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  Nah. The door to the conference room in the corner opened and Liana Hull walked out, a secretive, confident little smile on her face. Eva's pulse accelerated all over again.

  "Okay, you're next," Riley said, sitting forward on the couch, his feet flat on the floor, his knees jutting out at odd angles because of his legs' length. "Now, I want you to go in there and kick a little ass."

  Eva scoffed. "Not in my current repertoire."

  "What are you talking about?" Riley said, his blue-green eyes wide. "I don't know if you've realized this yet or not, but you are the person to beat on this scholarship thing."

  "Please!" Eva reddened.

  "I'm completely serious," Riley said, turning to face her better. "Yesterday I overheard Becca Rabinowitz telling Melissa Bonny that she thought you were a lock. Then Elise West, Jennifer Shaloff, and Christina Sfekas overheard and they all agreed."

  "Really?" Eva said, sitting up a little straighter. "All of them?"

  "Yup. And I agree with them too," Riley said. "Look at the facts. You've been volunteering at 4-H for years, you're, like, a straight-A student, you're published in every

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  issue of the lit magazine." He ticked off her attributes on his fingers as he spoke. "You got a recommendation from Greenleaf. Did you know that three other people asked him, and he turned every one of them down?"

  "Really?" Eva said again, smiling.

  "Yes, really," Riley said. "I should know. I was one of them. He said he'd already agreed to recommend you and that it would be hypocritical for him to write a letter for anyone else." Riley shook his head and pursed his lips comically. "Little fake English bastard."

  "I'm so sorry," Eva said. "I had no idea he--"

  "I'm just kidding," Riley told her. "All I'm trying to say is, stop stressing. There's nothing to stress about. You're golden."

  Eva grinned. "Thanks."

  "Eva Farrell?" Coach Davis called out from the doorway of the conference room. Eva's heart jumped, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been just moments ago. In fact, she felt a tiny bit. . . could it be . . . psyched?

  "Now, like I said," Riley whispered, leaning in so close, her entire body shivered with uninhibited delight. "Go in there and kick a little ass."

  Eva nodded once with determination, stood up, and straightened her skirt. Coach Davis smiled at Eva as she walked by and took her seat in front of the five-member panel. There was Mrs. Labella, who shot her a discreet thumbs-up, Mr. Simon, the coach, Vice Principal Stravinski, and Ms. Russo, one of the senior history teachers. For once

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  in her life, Eva was thankful for Labella's presence. Every other person on the panel intimidated her to no end.

  "Okay, Eva, make yourself comfortable," Mr. Stravinski began. "We want this to be as painless as possible."

  "Painless. Yes. That sounds good," Eva said.

  They all chuckled. She'd made them laugh. Go, me! Eva thought, blushing.

  "Well, our first question is a general one," Mr. Simon said. "Why do you think we should award you this scholarship?"

  Eva took a deep breath, saw Riley in her mind's eye, and said the first thing that popped into her head--a risk she'd never taken before in her life. "Well, I asked Mr. Greenleaf for a recommendation, which means I've already overcome my greatest fear for this scholarship, so that should show you how dedicated I am."

  Did I really just say that?

  More laughter. Eva, to her surprise, felt herself start to relax. Mrs. Labella looked so proud, Eva feared she was about to burst into song.

  "But seriously," she said, a real answer forming in the back of her mind. A real answer that sounded good.

  I can do this, she thought. I can actually do this.

  Debbie tried not to look at the sidelines every five seconds. She tried to concentrate on the game at hand. But it was no use. While her brain knew her father was never going to show, her eyes kept darting over,

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  checking the crowd, looking for him. Only three minutes were left in the game. Kai was there. Eva was there. Mandy, who had been avoiding her since the cafeteria meltdown, was not. And--surprise, surprise--her father was not there either.

  "Patel! What're you doing!?" Coach Grenier shouted from the bench. "Get in the damn game already!"

  Debbie gripped her lacrosse stick harder, honed in on the ball, and ran. Suddenly all she could see were the two girls on the opposing team, gunning for the net. Debbie raced, her pulse pounding, sensing the ball carrier's next move. When blondie shifted to pass the ball, Debbie was there. She snatched it right out of the air, turned, and was off.

