“One!” you shout happily. “The answer is one!”
Shawna pauses the way Regis does on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? “That … is … correct!”
Yes! Everybody starts hooting and cheering. Thank you, Mrs. Pearl, for forcing me to learn that stuff! you think. Who says math is useless?
Shawna quickly quiets everyone down by holding up her hands and reminding them, “She still has two questions to go!”
The crowd hushes as she sends the arrow spinning around the wheel again. This time it lands on Sports. On the sidelines you see Lena’s face break into a smile. She knows that you know more about sports than some of the boys in the class.
Hannah hands Shawna another card. “Okay … here’s your second question: in hockey, what does it mean to pull off a hat trick?”
Easy one! “That’s when a player scores three goals in one game.”
Shawna pauses again, the crowd seeming to hold their breath. “Correct!” More cheers and whoops.
“Only one more to go, rock star!” Jessie yells. “You can do it!”
While everyone is still cheering, Shawna spins the wheel again, and this time it lands on Pop Culture. Thank goodness. You were worried you might get Riddles, and right now you’re way too nervous for those. But Pop Culture? Please. You’ve got this in the bag.
“Hannah? The final card, please,” Shawna says, holding out her hand.
Hannah steps forward and hands Shawna a white index card.
“The last question will be about America’s Next Top Model,” Shawna informs you. Jessie and Lena give each other a high five. If there’s one thing you’re a certified expert on, it’s that show. No way could you blow this now.
Shawna clears her throat and everyone shuts up. “This one is for all the marbles,” Shawna warns. “This is your last chance. If you get this wrong, it’s all over. And no one can help you. It’s all on you.” Jeez, no pressure or anything!
“Don’t worry,” you say, trying to sound confident. “I got this.”
She nods her approval. “Then here’s your question: who won the fourth season of the show? You’ve got two minutes to answer.”
“Oh, that’s easy. It’s …” You trail off, drawing a complete blank. “Uh …” No, this can’t be happening. You know this! But you just can’t think. Again, you can feel the sun beating down on your head. Maybe your brain is being fried. There’s no other explanation for this mental meltdown. Adults who just want to shop are trying to push past the group of kids, which has only gotten larger. And you can hear Mark taking bets on whether you’re going to blow the last question. “Five dollars says she bites the dust!” he yells.
“You’re on,” Eli replies, digging into his pocket for the money.
“Count me in,” Jasmine says, edging her way toward Charlie. Before you know it, everyone is taking one side or the other. Celia, who bet against you, is holding her throat and pretending that she’s choking. Real funny.
“Come on, stop playing around!” you hear Jessie yell. “This one is easy!”
It’s all just too much! And time is running out. Carrie Dee? Eva the Diva? No, neither of those is right. But you’re at a total loss. You have no choice but to take a guess. “Um … was it … Jaslene?”
As soon as it comes out of your mouth, you know the answer is wrong.
“Aww … I’m sorry. That is incorrect. The right answer is Naima. Nay-eee-ma.“ She hands the card back to Hannah, who is waiting by her side. “Good try, though.”
The jerks who bet against you are smiling happily and collecting their winnings. You glance over at your friends, and both Lena and Jessie are shaking their heads sadly.
Even Shawna looks upset for you. But then she shrugs and turns to the crowd. “Those of you who won tickets, please meet me over by the fountain so we can take a group picture.”
Lena looks your way helplessly, appearing unsure of what she should do. You can tell she’s been biting her nails.
“It’s okay,” you tell her, trying not to sound too miserable. “I could use some alone time anyway.”
“Are you sure?” Jessie asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Go ahead.”
Reluctantly, your friends head off to the fountain, where a bunch of kids with golden tickets and their guests are busily positioning themselves in what looks like a class-picture arrangement.
