Free The Curse of Betrayal by Taylor Lavati Page B

do about it now. They know who I am, and I’ll never be accepted just for me .  
    I finish the makeup part of the sleepover, sulking in my seat and letting Lisa have her way with me. We all pitch in and clean up the mess before settling on the floor to watch The Hunger Games . Lisa chose to start with this movie first, just because of Gale, who’s like the hottest man on Earth, and I agree, surprisingly. I guess that’s the only thing we’ll ever agree on. Well, that and Ari’s hotness.  
    “This is lame. Let’s do something.” Kara sits up, breaking the silence from everyone watching the movie about an hour into it. It was just getting to the good part, but Kara flicks it off so the room fades to black.
    “Like what?” I question her, wondering what crazy idea she’s concocted in her mind. I can tell from the gleam in her eye that she thinks she has a good idea. It’s the same kind of look Junior gets, and those never end well.  
    “Let’s go prank the boys.” Kara claps her hands together like she’s just come up with the idea of a lifetime. She jumps up and flicks on the light near the door so the room is illuminated in yellow fluorescence.  
    “Yes!” Megan loves the idea. She reaches across me and high-fives Kara.  
    “Won’t we get in trouble?” I ask, not liking the idea of visiting the dean the first week at a new school. I know how big reputations are, so I don’t want to blow it. I just nod along to their master plan.
    “Only if we get caught,” the girls say back in unison as if they’ve rehearsed. I don’t want to get in trouble, but my need to fit in wins over so I agree to the plan. They all jump up and dance around, excited to embark in some risky fun. I go with it, as I flap my hands and do some spins. But as I laugh and play with the girls, I worry about the adventure coming.
    “Find black clothes,” Kara commands once the victory dance is over. She goes to dig through her closet, and I scrounge through mine as well, coming up with a couple long sleeve tees, a sweatshirt, and sweatpants, and a few stretchy pairs of yoga pants.
    We all get dressed, most of us double layered since it’s so numbingly cold out. Of course instead of being normal teenagers and sneaking down the stairs or to a bottom level window, they decide to jump out of my third story room. My heart literally plummets out of my chest when Kara announces the escape route.
    Kara goes first, without giving us any notice and jumps out of the window. I run to the sill to see if she landed without breaking a leg. And what do you know? She landed in a perfect crouch on the grass just below our bedroom window. Luckily, there is a light dusting of snow that looks like it may cradle a fall since I know this is going to end in disaster. Kara smiles up at us and waves for the next person to plummet to their death. Lisa leaps, and then Megan, who stumbles a little in the landing but recovers quickly.  
    “Please let me live,” I pray to whoever will listen and fling myself off the side of the building. I squeeze my eyes shut so I don’t see my impeding death, but for just a second, I’m weightless. I love it and open my eyes to see. It’s as if the world has slowed just for my fall—to show me how precious life is. My stomach shoves itself into my throat, but the fall feels so good, like nothing matters, and I can be whoever I want to be and do whatever I want to do.  
    But the floor comes up fast. I land with a resounding thud on the snowy ground on all fours. I catch myself before I face plant, but my arms and legs tremble in protest. I stand, surveying my body and am happy when nothing feels broken. I’ll never get used to this powers thing, but that was pretty amazingly spectacular.  
    “Let’s go,” Kara whispers as she pulls her hat-turned-ski-mask over her face so her identity is hidden. We all do the same and get into a tight formation. I’m last in line, which leaves me feeling exposed and vulnerable,