  She ran faster than she knew was possible, dodging every defender in her way like a girl possessed.

  Right in front of the goal Debbie stopped short, throwing off the last defender. She pulled back and whipped the ball into the upper-left corner of the net. The crowd went wild; her teammates piled on top of her. It was the game-winning goal.

  Debbie ran over to Kai and Eva, her smile slightly strained. Kai gave her a huge hug. "That was awesome!" she said. "I've never seen anything like it."

  "Thanks," Debbie said, wiping her hand across her forehead. "Mandy didn't show, huh?"

  "No," Eva said sadly.

  "I think she kinda hates us," Kai said. "You guys

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  wanna go grab some food? Maybe figure out if there's anything more we can do?"

  Debbie knew it was pointless, but for some reason she really wanted to get home and see if her father had left a message for her. When he had told her he would come today, that he'd been meaning to come to one of her games, she had thought they might have actually found some common ground again--something to share that wasn't science related. Some part of her wasn't ready to give up on that yet. Debbie didn't want to care, but she did.

  "Can't," she said, taking a couple of steps back toward her teammates, who were starting to huddle around Coach for the postgame talk. "But I'll see you guys tonight at Devon's."

  Devon Randall was hosting tonight's football party after the Worthington game, and everyone Debbie knew was going to be there. Including Riley, hopefully. She might be miles away from breaking through with her dad, but she was this close to getting Riley to make a move--she could feel it. All she had to do was drop a few subtle signals and the Boy Scout would be all hers. Tonight was the night.

  Getting Riley Marx to kiss her might be the one thing that could cheer her up.

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  Chapter 13

  "Thank you so much for coming over," Eva said, clutching her hands together and watching Kai as she attacked Eva's closet like the Tasmanian devil. "No problem. I was psyched to get out of there anyway," she said, tossing a couple of blouses onto Eva's bed.

  "Andres still playing personal space invader?" Eva asked, untwisting the shirts from the mass and flattening them out.

  "Something like that," Kai said. She walked over to Eva's mirror, holding a pink T-shirt up over her chest, and eyed her reflection thoughtfully. "I'm surprised you didn't call Deb or Mandy."

  "They're both going straight from the game," Eva said, perching on the end of her bed. "I finally talked to Mandy, though. She said she was sorry for freaking out."

  "Did she tell you what her deal is?" Kai asked.

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  "No. We didn't get that far. She had to go pick up Eric," Eva told her.

  "Ah," Kai said. She pawed through the piles of clothes on Eva's bed and pulled out an old pair of roughed-up jeans, which she shoved toward Eva along with the pink top. "This and this," she said.

  "Really?" Eva asked, standing up. "I haven't worn these jeans since my ill-fated haiku phase."

  Kai smirked. "Trust me. Just put them on."

  Eva went into the bathroom and pulled the T-shirt on over her head. She was convinced the jeans would never fit, but the waistband, which used to stick out around her waist, now settled in perfectly on her hips. Eva looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Not bad. Except for that
sliver of her stomach that was exposed.

  "I can't go out like this," she said, walking back into the room, her arms held over her tummy.

  Kai rolled her eyes and pulled Eva's arms out like a pair of wings. "You look hot. You want to look hot, don't you?" Then she eyed Eva quizzically. "Are you ever going to tell me who you want to look hot for?"

  Eva flushed and turned to the mirror. She really didn't look half bad. The white embroidery along the neckline of the pink tee was pretty, but it wasn't like it drew the eyes away from that stretch of skin down below. Could she really survive the night with her belly button showing?

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  "Okay, I'll wear it. But I reserve the right to bring a cardigan," Eva said, snagging her black sweater from her bed.

  "Whatever," Kai said. "And don't think I didn't notice you ducking the question."

  "Of course," Eva replied. "Thanks again, Kai."

  "What are friends for?" Kai asked, grabbing her bag and keys. "Are we going?"

