Page 2 of Isabella and the Slipper

There would be perks to having a cell phone.

She focused in on Chase, zooming in so his face filled the screen. No one heard the click of the shutter on the app—they were too busy hollering.

“Do you want to know who it is?” Chase asked, eating up the attention.

Isabella figured she would probably be deaf after this pep rally.

Chase opened the envelope and tugged the piece of paper out. He grinned and pulled the microphone close to his lips. The gym grew quiet. “Mr.Morgan!” he shouted.

The pig squealed as if in protest, and the entire school blew up. Savannah jumped up and down, shrieking. Brawny guy scowled at her.

Mr.Morgan taught Isabella’s physics class, and he was probably the coolest teacher in the school. He had actively campaigned for his jar to get the most change. All the students loved him; he was young and energetic.

The gym exploded again as Mr.Morgan ran onto the gym floor waving at the bleachers.

Jason held up the pig, and Chase tried to calm everyone down. “Let’s give the man a little silence, please.”

Mr.Morgan put on a show, waving his hand in front of his face like the pig stank. Then he walked around, pretending to contemplate where he should kiss the pig, pausing and looking close at the back end. Laughter rose from the crowd. Isabella snapped another photo, this time of the pig and Mr.Morgan. When he finally leaned down and kissed the pig on the top of its head, cheers erupted and Chase whistled.

“Come to the game tonight and watch us kiss East Ridge High goodbye!” Chase waved one arm, signaling that the students could go.

The cheerleaders stood at the doors handing out candy kisses to everyone. Isabella waited until the mad dash for the doors had dwindled into more of a solid throng before starting down the stairs. “I wish you could come to the game tonight!” Savannah yelled over the noise.

Isabella held in a snort. “Delilah would die if I showed up at a game. I’d ruin her social status or something. I’d rather avoid the drama.”

Savannah gave her a pitying frown and hugged her. “See you Monday.”

Isabella nodded and gave her friend a little wave. Her weekend would be spent running the art gallery her father, Anthony Shepherd, had established before he died. Her stepmother, Mrs.Elenore Shepherd, was too stately to do something as lowly as man a gallery. That fell to Isabella’s shoulders.

She pulled out her phone and fiddled with the photo she’d shot of Chase. She’d caught him while he was smiling, showing his perfect white teeth and a small dimple in his cheek. It was a good shot. She stepped onto the gym floor.

“The pig is loose!” someone screamed.

In an instant, the gym turned into a mass of running students. Some tried to catch the pig while others tried to avoid it. The pig ran past her legs, squealing with what she could only imagine was glee.

“There it is!” someone shouted.

A cheerleader slammed into her and Isabella’s phone went flying. Her heart lodged in her throat. Not her new phone!

It clattered to the floor about two yards from her. She prayed no one would step on it and crack the screen before she reached it. She pushed her way through the crowd, trying to not lose sight of the phone. The pig ran past her again. Someone kicked her phone, and it skittered across the gym.

Her heart pounded. She couldn’t see it.Please, no.She couldn’t lose her phone on the first day of having it! She fought against the steady stream of kids, trying to see where it had landed.There!She saw it. It was on the floor near the wall. She focused on it and shoved her way through.

Just before she could grasp her phone, a hand reached down and picked it up. “Hey, that’s mine!” she said, as she looked up to see ...

No. Not him. Anyone but him.

Chase grinned at her, holding out her phone—and another one with an identical Beatles case. “Hey, look. We have the same phone case.”

“You like The Beatles?” she asked, then mentally rolled her eyes.

Brilliant. That was a completely idiotic thing to say.

He grinned. “Who doesn’t?” But he wasn’t looking at her anymore. His gaze ran beyond her.

She turned to see Mr.Morgan holding the pig. “Got him!” he shouted. Everyone cheered.

She grabbed her phone from his hand, but Chase didn’t seem to notice.

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