Jesse's Girl (Hundred Oaks #6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

backstage to meet him, he called me a ‘sexy punk girl.’”
    “You met him?” Jordan screams. She drops an egg on the floor, and it splatters everywhere.
    Dad rips his eyes away from the scores. “What did that boy say to you?”
    “I’ll kill him!” Sam says, and pancake batter joins the egg.
    “Will you get his autograph for me?” Anna asks, and I tell her I’ll try.
    “I love that song of his,” Jordan says, looking wistful. “‘Don’t Cry for Me, Tennessee.’”
    “I hate that song,” Sam mutters. “Jordan sings it all damn day. I can’t get it out of my head.”
    Jordan sighs dreamily. “Wow. I didn’t know Dr. Salter is related to Jesse Scott.”
    I’m surprised that Jordan didn’t know either, considering she works for the principal. “Dr. Salter asked me not to tell other students—he probably doesn’t want girls storming his office every day,” I explain. “And Scott is Jesse’s stage name.”
    “Makes sense. The name Salter isn’t near as sexy as Scott,” Jordan says.
    “Can we stop talking about how sexy Jesse Scott is?” my brother asks.
    “Can you stop watching Detroit games already?” Jordan asks back.
    Brinner is officially a disaster. Half-cooked pancakes are splotched on the floor. I can smell the eggs burning.
    “Maybe we should order pizza,” Dad mutters to me.
    I whisper, “Mushrooms, please.”
    “If Dr. Salter arranged for Maya to shadow Jesse Scott, I’m sure he’ll be on his best behavior,” Jordan says.
    “The school planned a whole schedule,” Mom says. “Maya will be visiting Jesse’s studio, going to lunch with him, and doing some educational tours at the Country Music Hall of Fame. His manager will be there the whole time.”
    “It sounds boring,” I add.
    “I wish I could go,” Anna says, and Mom rubs her back. It probably would be more appropriate if Anna went, given that she’s ten and has a Jesse Scott screen saver.
    “If that jerk does anything to hurt you, My,” Sam says, “I’m gonna rip his arms from his sockets, and then we’ll see how sexy he is all armless.”
    Ignoring Sam’s loud speech, Jordan starts cooking again, cracking a new egg into a fresh bowl. “I remember my shadow day. I said that I wanted to be an NFL player, and the school arranged for me to shadow the manager of the Athletic Superstore at the mall.”
    “And I said I wanted to become an exotic dancer,” Sam says, “but I got detention.”
    My lips twitch.
    Jordan points at me with a spatula. “I saw it! Maya smiled.”
    “If telling you about my most embarrassing moments will make you feel better,” my brother starts, “I’ll tell you about the time I fell asleep at a party and woke up butt-naked in a cow pasture with—”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I wave my hands. “No more, please.”
    Anna is cackling hard, and my mom’s face is red with laughter. Dad pushes buttons on his phone, lifts it to his ear, and says, “Delivery, please.”
    Being with my family makes me feel better, but I can’t stop thinking of what happened this afternoon. I put my all into building The Fringe for an entire year, and it was for nothing. I won’t fight to win my band back after they all made it perfectly clear what they thought of me and my musical tastes. I quit both the church and show choirs after I started my band, and since my voice cracks, it’s not like I can go solo. How am I going to find a new group in time to record an audition video for Wannabe Rocker ? It’s due in less than three weeks! I already recruited the best musicians at my school for The Fringe. The only person left is Albert Cho and his upright bass, and he’s told me a hundred times he only plays classical.
    Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not trying out for Wannabe Rocker , because that show is all about identity—about showing America why you are a talented, unique musician.
    Without my band, I’ve got nothing.

Welcome to the Jungle
    Showtime.
    On Friday morning, Dr. Salter drives us