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“What do you mean?” I asked, pretending like I had no idea what she was talking about. All I wanted was for things to go back to normal.
“Um, Gabby. She's staring at you like you’re a brownie and she’s on Keto.”
I snorted. “Good one.”
But Penelope didn’t laugh. Instead, she waited while her eyes probed for answers, until I grunted and said, “Oh, I don’t know. Her, JT, Mikey, and Xia have been at me all day.”
“About . . . ?”
“I don’t know. Nothing. Everything.” I pulled out my water bottle and took a sip. “But I’m pretty sure it has to do with seeing me on the red carpet with Thorne. What else could it be? I mean, I thought Thorne and I had sent a message the other day in gym class, with this whole dodgeball thing”—I waved away her look of confusion—“but apparently, not.”
“Hmm.”
“Makes sense,” Topher quipped as he peeled a banana. “You’re an elite now. Cooler than they’ll ever be.” He winked. “Watch out, P. Soon, she’ll ditch you for a place on the royal court. She might even give Gabby a run for her money.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Never.”
“Before we know it, she’ll be sitting in the lounge for lunch.”
I snatched a piece of popcorn chicken from his plate and chucked it at him while he laughed. “Seriously,” I warned.
“Well, don’t let us stop you,” Penelope chimed in, knowing how much I hated the Royals. “If you want to sit with your new BFF, I give you my permission.”
I shot her a glare. “Not funny. It’s driving me nuts.”
Penelope chuckled before she took a sip of her juice.
“Seriously. Why are they trying to talk to me when they know I can’t stand them? It’s not like I haven’t made that perfectly clear in the last four years.”
“Right. But you have Thorne now. And their cool factor is already at stake with losing me earlier in the year,” Topher said.
“It’s true,” P added. “Think about it. They need to replace their King and save face in the process. Thorne is the perfect solution.”
I groaned. “Please, I feel nauseated just thinking about it.”
“Oh shoot.” Penelope’s gaze darted to something behind me, then down to the table. “Incoming,” she hissed, and before I could prepare myself, someone tapped my shoulder.
I closed my eyes, knowing who would be there when I turned around. Maybe if I sat perfectly still, I’d become invisible?
The person behind me cleared their throat.No such luck.
Slowly, I twisted in my seat to find Gabby, her plastic smile in place and her blonde hair glinting under the can lights.
“Hey, lady,” she said in a sickly sweet tone. “I waved you over, but you didn’t see me.”
“Oh, no. I saw you,” I said.
Behind me, Penelope snorted.
“Oh, um, right.” Gabby gave a little laugh. “Well, anyway. I saved room for you and Thorne on the couch. I thought you might want to join us for lunch.”
“I can’t,” I said with an equally fake smile.
“Why not?” Her expression tightened.
“Well, you know, I like to sit with Penelope and Topher. You remember Topher, don’t you?” I angled my body and motioned in his direction where he offered her a brief salute. “I think he used to hang with you . . .but I’m not sure.” I rubbed my jaw like I was trying to figure it out. “Nope. Yeah, he did. I’m sure of it. In fact, he used to sit right over there.” I waved toward the overstuffed sofa.
“Yes, he did,” she said, her tone harder than it was a moment ago.
