Lauren Barnholdt - Two-way Street

Also from Lauren Barnholdt

and Simon Pulse

Reality Chick

And for younger readers

The Secret Identity

of Devon Delaney

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SIMON PULSE

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Copyright 2007 by Lauren Barnholdt

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks

of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Designed by Mike Rosamilia

Library of Congress Control Number 2007920201

ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-5477-4

ISBN-10: 1-4169-5477-5

Visit us on the World Wide Web:

http://www.SimonSays.com

For my sister, Kelsey, because she begged

and begged to have a book dedicated to her

(and also because shes amazing and wonderful

and makes my book signings a lot more fun)

My agent, Nadia Cornier, who puts up with my scandalous-ness on a daily basis and never freaks out about it;

Michelle Nagler, editor extraordinaire, for pushing me to take my books to a whole other level, and for being amazing to work with;

My mom, as always, for being my biggest inspiration; My sister, Krissi, for always keeping me amused with her text messages; Robyn Schneider, Kevin Cregg, Kiersten Loerzel, Rob Kean, Abby McDonald, and Scott Neumyer, for being wonderful friends;

My dad, my grandparents, and my whole extended family for all the amazing support; Aaron Gorvine, for always listening to me, keeping me sane, and constantly telling me not to blog about him;

And, most of all, everyone who readReality Chick and emailed me to tell me they liked it, befriended me on MySpace, or left me a blog comment. You guys rock!

courtneythe trip

Day One, 8:07 a.m.

Im a traitor to my generation. Seriously. All we hear about these days is being strong women and standing up for ourselves, and now look what Ive done. I should totally be one of those true life stories inSeventeen. I Built My Life Around a Boy! And Now I Regret It! Of course, it doesnt pack the emotional punch as some of their previous stories, i.e., I Got An STD Without Having Sex but its important nonetheless.

Youre going to be fine, my mom says, stirring her coffee at the sink. In fact, youre acting a little bit ridiculous.

Im ridiculous? Im ridiculous? How can she say that? Has she lost her mind? Its so completelynot ridiculous to be upset about going on a trip with your ex-boyfriend, when said ex-boyfriend broke your Page 4

heart and left you stranded for some Internet slut. Although I really cant say I know for a fact that shes a slut. But Im pretty sure she is. I mean, scamming on guys on the Internet? I thought that was only for forty-year-old divorces who Photoshop their pictures in an effort to appear younger and thinner. Not to mention what was HE thinking? An eighteen-year-old guy who could have any girl he wanted, having to resort to Internet dating? But maybe thats the problem with guys who can have any girl they want. One is never enough.

I didnt say youwere ridiculous, my mom says. I said youreacting ridiculous.

Theres really no difference, I tell her. Its like if someone says Youre acting like a cheater, its because youre cheating. Which means youre a cheater. Like Jordan. Although I suppose technically he isnt a cheater, because he broke up with me before he started dating the Internet girl. In my mind, I still think of him as being a cheater. Otherwise, he just met some girl he liked better, and its not as dramatic.

Courtney, you begged and begged to go on this trip, my mom says.

So? Thats her big justification for calling me ridiculous? Is she kidding? Teenagers beg and beg for stuff all the timenose rings, tattoos that say Badass. Never a good idea. My parents are supposed to be the voices of reason, steering me on the right path at all times. Theyre obviously insane to have agreed to this plan in the first place. I mean, what was I thinking? Making plans to drive over a thousand miles to college with a boy months before we were supposed to go? Everyone knows the average high school relationship is shorter than an episode ofTRL. Youre the mother, I say. You should have known this was a horrible idea. Im hoping to lay a guilt trip on her, but shes not having it.

Oh, please, she says, rolling her eyes. How was I supposed to know he was going to break up with you? Im not psychic. Nor do I know the habits of Internet chat rooms.

It wasnt a CHAT ROOM, I say. It was MySpace. No one hangs out in chat rooms anymore.

Although why some girl would want to date Jordan based on his MySpace page is beyond me. The song he chose for his profile is Lets All Get Drunk Tonight by Afroman.

Right, my mom says, taking a sip of her coffee. My parents are trying to teach me some kind of lesson.

They dont think its right that they would have to pay more than five hundred dollars for a last-minute plane ticket from Florida to Massachusetts, when Im the one who convinced them to let me go on this trip. Plus, my mom thinks this whole thing is typical teen angst, one of those situations portrayed on a teen sitcom thats resolved in a half hour of laughs and mishaps. You know, where the girl gets dumped, but then realizes by the end of the show that shes better off without him, and then hooks up with some other hottie whos much better for her, while the guy who broke her heart ends up all alone, wishing he had her back. That is definitely not happening. In fact, its kind of the other way around. Jordan is having tons of fun with his MySpace girl, while Im the one sitting around, wishing I hadhim back.

I sigh and stare out the kitchen window, looking for Jordans TrailBlazer. Its 8:07, and he was supposed to be here at eight, which makes me think that: a) hes late

b) hes acting like an asshole and blowing me off

or

c) hes gotten into a horrible car crash thats left him dead.

The most likely answer is A. (We went to the prom together, and the limo had to wait in his driveway for half an hour. At the end of the night, we got charged for an extra hour. Heread: his parentspaid for it, but still.) Although Im all about option C. Okay, maybe not the dead part. Just, like, a broken leg or something. I mean, his parents have always been really nice to me and I would feel horrible if they lost their youngest child. Even if he is a liar and a cheat.

Do you want some coffee? my mom asks, which is ridiculous because she knows I dont drink coffee.

Coffee stunts your growth. Im only five-foot-two, and Im still holding out hope that Ill grow another few inches. Plus Im tense enough. Getting me all hyped up on caffeine is definitely not a good idea.

No thanks, I say, looking out the window again. I feel a lump rising in my throat, and I ignore it. He wouldnt blow me off, would he? I mean, thats so screwed up. Although if he did, that means I wouldnt have to go with him. Which would be great. If he stood me up, my parents would have no choice but to let me book a flight and take it to Boston. Which is what they should have let me do in the first place.