  Eva's heart fluttered nervously as she gathered her stuff. It was the first time she'd ever actually dressed up for a party, and it was impossible to ignore the reason. She wanted Riley Marx to notice her. For the first time ever, Eva wanted to be noticed.

  "Yeah, let's go," she said. She closed her bedroom door behind her, and then the phone rang.

  Eva glanced at the phone that hung on the wall in the kitchen. Don't answer it, a rebellious little voice in the back of her head told her. You know it can't be good.

  "Are you gonna get that?" Kai asked, her hand on the doorknob.

  Eva swallowed and tromped into the kitchen, resigned. She wasn't in the least bit surprised to hear her mother's voice on the other end of the line.

  "Eva, the car died. I'm at the Amoco on Sheridan Road. Do you think you could get one of your friends to swing by and pick me up?"

  Sheridan Road. Of course. The one road that was at least a mile from any bus line in either direction.

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  Eva took a deep breath, looked at Kai, and sighed. "Yeah, Mom. We'll be there in twenty minutes."

  "There are going to be some people here tomorrow. They're going to take some things, but I don't want you to worry. You don't have to be scared. ..." Mandy stood in Devon's kitchen on Friday night, holding a cup of soda in one hand, her other arm wrapped around her stomach as she stared at the flowered pattern on the tiled floor. Her father had stopped her just before she'd left for the game that evening, and his words kept replaying in her head as the party raged all around her.

  "They're going to take some things. . . . You don't have to be scared. ..."

  How could she not be scared? She had no idea how this whole thing had started. Where it was going. Would there be a trial? Would they lose the house? Could her father end up in jail} Would her mother end up in jail? Would they have to go on welfare? Move in with her grandparents? Her father still hadn't explained anything to her. Both of her parents were too busy walking around like nothing was wrong. Pretending for the rest of the world. Just like Mandy was.

  She knew she was going to have to give Eric an explanation and soon. She had been avoiding him since her cafeteria breakdown. But she wasn't ready for that particular drama yet. She was going to have to live through tomorrow's drama first.

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  "Stop fidgeting. You look great," Kai told Eva. Kai opened the front door at Devon's later that night, letting the pounding dance music spill out over the lawn. They had already picked up Eva's mother and dropped her at home, losing a full hour of party time.

  What if Riley's already been here and gone home? Eva wondered.

  Ever since Riley had mentioned Devon's party to her that afternoon, a new fantasy reel had started rolling in her head. One where her eyes would lock with Riley's from across the crowded room. He would see her in her stunning party outfit, make a beeline for her, and tell her how beautiful she was. It wasn't original, she knew, but it was knee-weakeningly good.

  Of course, now that she was here, she remembered that she hated crowds, she wasn't so sure about her "stunning" outfit, and in the face of so many overly coiffed girls, she felt anything but beautiful.

  Reality sucks.

  Mitch Mascarenhas barreled through the doorway, fleeing from a couple of his friends who were bent on doing who knew what to him. He knocked into Eva, sending her slamming into Kai.

  "Whoa, whoa," Kai said with a laugh, righting Eva. "You need to find your party legs."

  Eva smiled, but inside she was terrified. What had she been thinking? She didn't do parties. She didn't do flirting. She didn't do dressing up for guys. Especially not

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  after a night of helping her mother haggle with an overgrown mechanic named Lou and listening to her mom lament all the way home about what a rip-off the guy was. Now not only was Kai privy to her family's bleak financial situation, but Eva was quite sure she smelled like gasoline, and she was no longer quite as confident as she'd been when standing in the middle of her bedroom.

  "I'm gonna go get us some drinks," Kai said.

  Before Eva could grab her and demand that she never leave her side, Kai had already maneuvered halfway through the throng, weaving in and out like she'd done it a million times before.

  I guess world traveling teaches you a few things, Eva thought.

  When another passerby nearly sent her sprawling down the two steps into the living room, Eva flattened herself against the stucco partition behind her and did her best wallflower. She watched as Melissa and Scot ground to the music, clutching each other like a couple of wannabe porn stars. She rolled her eyes as half the football team engaged in a chug fest on the other side of the room. Nowhere did she see Riley Marx. She was just beginning to think that she had, in fact, missed him when she heard someone shout his name.

