Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten Page A

“Okay, if that’s how you want it. Let me introduce myself—I’m Johnny.”
    He extended his hand and I put the beer bottle right back in it. “Johnny? No one names their kid Johnny anymore.”
    Johnny shrugged and leaned into me. He smelled like freshly ground coffee. “Is that so? What do I look like to you?”
    “Like trouble,” I said under my breath. I flounced off with a pounding heart and as much righteous indignation as I could muster. Even Rodarte knockoffs give good flounce.
    There had to be fifty kids dancing, drinking and writhing on this level. Or maybe it was seventy, or a hundred. I sucked at judging that kind of thing. I finally spied Olivia cornered by a couple of publics. Johnny’s friends? It took me at least twenty minutes and a dance with Taylor Ward from St. Joseph before I could get close to her. Claire was working it hard on the dance floor with what looked to be another St. Joseph boy. I remembered that Morgan had teased her about her crush being there. I gave her a little congrats hug and kept trying to make it over to the corner. A guy was all over Olivia, but it looked like she was more than holding her own.

    “Back off, sweetie—that was another time and another me.” She was laughing at him.
    That’s my girl.
    “There you are! God, Olivia, we are so late. Gotta go.”
    “Thank you,” she mouthed.
    I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me all the way up the stairs and through the throng. “Boys are ignorant and pathetic,” she yelled.
    “I hear ya!” I yelled back.
    We saluted the Wonders as we weaved our way to the front door. Johnny caught my eye just as we got to the vestibule. He raised his beer and nodded.
    “Wait a minute! Seriously cute. Who is that?” shouted Olivia.
    “Nobody,” I said.
    Who the hell names their kid Johnny?

Olivia and Kate walked arm in arm to school. They were going to meet the other Wonders in the hall outside the Waverly boardroom. The Wonders had been instructed to wear their dress uniforms and wait for Mark Redkin to parade them around in front of the board members.
    Olivia was still talking about the party on the way. “All I’m saying is he was gorgeous and he didn’t take his eyes off you.”
    Kate hip-checked her. “Not interested. I won’t go near that kind of distraction. Not part of the master plan. My eye is only on the prize.”
    “Yale?”
    Kate nodded. “Yale, full ride. It’s always about Yale, Olivia.”
    Olivia was in awe of Kate’s single-minded determination, and a bit envious of it. She intended to go to Yale too, but given her legacy status, her mother’s family history and her marks, she just assumed that barring a few hiccups, it was—like everything—pretty much a done deal.

    What would it be like to want something so much?
    Serena, Morgan and Claire were already stationed at their posts.
    “Mr. Redkin popped out a second ago,” said Serena, who, truth be told, looked a little buzzed. “Same drill as what we went through yesterday, except the intro spiels start with Claire, then Morgan, then me. We linger a bit longer with our Waverly royalty, Olivia, and then end with Kate’s bit.”
    And that’s how it went. Waverly’s boardroom was almost medieval in its decor. The ornately carved school heraldry was meant to awe and intimidate. No one in the room seemed intimidated. Olivia had at least a passing familiarity with each of the board members—and more than that with Mrs. Pearson, who was a managing partner at her father’s firm. These were her people. But her roommate probably had years of presenting to—and making her case in front of—rooms like this. Kate came off as compelling and sincerely enthusiastic. Again, Olivia’s admiration rose. She had selected well.
    When Kate finished, Mr. Redkin stood beside her to explain that the girls would appear at the Winterfest Gala and the various fundraising dinners, each hosting her own table, and that they would be the “face” of Waverly on all the