Kieran Scott - Shes So Dead to Us

First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Simon and Schuster UK Ltd
A CBS COMPANY

Originally published in the USA 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young
Readers an imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division. 1230
Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020.

www.simonandschuster.co.uk

Text copyright Kieran Viola 2010

This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.

The right of Kieran Viola to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988.

Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
1st Floor, 222 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either
the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-85707-044-9
eBook ISBN: 978-0-85707-045-6

Printed and bound in the UK.

For Matt and Brady

Am I running some kind of geriatric summer camp here? Coach shouted. Lets hustle!

I didnt hustle. I looked at Hammond and he rolled his eyes. I hate laps. If youre going to make us run distance, at least let us out on the streets. What am I, some kind of lab rat scampering in circles for your block of cheese? Upperclassmen, at least, shouldnt have to do this shit. It was so fucking hot out. And my brain was fried. And I still had three hours of practice ahead of me and back-to-school shopping with my mom tonight and all I could think about was the girl who used to live in my room.

The girl was hot. Not, like, model hot, but hot. I like a girl who dresses down. Who doesnt need all those bows and doilies and jewelry and crapcause she knows shes hot without it. And the ponytail? That sealed it. She even had those little curls behind her ear just, like, touching her neck.... Shit. So effing sexy. All night, I couldnt stop thinking about her. I mean, she used to sleep in my room. How could I not think about that?

Dude, thats ten, Hammond said, smacking me in the chest with the back of his hand.

Thank God.

We grabbed paper cups full of water and dropped down on the grass to watch the stragglers.

Jonah! Pick it up! I shouted at my brother. Just to be a dick. He was a freshman, and all freshmen and varsity virgins get hazed. He shot me an annoyed look but sprinted the last turn. Hammond laughed and crushed his cup before tossing it onto the ground.

Look at that little fucker, he said, nodding at David Drake, who had finished ahead of us and was now running stairs on the bleachers, for no apparent reason. He doesnt watch out, hes gonna get a kick in the head.

Maybe hes on something, I suggested, not at all serious.

Last year David Drake had been the most pathetic player on J V. This year hed added at least ten pounds of muscle and had shown some respectable skill on the field. It was obvious hed been working his ass off all summer, which I respect. Not everyone cares that much. I know I dont. But Drake didnt live on the crest, and he still had the balls to play soccer, which around here was a Crestie sport. So that meant Hammond didnt like him.

Which brought up a question. Where was the new-old girl living? As far as I knew, none of the Crestie families had moved this summer. I glanced sideways at Hammond. What do you know about the girl who used to live in my house? I asked.

Hammonds head whipped up so fast I heard a crack. What about her?

Who is she? I asked. Were you, like, friends with her?

Why? What do you know?

I stared at him. Why was he so tense all of a sudden? She came over yesterday, I said. Guess she wanted to see her old place or something.

Shut the fuck up. You saw Ally Ryan? Hammond shifted position. He reminded me of a dog waiting for a treat. A pit bull German shepherd mix. The kind of dog that would take the Milk-Bone out of your hand and then bite your fingers off just for fun.

Yeah, I said. Ally Ryan. Her name was Ally Ryan. AllyRyanAllyRyanAllyRyan. Wait. Ally Ryan. Ive heard that name before.

She comes up every once in a while, Hammond said.

Right. Now I remembered. She was the girl in the picture in Shannens room. The one of a whole mess of Crestie girls taken at the country club pool in, like, sixth grade. Id asked Shannen about her once, and she hadnt wanted to talk about her. Interesting.

Dude. How did she look? Hammond asked.

I didnt like his tone. He was practically licking his chops. Fine. Good. Whatever. I dont know what she looked like before.

Is she hot? Hammond asked.

I lifted a shoulder. Shes all right.

Hammond eyed me for a long moment. I stared straight ahead at the field, where the coaches were lining up cones for drills. My face was burning. I hoped I was already red from running so Hammond wouldnt realize why.

Dude, you dont want to go there, Hammond said.

I sucked down the rest of my water. Who said I was going anywhere?

Good. Because Ally Ryan is, like, enemy number one.

What? What does that even mean? I asked.

Short version? Two years ago her father screwed all our families out of a load of money and then left town, Hammond said. We were all friends before that. You know, Sunday dinners and all that shit.

She comes to Sunday dinners? I asked. I dreaded the stupid Sunday dinner tradition. My mother had campaigned for over a year to get my family invited to them, and once we were in I still had no idea why. It was all so fake, the crest families gathering once a week for a homemade five-course meal like we were one, big, happy family. We didnt even know these people existed two years ago, but now all of a sudden my mothers happiness hinged on whether or not Mrs. Appleby approved of her banana crme pie or whether Mrs. Kirkpatrick broke her vegan rule for Moms roast. I had an okay time with my friends, but the formal setting always made everyone act like tools, like Faith flirting with the wait staff or Shannen trying to sneak alcohol between courses or the Idiot Twins, well, being themselves, only ten times louder. I was constantly counting the seconds until dessert was cleared and we could bail. But I had a feeling I could tolerate Sunday nights a lot better if Ally were there.

Came . Past tense, dude, Hammond said. Look, everyone hates the Ryans. Her dad is the reason Shannens father is on a permanent bender. Hes the reason I have no college money and Liam had to take out freaking student loans. Trevor and Todd lost their house because of him.