Studying Boys

by Stephanie Rowe

  Studying Boys

  STEPHANIE ROWE

  Copyright Information

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2011 by Stephanie Rowe

  First published in 2004 by Stephanie Rowe

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  eISBN: 978-1-937776-01-5

  Stephanie Rowe’s A Girlfriend’s Guide to Boys Series:

  Putting Boys on the Ledge

  Studying Boys

  Who Needs Boys?

  Smart Boys & Fast Girls

  Find Stephanie Online:

  www.StephanieRowe.com

  http://twitter.com/stephanierowe2

  https://www.facebook.com/StephanieRoweAuthor

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Teaser for WHO NEEDS BOYS

  Teaser for SMART BOYS & FAST GIRLS

  Teaser for PUTTING BOYS ON THE LEDGE

  Author Bio

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  There was no pizza.

  As soon as I walked into the living room of my friend Blue Waller and saw her sitting on the couch with our other two friends, Natalie Page and Allie Morrison, and noticed there was no pizza, I knew something was up.

  Blue was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, like she always did, and her brown hair was up in an ordinary pony tail. Totally casual, giving away nothing. Allie was dressed in her usual too-cute outfit. Today it was a very short pink skirt and sequined black top. Her hair looked even blonder than usual, and her blue eyes were way too serious. Even Natalie looked serious, which was hard to do when you were still wearing the muddy track pants and tank top from track practice. There was even mud on her forehead, and her bobby pins had long ago given up keeping her curly brown hair out of her face.

  This was so important that Natalie hadn't even taken time to wash her face before coming over here? You don't invite your friend to your house for pizza, and not have pizza, without something being up.

  This was trouble, big time, and I had absolutely no clue it was coming, which meant I wasn't prepared. I hated not being prepared. It made me feel cold and clammy and like I wanted to turn and run as fast as I could in any other direction.

  Not that I'd let them see I was surprised. I have a solid reputation of being serious, together and always on top of things. It's taken a lot of work to build that reputation, and I wasn't going to start showing weakness now, like the fact that I kinda wanted to turn around and run out the door. You'd want to bolt too if you'd seen the look on Allie's face.

  It was her "we're going to talk about boys" look.

  Trust me, you didn't want to talk about boys with Allie. She's the queen when it comes to boys.

  And I'm not.

  I'm a major underachiever in that department.

  "Come on in, Frances." Blue smiled and patted the couch beside her.

  "Where's the pizza?" I decided to hold firm in the doorway. Couldn't give up my avenue of escape.

  "Oh, it'll be here eventually," Allie said vaguely.

  Yeah, right.

  This was not "Pizza Night." Something else was going on. Something that all three of them knew about and I didn't.

  A clear indication that I wasn't going to like it.

  "Frances. Sit." An order from Allie. What was up with that? We never order each other around.

  "Why?" I folded my arms across my chest and tried to project my I'm-not-worried persona. It was Friday night. None of my friends ever do homework on a Friday night, so this definitely wasn't a study period. I, however, always get my homework done on Fridays. What if the house burned down over the weekend and I hadn't done my homework? I'd go to school unprepared, the teachers would flip, and I'd lose my scholarship. Then my parents would disown me and I'd have to turn to crime to support myself. I'd end up in prison and my entire career success would be defined by me walking down the side of the highway in a bright orange vest picking up trash with the rest of my prison work squad.

  That sounds like a sucky way to live, so I get my homework done. And it's not because I'm a loser or anything like that. So what if I don't have a single guy friend, let alone boyfriend? So what if I have no social skills? It's not like I care.

  Okay, maybe I care a little bit. Doesn't mean I'm going to sacrifice my entire future for some fun.

  Blue stood up, setting aside the organic cotton throw pillow she'd had on her lap. There was nothing synthetic in Blue's house, thanks to her ultra-granola parents. "Frances, we're having an intervention."

  I blinked. "A what?"

  "An intervention," Allie said. "Sit down."

  I narrowed my eyes. "What's an intervention?" I was pretty certain I didn't like the sound of it.

  "It's what friends and family do for someone who has a problem and is in denial. We did it for my dad to get him to stop drinking," Allie said.

  "But your dad took off after that and divorced your mom." Not that I wanted to make Allie feel bad, but it wasn't exactly a rousing endorsement of interventions.

  "Ah, yes, well, we're pretty confident you won't divorce us," Allie said.

  "Yes," Natalie chimed in. "You love us."

  "For the moment, I love you." Not so sure how I'd feel after this intervention thing. "I don't drink, so what's my 'problem'?"

  "Oh, for heaven's sake, Frances." Allie said. "Stop looking so worried."

  Worried? I never look worried. I am way too on top of things for that.

  Blue slung her arm around my shoulder and practically forced me down into the chair next to the couch. Animal hair wafted into the air as I sat, no doubt from the countless rescued animals that lived in the Waller house. Most of them lived in the barn, but that didn't keep an amazing amount of nature from finding its way inside.

