Winning Read Online Free PDF Page A

class. And at the time, Lexi’s rank on the popularity food chain was considerably lower. Taking Ashley to task took guts.
    But Lexi stood her ground. She’d deliver verbal spankings to anyone who so much as gave me a weird look. She also went to our then-principal, Mr. O’Connor, and asked for permission to start a Gay-Straight Alliance. He denied her request, so she asked my mom for help. By that time, my mother was well aware of my sexual orientation. She strong-armed the entire PTO into backing Lexi, and by spring, our GSA was seven students strong.
    And as for Meredith? When she didn’t get expelled for her little stunt, Lexi orchestrated a cheating scandal and, with the help of my brother, Wyatt, and his computer-hacking skills, placedMeredith at the center of it. She ended up in a super-strict Catholic school two towns over. No one even talks to her anymore.
    My association with Lexi—and her surprising loyalty to me—has shielded me from the bad behavior of others ever since, and my mother understands this. After all, she didn’t become the president of the PTO of every school I’ve ever gone to by accident. She knows how to work the system better than anyone.
    My mother asks if Erin would like to stay for dinner, but before she can accept the invitation I interject, “She can’t. We have a huge assignment due in English tomorrow.”
    â€œNot for me,” Erin says. “Mr. Banerjee gave me until Monday, since I’m new. But I can see you’re stressing over the essay, so I’m going to go. Rain check?”
    â€œOf course,” my mom says. “Any time.”
    As Erin’s MINI Cooper rounds the corner, I text Lexi: Got scoop on NG. Call if interested.
    That should be enough to pique her curiosity. Once I fill Lexi in on Erin’s background, and let her know that I have an “in” with the New Girl, she’ll forgive me for whatever I did this afternoon to piss her off.
    It doesn’t occur to me until much later, when I’m fully immersed in writing not one but two versions of the AP English assignment, that Erin didn’t ask me a single question about A Streetcar Named Desire after all.

SIX
Alexandra
    Between Matt’s little stunt and an argument with that new incompetent ass of a pharmacist—the one who tried to tell me I couldn’t fill my mother’s Xanax prescription for another six days—I don’t make it back to my house until nearly 4:15. I’d made sure to text Natalie from the pharmacy, to let her know I was held up running her errand, but she never responded.
    She hardly ever responds. I’m not sure why I still try.
    As I round the corner onto our street I see a gunmetal-gray Jaguar squealing away from the curb in front of my house. There’s only one person that could belong to: my uncle Douglas. I feel a fleeting disappointment that he didn’t stick around long enough to say hi, and make a mental note to ask Natalie about his visit.
    But I forget all that as I enter the house, which is filled with an acrid smell of chain-smoked Virginia Slims. It’s no secret that Natalie likes a smoke every now and then, despite the fact that she warns me frequently about the dangers of cigarettes (“They’ll age you quicker than having a child,” she’s said on more thanone occasion). But she hates—absolutely abhors—the smell. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I caught her smoking inside.
    So that’s the first thing I notice. The second? Our house is dark . The brown velvet curtains are drawn and every light is off. I wonder if it’s been like this all day.
    â€œNatalie?” I call out. “Where are you?”
    No answer.
    I take a deep breath and almost choke on the smoky stench. The smell is so strong, she has to be on the first floor. I snake my way through the living room, past the formal dining room, and into the kitchen.
    Natalie sits at