The Hot List Read Free Page B

school talent show. I think it’s in December; that’s three short months.” The talent show was a fundraiser for leadership, and it was a huge deal.
    â€œYeah. Like that’s ever going to happen. Can you imagine me on stage? Never!”
    â€œI don’t get it. You play soccer in front of people.”
    â€œThat’s different. You look at the ball, not the people watching the ball.”
    â€œOkay, I’m just sayin’,” said Maddie. “You’re reallygood. Ah, c’mon now, give me the pen. Please? Please?”
    â€œAll right,” I conceded. “Fine. Go ahead. But in all caps!” As I handed her the lists, I noticed that her list ran a little longer down the page than mine, because she had added a name on the bottom and then crossed it off. I hadn’t noticed that before. “Who did you cross out?” I asked.
    â€œNo one. I just misspelled a name, and rewrote it.”
    â€œOh, just wondering.” I handed Maddie the pen, and she finished writing up the list, alternating between the guys on her list and mine. And then, because our list didn’t seem long enough, we added other guys until we had twenty total.
    Suddenly, Maddie’s eyes started twinkling. “I think we should add girls, too.”
    â€œGirls?”
    â€œIt’s not just boys who are hot.” She shook her hips. “I’m hot! And you, too!”
    â€œHey, I’m not going to stop you. Go for it.”
    Then, next to the guys’ Hot List, she started creating a girls’ Hot List and writing in girls’ names. When I saw the first name that she wrote, I inwardly groaned. Nia, of course.
    â€œShe has the best hair in the school,” said Maddie.
    It was true. Nia had these Taylor Swift, golden blondcurls. She added the rest of Nia’s long-haired, flowy posse—Ava, McKenzie, Amber, and Sierra. And then her eyes gleamed. “Now I’m going to put me and you on the Hot List.”
    â€œNo,” I said, grabbing the pen away from her. “Don’t you dare.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    I could hear an adult calling down the hall to someone, so I lowered my voice. “Because if we put our names, and anyone happens to see it, they’ll know we wrote it. C’mon. Let’s be serious. We’re not Hot List material.”
    â€œThat’s not true,” said Maddie. “You’re so pretty.” She glanced at my long, jean capri–clad legs. “And you’re model tall, and you’d be taller if you didn’t slump.”
    â€œThanks for sounding like my dad.”
    â€œSorry.” She bit her bottom lip. “But it’s true. If I put my name on the Hot List, it’d be a dead giveaway that I wrote it.” She glanced at her hoodie, which she had paired with checkered leggings and strappy sandals. I had patiently explained to her earlier in the morning that if you’re going to go for casual, you’ve got to extend that all the way down to your footwear. But unfortunately, those were the only clothes she had packed for the sleepover.
    Maddie tapped her owl-shaped lavender glasses. “These are another problem. I can’t wait until I get contacts.” Andshe looked down at her chest. “Still like a brick wall down there.” She smiled up at me. “But I could put you on the List.”
    â€œMaddie, to get on the Hot List you’ve got to play the popularity game. Sometimes I wear any old hoodie to school. I don’t do the
talk.
I’m not into the drama. Am I part of a girl clan? No. You’ve got to be seen as someone who’s part of an inner circle. And that’s just not my thing.”
    â€œOkay,” she grabbed the pen back. “I don’t agree with you, but whatever. What about Heather and Nicole?”
    â€œThey’re fine, but
definitely
not Hot List material. They’re too off on their own.” I watched as Maddie slowly added a