Free How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation by Simone Elkeles Page B

whisper in his ear.
    "You're the devil," he says. "Stay away from me while your boyfriend's around."
    "He's not my boyfriend," I assure him as I shoo away another hovering bee. "Not anymore, at least."
    "Neither am I, so stop telling everyone I am. I'm trying to get into Tori's pants, you know."
    "Eww. Why?"
    "She's cute, she's a dancer... I even hear she's double-jointed. I've never been with a double-jointed girl before."
    "You're sick, and totally acting like Kyle, the biggest perv in school."
    "I'm a. guy, Amy. What do you expect?"
    Up until a few weeks ago, Nathan was still obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Bicky. Not Becky... Bicky. She's a total druggie and has made Nathan's life miserable, which is the main reason he came on the Sababa trip. He has to get over Bicky, but replacing one bitch with another is definitely not the answer.
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    "Just smile and pretend you love me."
    He smiles, puts his arm around my shoulders, and leads me to the barracks. "I do love you, Amy. As a friend. And as a friend I'm going to tell you that I'd like to keep my ball sacs intact and not piss off your boyfriend or ex-boyfriend or whatever he is. He's got a gun bigger than my entire arm. And isn't that thing attached to the bottom of it a grenade launcher? Geez, Amy, even his gun is pimped."
    I spill the beans to Nathan softly, as if nobody else knows yet. "He's been fooling around with Liron. He's probably dating her for all I know."
    "I know. Our entire team got the rundown before he finished our ditch, remember?"
    "Don't you feel sorry for me?"
    "Amy, didn't you tell me during your conversion class that God gives us challenges to test how strong we are? Maybe this is your test." Now two bees are hovering around us. Nathan shoos them away. "Were bees one of the ten plagues back in Moses' time?"
    "Nope."
    "Well, God is obviously sending them as the eleventh plague. We had a bunch buzzing around our bunks yesterday. It's a miracle we haven't gotten stung."
    The talk of plagues and getting stung makes me look for Avi. He's talking to a guy from Sayeret Tzefa, and looks murderous as he stares down Nathan and me. He tries to walk over to us, but the guy he's with pulls him back.
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    Nathan taps my shoulder. "Talk to him and find out what the deal is, Amy. 'Cause I'm not gonna act like your boyfriend just so you can save face. That's a cop-out, and the Amy Nelson-Barak I know isn't a coward or a cop-out."
    "You sound like Rabbi Glassman," I tell him.
    Nathan smiles wide, proud to be put in the same category as my awesome rabbi who sponsored my conversion to Judaism. He stands tall and proud, as if he's Abraham Lincoln addressing the United States Senate (without the top hat, of course). "Yes, well I'm smart beyond my seventeen years."
    "Yeah, right. You just said you wanted to date Tori because she was double-jointed. You sounded like an idiot then. Don't push that 'smart beyond my seventeen years' crap."
    "Yo, Nate, we gotta do cleanup!" Brandon, another guy on the Sababa trip, calls out.
    Nathan chucks me under the chin. "I gotta go, Amy. While I probably just signed my death warrant by talking to you for so long, I have to go before Susu starts his inspection."
    "Girls' inspection in fifteen minutes!" Ronit calls out. "Nathan, you better not drag your feet. You should have been at the guys' barracks five minutes ago!"
    Nathan jogs off, his sandy blond, bed-head hair bouncing with each step and his shirt sticking to his back from the heat of the Israeli sun.
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    Chapter 12
    Bees are God's little reminder not to get too comfortable in life; something or someone is going to come out and sting you when you least expect it.
    I walk into the girls' barracks (which is now a sauna because the stifling air doesn't move in here). I'm surprised my bed is already made, with perfectly tight hospital corners. Even my wool blanket is folded neatly at the foot.
    Vic, who just finished making her bunk above me, clues me in. "Jessica did it."
    When I turn