Free Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg Page A

with his other arm. “Make that the two hottest girls.”
    She nudges Benny playfully. “Nice save.”
    The three of us walk into school and toward my locker. I didn’t really think past seeing Benny and getting through our bet. I’m not really sure what people will think, if they’ll even notice.
    I’m overly self-conscious as we walk through the hallway. The only thing I can think of is to treat this like Mac handles a runway.
    Then it hits me: High school is exactly like a beauty pageant.
    Of course. Walking down a hallway is like being on stage, being judged by your appearance. Instead of a tiara (unless you’re Homecoming or Prom Queen), you’re anointed worthy of a spot at the Beautiful People table.
    I’d laugh if it weren’t so sad. I think back to some of Mom’s many tips of navigating the pageant world. Like: When in doubt, smile . I decide against the toothy, fake pageant smile and go with a normal, sane-person smile. I notice a few people smile back at me, but without a sense of recognition. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I get a few double takes when I turn the corner.
    As soon as we reach my locker, I think, Now what? Am I really going to have to spend the entire day, not to mention the week, like this? Won’t people assume I’ve lost my mind?
    “I guess I should, um, get my things?” It’s as if the makeup has made me incapable of understanding how to behave in school.
    “Yeah, I’ve got to head to class,” Cam says apologetically, probably sensing my total discomfort. “Good luck.”
    She gives me a hug before heading off. Benny gives me a huge grin.
    I shrug my shoulders at him. “Well, I guess —”
    “Oh my God, Lexi ?”
    We turn around to see Alyssa staring at me, her eyes wide.
    “Hey, Alyssa.” At first I’m confused about her shocked attitude, but then I remember that I look like … one of her kind.
    She comes over and starts examining me up and down. “I almost didn’t recognize you. You look fantastic. What …”
    “What happened ?” I finish her thought. Benny has faded into the background; he wants to listen, not participate.
    Alyssa’s cheeks flush. “I didn’t mean it that way. I guess I’m just not used to …” She bites her lip. Clearly she knows she’s on shaky ground. I’m probably going to get this a lot today: genuine compliments that are barely disguising sheer shock that I could make myself look nice.
    I catch Logan out of the corner of my eye. He’s walking toward Alyssa, who’s busy circling me, complimenting me on everything from the color of my lip gloss to my sandals. I won’t pretend like I haven’t imagined this scenario a million times in my head: Logan spots me down the hallway and rushes toward me, unable to hide his feelings any longer.
    But this is reality, and his eyes are currently fixated on Alyssa.
    I realize that I’m literally holding my breath in anticipation.
    What if he doesn’t notice? What if he doesn’t say anything?
    Man, you can cover up a lot on a girl, but you can’t hide ugly desperation.
    “Hey there …” Logan lights up as he comes over to give Alyssa a quick kiss. His eyes flicker to me, then back to Alyssa, then …
    “Lexi?” He looks at Alyssa again.
    She’s nodding at him to confirm what he’s seeing. It’s almost like I can hear what she’s trying to say to him, “I know, can you believe it? Lexi’s a girl. Who knew?”
    “Hey!” His voice shoots up really high. He clears his throat. “Hey, what’s up?”
    “Not much.” I smile wide at him, almost daring him to pretend like he doesn’t notice anything.
    “You … um,” he stammers.
    “Doesn’t Lexi look ah -mazing?” Alyssa practically squeals. Like I’m some new doll she gets to play with.
    He nods. “Yeah, you look great. I, um, need to get …”
    Alyssa looks at the clock. “Yikes! We better get going. And, Lexi, can’t wait to talk to you more. You have to teach me how you got your eyelashes so big!”
    I give her