Studying Boys Read Online Free PDF Page A

nothing.
    "So, what are you going to do?" Blue asked.
    "They won't agree. I know they won't." It was partly my fault, of course. I'd pretty much presented it in a way to ensure they'd forbid me from participating. It wasn't as if I was going to get them to change their minds now.
    "Does that mean you want to do it?" Natalie asked. She was reading Runner's World magazine instead of doing her math homework. She never did her math homework. It was too hard for her and she had given up. I'd tried to tutor her, but she wouldn't let me. So, she read Runners World instead.
    Did I want to do it? "Um ... I guess... maybe ..." Who was I kidding? Of course I wanted to do it. I was also terrified and everything, but how could I not want to do it? Meet boys, become solely responsible for creating an exchange program between North Valley and Field, become a total diva that everyone knew and admired, and pad my college application while I was at it. Even I had to admit it was somewhat appealing.
    "Then you'll have to lie," Allie announced.
    We all stared at Allie. "You think I should lie? To my parents?"
    "Of course. They won't agree, so how else are you going to do it?"
    Whoa. Lie to my parents. I had never lied to them about anything. That wasn't the kind of relationship we had. "I can't lie to them."
    Allie rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Frances. All kids lie to their parents about something."
    I looked at Blue and Natalie. "Do you guys lie to your parents?"
    Blue shrugged. "No, but I don't need to. I can talk them into anything."
    Natalie pursed her lips. "Only about little things. Like that I got a bad grade on a math quiz or something. And then, it's more like I just don't tell them, so it's not really lying, right?"
    I looked at Allie. "Do you really lie to your mom?"
    Allie snorted and put the cap back on the nail polish. "Are you kidding? She could care less what I do. As long as she doesn't have to cancel one of her hot dates, she doesn't give a rip. I don't have to lie to her. I just do it, and she doesn't care."
    I sighed. "You're so lucky."
    Allie grunted.
    I looked at all my friends. "So, none of you actually lie your parents, and you want me to lie to mine about this huge project that will take massive amounts of time for two whole months? How exactly am I supposed to lie about that?"
    They all looked at each other, and Allie shrugged. "You have a point," she said. "It would be a difficult one to pull off."
    "Okay, so then what you have to do is not exactly lie," Natalie said.
    I couldn't believe I was actually having this conversation. "What do you mean?"
    "When you're working on The Homework Club, just tell your parents you're doing homework. It'll be true, right?"
    I frowned. "Yeah, I guess."
    Allie stopped blowing on her toenails. "I know. You can have The Homework Club at my house. My mom's never home anyway, and then if your parents ask you where you're going, you can say you're at my house. Which you will be. And then if they call you there, you'll be there. No lies at all. Simply some omissions."
    Huh. It sounded like it might work, and I wasn't actually lying. But still, if my parents found out, they would be totally crushed that I'd misrepresented myself, and they would consider it lying, big time. "I don't know. It doesn't feel right."
    Allie sighed. "Loosen up, Frances. After you finish and publish this great article and get all sorts of recognition, then your parents will realize what a good thing it was for you and they'll forgive you. Sometimes they don't know what's best for us."
    Natalie nodded. "I agree. I think it sounds cool." She sighed. "I wish Blue and I could come, but it's only for kids from North Valley and Field, right?"
    Blue looked up from her Algebra II book. "What? We can't go?"
    Allie shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous." She turned to me. "Frances, first thing you need to do is e-mail this Mr. Walker and inform him that it isn't sufficient just to do it between two private schools. To truly