What If... All Your Friends Turned On You (21 page)

“‘Sucks for you'?”

“You know—the pound-to-muscle-mass ratio that guarantees every girl at school wants to be me, every guy wants to bed me and Spencer's brain implodes at the sight of me doing my runway sashay through the halls. It's not a body-image thing—it's a power thing. Come on, Haley. I'm only half a pound
away from my target, and then I'll give up the herbal supplements for good. Promise.”

Haley felt reasonably reassured. “Okay,” she said. “But I'm giving you three more days, and after that, if I catch you popping any more pills, supplements or otherwise, I'm calling Nurse Underhill and then I'm calling your parents.”

Haley left the house believing she had accomplished something and feeling proud of herself for her efforts. However, that feeling was not to last. By the time she got home, she had several texts on her phone from Whitney, Sasha and Cecily. Coco, in her effort to shed that final half pound in the three days Haley had allotted her, had immediately popped three more “pick-me-ups” and called an emergency session with her Pilates instructor.

It turned into an emergency session, all right. Coco's heart rate soared, and her teacher, fearing Coco might be having some sort of cardiac event, called 911. Coco was rushed to the hospital and kept for observation for three days. Her doctors determined that the pills she'd been popping were basically a knockoff of the outlawed diet drug fenphen.

So much for those herbal supplements.

Looks as though Haley should have gone straight to Nurse Underhill. Coco could have been in serious
trouble, no thanks to Haley. Dieting is one thing; popping pills of unknown origin is another. Haley should have known better than to assume Coco was in control of the situation
.

Hang your head and go back to page 1
.

DEAD END

H
aley hesitated on the threshold of Ms. Underhill's office. She was worried about Coco, who seemed to be eating nothing more than orange segments, green tea and some kind of crazy cleanse concoction that was mostly hot water with a dash of cayenne pepper, lemon juice and a splash of maple syrup. Coco had shrunk from skinny to superskinny in two weeks, and Haley was beginning to worry that she might have an eating disorder, especially since she'd recently caught Coco popping pills of unknown origin.

But what could Haley do about it? She didn't really know, but Ms. Underhill, the school nurse, had recently talked to the school about her concerns over the terrible eating habits that were sweeping through the student body. She seemed to know a lot about the subject. She was a medical professional, after all. Still, nobody took pleasure in visiting Ms. Underhill. And Haley was nervous about how Coco would react when she discovered Haley had been the one to turn her in. Luckily, she'd brought along Sasha for moral support.

Haley took a breath, and she and Sasha walked into Nurse Underhill's office. “What is it?” Ms. Under hill asked, her manner more drill sergeant than nurse.

“We're sorry to bother you—” Haley began.

“You're not bothering me!” Ms. Underhill shouted. “I'm here to help!”

Haley found the disconnect between Ms. Underhill's helpful words and stern manner confusing, but she plowed ahead. “We're worried about a friend of ours. We don't know for sure, but we think she might have an eating problem.”

“Haley caught her popping diet pills in the lunchroom,” Sasha blurted out.

Ms. Underhill frowned and grabbed a clipboard and pen. “Name?”

“My name? Haley Miller.”

“No, name of the problem eater.”

“Oh. Coco De Clerq.”

“Yes, I know the girl.” Ms. Underhill wrote down Coco's name. “You very well could be right. What other kinds of behavior have you observed?”

“Behavior?” Haley hadn't expected this question. Did Nurse Underhill expect them to whip out a log? “Well, we just never see her eating anything, not any solid food anyway. For the past two weeks, she hasn't been eating breakfast, lunch or dinner, just the occasional orange segment, or green tea, or this cleansing water….”

“Let me guess,” said Nurse Underhill. “It's made with hot water, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup.”

“You know the recipe,” Sasha confirmed.

“She's clearly dropping weight. I would say close to ten pounds in ten days,” said Haley.

“That's good enough for me.” Ms. Underhill slapped the clipboard down on her desk. “Thank you, Haley and Sasha. You did the right thing. We'll get Coco the help she needs.” She clicked through her computer files until she found Coco's contact information. “I'm calling Principal Crum. We're going to get in touch with Miss De Clerq's parents.”

“Um, I think Coco's parents are in St. Barts,” Sasha chimed in.

Ms. Underhill raised an eyebrow. “Really? All the more reason to bring them back from their little paradise vacation and force them to take a good look at how much their daughter is suffering.”

Yikes
, Haley thought.
That's only going to make Coco more pissed when she finds out who spoke up
.

“Nurse Underhill,” Sasha said, “this is all confidential, right? I mean, Coco's never going to know who told you she was in trouble, right?”

“Of course!” Nurse Underhill boomed.

And all Haley could say was, “Why didn't I think of that?”

Thank goodness Haley and Sasha went to Nurse Underhill. Now the problem is out of their hands, and Coco will be strictly monitored to make sure she's getting enough to eat. And if they're lucky, Coco will never know that it was Haley and Sasha who turned her in. Haley can take a deep breath and move on
.

Go straight to
MUSICAL VALENTINE
.

“G
uess what I just heard?” Coco said with glee as she snapped her cell phone shut. She had gathered the girls—Haley, Sasha, Whitney and Cecily—at Bubbies Bistro for a game-night/Valentine's Day protest dinner. Well, that and to mark Haley's seventeenth birthday. They were just collecting the check when Coco got a text from one of her underclassman minions. “Ridgewood destroyed Hillsdale tonight! Ha! I knew those boys were losers.”

