Another Faust Read Online Free PDF Page B

protection in sight. She turned to leave, only to run straight into a coat checker, who dropped an armful of coats and hangers. The teenagers cackled as Bicé tried to apologize and help the young man, who brushed her away. She stood there, on the verge of tears, when a confident-looking brunette shushed her friends, broke from the crowd, and walked over, all the while trying to stifle her laughter.
    “Here, take this.” The girl handed Bicé a champagne glass filled with sparkling cider. Bicé turned around just in time to grab the glass.
    “I’m Lucy Spencer,” the girl said while casting backward glances to her friends.
    “Hi, Lucy,” said Bicé, confused and thankful. Her eyes darted back to the group of teenagers, afraid that this was some kind of prank. Meanwhile, Lucy was already walking toward the center of the room, almost expecting Bicé to follow.
    “Bicé, is it? Wanna go sample the sushi bar? It’s from Nobu.”
    Bicé nodded. “What’s Nobu?” she asked, and Lucy thought how naive and uncultured this poor girl must be, while Bicé tried to pinpoint Nobu among the dozen Japanese cities she had visited.
It must be near Hakone,
she thought.
    “I’ll introduce you to my best friend, Charlotte,” Lucy said almost distractedly, and then she moved on to the main point: wheedling information. “Do you go to Marlowe?”
    Bicé nodded again. She didn’t quite remember.
    “Are you going to the school play?”
    Bicé shrugged. “I guess so. . . .”
    “Then you might meet her,” said Lucy. “She wrote it, you know.”
    Just then, Victoria came pouncing toward them, both eyes strictly fixed on Lucy.
    Bicé blanched. Victoria could always be counted on to say something embarrassing.
    “So
you’re
that girl that’s been top of the class for three years?” said Victoria with her arms crossed. When a confused look appeared on Lucy’s face, Victoria added, “There was a list on the Internet.”
    Bicé sighed.
    “Yeah, so?” Lucy said, almost defensively. Bicé stood by, trying the sushi and not saying a word. Unlike Victoria, Bicé hated conflict, and it wasn’t as if she wanted a new friend all that much. She just wanted to get through the party.
    “And what does it take? To be the best at Marlowe,” asked Victoria.
    “Just the best GPA, I guess. Same as everywhere else,” said Lucy.
    “What’s
your
GPA?”
    “What?” Lucy almost choked on her drink.
    “Victoria! Don’t start, OK?” Bicé begged. It was hard to remember the last time anyone outside the family had shown any interest in her — and now Vic was wrecking it.
    “That’s OK. You don’t have to tell me. I just want to know how it all works,” said Victoria.
    “Oh, well, it’s just the standard five-point system. You can get up to five points for advanced classes and up to four points for regular.”
    “Right . . . OK, then . . . we know how it works,” said Bicé, hoping Victoria would go away.
    “I bet there’re a lot of people with a solid five, then,” said Victoria.
    Lucy took another sip of her drink. “Oh, no. It’s not possible to get a five on average. Even people who win the Marlowe Prize never get that high. Everyone has to take a health class and phys. ed., and both of those are only worth four.”
    “Tragic . . .” Bicé mumbled.
    “Huh,” Victoria said, pretending she found it all to be very much beneath her. “What about college?”
    “What
about
college?” Lucy was obviously starting to get annoyed with all the questions.
    “At my last school,” said Victoria, “most of the kids went to Harvard, except for the ones that went abroad.”
    “Marlowe is the best school in the country,” Lucy said. “The kids go wherever they want.”
    “See, Vic? People go wherever . . .” Bicé jumped in. “Lucy, I’m sure Vic appreciates all this help. Now, moving on . . .”
    “Hush, Bicé.” Victoria didn’t even bother to look at Bicé as she spoke. She gave Lucy a challenging look. “I bet
I
can