Gamer Girl Read Free

ever go
out with someone like me. I was a skater kid's girlfriend, not the
homecoming queen. And this wasn't some bad eighties Molly Ringwald
movie like Pretty in Pink.
    Besides, I
reminded myself as I forced my gaze away from his beautiful face, he
was probably dumb and spoiled and used to girls fawning over him.
Good-looking guys usually were. Especially if they found themselves
in the popular clique, as this guy had. I'm sure he would annoy the
hell out of me the second he opened his mouth.
    Still, I had to
admit, there was just something about him. . . .
    I realized the
four of them had stopped in front of me. Oh, joy. Time to be sized up
and judged by the popular clique.
    15
    This day was
getting more and more like a bad after-school special every minute.
After the commercial break, I'd probably start drinking and doing
drugs, just to fit in, only to have my best friend die and my mother
convince me to head to rehab and restart my life, friendless, sober,
and alone, but strangely happy and peaceful about it all.
    "Nice
shirt." Chelsea sniffed, giving me a once-over.
    "Yeah, I
think my five-year-old sister has one just like it," Lucy added
snottily.
    "Hey,
leave the girl alone," Billy said with a smirk. "It's
obvious she's horny!" He cracked up at his own lame joke. "Get
it? Horny? Like the unicorn on her shirt?" He high-fived Chad,
who seemed a bit reluctant to slap his hand back. Or maybe it was
just my imagination.
    In the
meantime, the hallway erupted in laughter and jeers, totally egging
him on. I could feel my face burning with humiliation as I stared at
my feet, wishing to be anywhere in the world but here. I couldn't
believe it. Two minutes into my new school year and I was already the
class joke.
    I suddenly
realized Grandma was squinting at Billy intently. At first I thought
she might be considering coming to my aid. But then her face lit up
and she squealed, "Billy? Billy Henderson? Is that you?" to
my new arch nemesis.
    I cringed. I
had no idea what was coming, but I knew it couldn't be good.
    Sure enough,
Billy stiffened. "Hi, Mrs. Miller," he mumbled out of the
corner of his mouth. I cocked my head in
    16
    question. The
two of them knew each other? A split second later, Grandma had let go
of my hand to crush Billy into a tight embrace. Guess so.
    "Oh,
Billy," she crowed, releasing him from the hug. "It's so
good to see you! You're all grown up now. Last time I saw you, you
were four feet tall and still wetting the bed!"
    Laughter broke
out among the crowd and Billy's face darkened to a beet red. I gaped
in horror. This was not happening. This could not be happening. My
grandma, embarrassing the most popular kid in school. On my first
day.
    Billy whirled
around to face the crowd. "Shut up!" he growled. "She's
lying. I swear."
    Was it too late
to pretend the old woman had Alzheimer's and had just wandered into
school by mistake? Absolutely no relation to me whatsoever?
    "Billy,
this is my granddaughter Maddy."
    Evidently it
was.
    She shoved me
forward, having no idea about the scene she was causing. "Maddy,
do you remember Billy from back when you were little? He used to live
down the street. I babysat him while his mother was at work."
    I stared at
Billy. He stared back at me, his face a mixture of humiliation and
fury. I read his expression clear as day. I was the one who would pay
for this public embarrassment. And I would pay dearly. After all, the
others might have eventually forgotten my fashion faux pas, but Billy
would never forget this.
    17
    "Come on,
Grandma," I said, steering her toward the door marked MAIN
OFFICE . "I need to get my schedule."
    "Come on,
Grandma," Billy mocked in a high-pitched voice as the elderly
woman turned away. "Let's go home and play with unicorns."
    I glared at
him, wanting nothing more than to smack him upside the head and wipe
that ugly smirk off his face. But what good would it do, really?
There was no winning for me in this situation and I knew it. So I
sucked up my