Belle of the Brawl Read Online Free PDF Page A

began to form in her stomach, like that time the Jamba Juice at her mall got a shipment of bad berries. And suddenly she realized. “Ohmuhgud,
of course
,” she hissed. “I guess now that your mom’s loosened up the rules, you plan on pulling a
Bachelor
and giving a flower to every girl in school!”
    “That’s not it. You don’t underst—”
    “I understand plenty,” Allie cut him off. Suddenly her head was swimming, and the sweet smell of cotton candy flowers made her nauseous. Her dinner was rising in her stomach.
    Before Darwin could say another word, Allie shoved the vase into his chest and let go, turning to push her way out of the crowded garden. Through a veil of tears, the colors of all the plants looked like a circus, and she was the star sideshow attraction.
Allie Abbott! Come one, come all, and watch as her heart breaks into a million pieces!

6
    JACKIE O
CHARLIE’S BED
    SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH
11:29 P.M.
    Wrapped tighter than a Thai spring roll in her pearl-white comforter, Charlie watched the minutes tick by on the illuminated digits of her aPod. She slept in the exact center of the room’s horseshoe arrangement of beds. To her right lay Triple Threat, snoring lightly, and to her left were Allie and Skye, both passed out on their stomachs, their backs rising slightly with each inhalation. On the other side of Triple, AJ lay in her bed surrounded by pens and notebooks, curled into a tiny ball on her side. Charlie clutched her aPod tightly in her hand, letting out a silent sigh when the digits turned to 11:29 p.m. Every year, for as long as Charlie could remember, she’d celebrated this moment. Because September 26 at 11:29 p.m. was when Darwin was born.
    In the past, they’d celebrated it together, making a wish, just as they did on Charlie’s birthday. But now everythinginvolving Darwin contained seeds of trouble, about to sprout up and devour Charlie like a carnivorous plant.
    Even so, just because Charlie wasn’t with Darwin now didn’t mean she couldn’t make a wish. She gazed up at the constellations visible through the glass ceiling of the Jackie O bedroom and wondered what she should wish for: that Darwin would stop loving her? That Allie would stop liking him? That Darwin would love her but not show it until Allie had moved on to someone who loved her back? Yeah, that was it!
    “Please make Darwin stop loving me until…” She whispered, but before she could finish her wish, the numbers changed. Did that mean that Darwin was going to stop loving her?
    The thought of Darwin giving up on her simultaneously turned Charlie’s stomach and cleared her head. She’d gotten used to being without Darwin, to concentrating on herself and her projects at the lab. After all, if Allie found out Darwin had chosen Charlie over her, she’d suffer from PTSD—Post Trina Stress Disorder. And Charlie would lose her best friend.
    Bzzzz!
    Another text arrived on Charlie’s muted aPod.
    Darwin: I’m waiting.
    Darwin had been texting Charlie all night, saying he’d wait for her in the hybrid garden’s greenhouse for as long as it took. Charlie sat up a tiny bit in her mummy-wrap and looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be sleeping soundly now, so there was no excuse left. She had to go and meet him.
    Charlie silently slipped a hoodie over her pj’s, grabbed a pair of clear gladiator sandals, and padded cautiously down the spiral staircase. When she reached the door to Jackie O, she gasped for air, her heart doing a soft-shoe shuffle of excitement and trepidation. Her resolution in the belly of the Buddha still held—she couldn’t sell out Allie right now, not even for Darwin. But there was no way she could stand in front of him and actually say it. His hazel eyes and gorgeous smile—adorably dimpled on just one cheek—still had the power to melt her into a puddle. How could a puddle tell Darwin no?
    “Be strong,” she whispered to herself as she walked down the gravel path under a bright