Free Twice the Talent by Belle Payton Page B

done with dancing today!”

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
    â€œHey, Alex.”
    Corey slid in front of Alex as she took books out of her locker Monday morning.
    â€œOh, hey,” Alex said, trying to sound casual and cool. Inside, she was doing a happy dance. She and Corey had only been bumping into each other since the Christmas party. She had been starting to wonder if he was avoiding her.
    â€œSo . . . ,” Corey began, looking at her briefly before moving his gaze to his shoes. “I was wondering, do you want to hang out today? After school? With me?”
    Alex let the words sink in. She restrainedherself from jumping up and down and saying, “Yes! Yes!”
    â€œYeah, sure,” she replied. “Today works really well for me, actually, because I don’t have a student council meeting and I don’t have to do anything for the Variety Show and Ava doesn’t have a basketball game,” she babbled on.
    Corey nodded when she finally stopped talking. “Cool. Maybe we can go to the park or something.”
    Alex smiled. “That would be nice!”
    â€œOkay, so, um, I’ll see you later,” Corey said, a little awkwardly, and then he walked away.
    Alex practically floated to her first-period class. Her good mood lasted exactly until third period, when, before class started, Mrs. Bridges motioned for Alex to come to her desk.
    â€œAlex, I need to see you and Max back here after school,” she said.
    â€œBut I—” Alex started to protest, but Mrs. Bridges held up her right hand.
    â€œNo excuses, please, Alex,” the teacher said. “This is serious.”
    Alex sighed and nodded. “I’ll be there.”
    She walked to her desk, passing Max along the way. He avoided her gaze, and Alex suddenly felt angry with him again. Thanks to him, she’dhave to cancel hanging out with Corey. Why had she even bothered to help him in the first place?
    When lunchtime came, Alex looked for Corey in the cafeteria. He and his friends were sitting at a different table from Alex’s friends today, so she had to walk across the room to talk to him. He lit up with a smile when he saw her, which only made Alex feel more terrible about what she had to say.
    â€œCorey, I’m sorry, but I actually can’t hang out today,” she said, and his smile quickly faded. “I totally forgot. I have to work on my social studies project with Max.”
    It was a lie, but just a little one. She didn’t want to tell Corey about the cheating. That wouldn’t be fair to Max, even though it was his fault they had to go talk to Mrs. Bridges after school.
    â€œOh,” Corey said. “So, maybe some other time?”
    â€œYeah, definitely,” Alex said.
    As she walked over to her lunch table, she scolded herself. I should have suggested another day! she realized. Who knew when Corey would ask her again? Should she ask him?
    â€œYou look like a sad puppy,” Emily said when Alex sat down next to her.
    Alex looked over at Lindsey. She was busy talking with Charlotte, so Alex lowered her voice.
    â€œI’m just disappointed, because Corey asked me to hang out today after school, and first I said yes, but then I had to cancel because I found out I have to do something else,” she confided.
    â€œSomething better than hanging out with Corey?” Emily asked.
    Alex sighed. “No. Definitely not better,” she replied, and she didn’t say anything more. She hadn’t told anybody about Max’s cheating—not even Ava. How could she explain that she was covering for a cheater? A cheater who was causing problems for her with Lindsey and Corey? She wasn’t even sure why she was doing it.
    Alex couldn’t wait until the day was over and she could get the meeting with Max and Mrs. Bridges over with. She’d walk away with a warning, finish up the project with Max, and then she’d be done.
    Max was already sitting in