’”
    â€œQuit it, Shaun,” Irene said.
    Haley walked over to the booth and slid in across from Devon and Darcy. “Hey, guys,” she said casually. “What’s up?”
    â€œJust ordering some chow,” Devon said.
    â€œI’m addicted to the fries here,” Darcy said.
    â€œThey’re great, aren’t they?” Haley said. “You know, I don’t get to see you guys enough. Want to go to a movie this weekend, just the three of us?”
    Darcy’s eyes narrowed. But Devon said, “Sure, that’s cool. Whatevs.”
    â€œAwesome,” Haley said. “Why don’t you guys meet me at the Strand tomorrow night at eight? I’ll get the tickets. My treat.”
    â€œThe Strand?” Darcy said. “What’s playing there, some foreign crap?”
    â€œThat’s my favorite theater,” Devon said, clearly wounded.
    â€œI know,” Haley said brightly, smiling at Darcy.
    Just then, the waitress arrived with their food, so Haley hopped up to go. “So we’ll see you tomorrow,” Devon confirmed as Haley walked away. And she couldn’t help but notice he seemed just the slightest bit sad to see her go.
    Back on her stool at the counter, Haley triumphantly announced, “Phase one of the mission accomplished.”
    Shaun rubbed his hands together with glee. “E-e-e-excellent.”
    â€œThere’s three seats together.” Haley pointed toward a section in the middle of the small theater. Not that the place was all that crowded.
    â€œWhy couldn’t we see
Zombie Rampage
instead?” Darcy said. “I heard it was awesome.”
    â€œThis film’s very uplifting,” Haley said. “You’ll see.” She was hoping Devon would see too—see how shallow and immature Darcy was. So far he appeared to be fairly clueless on that front.
    Darcy slid into the row first. Haley cut in front of Devon so that she could sit between the two of them, on Darcy’s right. But Darcy patted the seat to her left and said, “Sit here, Dev. It’s closer to the middle of the screen.”
    Devon slid past Haley and sat on the other side of Darcy. Darcy looked at Haley and smiled. “There. We’ll all be much more comfortable this way.”
    The lights went dim and the trailers played.
That little sneak
, Haley thought, barely noticing what was happening on the screen in front of her. Not that it mattered—she had the movie practically memorized.
Irene was right—I never realized how manipulative Darcy really is
.
    The first scene opened with ominous orchestral music. Credits were written in Russian and translatedbelow. The main character, a farmer, appeared, speaking incomprehensible gibberish. The subtitles flashed below him.
    Darcy chomped her gum and sighed. “I can’t believe we have to sit here and read the movie. What a drag!”
    That’s right
, Haley thought.
Keep showing your true colors
. She leaned back in her seat and settled in for two hours of Russian tragedy in the steppes. She tried to keep an eye on Devon and Darcy, but the film was actually pretty absorbing, even on the eleventh viewing, though admittedly not as action-packed as
Zombie Rampage
would have been. Every once in a while she glanced over at the couple. Darcy was