Gilbert and Louis Rule the Universe: First Impressions Read Free Page A

tops. They think better than to say anything.
    Gilbert and I are like totally BFF bu t this is the rest of our posse . Maddy is even shorter than me with brown hair and freckles—totally cute, super smart, and an artistic genius. She’s the girl you want to decorate your binder; you know what I mean? Maddy lives in Upper Piermont in a really nice house. She has brothers and sisters but they are away at college so she is practically an only child like me. I go over there all the time because they have this rad TV set up with a huge flat screen, enormous speakers, and a super comfy couch so it is like being at the movies. You would think her family is totally rich because of where they live and the TV and all, but they bought the house, like, a million years ago, and I guess sending two kids to college costs a lot of money so Maddy doesn’t get it any easier than any of us when it comes to an allowance or anything.
    Riley comes from a big family—I think they are Catholic or Mormon or something, and always has family obligations, so the fact that she is at the dance is kind of a miracle. She has four brothers and sisters and they are all pretty close in age. She has one brother a year older (not cute, in case you were wondering) and a little sister who is still in elementary school. Her other brother and sister are in high school. They are pretty cool but usually ignore us or roll their eyes at us whenever we are over there. We are always hanging out at her house on the weekends if she isn’t at church or a family reunion or something, because she has a huge trampoline. Riley has blue eyes and frizzy reddish-brownish hair that she is always trying to straighten. It will work for about an hour in the morning but by lunchtime it always goes back to its natural state. Tonight she has straightened it again but you can already see the ends curling.
    Rowan moved to Piermont in the sixth grade and we took her under our wing. Her dad is like an expert on global warming so they sent him from New Zealand, which has a lot of sheep, to our neck of the woods, which has a lot of people, cars, and pollution. Rowan is always making sure we recycle and don’t waste water. Because of her I make sure my mom keeps a separate bin for plastics and glass, but Rowan still hasn’t convinced me to take a shorter shower at 6:30 in the morning. How else am I going to wake up? Rowan has a funny accent, and clearly can’t dress, but we forgive her because she is super sweet.
    We hang by the wall and survey the room. The “Fabulous Five” are all in attendance: Chloe, Emma, Hannah, Sophie, and Olivia. They are a group of the prettiest, richest girls in school. They live and die by the fashion in Teen Vogue and at least once a month ostracize a member of their group for no particular reason. I guess you could say they are the most popular girls in school, but if starving yourself and wearing heels is what it takes to hang out with them, I am happy to remain second tier. Just last week one of them read that sugar was fattening so they cut fruit from their diet. In the cafeteria line I saw Sophie getting an extra scoop of mac and cheese instead of an apple. Geniuses. One of the girls, Hannah, is wearing some leggings with a mini-skirt and the cashmere sweater I wanted. What makes it even more annoying is that the sweater looks really cute on her.
    Further away, flailing around to the music with some of the debate nerds, is Melinda. She is wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a cat on it.
    I check out the male population. They are in groups around the sides of the room and sitting on the bleachers. None of the boys who are here are the least bit interesting. They are all either sticking their dirty hands into the chip bowls (note to self: don’t eat the chips), slurping down sodas, or pushing one another and placing each other in headlocks. So lame.
    Gilbert taps me on the shoulder and points to the gym door. It swings open like a slow-motion movie