You don’t want to rain on your friends’ parade, but if you could, you would dig a hole right where you’re standing and just crawl in. Since you can’t do that, you slink away to a nearby bench to sulk in peace. Nothing went quite right today. You didn’t end up a big-time model, it turns out your crush had a date with your worst enemy, and now you’ve lost out on Shawna’s birthday party too. Talk about a hat trick. You probably should have just stayed in bed today. At least it would have saved you all the humiliation you’ve endured. It’s like you’re cursed. Lucky for you it isn’t possible literally to drown in self-pity because you would definitely need a lifeguard right about now.
“Mind if I join you?” you hear someone ask.
You huff, annoyed that someone is interrupting your moping session. “Sure, if you don’t mind sitting next to a loser.” But when you look up, you see that the interruption is coming from your favorite artist, Jimmy Morehouse, looking as adorable as ever. If it’s possible, though, he seems even mopier than you feel. The two of you could give Mary and Holly a run for their money in the gloom department. You move over on the bench immediately. “Uh, I mean, sure, have a seat.”
“Thanks,” he says, sitting down just inches away from you.
“So I know why I look so bummed. What happened to you?” you ask, wondering if he is feeling cursed too.
He shrugs. “Well, I had a big fight with Mona today. Looks like our date is off.”
You know you shouldn’t be happy about the argument, but your stomach can’t help doing this pleasant little flip-flop thing, like a tiny fish is swimming around in your gut.
“Oh. Sorry to hear that,” you say, wondering why he’s choosing to tell you, of all people, a girl who must be exuding all kinds of loser vibes right now.
“Thanks,” he says again, “but I’m all right. I think it was for the best. To be honest, I never really liked her. I just thought it might be fun to go to Shawna’s party and she had a ticket. Plus, I was too shy to talk to the person I did like.”
The two of you sit there quietly for a moment, neither knowing quite what to say. So there’s yet another girl waiting in the wings? you think sadly. Well, isn’t that just the rotten cherry on top of the world’s worst sundae?
Finally he looks over at you and says, “So, what are you doing over here all by yourself? You look pretty upset for someone who just faced the Wheel of Doom and survived.”
“Ha-ha,” you say dryly. “As if you didn’t just see me get demolished. Arggh …” You slap your forehead. “I still can’t believe I missed such an easy question. I’m such a dope.”
“Hey, hey, hey …” Jimmy pulls your hand down from your forehead. “I thought you did great,” he says kindly. “You almost won.”
You look into his sweet green eyes, realizing that the two of you are now kind of holding hands. You would be a bundle of nerves if you didn’t half believe that you were just daydreaming this. “Thanks, but ‘almost’ didn’t win me a ticket.”
“True,” he agrees. “But there is a silver lining there.”
“Yeah?”
He looks away shyly. He takes a deep breath. “Well … that means we’ll both be free on Saturday. So, uh, would-youwanttomaybeseeamoviewithmeinstead?” He blurts it out so fast, you almost miss it, but there’s no denying it: Jimmy just asked you to go to the movies with him. You’re the other girl waiting in the wings!
Now, what should you do? Hmmm … decisions, decisions …
Just kidding! You don’t need a quiz for this one. Of course you say yes!
And later that day, when you’re walking home with Lena and Jessie, you will
tell them in excruciating detail all about a comic-book geek and a Wheel of Doom loser, sittin’ on a bench …
It’s great that you have such high self-esteem, but you have truly taken it to the next level! You may really be the prettiest, smartest, coolest kid in the room, but if you’re conceited about it, all you’ll do is drive people away. When you let others shine too, you shine that much brighter.
“I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait!” Jessie gushes as you and your two friends take a seat at a table in the coffee shop. “I still can’t believe you won a ticket, Lena.”
“Neither can I,” she says, holding up the golden ticket and inspecting it for the millionth time. “It’s so pretty! This must be good-quality paper.”
“Yeah,” you agree, sipping your iced chai. “It’s the same color gold as the Academy Award I will eventually win. You guys are so lucky you can say you knew me when.”
