Gilbert and Louis Rule the Universe: First Impressions Read Free

father-daughter conversations usually consist of subjects about school and the weather so most of our dinner is spent in silence. But he’s alright, I mean, for a dad.
    I think I might try again for the cashmere sweater. “Dad, I have this dance coming up on Friday and there’s this sweater I am just dying to get for it.”
    “Oh yeah,” he says, “how much is it?”
    This was the question I am dreading he will ask. “I think it’s around $300, but it’s really cute.”
    “Are you kidding? You know we can’t afford something like that. I am sure you have plenty of nice clothes to wear that are already in your closet.”
    Shoot, that is exactly what I expected him to say. Ever since my parents got divorced three years ago everything is out of our price range—something about alimony and two households. My parents are always telling me “the divorce doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Yeah? Well, tell that to my distinctly lacking wardrobe.
    “So, do you have a date?” my dad asks.
    “It’s not that kind of dance, Dad.” This is the kind where you go with your friends, judge other girls on their outfits, and pray that you are picked for the last slow dance by the boy you are crushing on.
    “Will there be any cute guys there?” he asks. I hate talking to my dad about boys. Ew .
    “Dad, there are, like, no cute guys in our school. I’ve told you that before.”
    “Good,” my dad says as he flags down the waiter for more breadsticks.
     
     

 
    Chapter 3
    Friday, November 6
    Today’s horoscope: Take the time to get to know someone new.
     
    We finally made it through the week, and it is the night of the middle school dance. I have been getting ready for the past two hours, have perfected my hair, touched up my lip gloss, and still have about fifteen minutes before Gilbert is supposed to come over. Annoyingly, I always budget too much time for everything so I have to sit there and watch 60 Minutes with my mom until the doorbell rings. I run to the door. Gilbert looks at me and her mouth falls open.
    “I thought you were going to wear your yellow sweater,” she says.
    I did have on the jeans I told her about but decided the layered tanks were too cute to pass up. So from the waist up Gilbert and I look like twins, except that Gilbert is about a foot taller than me and brunette. I’m a natural blonde. No really, I am.
    “Yeah, I changed my mind.”
    “Are you two girls ready?” My mom shouts from the kitchen.
    “Yes!” we yell back. Gilbert takes one last look at me and shrugs. She grabs my hand. “Your hair looks really cute,” she says. I know it did. I spent an hour getting my bangs exactly how I wanted them.
     
    *   *   *
    We enter the gymnasium after the dance has already begun. A balloon arch hangs over the entrance with a sign that says Moonlight Serenade. On one wall the art department painted a large mural of skyscrapers set against the night’s sky, but I don’t think cheap streamers and a disco ball fool anyone into thinking this place is anything more than the school gym. There is a DJ spinning in the corner. We both give him a nod and throw him the peace sign (we had seen on MTV that you have to acknowledge the DJ whenever you go into a club) and head over to our friends.
    Maddy is there looking super cute in jeans and a tube top, Riley is wearing this awesome sheer top and tank that I think I saw at Target, and poor Rowan, who transferred to our school from New Zealand, is wearing a prom dress with poufy sleeves and is a color that can best be compared to an eggplant. Nobody told her that this wasn’t that kind of dance. I like Rowan, even if she is like totally foreign, and I want to make her feel better.
    “Rowan, that is such a cute dress.” It was terrible, even if she wore it to prom, but you know.
    “Thanks, I, um, thought, well…”
    “No, totally cute,” Gilbert agrees. “You look better than anyone here.” The girls all look at Gilbert's and my matching