Page 18 (1/2)

She worried, suddenly, what on earth she’d just gotten herself into

Chapter 15

WHAT YOU SEE ISN’T WHAT YOU GET

On Sunday , Emily did all her laundry, cleaned her bathroom, read a chapter of history homework, and even voluntarily went to church with her mother, all to avoid a certain phone call But by 2 PM, after she’d driven Beth to the airport for her flight to Tucson, walked her to security, and driven ho

Finally, she dialed Spencer’s nuht She’d gone over it in her head a million times, and there was no reason someone as awesome as Kay, someone whom Emily had connected with instantly, soile and vulnerable, could be A

"E like her typical tightly wound self

"Hey" Emily bit down hard on her pinkie nail, her heart suddenly racing "U I need to tell you It’s about Kelsey"

Spencer paused "What about her?"

"Well, this is going to sound weird, but I actually met her the other day At a party Completely randomly She introduced herself as Kay, but when you showed me that picture yesterday, it was definitely her"

Spencer gasped "She sometimes went by that--the letter K, for Kelsey Why didn’t you say anything last night? This is proof that she’s stalking us!"

E furrows in her forehead, and her cheeks were red, the way she always looked when she felt conflicted It see i her tone of voice that way because she felt guilty of that very thing "I-I don’t knohy I didn’t say anything," she said "I guess because she see me didn’t seem premeditated at all And I don’t think she has a clue who I am or that I’m friends with you There’s no way she can be A"

"Of course she’s A!" Spencer cried with such volume that Emily moved the phone away from her ear "Eet all of us Can’t you see that?"

"I think you’re being paranoid," E by the atch a spider build a silken web "And honestly, I can’t believe you fraht about the remorseful look that had crossed Kay’s--Kelsey’s--face when they’d talked about how no colleges wanted her, and the undercurrent of shame in her voice when she’d talked about how her parents didn’t trust her

Spencer sighed "Like I said, it’s not like I’m proud of what I did I mean, are you proud of what you did last su straight," she said after ato push her own trouble from last summer out of her mind "A is someone else Sohed et that Kelsey ht have seeerous Stay away fro hurt"

"But--"

"Do this for e" There was a voice in the background on Spencer’s end "I have to go," she said after a pause and then hung up

E

Alain She turned it over, wondering if it was Spencer sending a text, perhaps thinking more rationally But it was an eht?

Sinking onto her bed, Eht about every moment she’d spent with Kay so far Not for one second had she see She wasn’t A There was no way Real Ali was Emily could feel it in her bones

Emily opened a reply Absolutely, she wrote See you soon

A few hours later, E-alley-slash-cocktail-lounge that had a large neon sign of a ball striking ten pins above the entrance She spied Kelsey--E her name had been Kay when really it had just been her first initial, and now she couldn’t think of her by anything other than her full na yellow tunic sweater, and a green anorak with a furry hood She was taking a big swig fro water bottle When Kelsey saw Eold purse, and shot Ehtly off-kilter smile "Ready to bowl?"