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The Ugly Girl Party
Category:
Young Adult/Teen
Publisher: Chaucer Publishing
ISBN-10: 1546582894
Pages: 147
ISBN-13: 9781546582892
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
Faith's wish to get off to a good start at her new high school is shattered on the first day, as she quickly discovers that drop-dead gorgeous Hunter and friends decide she lives in the "wrong" house and wears the "wrong" clothes.
Faith's wish to get off to a good start at her new high school is shattered on the first day, as she quickly discovers that drop-dead gorgeous Hunter and friends decide she lives in the "wrong" house and wears the "wrong" clothes. They systematically harass her and seem determined to make her life miserable. She fantasizes about how she'll get even some day when she is a famous singer/actress, but meanwhile just wants to make it through the day. She meets a couple of possible friends, but finds it hard to trust anyone. When maybe-friend Julia tells her about the upcoming talent show, Faith is determined to win in order to impress her tormentors. Then nice-guy neighbor Riley invites her to the homecoming dance. She's excited to go until she gets there and realizes that something is up--something terrible. And when she reacts, she finds herself in danger of being suspended from school. Faith questions her own goals, decisions, and values as she struggles to find her way.
Excerpt
I put up the umbrella and stepped off the front porch into the pouring rain. Our place was at the end of a dead-end street in a woodsy area set back from the other houses. The woman who rented it to us said it was over a hundred years old and used to be the Magley farmhouse (whoever the Magleys were). The owner had sold most of the land to a housing developer when he'd moved to a retirement home in Florida, but he couldn't bear to sell the farmhouse.
Dad liked it because it was really low rent, plus it had a shed out back where he could paint. Pictures, that is. Art was his hobby.
I tried to pretend that the old farmhouse was my country home that I used to get away from the pressures of a Broadway career. But the place was pretty dilapidated, so even for me it was kind of hard to imagine. Dad was doing a lot of repairs, though, so maybe there was hope.
I'd been too busy settling in to get out and explore the neighborhood. But I had noticed that newly-built houses on the street were big and fairly expensive looking. Not mansions, but upscale enough.
As I followed the winding road, I tried to avoid the puddles. I wasn't sure what rain would do to my jellies, but I did want to keep my feet as dry as possible.
My stomach tightened when I neared the intersection where I could see two guys waiting at the bus stop. One was medium height and a bit stocky, had brown hair and wore thick glasses. His face looked vaguely like a nerdy Justin Bieber. The other guy was tall, with dark curly hair, and there was something about the expression on his face that made me think he was conceited about his extremely good looks.
I trembled just a little as I approached the two of them cautiously with what I hoped was a look of mystery on my face. As water dripped off my umbrella, I noticed the tall, curly-haired guy scanning me from head to toe. His mouth curved into a slow smile. "Well, hi there."
"Hello," I said, offering only a small smile in return. I wanted to look friendly, but not desperate.
"Hi," said the shorter guy. Actually, he was approximately three inches taller than I was, which made him about five-foot, eight. He pushed his glasses up with his thumb. "I'm Riley Olmstead." He cocked his head to one side and smiled. "You new here?"
"Yes." I tried not to sound nervous. "I moved to Delwick three weeks ago. I'm Faith Ticknor."
"I'm Hunter Hutchinson," the tall guy said. The way he said it, I got the feeling was supposed to be impressed.
But instead of swooning I just gave him a small nod of acknowledgment.
Hunter looked as if he were about to say something else, but then the bus came. Riley and Hunter stood aside so I could get on first. I guess they were just being polite, but I almost wished they hadn't. Then I wouldn't have to face half a busload of strangers head on.
I closed my umbrella, took a deep breath, and climbed the steps. I glanced at the driver. All I got from him was a bored, impatient look. "Barney" was embroidered on the pocket of his plaid shirt, so I assumed that was his name. I avoided looking at anyone else and scooted into the first empty seat I saw.
Riley paused by me, blushed, then took a seat one row in back of me and across the aisle, next to a guy with spiky blonde hair whose face was buried in his cell phone. Hunter stopped right next to my seat and for a moment I wondered if he was going to sit with me. But then a girl directly across from me slid closer to the window and made room for Hunter next to her. She wore an expensive-looking blue rain jacket and the latest overpriced skin-tight jeans.
The bus lurched forward. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Riley lean forward. "Faith, what class—" he started to ask.
But suddenly Hunter interrupted. "Faith, meet Taylor Duran. Taylor, this is a neighbor of mine … I'm sorry, what was your last name again?"
Since I didn't know Hunter, I had no idea if he regularly gave formal introductions, or if he was up to something. I wasn't the most trusting when it came to strangers. I offered my safe half-smile. "Ticknor," I said. "Faith Ticknor."
"Hi." Taylor leaned across Hunter to greet me. She had long, shiny, chestnut-colored hair with the crown pulled back in a twisted braid. Under her unbuttoned rain jacket I could now see a lush knit salmon-colored Tee with a deep-cut V-neck. She gave me a millionth-of-a-second look-over, smiled, and said, "So. You're Hunter's neighbor. Where exactly do you live?"
"I'm at the end of the street," I said, figuring she was at least polite, if not truly interested. "In the old Magley farmhouse."
Taylor sat back and exchanged glances with Hunter. Her smile turned into a smirk. "Oh."
She didn't say another word. Just that smug, disapproving Oh.
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