Queen of Broken Hearts Read Online Free PDF

up to it, but her tone was just so obstinate. “Maybe Pak wants to announce his plans for being back in town.” As cofounders, only Pak and I are allowed to call official meetings. Were . I meant were.
    “He already did. He wants you back.” Annabelle’s voice was a sneer.
    I cringed. “This involves everyone.”
    “No, it involves you. It’s always about you.” Annabelle crossed her arms.
    Madison showed up next, backpack in hand. Madison isn’t just the daughter of someone famous; she’s a politician’s daughter, which means no fun for her, ever. If she’s caught with so much as a beer, her father’s campaign will come crashing to the ground.
    Then again, that’s part of being a Stone Thrower. We didn’t get caught. Ever. Until we did.
    Pak showed up last, a bounce in his leather shoe–clad feet. He was finally wearing the school uniform, mostly. I caught flashes of orange lining in his navy jacket. “I knew you couldn’t stay boring with me around,” he said. “I wanted to go raccoon hunting in the park last night but you never showed up. I left you, like, five messages.”
    “Lost my phone.” It was only partially a lie.
    “What are we here for?” Madison asked. She flipped her gaze between me and Pak. “I don’t want to hurt raccoons.”
    “That’s not what we’re here for,” I said. “Someone’s trying to take me down.”
    “I knew this was about you.” Annabelle grabbed her purse. “I’m out.”
    “Wait!” I took a deep breath. “There’s something in it for you.”
    “I don’t care. I’m not helping you win that crown again.”
    “Not even if it means taking down Tolulu?”
    Annabelle froze. In the tightening of her shoulders, I could almost see her anger at me warring with her hatred of Tolulu. That big role Tolulu’s parents just landed? They stole it from Annabelle’s parents. “I need details,” she finally said.
    I relaxed.
    “You want us to do a takedown?” Madison chewed on the ends of her hair. She got her hair cut every week to control the split ends she created. Lucky for her, it grew fast.
    Even Pak looked dubious. “I thought we agreed after Athena. No more takedowns.”
    “But this is different. It’s practically self-defense.”
    “They want your crown, not your life,” Annabelle said.
    “But they’re trying to destroy my reputation, which is…” All I have. I stopped short of saying the words, afraid of how pathetic they would sound out loud.
    “I’m in,” Pak said. He knew enough about my past to know the hot water I’d be in if it ever got out.
    “I don’t know,” Madison said, chomping away at her hair.
    “You’ll get to detonate something.”
    Madison’s eyes glazed over with longing. “How big of an explosion?”
    “A small one. But there’ll be a fire afterwards.”
    “In.”
    Pak came up with the idea for the Stone Throwers for vague philosophical reasons; I helped him create it to get in his pants, and Annabelle joined for the sake of our friendship. Madison is the only one who joined with no personal connection. She just wanted to blow stuff up. Even I’m a little scared of Madison.
    “Annabelle?” I watched her hopefully.
    She sighed. “Fine. But only to get back at Tolulu. And this doesn’t mean we’re friends again.”
    I clapped my hands in a moment of glee. For the first time in a year, the Stone Throwers were readying a plot.

    I don’t know how to tell this next part. There may have been some illegal activity involved. Then again, I’ve always hated it when movies skip the best part. Like when the hero is in a fix, the camera pans away, then it comes back, and they’re out of the fix. So I’m going to tell it. On principle. It’s not like I can get in even more trouble at this point. Oh, but pretend I never told you my friends’ names, okay?

    On Thursday, I watched the clock tick through sixth period, tapping my foot along with the second hand. At exactly 1:15, I raised my hand.
    “May I be excused?”