Hell's Belles Read Online Free PDF

excitement of competing, to the amazing friends she was making, but she hadn’t wanted to admit to Tyler Erickson that she was a roller girl.
    Because deep down, she suspected he wouldn’t be impressed.
    Worse, he might even think she was some kind of freaky fishnet-wearing loser.
    And the fact that she cared about that even a little was the worst feeling of all.

    Lexie was already banging open her locker when Annie arrived. She immediately noticed Annie’s glum expression.
    â€œLet me guess,” Lexie teased, “you got a D on your algebra homework?”
    â€œI’m fine,” Annie lied. “But I was wondering . . . are you going to this Halloween dance?”
    Lexie let out a little snort of laughter. “ Moi? At a school dance? Have you met me?” To make her point, she gave a little twirl to show off her African-print dress — a nod to her half-African ancestry. Her curly hair was hidden beneath an intricately wrapped scarf, and her gold hoop earrings were large enough for circus poodles to jump through. “I’m not exactly a candidate for prom queen.”
    Annie had been afraid of that. Lexie was artsy and a bit of a rebel. Annie should have known mainstream clichés like school dances wouldn’t appeal to her. But still . . .
    â€œI know they’re silly,” Annie said. “But just this once, it might be fun. They seem like a big deal in all the American teen movies I’ve seen.”
    â€œClearly you haven’t seen Carrie. Now there’s a school dance you’d probably want to skip!” Lexie gave her an understanding smile, hoisting the strap of her enormous art portfolio onto her shoulder. “Look, I get it. But trust me, real school dances generally don’t measure up to the ones on the big screen. We had dances in middle school all the time. Naturally, I was a conscientious objector, but my mom insisted I go to a few. The girls were lined up on one side of the gym, pretending their training bras weren’t stuffed with tissues, and the boys were lined up on the other, hoping their voices wouldn’t crack when they asked a girl to dance. I actually saw one kid pop a zit right into the punch bowl.”
    â€œYuuccckkk.”
    Lexie nodded. “Now you’re getting it. And consider this: the music. Pop tunes, more pop tunes, and nothing but pop tunes.”
    Annie sighed. “But that was middle school. Won’t a high school dance be better?”
    â€œMaybe,” Lexie said. “I mean, for one thing, the boobs’ll be real. Well, most of them, anyway. And I don’t completely hate the idea of everyone going in costume. I mean, maybe for once, I wouldn’t be the one sporting the most outrageous look in the room.”
    â€œSee? There’s that.” Annie opened her own locker and pulled out her algebra book. “Promise me you’ll consider going?” she said in a hopeful tone.
    â€œI promise.”
    They made plans to meet for lunch in the cafeteria and Lexie headed down the hall toward the art room with Aaron, a friend from her class with dyed black hair and a nose ring.
    As Annie closed her locker, she sent up a silent prayer that her best friend would agree to go to the dance with her.
    Because one thing was for certain: Tyler wasn’t about to ask her.

Annie entered the rink on Saturday evening to the sound of The Clash rocking the place. That meant Jesse was operating the sound system, and this made her smile. Jesse shared her taste in music and it was nice to have someone to talk “punk” with.
    She found him fiddling with the speakers. “Hey, you.”
    He looked up from the wiring and grinned. “Well, if it isn’t our very own British Invasion.”
    Annie laughed. “Oh, so that’s how you think of me, then? As an invader?”
    For a second, Jesse’s expression was unreadable, but then he laughed, too. “Nah. We’re lucky to have