  As I looked around at the faces of my best friends, I forgot about the animal hair chair. They were sitting in a row, all three of them leaning forward, their elbows resting on their thighs, their faces super intent as they stared at me. I felt like I was about to be interrogated for murder or something.

  My heart was actually racing. Racing! Was that a sign of weakness or what? "What?" Oops. That sounded a little hostile and snappy. Must stay calm.

  They glanced at each other, as if trying to decide who was going first; then finally Blue nodded. Apparently, she was in charge. She turned to me. "Frances. It's about Theo."

  "Theo! Omigod! Is he okay? Did something happen? Did he get in a car accident?" Theo is Blue's older brother. He's a senior, and completely amazing. He's one of the best football players in the entire town, and his black tee shirts and leather jacket fit his muscular shoulders so well he could be a model. And his smile? Completely lights up the entire room. Seriously.

  Of course, I've known him since I was three, and he only thinks of me as Blue's friend, but he's still a total hottie. And now my heart was pounding so hard that I wouldn't have been surprised to see it burst out of my chest and race around the room screaming. "What happened to Theo?"

  Blue looked a little smug. "Nothing. He's fine."

  "Oh." Whew. Time to relax. Theo was fine.


  "But we need to discuss your crush on him," she said.

  I blinked, and my heart literally stopped beating for a fraction of a second. Had she just said what I thought she'd said? "My what?" I asked carefully. There was no way they knew. I'd hidden it so well. I was so careful never to even glance his way when he was in the room, and I never talked about him to my friends. Ever. I had to have misheard what Blue said.

  "Your crush on Theo." Allie grinned. "Proven by you freaking out when you thought something had happened to him."

  Oh, no. They did know. I was totally busted. I was so surprised I couldn't even think of a good explanation or a rebuttal. I was utterly blindsided by the accusation and had no defense. "I don't have a crush on him," I finally managed. Yes, because a choking denial would totally convince them.

  Allie leaned forward. "Frances, we all love Theo, because we've known him since he was six and broke his jaw crashing his bike. But now that he's a senior? He's a jerk when it comes to girls. You're way too sweet and nice for him."

  I stiffened. "Theo isn't a jerk."

  They all gave me the look.

  "Okay, fine. So maybe he isn't always that considerate of the girls he dates." So what if he had ditched like eight girls in the past month alone? So what if he took them out for a drive and a little hanky panky and then never called them again? Maybe those girls just weren't right for him. Or maybe they were evil creatures from another planet trying to assassinate him, so he was picking them off one by one....

  Okay, so maybe I had a few issues when it came to Theo. Maybe.

  "Anyway," Blue continued, "we've decided that there's only one remedy to your obsession with Theo."

  "I'm not obsessed with him." Obsessed was a little strong. So I thought he was cute. Big deal. I mean, yes, he had the most amazing laugh, one that started deep in his chest and then filled the room. And his brown eyes were the most amazing shade of reddish-oak. And--

  "Other boys," Allie announced.

  "Other boys?" I eyed her suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

  "The only way to effectively forget about Theo is to get some other interests in your life, so you don't sit around all day mooning about him." She raised her voice over my protest. "And homework doesn't count."

  "Why not? And I don't moon about him all day." Well, not all day.

  "Because homework sucks," Allie said. "Boys rock. No comparison. And I saw his name doodled all over the inside of your math notebook."

  Well, that was Allie for you. The world revolved around boys. Of course she would notice I'd written Theo's name. Heaven forbid she actually looked at the text of a school book.

  "So, we're giving you one week to get a new guy in your life, or to get involved in a coed activity. If you don't, we're going to sit down with Theo and tell him that you like him." Allie said. "We'll make you sound like a stalker, so he'll feel awkward and uncomfortable around you. Then he'll avoid you all the time and you won't ever see him and it'll be impossible to continue to have your obsession with him if you never ever see him."

  I swallowed. "You're going to tell Theo?"

  Natalie shook her head. "Only if you don't get involved with a coed activity in seven days. One with boys."

  "I know what coed means," I snapped. This was so unfair. Since when did they have the right to interfere in my life? Just because they'd been my best friends for my whole life didn't mean they had permission to destroy me! "But I go to an all-girls school. How am I supposed to find a coed activity?" Hah. Got 'em there.

  Allie, who goes to my school, shot me a smug little grin as she handed me a sheet of paper. "These are all the coed activities that our school does with Field School. If you pick one of these and get signed up, we won't talk to Theo. If you miss a meeting or drop out, then we'll tell Theo."

  I eyed the paper. "Blackmail."

  "Of course it is," Blue said. "That's what friends are for."

  "I hate all of you."

  Natalie's eyes widened. "Why do you hate us? We're just looking out for you. You take things way too seriously and we're worried. You're missing out on all the fun of high school. You're halfway through your freshman year, and all you've done is study."

  "So? I have good grades. I'm proud of them."

