Free Princess In Love by Meg Cabot Page A

ever considered,' I demanded, 'that maybe the reason I didn't tell him I love him back is because I—'
    I almost said it. Really. I did. I almost said that I don't love Kenny.
    But I couldn't. Because if I'd said that, somehow it would have gotten back to Kenny and that would be even worse than my breaking up with him. I couldn't do it.
    So all I said instead was, 'Lilly, you know perfectly well I do not fear commitment. I mean, there are lots boys I—'
    'Oh, yeah?' Lilly seemed to be enjoying herself way more than usual. It was almost as if she was playing to an audience.
    Which, of course, she was. The audience of her brother and his girlfriend. 'Name one.'
    'One what?'
    'Name a boy that you could see yourself committing to for all eternity.'
    'What do you want - a list?' I asked her.
    'A list would be nice,' Lilly said.
    So I drew up the following list:
     
    Guys Mia Thermopolis Could See Herself Committing To for All Eternity
    1. Wolverine of the X-men.
    2. That Gladiator guy.
    3. Will Smith.
    4. Tarzan from the Disney cartoon.
    5. The Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
    6. That hot soldier guy from Mulan.
    7.
    
    
    
    
    The guy Brendan Fraser played in The Mummy.
    8. Angel.
    9. Tom on Daria.
    10.
    
    
    Justin Baxendale.
     
    But this list turned out to be no good, because Lilly totally took it and analyzed it, and it works out that half the guys on it are actually cartoon characters; one is a vampire, and one is a mutant who can make spikes shoot out of his knuckles.
    In fact, except for Will Smith and Justin Baxendale - the good-looking senior who just transferred from Trinity and who a lot
    of girls at Albert Einstein High School are already in love with — all the guys I listed are fictional creations. Apparently, the
    fact that I could list no guy I had a hope of actually getting together with - or who even lives in the third dimension — is indicative of something.
    Not, of course, indicative of the fact that the guy I like was actually in the room at the time, sitting next to his new girlfriend,
    and so I couldn't list him.
    Oh, no. Nobody thought of that.
    No, the lack of actual attainable men on my list was apparently indicative of my unrealistic expectations where men are concerned, and further proof of my inability to commit.
    Lilly says if I don't lower my expectations somewhat I am destined for an unsatisfactory love life.
    As if the way things have been going, I've ever expected anything else.
    Kenny just tossed me this note:
    Mia -I'm sorry about what happened today in the hattway. I understand now that I
    
    
     embarrassed you. Sometimes 1 forget that even though you are a princess, you are still quite introverted. 1 promise never to do anything of the sort again. Can 1 make it up to you by taking you to lunch at 'Big Wong on Thursday? - Kenny
     
    I said yes, of course. Not just because I really like Big Wong's steamed vegetable dumplings, or even because I don't want people thinking I fear commitment. I didn't even say yes because I suspect that, over dumplings and hot tea, Kenny is finally going to ask me to the Non-Denominational Winter Dance.
    I said yes because, in spite of it all, I really do like Kenny, and I don't want to hurt his feelings.
    And I'd feel the same way even if I weren't a princess and always had to do the right thing.
     
    Homework:
    Algebra: review questions at the end of Chapters 4—7
    English: term paper
    World Civ.: review questions at the end of Chapters 5-9
    G & T: none
    French: review questions at the end of Chapters 4—6
    Biology: review questions at the end of Chapters 6-8
     
     
     
    Tuesday, December 8, 4 p.m.,
    in the limo on the Way to the Plaza
    The following conversation took place between Mr. Gianini and me today after Algebra review:
    Mr G:
    
    Mia, is everything all right?
    Me: (Surprised)
    
    Yes. Why wouldn't it be?
    Mr G:
    
    Well, it's just that I thought you'd pretty much grasped the FOIL method, but on today's pop quiz you got all five problems