The Aristobrats Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t look their way. She walked right past them, coolly pretending as if she hadn’t heard a word or noticed them noticing her.
    â€œSo who do you guys think will get stuck with producing this year’s webcast?” Tinsley asked, changing the subject.
    Parker had actually forgotten completely about it. She never wasted energy thinking about completely lame-o things like the eighth grade webcast. It was like toothpaste or something—it was right there in front of your face all the time but who gave it much thought?
    â€œAllegra Elephant and the Einsteins,” Kiki speculated. “Obvz.”
    â€œEveryone knows it’ll be Allegra Oliphant,” Plum concurred. “She’s been taking communication classes for two years .”
    â€œAnd she has absolutely no profile,” Tinsley commented. “No Friends whatsoever.”
    â€œExcept the Einsteins,” Plum said.
    Tinsley tried to contain her snicker.
    â€œIt will give Allegra something meaningful to do with her year,” Ikea said.
    â€œIt’s not like she has anything else to shoot for,” Tinsley added.
    â€œExcept the National Debatathon Championship finals,” Kiki muttered.
    â€œI’m actually psyched for Allegra,” Parker said.
    Everyone except Tinsley smiled. “Totally,” the Lylas agreed.
    ***
    The eighth grade locker area was perched above Wallingford’s north campus. It was easy to gaze out the windows to see last year’s eighth graders starting their lives out as Wallingford High School freshman—a glimpse into what Parker’s future wouldn’t be. It was close enough to make anyone forget their combination.
    Parker found her new locker and opened it up. The eighth graders got double-deckers instead of the pointless half-lockers that barely fit anything. It was an administrative acknowledgment, Parker thought, that eighth graders had more stuff (which they did). Her locker would need some serious accessorizing ASAP. She envisioned some super-cute magnetic hang-ups, colorful basket organizers, a little mirror and corkboard, and multi-level shelving. A well-organized locker mattered—she didn’t care what anyone else thought.
    â€œHey.”
    Even though Parker’s locker door was blocking her view, she would recognize Tribb’s voice anywhere. It was deep and the tiniest bit hoarse, like there was something a little bit bad behind all that good.
    She shut the locker door and there he was. Taller and more muscular than last year…which made sense, as he was the oldest boy in class: nearly a year older than everyone else. He was beautiful in the most guy-like sense of the word. Parker wished she had a pause button so she could linger on him for a while.
    â€œHey.” Parker leaned back against the locker, flashed a little smile, and made a swift scoop of the hair so that it fell gracefully back down on the face. (Full disclosure: she had practiced her “Hey” routine a dozen different ways in the mirror and this one seemed like the best.) She tried to ignore the chills creeping up from her toes. Parker wanted Tribb like some people wanted to be first in line to buy the latest Orion gizmo. It had to happen between them this year.
    Tribb checked to make sure the collar of his polo was popped up. It was.
    Parker could see the Lylas out of the corner of her eye. Ikea had the Birdie going and Plum had her arms wrapped around her own body and was smooching the air romantically. Meanwhile Tribb’s teammates, Beaver Krieger and Kirby Vanderbilt, were standing directly behind Tribb acting cool. Kirby wasn’t nearly as cute as Tribb. He looked kind of like a big bird. A big bird with hair and teeth…and a popped up collar. But Kirby was nicer than most of the Tigers and he always got a good part in the spring play, which meant a lot of girls liked him. And Beaver was, well, Beaver . It wasn’t his nickname for nothing.
    Kirby caught