  "Yo, Riley! Yeah, that's it! You go, Boy Scout!"

  Eva found the shouter, Chris Chin, with her eyes, then followed his gaze to the staircase, where Riley Marx was following a girl upstairs. And not just any girl. He was following Debbie Patel.

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  "So much for that virgin scholarship," one of Chris's moronic friends shouted. A bunch of guys laughed and slapped hands. Riley and Debbie kept walking, either not hearing them or choosing to ignore them, but Eva had a feeling their voices would be echoing in her head for a long time to come.

  Riley and Debbie. Debbie and Riley. Riley and Debbie. Upstairs. Together

  Eva pulled her cardigan on over her pink shirt and held it close to her, wishing she'd been born stupid so she wouldn't have to understand what Debbie and Riley were about to do. The question was, why had Eva even bothered coming here? Was her life lacking in teen angst drama in some way? Had she not seen this coming from miles off? From every angle?

  She lowered herself onto the step next to her and sighed, feeling sick to her stomach. Somehow she had allowed herself to imagine that she meant something to Riley. That their conversation on the swings and his support of her in the guidance office, even the crazy laughing paint fight, had affected him the same way they'd affected her. But clearly she'd been wrong.

  Maybe she actually had been born stupid.

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  Chapter 14

  Debbie leaned against the doorjamb to Devon's upstairs guest room and waited for Riley. The second floor was empty, thankfully, so she didn't have an audience as she readied herself. She shook her hair over her shoulder, licked her lips, and arched her back slightly. Her heart pounded erratically in her chest, but she wasn't nervous. This was her moment. She and Riley Marx had been hanging out all week, and Debbie was proud of the fact that she had yet to make a move, especially considering the many chances she'd had to jump his bones--in the library, in the car, after the V Club meeting when they'd walked out to the nearly deserted parking lot together. She'd been the picture of self-restraint and she felt she'd earned her dues.

  And she just knew that he wanted to hook up with her too. He'd been so nice to her and had spent so much


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  time with her. And besides, he wouldn't have come upstairs with her if he didn't want to.

  Just don't forget, this is Riley, Debbie told herself. Subtlety is key. The door to the bathroom opened and Riley stepped out. He looked at her and smiled.

  "You didn't have to wait for me," he said.

  Debbie hesitated. Of course she had to wait for him. He hadn't actually thought she'd come up here with him just to help him find the bathroom. Had he?

  "Well, you know, I just thought we could hang out up here for a while," Debbie said, tilting her head toward the deserted bedroom behind her. Trying to suggest without being too suggestive.

  Take the hint, she urged him silently. Come on, Riley. Take the hint!

  "Why?" Riley asked, looking confused. "Everyone else is downstairs."

  "I don't know," Debbie said, forcing a giggle. "It's just so much more relaxing up here, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, but we're at a party. We can all relax when we're at our own houses going to sleep." Riley reached out and punched her lightly on the arm. Debbie could feel her face burning. She tried to smile, but it came out like a grimace.

  "Come on," Riley said. "Let's go back down."

  Debbie followed Riley down the stairs, but she had to clutch the banister to keep her hand from shaking. Was

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  it possible that he hadn't recognized the signals she was sending? Or had he just turned her down flat without actually saying the words? She felt like something inside her was deflating.

  Kai couldn't have been more surprised when she saw Mandy winding her way through the packed party toward her. At first she thought she must be coming to talk to Eva, who was slumped back into the couch to Kai's left, her cardigan buttoned all the way to the top. But instead Mandy sat down to Kai's right, laid her hands over her stomach, and sighed.

  "Do you hate me?" Mandy asked, staring straight ahead.

  "What? No!"

  "Good," Mandy said. "I was just. . . really tired the other day and I didn't mean to explode like that. I'm sorry."

  "Hey, that's okay," Kai told her. "We didn't mean to attack you. We just... we were worried about you."