Forever Princess (The Princess Diaries 10)

I know it’s rude, but I’ve had quite enough of Grandmère. Really, thirty seconds of her is enough.

“Bye, Grandmère,” I say. And switch over to Tina. I’ll deal with Grandmère’s wrath later.

“Oh my God,” Tina says, the minute I pick up. “Where are you?”

“Washington Square Park,” I say. “Sitting on a bench. I just met Michael and spilled hot chocolate on his pants. We hugged good-bye. I smelled him.”

“You spilled hot chocolate on his pants?” Tina sounds confused. “You smelled him?”

“Yeah.” The skateboarders are all trying to outdo one another with their jumps, but most of them just keep crashing. Lars is watching them with a little smile on his face. I really hope he isn’t thinking about asking one of them to borrow a skateboard to show them how it’s done. “He smelled really, really good.”

There is a long pause as Tina digests this.

“Mia,” she says. “Did Michael smell better to you than J.P.?”

“Yes,” I say, in a small voice. “But he always has. J.P. smells like his dry cleaner.”

“Mia,” Tina says. “I thought you bought him some cologne.”

“I did. It didn’t take.”

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“Mia,” Tina says. “I have to talk to you. I think you better come over.”

“I can’t,” I say. “I have to take my grandparents to the Central Park Zoo.”

“Then I’ll meet you,” Tina says, “at the zoo.”

“Tina,” I say. “What’s going on? What’s so important that you can’t tell me what you need to say over the phone?”

“Mia,” Tina says. “You know.”

She is wrong. I have no idea!

And it has to be something pretty bad if she’s afraid TMZ might pick it up, and it would damage my dad in the polls even worse than he is doing now.

“Meet me inside the Edge of the Icepack penguin enclosure at four fifteen,” she says, sounding just like Kim Possible. If Kim Possible ever asked people to meet her inside penguin enclosures.

Still, I’m not surprised. Somehow, the Central Park Zoo penguin enclosure is where I always end up during my hours of darkest need.

“Can you just give me a hint?” I ask. “What does it have to do with? Boris? Michael? J.P.?”

“Your book,” Tina says. And hung up.

My book? What could my book have to do with anything? Unless…

Could it be that bad?

Great. And both J.P. and Michael are reading copies of it right now. RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE!

I could throw up just thinking about it.

I should just go over to Eighth Street, buy a wig from one of the drag queen stores, and ditch town. I’m practically legal, and there’s nothing left for me here. I’ve been humiliated in every way a person possibly can be. I might as well just grab a bus for Canada.

If only I could figure out a way to get rid of my bodyguard….

Sunday, April 30, 4 p.m., Edge of the Icepack penguin exhibit at the Central Park Zoo