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journalism room behind us.
    Taylor glances at Charlie, then back at me. “I don’t think so.”
    Charlie hits my arm. “Dante, I don’t have to be in the club. They probably already have enough members. It’s fine.”
    “See,” Taylor says. “It’s fine.”
    My blood boils. If there’s one thing that pisses me off, it’s singling people out. Taylor starts to walk away, but I grab her wrist. “Except it’s not, actually. Charlie wants to be in the club, so let’s just get her in there, all right?” Taylor narrows her eyes. “Besides, if she’s here all the time, I’ll be here all the time.”
    She thinks about this for a second and decides she still has a shot at us hooking up. She’s probably thinking how great I’d look on her arm. It’d be the other way around, but whatever. “Fine.” Taylor studies Charlie’s face. “But you can’t be on camera. No way.”
    “That’s great! Thank you.” Charlie cheeks redden. Even though she thanked Taylor, it seems there’s some deeper emotion swirling beneath the surface of her eyes.
    Taylor touches a pink fingernail to my chest. “See you at my party.”
    I don’t like the way Taylor treats Charlie, like she’s a Porta Potty, but I need to hold onto my invite. “See ya.”
    As soon as Taylor is out of earshot, Charlie lights up. “Oh, my God. You’re amazing. That was so amazing! You basically just told Taylor to shove it.”
    Charlie’s eyes are so big and excited, I can’t help but laugh.
    “It’s no big deal,” I say. This could turn out to be really good. Charlie needs someone to take up for her at this school, and her friends certainly aren’t in a social position to do it. If she thinks I have her best interests at heart, she’ll trust me. And that trust will be the perfect stepping stone on the path to corruption. As if to prove this theory to myself, I tell Charlie, “Hey, let’s do something fun.”
    Charlie beams. “Yeah? Like what?”
    “Let’s get outta here.”
    She takes a small step back like I’m explosive. “We’ve got to go to class, though. The bell’s going to ring any second.”
    “Come on, Charlie. We’ll go somewhere fun. Haven’t you ever wanted to be a little rebellious?” I can tell the answer is no . I need to get her to bail on classes. I need this small victory over Ms. Pious, or else I might as well call this assignment hopeless now. “Look, this is my first week in Peachville, and my first day at Centennial. It’s kind of overwhelming. Is it so bad that I want to just spend some time alone with you?”
    In my entire life, I’ve never seen anyone smile the way Charlie is smiling at me right now. And for a second, I actually feel guilty. But then she opens her mouth and says, “Okay, let’s do it.”
    And just like that, the guilt is gone.

Chapter Five
    Mall Hell
    “This? This is where you wanted to go?”
    Peachville’s only mall is crowded for the middle of the day. Don’t these people have jobs? Or lives? The mall has a tile floor that turns high heels into a headache, and the fountain centerpiece attracts only fake greenery and screaming children. “I told you I’d take you anywhere you wanted to go, and you choose here?”
    Charlie bites into a sugar cookie. She’s still nervous I borrowed her grandma’s car without asking, but she’s starting to relax. “I love the mall. Don’t you?”
    “Yeah. I mean, it has its uses.” A woman with a stroller races past me and nearly takes off my right arm. No “excuse me” equals one tiny seal for you. I take a moment to seal her up right, then turn my attention back on Charlie. “It’s Friday, though. Don’t you want to try and dig up a party for tonight instead of hanging out here?”
    She brushes crumbs over her blouse. “I don’t really like parties.”
    “Charlie, have you ever been to a party?”
    “Yeah. I mean, sort of.” That means no . “I go to birthday parties and stuff.”
    “I’m talking about a real party. Like the