Free The Comeback by Marlene Perez Page B

the rest of the period to kill. I made a list of the information I’d managed to glean about Angie.
    Drama was the most important extracurricular activity she was in.
    She was an only child, like me. Her parents were rich.
    She’d gone to Adams Middle School.
    Slim pickings as far as information went. I tapped my pencil against my teeth as I thought about my options.
    Adams Middle School. That was it! I started thinking about my own hideous appearance back then. There had to be something I could use there.
    During morning break, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Stephanie’s number again. I left a brief, innocuous message on her home phone. She and Angie had seemed chummy at the swim meet. Maybe she knew something I could use.
    Stephanie still hadn’t called by the weekend. On Saturday, Monet and I were hanging out in her room when the doorbell rang, but she didn’t move to get it.
    I looked at her inquiringly.
    She shrugged. “It’s for Dev. Beth’s coming over.”
    â€œI thought they weren’t serious,” I said. I don’t know why the thought of them alone in Dev’s bedroom bothered me so much, but it did.
    â€œThey’re not,” she said. “I don’t know what he sees in her, anyway.”
    â€œShe’s cute,” I replied. “And athletic. So they have that in common.”
    â€œShe has the personality of wet spaghetti,” Monet replied. “I never thought Dev would go for the doormat type.”
    When we went downstairs to get snacks, Dev was sitting at the kitchen table reading a comic book.
    â€œWhere’s Beth?” Monet said.
    â€œShe left,” Dev said. “She just came by to get some history notes.” He went back to his comic.
    â€œShouldn’t you be studying your blocking?” I said, rejoicing in the fact that they weren’t holed up in his room with the door closed.
    â€œGot it nailed,” he said. “What about you?”
    â€œAlmost,” I said. In reality, I was memorizing Angie’s stage moves as well as my own, which meant it was taking me a little longer.
    â€œGive me a call if you want to study,” he said. “I could always use the extra practice.”
    Monet grabbed a bag of Cheetos and some sodas. “Are you done monopolizing my friend?” she said.
    He said, “Not quite. So, Sophie, what did you think about—?”
    He didn’t finish his sentence because Monet smacked him with the Cheetos bag.
    â€œHey, I was going to eat those,” I said.
    Dev snickered. “Be my guest.”
    When I got home, the answering machine in the kitchen was blinking, but I ignored it. No one called me on that line.
    I checked for messages on my cell, but there weren’t any, yet another sign of my waning popularity. But even more vexing was Stephanie’s lack of response. I mean, it wasn’t like she had anything better to do than call me.
    I was in my room when Mom got home from work. “Sophie, there’s a message from Stephanie on the phone downstairs.”
    Stephanie turned out to be the information jackpot. Angie had gone to Adams with her and theyhad both attended Eisenhower before Angie transferred to Kennedy.
    I did my nails as she talked, listening with only half an ear while she rambled on and on about how wonderful Angie was. I was trying to decide between pale pink or a bright orange when something she said caught my attention.
    â€œAnd we even went to fat camp together the summer before eighth grade. I lost fifteen pounds,” Stephanie bragged, “but Angie lost thirty.”
    Fat camp? I didn’t have any room to talk, especially since I hadn’t been exactly model thin myself in those days. Still wasn’t, but I’d learned to make the most of what I had. So had Angie. But could I use it against her? I couldn’t sink so low, could I?
    Apparently, I could.
    â€œDo you happen to have any pictures of you and