  Allie rolled her eyes. "I've kissed twenty-two boys. I'm more proud of that."

  "You're insane. You're all insane."

  "I resent that," Blue said. Well, of course Blue could resent that. She had this super awesome senior boyfriend now. Life was perfect for her.

  Natalie pointed to the list. "You have one week. Next Friday night, you have to bring us proof you've joined one of these clubs, or we're taking control of the situation."

  "What about my parents?" Allie might not have parents who cared what she did, but Natalie and Blue would understand. "They'll never let me do anything that would take time away from my studies."

  "Parents can be dealt with," Blue said. "You know that."

  Said by the girl who had reasonable parents. Eccentric, but reasonable. "Mine don't think like normal people."

  Natalie grinned. "There are four of us and only two of them. They have no chance." And apparently, neither did I.

  * * *

  By Friday afternoon, I knew my life was over.

  I was never going to see Theo again. He was the only guy I could ever love, and I'd never see him again after Friday. I hadn't joined any stupid club, and I wasn't going to. Which meant that my friends were going to tell Theo I was obsessed with him—which wasn't even true—and he'd run away screaming every time he saw me from now on. Which, since we didn't go to the same school, would only be when I went over to Blue's house for something. The moment I arrived, Theo would run upstairs and lock himself in his room to get away from me.

  It was because I went to the wrong school. If I went to the public school, then I'd see Theo in the halls and he'd eventually get tired of running away from me. But since my parents operated under the annoying delusion that in order for their oldest child to be the first one of the family to go to college, I had to go to an all-girls private school. On full scholarship, of course.

  Which meant that once my friends told Theo I loved him, it would be easy for him to avoid me, and I'd never see him.

  I hate my friends.

  It was Friday afternoon at two o'clock and I hadn't hooked up with any coed groups. I hadn't met a single boy, except for the tattooed dude at the gas station who spit on our tires when my mom wasn't looking. Wonder if he'd qualify?

  "Frances!"

  I turned to find Allie jogging up behind me, wearing her girls-school clothes, which basically meant that she wasn't wearing a tight shirt and short skirt to show off her amazing bod. Why bother with that kind of outfit when you go to an all-girls school? No reason at all. "Hi, Allie. What's up?"

  She grinned at me, her eyes sparkling with eagerness. "So? What are you joining?"

  "Nothing." I folded my arms across my chest and waited.

  Her smile faded and she set her hands on her hips. "Frances!"

  "What?" I glared at her. "You really think my parents would let me join anything? I'm not allowed to do anything but homework and hang out with you guys, and that's only because I tell them we're doing homework when we're together." The truth was, I kind of thought joining a coed club would be fun. Not because it would distract me from Theo, because nothing could distract me from him, but because it would be cool to develop a social life. But I hadn't been exaggerating about my parents. My life was most definitely a no-fun-zone.

  Allie rolled her yes. "You are doing homework when we're with you, even if we're not officially studying. Didn't you read your history assignment during the movie the other night?"

  "No." So I had the book open on my lap. So what? If the movie was boring, then I had something else to do. I was not a total geek. Really, I wasn't. I just knew that I had responsibilities when it came to my scholarship.

  "Come on, Frances. There has to be something you can do that
your parents would approve of." Allie held out her hand and snapped her fingers. "Give me the list."

  As if I had been carrying it around with me. "Lost it."

  "Fine." She grabbed my arm and dragged me over to a nearby bulletin board, which listed the meeting times and dates of some of the clubs. "Social Club. Join that one."

  "Join a club whose function it is to set up social events with boys' schools? Yeah, I'm sure my parents would go for that one." I studied the photographs of the social club, and noticed that all the boys and girls were smiling and doing goofy things that looked really fun. They were all dressed up like pirates in one picture, and they were all standing on a covered bridge in the rain in another one. And they looked happy, and all had their arms around each other. Huh.

  "I think it sounds fun," Allie said.

  "I'm sure you do." Okay, fine, I thought it sounded like fun too. I mean, how cool would it be to hang out with a bunch of guys and plan ways to have a good time? Not that I'd admit that to Allie or any of my friends. I had a reputation to uphold.

  Besides, it wasn't like I'd ever have the guts to show up at one of those meetings. No way. That was so not my style. I wasn't a joiner, and I had no idea how to hang out and do social chit chat with other kids. I sure as heck wasn't about to go throw myself in the middle of a group of kids who already knew each other, so they could point to me and say, "Look at the loser new kid. Who invited her?"

  "How about this one? Physics Club? Even your parents wouldn't be able to say no." She peered closer. "Oh, sorry. Cancelled due to lack of participation."

  I was starting to realize the hopelessness of the situation. There was nothing I would be able to do, even if I wanted to. "Allie, this is stupid. Let's go."

  "No." Allie let out a cry of triumph and pulled a posting off the board. "Meeting is tonight at six o'clock. You have time to get there and still make the Friday-night deadline."