Jessie kind of giggles. “Right. I’ll have to remember to get your autograph before you start charging for it. I hear J.Lo won’t sign anything if she thinks you’re going to sell it on eBay.”
Jessie’s kidding, but you seriously believe you’re on your way to the big time.
“Well, before you move to Hollywood,” Lena says, “would you care to come shopping with us tomorrow? We’re definitely going to need something new to wear to the party”
You grab a nearby napkin dispenser and check out your reflection. Wow, you never realized how long your neck is or how perfect your eyelashes are. Right up there with Gisele’s. You sigh. “I don’t know if I’ll have time for stuff like that anymore,” you tell Lena. “Now that I’m a model, I’m going to have real responsibilities.”
Jessie and Lena exchange a look. “Is that right?” Jessie says, clearly amused.
“Well, yes. I’m going to have to start really taking care of my skin, and I’ll need to get my hair done before I meet with any agents. You know how it is. Oh … no, I guess you don’t.”
Jessie’s mouth drops open a little as she shoots Lena a look that says, Can you believe this girl? Lena just shrugs and tries to change the subject.
“Anyway … I was thinking I might buy that blue wrap dress we saw at Charlotte Russe,” she says.
“Wow,” Jessie exclaims excitedly. “Lena in a dress! You’re really going to pull out all the stops!”
“I know, I know …,” Lena says, acknowledging her tomboy status. “But I figure an event like this calls for—”
“Do you think Tyra would want me to appear on her talk show?” you interrupt.
“What?” Lena says, unable to keep her face neutral.
“It’s just, I was so good at everything today. Even Janice was impressed. And she totally knows Tyra. So maybe she would mention this young modeling prodigy she discovered today.”
Jessie mouths, Prodigy? to Lena.
“Well, it isn’t impossible,” Lena says. “I guess. Although statistically, the odds would not be in your favor.”
Leave it to Lena to doubt something that is clearly written in the stars.
“Anyway,” Jessie continues, playing with her blond ponytail, “I’ll tell you what definitely is possible. I think Jimmy might really like you.”
You stop admiring yourself in the napkin dispenser for a minute. “Huh? But he barely talked to me today. Besides, even though I could see him ditching Mona for me, he’s going on a date with her, remember?”
“Not anymore,” Jessie says, leaning toward you. “Didn’t you get Amy’s text message? They had a big fight today and she’s not taking him to the party anymore.”
“Really?” you say only half interested. “I guess I was too busy working to check some silly texts.”
“Silly?” Lena repeats, crossing her arms. “We’re silly now?”
You look up and see your friends frowning at you. “Oh, don’t take it that way,” you say. “It’s just that after today, I feel like I have bigger things going on. And as for Jimmy, I’m pretty sure I can do better than him now anyway. I met this other guy, Bryan, at the shoot and he gave me his number. Besides, I mean, I’m a model! I’m going to be meeting other models and actors and stuff. Seriously, you should have seen me today at that photo shoot. Every shot was perfect. Even Mona admitted that I was way better than she expected. And you should have seen how I stood up to her! After that, everything went great. I kept working every angle, and the clothes looked so good on me, and the photographer, Jean Paul, he said that I reminded him of—”
“Oh, blah, blah, blah!” Jessie explodes. “Is this all you’re going to talk about from now on?”
You lean back, shocked. Why would they want to talk about anything else? Your modeling for Bebe LaRue is huge! They said so themselves just this morning.
“I don’t get it,” you protest. “You guys should be happy. The modeling world loves me!”
“Oh yeah?” Lena rises from her chair and gathers her stuff. “Then I hope you and the modeling world”—she drags the words out sarcastically—“will be very happy together. In the meantime, we’ll just leave you alone to stare at yourself in the mirror some more, since you seem to be the only person you care about right now anyway.”
“Yeah,” Jessie adds. “Even J.Lo was never this much of a diva. Let us know when you have time for us little people again.”
With that, they stomp out of the coffee shop, leaving you sitting there with your drink. Uh-oh. Looks like you screwed up.
