Free The Ashley Project by Melissa de La Cruz Page B

mouth before her friend could elaborate further. “He knows him!” she warned, as if she were in a spy movie and Ashley were giving up the goods to the enemy.
    â€œWhat’s the big deal?” asked Ashley, giving Lili a hard pinch. “What could it hurt? Tri’s our buddy,” she went on, giving Tri a big grin. “A walk and stalk. We follow Billy Reddy around after school. It’s our extracurricular. Didn’t A. A. tell you? I thought she told you everything,” she smirked.
    â€œWhat’s the big deal with Billy Reddy?” Tri asked, still looking flabbergasted by the three squealing girls covered with a combination of candy, popcorn, and greenery. He looked to A. A. for help, but she refused to meet his eye.
    â€œWe’re in love. All three of us,” Ashley singsonged.
    â€œWith Billy?” Tri asked, still stubbornly on topic.The way he said it was as if they had declared undying affection for some cheesy boy-band clone. A. A. cringed—he’d never let her hear the end of it when they hung out later. She could just hear his voice now: A. A.’s in love with Billy Reddy, A. A.’s in love with Billy Reddy . . . . She would have to shut him up by killing off all his zombies in record time and showing no mercy.
    â€œYes, with Billy. But you can’t tell him, okay?” Lili said bossily. “Don’t ruin it for us.” She wagged a finger in his face.
    â€œDo I still have leaves in my hair?” asked A. A., trying to change the subject. It was way too awkward talking about Billy with Tri. She wished they could talk about something else, but everyone ignored her.
    Ashley grinned wickedly. “A. A. is convinced her secret online boyfriend is Billy Reddy.”
    That was a low blow. She looked at Ashley, horrified. “That was a secret!” she cried, punching her on the arm. The afternoon after the tea, she had told Ashley the truth about laxjock in a fit of female bonding. Obviously that had been a terrible idea. Ashley could no more keep a secret than shop for things on sale.
    â€œOh. Oops,” Ashley said. “Ow!” She massaged her forearm where A. A. had struck her. “That hurt!”
    â€œWhat secret online boyfriend?” asked Tri, looking keener than ever. A. A. thought his eyes looked like they would bug out of his skull. What, was she not allowed to have secrets of her own? Tri really needed to get a life.
    â€œYeah, what secret online boyfriend? I thought he was a real guy. You mean you’ve never met?” Lili asked, her eyes narrowing. Now you’ve done it, A. A. thought. Lili hated being left out of the loop and would make her pay dearly for keeping secrets from her—especially secrets that Ashley knew.
    â€œWhat’s this, Guantanamo?” A. A. huffed. She could feel herself turning bright red and tried to look bored and indifferent. Of course she didn’t really believe Billy Reddy was laxjock. But if she was completely honest with herself, she secretly hoped he would turn out to be her guy. After all, these were the facts. Fact Number One: His online handle was “laxjock.” And who was the best lacrosse player at Gregory Hall? Billy Reddy, who’d been on the varsity team ever since his freshman year. Fact Number Two: Laxjock went to a private school. Billy Reddy went to Gregory Hall— a private school . Fact Number Three: Laxjock lived in San Francisco. And so did Billy Reddy! Case closed.
    The other night she and laxjock had spent the entireevening IMing each other. He was so easy to talk to, and they talked about everything—how she missed her mom when she went on her crazy adventures around the globe, how she never really talked to her dad since her parents’ divorce, how she was worried she was going to fail math and get kicked out of Miss Gamble’s, how she loved her friends but sometimes wished they would drop dead.
    Now Ashley had blabbed