CHAPTER ONE
“Are you nervous?”
Brooke turned toward the open car window, closing her eyes as the sea breeze ruffled her hair. “What do you think?”
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She heard the frown in her mom’s voice, even if she couldn’t see it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mom reach to turn down the radio, then move her hand back to the steering wheel.
“You’re the one making this hard,” Brooke said.
“No, your father made this hard. I’m not the one who slept with my dental hygienist. Feet off the dashboard.” Her mom’s voice was clipped, her words laced with anger and frustration.
Brooke complied, letting out an exaggerated sigh. “Why can’t I go to my old high school?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because we had to move. Maybe because I can’t afford a million dollar house on my paycheck. Maybe because you’ll acclimate better if you attend the same school as our neighbors.”
“I don’t want to ‘acclimate.’” Brooke made air quotes with her fingers. “In three months I haven’t made a single friend at that stupid apartment complex. So why do I have to go to Canyon Crest?”
“Brooke, please.” She heard the exhaustion in her mother’s tone—the pleading.
Brooke hugged her backpack tighter to her chest. “This sucks.” Stupid Dad. Stupid Shandi, with her fake boobs and Botox.
“You’ll make new friends soon enough. Look on the bright side—at least it’s everyone else’s first day too.” Her mom pulled to a stop in front of the school. It sprawled out over the property in numerous buildings, intimidating and large. “Want me to walk you to class?”
“Yeah, because that’ll get me friends.” I really wish you could walk me to class without making me look like a freak. “I’ll be fine, Mom.” Brooke unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door.
Her mom grabbed her hand, pulling her close for a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck, sweetie.”
“Yeah.”
Brooke felt her mom’s gaze on her all the way into the school. She’d registered for classes last week, so she bypassed the front office and headed toward first period Honors English in building D. Apprehension had her legs shaking as she made her away across the campus dotted with palm trees. She hated this. She hated starting over.
She hated her dad for doing this to them.
Wasn’t love supposed to be forever? She knew divorce happened, but it wasn’t supposed to happen to her parents. They were the happily ever after everyone talked about. Except they weren’t. Brooke had sensed things were unraveling months before the affair was exposed. It had been subtle, almost imperceptible. Late nights at the office. Arguing between her parents. Her dad suddenly making frequent gym visits. And Brooke had been forced to watch it all, dreading the inevitable end.
Why had her dad hired stupid Shandi?
Brooke clenched her jaw and flung open the door to building D. Her ears instantly filled with the chatter of friends reuniting after summer break. Brooke weaved her way through the crowds of people congregating at open lockers, eyes steadfastly on her feet. She wasn’t in the mood to introduce herself to new people and act like life was great when it wasn’t. At least no one was coming up to her with sympathetic smiles and words that did nothing to make her feel better. Maybe a new start wouldn’t be so bad after all. Here she didn’t have to explain about the separation to anyone.
Brooke found her locker and spun the dial, then placed her lunch inside. The bell rang, signaling five minutes until the tardy bell. Brooke hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder and headed toward room one hundred and eight.
The room wasn’t unique—bulletin boards covered in butcher paper, the smell of dry erase markers and antiseptic. Desks on either side of the room faced each other, leaving a large aisle down the center. Brooke had never minded this type of classroom setup. Until today. With only three rows of desks on each side, it would be harder to hide. A few students milled around the room, chatting with friends. Brooke took an empty seat on one of the back rows and sat down. She quickly pulled a book out of her backpack—Emma, her favorite Austen novel—and buried her face in it. Maybe if she read, she wouldn’t have to introduce herself to anyone.
I have to make friends eventually. This is where I’m stuck for the next two years. Even though her parents were in mediation, she had little hope the two would get back together. Two years. Then she could head to Los Angeles and become a real matchmaker. It had been her dream ever since reading an article about matchmaking in a magazine three years earlier, but her parents’ separation made it seem hollow.
Brooke closed her eyes, fighting back the pain. She was good at matching people up. She knew who would fit and who wouldn’t. That giggling couple by the white board, for example—they were sending out signals all over the place that they were into each other. His hand on her arm, her fingers twirling her hair, their eyes dancing away and back to each other. They would work, for a year or two at least, which was practically an eternity in high school terms. She knew it just like she knew the guy flirting with the girl by the pencil sharpener did it to show off to his friends.
“Luke!” A boy with bleached blonde hair and skater shoes jumped across a desk and bumped fists with another guy. “How was your summer?”
“Awesome.” The second boy grinned, and Brooke’s breath caught in her throat. He had the straightest, whitest teeth she’d ever seen. And those eyes … they were so blue she could tell the color even from across the room. Not a light blue like hers, but darker, more intense. He wore a letterman’s jacket and had cheekbones that were to die for. His hair was dark and messy and perfect.
No. You’re not allowed to have a crush on anyone this year, Brooke. She was through with men, at least temporarily.
“Heard you and Beth broke up,” Skater Shoes said.
Luke shrugged. “It was good while it lasted.”
“It lasted a month.”
Luke scratched his head. “It wasn’t working out.”
“You’ll find someone else soon,” Skater Shoes said, then made kissing noises.
Luke shoved the boy. “Shut up, Chris.” Luke motioned his head toward Brooke.
She quickly buried her nose in her book, hoping they hadn’t caught her staring.
“So who’s the new girl?” Luke asked in a lowered voice. It was almost a whisper, and Brooke struggled to pick out the words.
“Not sure. A transfer from another high school?”
Brooke sunk a little lower in her seat, feeling her cheeks heat. She had to fill in a few blanks, but caught the gist of what they were saying. In a school of two thousand students, she hadn’t thought her status as “new girl” would be so obvious.
“Huh.” It sounded like Luke again.
“…next conquest,” Chris said, punching Luke in the arm. Were they still talking about her? “She’s hot.”
“Shut up, man.”
Chris made more kissy sounds. “If you don’t ask her out, I will.”
Brooke’s fingers tightened around the book. They most definitely were talking about her, even if she did have to strain to hear. Don’t acknowledge them. They’re just guys being guys. And guys suck.
“Doesn’t she get a say in the matter?” Luke’s voice had risen, although still a quiet whisper. “She looks like the kind of girl who has better taste than you.”
“So you do think she’s hot.”
“Shh, she’s going to hear us. Yeah, okay. She’s hot.”
“Maybe she can be your next Beth.”
And maybe hell will freeze over too.
119 Pages
1-2 Hours
19k Words
