I Text Dead People Read online

  “I’m Millie,” she said, glancing at Anna’s wet Converse sneakers and ragged-hemmed jeans.

  Anna threw her messenger bag down beside the desk and took a seat. “Anna.”

  Millie had pale skin and blunt bangs that framed wide green eyes and touched the tips of her thick, almost fake-looking lashes. She wore a black rocker tee and leggings.

  The teacher went right into the lesson, so there wasn’t time to say more. Anna looked down at her desk, feeling everyone’s eyes still on her. If there was anything she hated more than fake people, it was being the center of attention.

  Mr. Berkin droned on about the book the class was in the middle of reading while Anna replayed the events of the morning. Something outside caught her eye, but it was only the trees swaying in the wind.

  Then she noticed the boy two rows over and three seats up. He was absently twirling his pencil and looking out the window. A dark jacket covered his hoodie. Anna’s eyes traveled to his shoes. A well-worn pair of dirty Chucks. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who didn’t really fit in here.

  She felt odd staring at him, but she couldn’t help it. His dark hair was a bit on the long side, covering one eye when he looked down, and there was something familiar about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, though.

  “Hey!” someone whispered. Anna felt a pencil poke her in the arm. It was Millie.

  “Huh?”

  Millie ripped a page out of her spiral notebook and thrust it at Anna. The paper had scrawled handwriting in blue ink. “Take it,” she said, shoving it into Anna’s hands.

  “Annabel?” Mr. Berkin cleared his throat.

  “Um…” Anna looked at him like a deer caught in headlights.

  He nodded to the paper she still held in her hand. “I’ll collect your assignment now.”

  Anna looked down at the paper, catching a scent of vanilla hand lotion as Millie took it from her and handed it over. He walked away down the aisle, gathering the assignments from the rest of the students. Anna couldn’t believe she had spaced out the whole time, not realizing she was supposed to be writing.

  Anna turned toward Millie. “Thanks.” She hoped her embarrassment wasn’t as obvious as it felt.

  Millie smiled. “Anytime.”

  Anna’s gaze trailed to her right again. She flinched when she saw him staring at her. Well, not staring, but looking. There was a big difference between the two. The sad thing was, boys rarely, if ever, noticed her.

  His dark eyes were full of curiosity. She stared down at her desk, trying to keep her heartbeat at a calm rhythm while still feeling his eyes on her, but when she looked up, he was looking away.

  The bell rang and Anna grabbed her bag as the boy glanced up at her, the hint of a smile along his lips. As she walked out of the classroom, she turned around in time to see him walk the opposite way with his friends, but not before he looked back over his shoulder with the same odd smile.

  Anna didn’t realize she had stopped in the middle of the hallway until some guy ran into her, pushing against her shoulder. “Watch it,” he muttered.

  “Sorry,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  She made her way through the crowded hall toward her next class. Or so she hoped, since she didn’t actually know where her next class was.

  Welcome to Winchester Academy.

  Lucy Edwards took time getting ready. She even set her alarm earlier than normal so she could look her absolute best. She had to wear just the perfect, mind-blowing dress; arrange her hair in loose, precise curls; and apply just enough makeup to give her naturally pale complexion a sun-kissed glow. After all, she was in love. Not puppy love or an extreme crush. No, this was different. It was the earth-shattering, weak-in-the-knees, stomach-curling type of love that most people would only experience watching a movie. It was a Bella and Edward type of love.

  Her stomach did somersaults in anticipation. Today was their anniversary. Their three-week, five-day, four-hour-and…two-minute anniversary, as she checked the time on her phone. Not that she was really counting.

  John was the one. Hers forever. For better or worse. Till death did them part. And maybe not even then.

  John was meeting her at her house, and they were going to ditch school. Maybe they would take the train and head over to Dover Chase to see a movie.

  Where was he? She peered between the slats of her blinds, expecting to see him walk up the road any minute.

  Like most girls at Winchester Academy, Lucy didn’t worry about money. Unlike most of those same girls, she didn’t flaunt her wealth. Well, not as much. And she liked to be generous with what she had.