The girls clasped their gloved hands to celebrate.
Four of their ex-boyfriends—Reese, Spencer, Johnny and Drew—were the stars of Hillsdale's basket ball team, and that night's matchup against archrival Ridgewood was the most important game of the season. As far as the girls were concerned, the boys deserved to be humiliated on the court after their R-rated Caribbean vacation, during which they were photographed hanging all over a group of scantily clad swimsuit models.

That afternoon, Haley had taken her driver's test and fortunately passed with flying colors. Unfortunately, her parents had given her a car, and not just any car: they expected her to drive her grandmother Polly's hideous, backfiring, pale yellow beast of a sedan, nicknamed the Lemon. It had white Naugahyde seats and was covered with bumper stickers like “I Brake for Cookies,” “Lady in a Walker on Board” and “Sunday Drivers = Safe Drivers.” Nothing on the road was more unfortunate.

Haley had been hoping for a car—but a shiny new car. Barring that, she at least wanted something she wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen in. No such luck. She hid the Lemon in the garage and vowed never to let it out. And after telling her parents she still didn't feel comfortable driving after dark, she hitched a ride to Bubbies with Sasha.

Coco had called for skipping the game and having a girls-only Valentine's Day to celebrate their “new year, new you” success. The girls had all been
dieting and had never looked better, and Coco had just officially lifted the ban on solid foods. The fact that the boys had lost their big game only sweetened the night for them. It was as if the universe were punishing the boys for their bad behavior and rewarding all the girls—well, except for Haley. She was being punished with the Lemon.

“Serves them right,” Sasha said.

“I bet they lost because they couldn't concentrate,” Whitney said. “They were so devastated by being dumped by the four of you. You took their mojo!”

Out in the parking lot, Matthew Graham rolled up in his expensive European sedan, which was filled with rowdy, victorious Ridgewood basketball players. “Hey, girls,” Matthew said suggestively. He was an old friend of Spencer's, though they sometimes had notorious falling-outs, and this was apparently one of those times. Matt and Spence had been at boarding school together once upon a time but both had been kicked out, and now Spencer was at Hillsdale, Matt at Ridgewood. “Tough loss. Want to skip the Hillsdale pity parties and kick it with some winners for a change?”

“What did you have in mind?” Coco asked.

“Big dance at Ridgewood tonight,” Matt said. “Everybody's hopped up from the win. Come help us celebrate. You know it would burn Spencer if you came partying with us.”

“Oh, Matthew,” Coco said with a theatrical sigh. “What are you guys fighting about now?”

“He didn't invite me on his exclusive island getaway,” Matt said. “I didn't care at first—he told me it was going to be a quiet family trip, and I have no interest in that. But when I saw the pictures, I took it as a personal affront that Spencer kept me away from those girls. So now that we've crushed him in basketball, I'd like to twist the knife by celebrating with the hottest girls from his school.”

“Makes perfect sense to me,” Coco said.

The girls gathered to consult. “If the boys hear we spent Valentine's Day with their worst enemies, it will kill them,” Coco said. “I say we go to the dance.”

“It would be a chance to meet some new boys,” Whitney said, clapping her hands.

“And crush our cheating, lying, no-good exes' hearts even deeper into the dirt,” Cecily said. “I love it.”

“Let's show those guys they're not the only game in town,” Sasha said. “We don't need them, right, Haley?”

Haley thought of how hurt she had felt when she saw the pictures of Reese and those models. Maybe this could help her heal. “I'm in,” she said.

“Girls? The party is waiting,” Matt said.

“We're coming,” Coco told him.

“Great,” he said. “Follow us.”

The girls piled into Sasha's car and followed Matt
to Ridgewood High's Valentine's Day dance. Luckily they were already wearing flirty party dresses for their big night out at Bubbies. Ridgewood had a preppier vibe than Hillsdale, with boys in blue blazers over their jeans and girls in neat dresses.

“Welcome to Ridgewood, my lovelies,” Matt said. “Have a drink.”

He eyed the girls as he handed out plastic cups with some kind of pink liquid in them. Haley took a sip. She had no idea what it was, but knowing Matt, the drink probably contained at least one hundred-proof ingredient. After a few more sips, she started feeling suspiciously relaxed.

The girls lined up against the wall to survey the mysterious new crop of boys. “Not bad,” Coco said, nodding at a tall blond basketball forward. He noticed her interest and came up to her. “Dance?” the blond asked Coco. She took his hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor. Cecily paired up with a very cute boy with brown hair that curled behind his ears. A buff point guard with a short Afro twirled Sasha onto the floor, while Haley found herself cornered by the notorious womanizer Matt.

“Hey there,” he purred. “So Reese Highland's history, eh? I don't mind following in his footsteps. I always thought he had great taste.”

Haley had to keep herself from wrinkling her nose in disgust. She was all for meeting new guys, but Matt Graham was hardly an unknown quantity—and
what she knew about him wasn't good. She had to admit he was cute, though—in the preppy Spencer mold, of course, only darker—and he could be charming when he wanted to be. The trouble was, he wanted to be charming for all the wrong reasons, like to get a girl drunk and separate her from her pants.