Page 8 of The Charade

The kind of friendships that would last a lifetime?

Hmm, interesting. My mom had gone here, but she never talked about it. Elyse and I actually didn't even know this school existed until our mom suddenly sprang the idea on us a few months ago.

But my mom didn't talk to us much about her past life anyway, so it was probably just her personality.

The idea of making lifelong friends while I was here was definitely an appealing idea to me. Which was why I asked Scarlett my next question.

"So, are you saying that you'd be totally cool if I go up to Hunter at dinner tonight and ask him out?" I raised an eyebrow, figuring the direct approach would give me and Elyse the real answer we were looking for.

From the way Scarlett's eyes narrowed and her expression darkened, I knew I had my answer.

"That's what I thought." I laughed.

Scarlett shook her head and sighed. "So maybe things are just a little complicated."

"It's totally understandable. But for the record, I think Mack and maybe Carter are more my speed."

Scarlett let out a relieved laugh. "Well, Mack would be a great choice."

"But not Carter?" I asked, curious why she only said Mack's name.

"Well, Carter is just Carter. He's on an entire plane of his own." She shrugged. "Basically, every girl at this school would sell their soul to be in his field of vision, but so far, the only girl he's ever dated from here is Sofia. Like I said, he only dates supermodels."

Elyse and I might have been able to walk the runway at our mom's fashion show this summer, but yeah, supermodel was definitely not something I could put on my résumé.

Scarlett appraised me with her eyes. "You’re really pretty, though. I guess it’ll be fun to see if anything changes this year."

"Yeah," I said. Then, not wanting her to think I was already all gung-ho about a guy I'd barely said more than a few words to, I added, "But of course there are many more guys to meet before school starts tomorrow morning. Who knows, maybe there’ll be other new guys to kick Carter off that pedestal it sounds like everyone has put him on."

"Maybe," Scarlett said, though it didn't seem like she thought such a thing was possible.

Which I guess said something for what an enigma Carter was at Eden Falls Academy.

"Anyway, I guess we'll see you when it's time for dinner," Elyse said, seeming ready to unpack her things and turn this room into our home.

Scarlett nodded. "Just knock on my door when you've unpacked and changed into your uniforms, and we can go down together."

3

Carter

The great hall—ahuge room with stone walls and tall pillars that connected in arches to the rafters above—was bursting with students when my buddy Mack and I sat at our usual table in the back corner of the room.

"So those new twins are pretty hot, right?" Mack arched an eyebrow as he sat beside me on the bench.

"I guess." I gave him a non-committal shrug, briefly glancing up at the large chandeliers that hung from the two-story vaulted ceiling. "If you're into that kind of thing."

"If I'm into that kind of thing?" Mack gave me a sideways glance that told me he couldn't fathom anyonenotbeing into identical twins who—sure, if pressed—I'd admit were prettier than the average high school girl.

"They're pretty," was all I said, since I had to stick to my new goal of staying uninterested when it came to the female population.

I couldn't have another disaster like last summer on my hands.

This year was the year of redemption.

The year where I went back to my old cold-hearted ways and didn't let stupid things likefeelingsandemotionsget in the way of logic when it came to the opposite sex.

Girls were a distraction, and I had the title of valedictorian to secure after all. You didn't get straight A's in advanced courses if you were busy chasing skirts.

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