  Lucy impatiently checked the time again, not even enjoying her favorite music reverberating off the sky-blue walls in her bedroom. If he wanted to date her, he would need to learn how seriously she took punctuality.

  Maybe she should call him again. Although…she had already called him twelve times this morning, and it might be considered excessive if she called any more. Still, every message she had left him had been for a reason. And it wasn’t her fault his voice mail cut her off after only two minutes. She had barely been able to tell him all the plans she had for them today.

  But now she knew she had to call him at least one more time. She speed-dialed him, hoping he’d have a good explanation. She waited for him to answer, impatiently tapping her foot on the solid oak floor. She couldn’t wait till she got her license. Once she could drive, she’d never have to worry about situations like this. Only one year, eleven months, and two weeks to go. And that she was counting.

  The familiar deep voice sounded in her ear as his voice mail came on. She groaned in frustration, until she heard her name.

  “…and if this is Lucy—”

  “Aww, he loves me so much he added me to his new greeting!” she squealed. She danced around the room, not even paying attention to the rest of the message.

  “—seriously, stop calling. And don’t even think about leaving another message.” BEEEP.

  “Hey, John, it’s okay you’re late. I just hope you’re on your way. I totally forgive you! Smooches!”

  She hung up, flinging herself onto the oversized plush sofa in the corner of her room, with ten pillows too many, not even noticing the wrinkles she was putting in her beige raw-silk skirt.

  All Lucy could hear was her joyful, racing heart beating in tune to her favorite song. She cranked up her speakers, singing along to Beyoncé. And for the first time, she didn’t even care that she sounded like a strangled cat.

  Anna had been at school for only three hours and already she had heard four—make that five—rumors going around about her:

  1. She’d moved from the fabulous Hollywood Hills.

  2. Where her mom used to be a stylist to the stars.

  3. But city life was draining, and Winchester Village had the perfect quiet life they needed.

  4. So they’d packed up their Beamer.

  5. And begun their new exciting life in their upscale, three-story lakeside home.

  Nobody batted an eye when details changed in certain versions. Anna didn’t bother correcting them. They could think whatever they wanted about her…especially since the rumors made her sound so much more interesting. Besides, they made it easier for her to hide the truth.

  At the Academy, the gym served as the cafeteria, although some students preferred to hang out by their lockers or lounge on the benches in hallways or under the trees in the courtyard. The upper grades could go off campus.

  Millie sat with Anna on one of the benches at the end of a hallway, a bottle of Vitamin Water next to her, untouched. Anna had her favorite sack lunch—grilled cheese and pesto sandwich, sliced apple with no peel, and water. Maybe tomorrow she’d be daring and buy lunch.

  Anna took a bite of her sandwich, checking out her new classmates. In spite of how small the school was, it still had the usual cliques: jocks, nerds, goths, populars. It also had the not-so-usual cliques: the snooty, the rich, the even richer, the fas
hionable, and all of the above.

  Suddenly the loud voices and laughter died to a low murmur. Hushed whispers filled the hallway.

  That was when they appeared.

  A group of five girls glided down the corridor in their four-inch platforms, tiny pink skirts, and pink silky tops. They took no notice of the group of guys who said hi as they passed, or the two girls sitting up against the lockers who could easily see up their short skirts as they walked by. The group seemed to have their sights on one thing and one thing only, and they homed in on it like heat-seeking missiles: Annabel.

  Anna did a double take. Each one of them was tall and thin, with perfect porcelain skin and hair so blond it was nearly white.

  Anna found herself being sucked into their presence as if they were A-list celebrities. She stared at them, the bite of sandwich in her mouth going un-chewed as her jaw dropped slightly.

  She wondered how people could tell the girls apart. The only ones who were obviously different were the two identical twins leading the group.

  Millie nudged Anna. “They’re coming for you.”

  “What?” Anna turned to Millie.

  Millie gave her a wide-eyed look of warning. “The Ashbury twins. Olivia’s the one with all the power. She’s on the left. Eden’s on the right. And their clones. You’ll see.”

  Anna chuckled. “Okay then.”

