Free The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt Page A

I would like to make a macaroni necklace, please.”
    “Not right now, Kates,” my mom says. She takes the box of macaroni from Katie and sets it by the stove. “Maybe after dinner.”
    “Okay,” Katie says, shrugging, which I find slightly disappointing. I was half-hoping Katie would start pitching a fit, therefore sparing me any more embarrassing questions from my mom about my love life.
    “So your boyfriend’s name is Jared,” my mom says, studying me. She wanders over to the stove and pulls a pan down from the cabinet overhead, then heads to the sink and starts filling it with water.

    “No,” I say. “Jared is not my boyfriend.” Again, depending on who you ask.
    “But he went to the mall with you,” my mom says slowly. She sets the pot on the stove and turns on the burner.
    “Yup,” Katie says. “He went to the mall.” Since when did my sister become Page Six? She pulls her gold medal out of the pocket of her shorts and hands it to me. “Devon,” she instructs, “crown me the winner.”
    “Yes, he went to the mall with me,” I tell my mom. I slip the piece of cardboard around Katie’s neck. “Katherine Grace Delaney, I now pronounce you winner of the gold medal in soccer for the third year in row. The United States thanks you for being such a good athlete and bestowing this honor upon our nation.” Katie puts her hand over her heart and starts humming the national anthem softly to herself. “Anyway,” I say, turning back to my mom. “Luke is going to come over tomorrow so we can work on our project, okay?”
    “I guess it’s okay,” my mom says. She bites her lip. “Devon, if you’re interested in boys, that’s okay. It’s normal at your age.”
    “Mom,” I say, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

    “Okay,” she says, sounding doubtful. I wonder what my mom would think if she knew what was really going on, all the lying and the manipulating. I don’t think she’d be too pleased. I take a deep breath and try to push those thoughts to the back of my mind. It’s going to be fine. In fact, things are going great. I just have to give it a few days, keep Jared away from Lexi, stage a fake breakup, and everything will go back to the way it was. I have everything under control.
    The phone rings again, and Katie hops down from the kitchen chair that she’s using as a podium and grabs it. “Delaney household, this is Katie speaking, how may I help you please?” She pauses and then holds the phone out to me. “It’s for you Devon. It’s Melissa. You left her on the other line. Not very nice.” She hands me the phone and hops away happily. Everything under control. Right.
    “This afternoon is going to be so fun, Devi!” Lexi squeals the next morning before homeroom. I’m standing in front of my locker, trying to figure out what books I need for the morning. My eyes feel scratchy and tired, like someone rubbed them with sandpaper. I had a hard time sleeping last night. Probably becauseof all the stress. Plus I got to bed late. I was up trying to find something to wear to school. I went through all my clothes at least a thousand times, but I couldn’t find anything that seemed cool enough. I couldn’t even find a way to make any of my summer clothes warmer. They should really teach us more about sewing our own clothes in home and careers. Right now all we learn how to do is hem and sew on buttons. Which is useless, because I’m trying to make my clothes warmer, not shorter.
    “Yes, Lexi,” I say, my voice purposely low so maybe she’ll get the hint that it’s good to be quiet. Speaking of voices, my Devi voice still comes and goes. Sometimes I remember to use it, sometimes I don’t. I sound like guys do when their voice is changing. Except I’m a girl. So it’s not exactly the best sound. No one’s said anything yet, but I’m just waiting for one of them to bust out with, “DEVON, WHY DO YOU KEEP SWITCHING YOUR VOICE?” It’s like pretending to have an accent or