Private (Private 1)

“Well, good. Because everyone knows it is unacceptable for a

Slowly I walked over to James’s table. Overhead, rain pounded

Billings Girl to date a Drake boy,” Noelle said. “It’s just not done.

down on the skylight and a flash of lightning briefly lit the room.

And since a Billings Girl can’t date a Drake boy, it stands to reason Everyone in the cafeteria was staring at me. I saw several printed that she can’t break up with one either. And that, my little glass-out pages of what must have been James’s blog on the tables. When licker, is where you come in.”

I arrived at the end of the Dreck table, all the guys looked up.

“This should be good,” Leanne said.

Everyone but James, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring me.

“Tell h

im, in no uncertain terms, that it’s over,” Noelle said, From the red blotches on his face, he knew I was there, but he kept staring me down. “Tell him Kiran no longer wants anything to do his attention trained on his manga.

with him. Tell him she thinks he’s a pasty loser with a puny, shriv-

“Uh . . . James?” I said, wiping my hands on my jeans.

eled little thing and she never wants to speak to him again.”

“Who are you?” he asked, not looking up.

No one moved. I glanced at Kiran. I could tell she was being

“I’m Reed,” I replied. “No . . . uh . . . Kiran sent me over here.”

90

K A T E B R I A N

P R I V A T E

91

A couple of the guys snickered and flashed grins at me. James

render this mission a failure. And I couldn’t have that. Not now.

looked up. I saw that he was actually quite handsome, in a pale, lab-Not after I had been given a second chance.

troll kind of way. His eyes were a warm brown behind his glasses

“Hey! Buddy! Get a grip!” I said firmly. “I said she doesn’t want and he had a kind, if roundish, face.

to talk to you. You were a mistake, all right? A moment of temporary

“Excuse me?” he said, his brow knitting.

insanity.” I glanced over my shoulder at the table, then leaned I recited what Noelle had said in my mind. There was no way I

toward him, lowering my voice to a near breath. “If you go over wanted to tell this poor guy all that in front of his friends, but I knew there, we’ll both get ripped to shreds. Don’t do it.”

that I had to. If somehow it got back to Noelle that I deviated from I glanced back at Noelle. She eyed me expectantly.