Do you recognize that sound? You should. It’s your own voice, which you seem to be in love with right now. Your friends get that you had a good day today and the modeling was exciting. But since when have you thought it was acceptable to be this self-absorbed? In case you didn’t notice, your friends had some excitement today too, so you might want to spread around some of that enthusiasm you’re lavishing on yourself.
QUIZ TIME!
No quiz this time, egomaniac! The only choice you have is clear, isn’t it? You need to go apologize to your friends! Get over yourself and go to chapter 24.
No one would ever accuse you of being full of yourself. You’re not one to brag, even when you’ve got something to brag about, which is great. Just make sure you haven’t eaten too big a slice of humble pie. Being proud of your achievements doesn’t make you conceited—as long as you don’t get a big head about it.
So remember what you were saying about the mall being the most boring place on earth? Yeah, well, scratch that. You totally take it back. Today the mall was just about the most exciting place you could even dream up.
“Now aren’t you glad that I dragged you here?” Jessie says, reading your mind.
“Are you kidding?” You take another sip of your iced chai. “Glad doesn’t even begin to cover it. I can never thank you enough for being a huge pain in the neck and making me come with you guys today.”
“I second that,” Lena adds, holding up her cup of hot chocolate. “Not only do we now have a world-famous model in our midst”—she bumps your shoulder affectionately—“but Jessie and I get to check out a party based on one of my favorite books of all time.”
Jessie claps her hands. “I know! And to think, it’s all thanks to me!” The three of you giggle together. After a long, stressful day, it feels good to laugh with your friends.
“I just wish we could take you too,” Lena says, shooting a guilty glance your way.
“Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” you assure them. “Besides, I had so much fun at the photo shoot. I may not have been the best model ever, but at least I made a couple of new friends.”
“Really?” Jessie says, her blue eyes popping wide open. “Who? Who? Oh, please tell me it’s that gorgeous guy from the Teen Vogue ads. I would marry him in a heartbeat.”
You drop your chin as if you’re shocked. “What? I had it on good authority that your heart belongs to Robert Pattinson.”
“Oh yeah …,” she says dreamily, sighing. “I have seen Twilight about a million times. But hey, I have no problem with the t
wo of them duking it out over me.”
“Can we get back to the topic at hand, please?” Lena interrupts. “Who are these mystery friends of yours? One of them isn’t Paris Hilton, is it? I hear she’s looking for yet another BFF.”
You smirk. “No, not Paris. But I might actually be able to introduce you to that Teen Vogue model after all.” [Jessie geeks out so much at this news that it would only embarrass her to have her reaction described here. Let’s just say she was happy and leave it at that.] Then you start to tell them about Steve and his brother, Bryan. But you realize you can’t really describe Bryan in words—his skateboarder swagger, his sarcastic sense of humor, and his status as a hottie. So you text him, inviting him and his brother to meet you guys at the coffee shop. Hopefully he and Steve haven’t left the mall yet.
“And you guys know Mona, right?” you say. “Yeah, she and I are like this now.” You hold up two tightly wound fingers. “In fact, she’s going to be hanging with us from now on because she thinks we’re the coolest. And she’s just a sweetheart.”
You give yourself credit for saying all of that with a straight face.
Jessie stares at you without cracking a smile. “That’s not funny. If I didn’t totally need you to hobnob with the rich and famous, I’d dump this entire cup of hot chocolate over your head.”
“That must have been terrible to find out you had to work with her,” Jessie adds. “Was she really a total nightmare?”
You shrug and admit that yeah, at first she was. “But then we actually talked, and I think I understand her now. She just needs some real friends, I think. I feel kind of bad for her. Besides, she must not be all bad if Jimmy likes her.”
“Correction: liked her,” Lena says, holding up her phone, displaying a new text from Amy:
Mona W. + Jimmy M. =
Splitsville! Big scene in
bookstore. Details TBA. XOXO
Your Life, but Better Page 19