So Into You [The Jane Austen Academy Series #2] (10 page)

"Josh . . . Josh . . . Josh . . ." she hiccupped, unable to finish the sentence. Ellie flipped on the light and Emma buried her face in the pillow. Ellie pulled her up so she was sitting. Her cheeks were stained black from running mascara and her nose was an ugly red from crying.

"What happened to Josh?" Ellie sat beside her and rubbed her back in circles.

"Josh . . . dumped me!"

"What—but . . . what do you mean? Like you had an official breakup talk but not an official going-out talk?"

This only made Emma wail. She pointed to the laptop at the foot of her bed. Ellie pulled it up and noticed it was loaded to a video. She pressed Play.

A hot girl in a sparkly dress and a microphone introduced herself as "reporting live from the Teen Movie Awards."

The camera panned back to reveal a red carpet and then did a quick shot to different celebrities in suits, skirts, and awesome outfits.

Then there was a close-up of Josh—only he had another girl on his arm. One Ellie recognized from other movies, although she couldn’t remember her name.

"Is that his girlfriend?" Ellie asked.

"I don’t know," Emma wailed. She pulled her phone out of her purse and pulled up a text message from Josh.

Sorry. Had to bail.

"Oh no, Emma." Ellie crawled onto the bed next to her and gave her a hug. "Screw him, okay. It’s his loss. Screw all guys."

Emma hiccupped on a laugh. "That’s so unlike you. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the feeling. But all guys? Even Edward?"

Especially Edward
, she wanted to say. "I met Edward’s girlfriend today."

"His
what
?" Emma shouted.

"His girlfriend." Ellie forced a cheerful smile. "Her name is Lucy. She seemed very nice. She came with his parents."

"She came with his—he has a—how can you be so calm?" Emma stormed to her feet and angrily paced. "Men are so . . .
urgh
. Just . . .
uuugh!
Maybe I should have expected this from Josh. He’s a shallow movie star—and you know there are rumors he tried to seduce Georgiana, but she was having none of that."

Ellie did not feel Emma would want to be reminded that she was the one who had brought that very rumor to her attention, but she’d discounted it.

"But Edward? He played the nice guy role. And all this time, he had a girlfriend. What a hypocrite!"

"Actually, he never said he was into me," Ellie said. "If anything, I was in the wrong."

"Don’t even," Emma said. "Don’t even blame yourself."

"But Edward did nothing wrong—be fair."

"I am being fair, more than fair," Emma said. "In fact . . ." Emma’s eyes lit up as she spotted something in the courtyard. "I’m going to give Edward a piece of my mind."

"Emma, no!" Ellie chased Emma as she ran into the hall and headed for the courtyard. She had no idea how Emma was outrunning her, since she had half the leg and was in double the heel, but somehow her friend outpaced her.

Edward dragged two suitcases behind him—probably toward the parking lot.

"You! Ferris!" Emma said, pointing at him. "Yeah, you!"

Edward dropped the bags as Emma approached.

Ellie gasped as she ran up. "Emma—Emma, get back here."

Ellie noticed Lucy just behind Edward. She stopped and rested her hand at his hip. Ellie felt a cold fist squeeze her heart.

"Is this Lucy?" Emma asked.

"Something wrong, Emma?" Edward asked, his voice dangerously low as he glanced between Emma and Ellie.

"You tell me," Emma said.

"I don’t think we’ve met." Lucy stepped forward and held out her hand with a bright smile.

Emma stared at it, but good manners must have won, because she shook it.

"Emma is my roommate," Ellie said quickly as she finally reached them. "I was just telling her about meeting you and Edward’s parents."

"I love your shoes," Lucy said. "They’re from his spring collection, aren’t they?"

Emma frowned at the compliment. "Yes."

"I knew I couldn’t pull them off so I didn’t get them, but you look great in them!"

"Oh. Well. Thank you." Emma shook her head. "Wait, where are you going, Ferris?"

