Page 35 of Grumpy Darling

“Actually, I keep my coffin in the attic.” I jumped with surprise as Cammie walked through the door behind me. I had no idea she was home. “I like to stay close to my pet bats.”

“Oh, uh, Cammie . . .” Bonnie stuttered. “I didn’t mean . . .”

“Yeah, you did,” Cammie replied, walking past us to grab her headphones off her desk. “Sounds like you’ve been listening to too much town gossip. I would have expected more from the editor of the school paper. Maybe you should try thinking for yourself next time.”

My eyes went wide, and I turned to Bonnie to find her looking even more shocked than I felt. I had never seen her speechless. Questioning Bonnie’s journalistic integrity was just about the worst possible way someone could insult her. Cammie disappeared from the room without another word, and I quickly followed after her, leaving Bonnie still standing dumbstruck.

“Cammie, wait,” I said as I caught up to her in the corridor. “Sorry about my friend.”

But she grinned in reply. “You kidding? I’ve been itching to put someone in their place all day. That was fun.”

“It—it was?”

“Yeah, catching people gossiping about me might be my favorite pastime.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I know it’s weird.” She shrugged. “But, the way I figure it, if people stop gossiping about me, it means I’ve gotten boring. Anyway, I’m off to the rink to meet Eric.”

“Is that your new skating partner?” She went through so many, it could be difficult to keep track of them sometimes. “How’s it going?”

“Not well. He’s refusing to agree on a soundtrack for our next program. And I’m not skating toCarmenorSwan Lakeagain.” She shuddered to show her disgust. “I’ll convince him eventually. One way or another. Wish me luck.”

She headed off down the hallway before I could respond to her slightly ominous closing comment. Cammie Darling was certainly one of a kind. I could see why she scared people so easily, but I envied her confidence. I also felt pretty lucky I’d never managed to end up on her bad side.

When I returned to her room, Bonnie looked as though she’d recovered slightly, but she was still clearly fretting.

“Did I just make an enemy of Cammie Darling?”

“I think you’d have to do more than that to achieve enemy status,” I replied with a laugh. “And to be honest, I don’t think a little quip about a coffin even ranks as offensive to Cammie. She was just messing with you.”

“If you say so,” Bonnie mumbled. “But we’re getting ready at my house next time—crying baby or not.”

I nodded, but turned away when I found myself smiling. It had been kind of fun watching Bonnie squirm under Cammie’s wrath. To get us back on track, I started rifling through my bag and retrieved the outfit I’d been thinking of wearing tonight: one of my favorite plaid skirts and a navy top that matched it nicely.

“Cute,” Bonnie said when I held it up, although her frown revealed her true feelings even before she added, “If you’re a grandmother.”

I glanced down at the outfit in my hands. “Hey, I really like it.”

“I’m sure everyone does, down at the nursing home.”

I hoped she was just trying to be funny. “But I always wear stuff like this.”

“Which is probably why you keep getting mistaken for the school librarian.”

“That was one time!” I corrected her, though that didn’t make me feel much better. “If this isn’t enough to impress Damien, then perhaps he isn’t the one for me.”

“You’re not looking to marry the guy. You just need to kiss him.” When she caught my determined expression, she released a pained sigh. “I guess with your hair and makeup done it could work...”

“Great.” I let out a breath. I wasn’t sure why I was being so stubborn about the clothes. I guess I didn’t like trying to be something I wasn’t. I wanted someone to kiss me because they liked me just as I was.

Bonnie helped me with my hair and makeup, and once she was done, I went into the bathroom to check it out. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed as I stared at my reflection. She’d done a good job on my makeup. I looked cute enough, but in a forgettable sort of way. I was still just me. No amount of mascara or eyeshadow was ever going to transform me into some siren goddess that would make all the boys at school fall before me. And while I’d never really been insecure about my looks, a flicker of uncertainty rushed though me. I must be one of only a few seniors who had never been kissed. Perhaps even the only one. What if it wasn’t simply my surly best friend that sent guys running? What if the problem was me?

I squared my shoulders as I dismissed the thought. I had to believe that tonight would be different. Grayson had backed off, and the perfect guy had appeared right on cue. I wasn’t sure if I believed in fate, but every sign was pointing toward the fact that the stars had finally aligned. I just had to hope that meant my bad run with boys was over, and everything was about to change for the better.

Chapter 9

Paige

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