Shingaling Read Online Free PDF

even remember this, but I was the one who helped her find her locker on the first day of school. I was the one who let her borrow a pencil in third period (which she never returned to me, come to think of it). But Savanna was the one who became her best friend. Savanna managed to zoom in on her within the first nanosecond of school. And then, forget it. It was like the Big Bang of friendships. It just exploded into an instantaneous universe of knowing looks and giggles and clothes and secrets.
    There was really no chance of getting to know Ximena better after that. The truth is, she didn’t make much of an effort to expand beyond the Savanna group anyway. Maybe she felt like she didn’t actually have to. People said she was kind of a snob.
    All I really knew about her was that she had the most amazing leg extension I’d ever seen, the highest scores in our grade, and she was snarky. Meaning, she made a lot of “clever observations” about people behind their backs. There were a bunch of people—like Maya, for instance—who couldn’t stand her. But I couldn’t wait to get to know her better. To be friends with her, maybe! To laugh at her sarcastic gibes. More than anything, though, I just really really
really
wanted her to like me!
    “I hope this is all going to be worth the time-suck,” Ximena was saying. “I mean, we’ve got so many other things going on this month! That science fair project?”
    “I haven’t even started mine,” said Summer.
    “Me, neither!” I said, though that actually wasn’t true at all. Remo and I had finished our diorama of a cell the first week back from winter break.
    “I just want to make sure we get enough rehearsal time for this dance,” Ximena said, looking at her phone. “I don’t want to be onstage at
Carnegie
Hall looking like a
total
idiot because we didn’t rehearse enough—all because Mrs. Atanabi was too flaky to show up on time.”
    “You know,” I said, trying to sound casual, “if we ever need a place to rehearse away from school, you guys could come over to my house. I have a mirrored wall in my basement and a barre. My mom used to teach ballet out of our house.”
    “I remember your basement!” said Summer cheerfully. “You had that Flower Fairy birthday party there once!”
    “Back in the second grade,” I answered, a little embarrassed she would mention Flower Fairies in front of Ximena.
    “Do you live far from here?” Ximena asked me, scrolling through her texts.
    “Just ten blocks away.”
    “Okay, text me your address,” she said.
    “Sure!” I said, whipping out my phone, thinking
I’m texting Ximena Chin my address
like the big dork that I am. “Umm, sorry, what’s your number?”
    She didn’t look up from her phone but held her hand up to my face, like a crossing guard. There, running vertically down the side of her palm, was her phone number written in neat block letters in dark blue pen. I keyed her number into my contacts and texted her my address.
    “Hey, you know,” I said as I was texting, “you guys could come over tomorrow after school, if you want. We can start rehearsing then.”
    “Okay,” Ximena mumbled casually, which made me want to gasp.
Ximena Chin is coming over to my house tomorrow!
    “Oh, I actually
can’t,
” said Summer, squinting her eyes apologetically. “I’m hanging out with Auggie tomorrow.”
    “What about Friday, then?” I asked.
    “Can’t,” said Ximena. She had obviously finished texting now and looked up.
    “Then maybe next week?” I said.
    “We’ll figure out some other time,” Ximena answered indifferently. She started running her fingers through her hair. “I forget you’re friends with the freak,” she said to Summer, smiling. “What’s that like?”
    I don’t think she was even trying to be mean when she said this. That’s really just how a lot of people automatically referred to Auggie Pullman.
    I looked at Summer.
Don’t say anything,
I thought.
    But I knew she