"Back home for the weekend with my parents."

Ellie remembered—he’d said they would talk on Sunday when he returned. He was probably going to tell her to leave him alone, to stop stalking him and throwing herself at him.

"I’m so excited," Lucy said. "Have you told them yet, Edward?"

"Not yet." Edward suddenly seemed very tired, as tired as Ellie felt.

"Told us what?" Ellie asked.

Lucy squealed and clapped her hands. "My parents finally gave in. I’m transferring to the Jane Austen Academy to be with Edward. I start Monday."

Chapter Six

The next couple of weeks crept by. Ellie’s days became a slow chug of kitchen cleanup, classes, and studying for the next achievement test in Winter. Every day she watched Edward walk Lucy to class and pretended it didn’t bother her. Every day she supported Lizzie as she alternated between plotting against Dante’s parents and begging for their forgiveness. Every day she talked Emma out of slashing Josh’s tires or asking him to take her back. Every day she chatted with her parents and heard their cheerful voices and wished she could feel as cheerful.

"Are you getting enough sleep?" Her mother peered at her through her laptop screen.

"Yes," Ellie lied.

"Don’t forget—we’re never more at work than when we are sleeping. That’s when the body repairs and heals," her mother sang. "Your father and I are doing a month-long focus on using
asanas
to assist in body healing."

Ellie wanted to ask if there was an asana for a broken heart. A magical pose that when held for long enough would free her from the heartache of still wanting Edward and feeling like she was so distant from her friends.

It would be just the kind of thing to get her back into yoga.

"Did you get the school brochures?" her mother asked.

"Equity Academy looks great." In fact, the school was even more modern than Jasta, from the sleek steel building to the computer labs in each classroom. But she couldn’t imagine loving it the same.

Lizzie stuck her head in the door. "Assembly time."

"Gotta go, Mom." Ellie kissed the tips of her fingers and touched the lens on her laptop.

"Love you, sweetie," her mom said. "Think about coming for a visit, okay? You should get a feel for the school before you transfer."

"No weekends free, mom. Sorry."

"Well, if the universe’s will is—"

"Yep, then I’ll be there," Ellie said.

Lizzie was frowning at her when she turned around. "You’re not really going to think about visiting the school, are you? You have to tell them you want to stay."

Ellie didn’t meet Lizzie’s eyes as she pulled back her hair. "It makes her feel better to hear I’m still thinking about it. I want to break it gently."

They walked toward the main auditorium, joined partway by Anne and Emma. All of them slowed when they saw Lucy waiting for them at the auditorium entrance.

"Hi," Lucy said with an enthusiastic wave. She had her backpack on and pulled the straps tight. "What is this—our third assembly in the past couple of weeks? It’s like you guys have one every day."

"We like to keep informed and involved," Lizzie said coldly.

"I didn’t mean—"

Lizzie walked past her. Anne gave an apologetic smile. Emma turned up her nose. Both of them sidestepped Lucy to get to the auditorium. Ellie didn’t want them to be mean to the girl. Not on her account. It wasn’t Lucy’s fault that Ellie had been too eager to believe Edward was interested.

"I don’t think they like me." Lucy watched the girls walk to the front row where Lizzie always held court.

"They don’t know you yet," Ellie said.

"It was hard being away from Edward, but being here is hard, too." Lucy shrugged her backpack off her shoulders, as if realizing she didn’t need it. "Leaving behind my friends—they all thought I was crazy."

"It is pretty crazy," Ellie admitted.

"I know, but . . . Edward and I have been friends since we were babies. And we’ve dated for years. He’s as much a part of my life as any of my friends. When he left, he left behind this hole that I just couldn’t fill with anyone else. Have you ever felt that way?"

Ellie nodded, swallowing the catch in her throat. What right did she have to Edward when Lucy had known him forever?

