Belle of the Brawl Read Free

I write a song,
    Allie abused my generosity
    And girlfriend, that’s just wrong!
    When you sing the things that come from my soul,
    I do not feel bereft,
    But take my name, my eyes, my mole—
    Well, that’s identity theft!
    A salty knot of emotion welled up in Allie’s throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly in a desperate attempt to quell the hot tears that threatened to escape her eye sockets and fall down her cheeks,wishing she could close her ears just as tightly. Being hated was one thing, but having everyone
sing
about it was unbearable.
    Identity theft. Identity theft.
    An imposter and a faker.
    Nothing real, nothing true
    Like a plagiarized English paper!
    Identity theft. Identity theft.
    Stop, thief! Empty your sack!
    Keep my wallet, keep my purse.
    It’s the personality I want back!
    Allie’s moist eyes landed on Thalia, her house muse, seated in an empty cluster of ergonomic egg-shaped chairs to her left. AJ and her chorus line took seats across the round room, but Allie plopped down next to Thalia instead.
    The muse’s golden irises shone with amusement, and her honey-blond hair caught the last rays of the orange sun as it sank behind the shades. “A change of scenery should be nice, don’t you think?”
    “That’s an understatement,” Allie muttered, making accidental eye contact with AJ, who glowered at her across the room.
    “Allie, a wise woman once said: Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Thalia put her huge former basketball player’s paw over Allie’s and squeezed.
    Before Allie could protest, a round glass door slid open from the back of the room. Darwin walked through it, his sandy hair falling over his left eye. Even though he’d dumped her after her impersonation went public, somehow, the less she saw of him, the more irresistible he got. Today, he was wearing a white sweatshirt, navy board shorts, and flip-flops, and his light brown hair was damp. Had he come from the beach?
    She pasted on a smile that she hoped looked non-desperate, non-needy, cute yet mysterious, and waited for his eyes to find her. Darwin whispered something in Taz’s ear and the three boys took seats in the last row. Allie shook out her waves and counted down in her head, willing him to spot her.
    Five, four, three, two, one!
    Darwin’s eyes—hazel with flecks of gold and green—made contact with her navy blue ones and sent an electric spark traveling from Allie’s scalp to her toes. Allie returned his gaze and smiled. She wiggled her fingers at him in a quick, almost imperceptible wave. Darwin smiled back and chin-thrusted a quick hello, before his eyes boomeranged away from her and back to his brother.
    Allie sat back in her egg chair and felt a secret smile playing on her lips. AJ might have been a big fish in a small pond, but Allie was about to snag the biggest catch of all.

4
    THE PAVILION
HALF MOON THEATER
    SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH
5:59 P.M.
    Late as usual and breathing hard, Skye Hamilton burst headlong through the assembly doors. She spun her slender body around in a graceful pirouette and quickly assessed the crowded room, scanning the semicircle of shiny white bleachers in search of the Jackie O’s. Her gaze automatically rose higher until she caught herself and lowered her head, remembering to avoid looking at the top row where the Brazille brothers always sat.
    Alphas clustered with their housemates, each group nervously buzzing about tonight’s mysterious assembly and the billboards for the Muse Cruise—whatever that was. The Oprahs sat in a huddle toward the back, the Mother Teresas favored front row center. She waved a quick hello to her fellow dancers, Tweety and Ophelia, ensconced in the J. K. Rowling section. Then Skye’s searching gaze landed squarely on AJ (what was that hideous thing on her head?)sitting cross-legged on her egg chair to the left of the stage, flanked by the Beyoncés on one side and