"Thanks for being nice to me," Lucy said. "It makes it easier, you know. If you ever need help with anything—I notice you have kitchen duty."

"It’s fine," Ellie said quickly. "I’m fine. I better join my friends."

She walked away—the last thing she needed was more guilt. It was her fault the girls were ignoring Lucy and she hadn’t exactly insisted they stop, because if she did . . . well, what if they liked her? What if she lost
them
to Lucy, too?

Ellie tried to brush aside her guilt, but it ate at her as she joined her friends in the front row.

"What did she want?" Lizzie asked.

"Nothing," Ellie said. "She’s lonely is all."

"Then she should go back home."

The crowd settled as Kat, the drama queen redhead from the school plays, bounded onto the stage and waved. "Thanks for coming, everyone! Take a seat, take a seat. I’m here to announce details for the Halloween Masquerade Ball! Can I get some applause?"

The student body clapped.

Lizzie squeezed Anne’s shoulder reassuringly. Anne used to be in charge of all the school dances, but after her parents had sold Jasta, the responsibility had been delegated and split between multiple students.

"So I have the best theme idea ever," Kat was saying. "Are you ready? Can I get a drumroll?"

There was a moment of silence, but then Edward jumped to stand on top of his seat and began a beat-box drumroll by cupping his hands over his mouth.

Ellie laughed. It was classic Edward, but her cheer was followed by a low ache in her heart. Lucy tugged at Edward’s arm, as if she was embarrassed by him. How could she be embarrassed when he was so funny and adorable and it was clear everyone loved him?

"Thank you, thank you." Kat stole back the spotlight. "So the theme is—rock stars! We’ll have rock star karaoke, no no, no groaning!" Kat smiled kindly down at the audience. "Everyone is going to have a shot at being a rock star at the Ball. We
will
have rock star karaoke. Rock star costumes. And a rock star prize—a thousand dollars to the best costume, kindly donated by sponsors on behalf of Headmistress Berg."

Ellie sat up in her seat. A thousand dollars? That, combined with the Winter Academic Achievement Award meant she could quit her job – or stay through Spring even if Fanny did manage to outdo her.

She glanced over to Emma, who was already nodding. "We’ll make sure ours is the best."

* * *

"The key to winning is knowing your judges," Emma said.

"I’ll be sure to tell that to the judge at our trial." Ellie ran behind Emma down the trail away from the main building toward the woods.

Emma glanced back with a stern glare without breaking stride. "Let’s not plan on getting caught."

They slowed when the white front door of Headmistress Berg’s cottage came into view, as if she might materialize like a witch. Ellie couldn’t shake the bad taste in her mouth as she chewed her cheek.

"You’re sure she won’t be back?" Ellie asked.

"Knight promised to keep her busy for at least fifteen minutes."

"That’s awfully nice of him."

Emma rattled the door and, of course, found it locked. Ellie wouldn’t have been surprised if Emma had dropped to her knees and whipped out a lock-picking kit, but instead she crept to the side of the cottage, ducking behind and between rose bushes and lavender shrubs. Ellie followed, wincing as the brambles pricked her skin and scratched her legs.

Emma, it seemed, had been smart enough to wear leggings and long sleeves before their criminal outing. Something snagged tight in Ellie’s hair and she yanked, feeling the pull at her scalp.

"Are we there yet?" she asked in exasperation.

Emma reached the back window and slipped her hand into the half-inch opening at the bottom. With a grunt, she forced the window up higher in slipped inches.

Against her better judgment, Ellie reached up to help. Together, they were able to push the window halfway open.

"Are you sure about this?" Ellie asked.

In response, Emma climbed through headfirst and landed gracefully on soft feet. Ellie crawled in after, somehow upending herself so her hands hit the floor first and she had to scoot forward like a wheelbarrow before she crash-landed in a heap on the floor. She stood and pushed her hair out of her face, spitting out the strands that had made their way into her mouth.