  No sooner had Annabel turned around than the group stood in front of her, in all their pink glory. They stood confidently, shoulders back, chests out, sizing Anna up in an uncomfortable silence, not even acknowledging Millie. Anna gazed back coolly, hoping she looked more confident than she felt.

  “Hi, Annabel,” Olivia Ashbury said.

  “Anna,” she corrected the twin.

  Olivia shrugged. “Whatever.”

  Anna’s eyes darted over the girls in the group, and she bit back a smile. Did they realize how ridiculously pink they looked? Why would they want to look so freakishly alike?

  Eden stood slightly behind her sister, glancing at Anna’s sneakers.

  “So, Annabel,” said Olivia. “We’re going to the Corner Café after school.”

  Anna raised an eyebrow.

  “The coffee shop down the street?” Olivia prompted.

  Millie rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah, sure,” Anna said. She wondered what was up with the invisible treatment they were giving Millie.

  Olivia kept a tight-lipped smile. “So we’ll see you there after school, then.”

  “Um…okay.” They were actually inviting her? Anna felt like she was being set up for a prank.

  “That place isn’t so hot,” Millie mumbled.

  Olivia snapped her fingers and held her hand out, signaling to her sister/personal assistant. Eden placed a small silver compact in Olivia’s hand. Olivia took out a slender tube and applied a fresh coat of pink lip gloss to her lips. “Try to control your excitement,” she said to Anna, then snapped the lid closed, arching one perfect pale eyebrow.

  Eden walked forward and bent over, placing her warm hand on top of Anna’s. “Annabel, consider this a one-time invitation.”

  Anna was pretty sure nobody ever turned down the Ashbury twins.

  Tossing their silky straight hair, the Ashbury twins turned and gracefully walked away, the rest of the girls following closely.

  “Um, that was weird.” Anna turned to Millie. “How do they even know who I am?”

  Millie’s eyes flickered with something—jealousy? envy?—before she broke into a toothy grin. “You’re fresh meat. Everyone knows who you are.”

  “Everyone?” Her heart sank. Did they all know she lived in creepy Mad Manor? That her backyard consisted of ten thousand dead people? And that she was poor, a word none of these kids used—ever? Or, worst of all, did they know that crazy Maxwell Maddsen had been her great-uncle?

  Anna wanted to be normal. She would even settle for being a wallflower. She had hoped she could make a few friends. But if everyone knew about her already, then they knew how un-normal she really was. She would be the freaky new girl at Winchester Academy.

  “Well, yeah,” said Millie. “Everyone was expecting the new student today. People are making a point to walk past you or accidentally run into you in the hallways.”

  “Oh.” Anna let out a huge sigh, her shoulders slumping forward. “So, where exactly is the Corner Café?”

  Millie’s eyes widened. “You’re not seriously thinking about going.”

  Anna shrugged. “Why not?” She hoped she appeared cool, when on the inside she was doing the happiest happy dance she’d done in a long time.

  “Those girls,” Millie said, pointing a finger down the hallway, “are cheating, boyfriend-stealing gossip lovers.”

  And popular, Anna silently added.

  “Hey,” said Millie, changing her tone. “We should go to Dover Chase sometime. That town has everything—a mall and a movie theater!”

  Anna looked up at Millie. Her cheeks were tinged with pink, and there was a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

  “Okay. Sure. And I want to buy some hand lotion.” Maybe vanilla scented, like Millie’s.

  Millie smiled. “Cool! I’ll text you later.” She grabbed her phone, pulling up the contacts list. “What’s your number?”

  Anna bit her bottom lip, slightly embarrassed. She had no idea how long it would take to save up for a new phone—possibly forever—since her mom had had the brilliant idea that Anna could get the money by finding odd jobs around town. Yeah, fat chance.

  “I don’t have one. Well, not right now, I mean.”

  Millie stared at her. “Seriously?”

  “Well, I had one. But it got messed up and my mom won’t buy me a new one.”

  “I could never survive without mine. It’s like my lifeline.”

  “Yeah,” Anna sighed. “I know.”

  Millie squinted. “Uh, isn’t that a phone?”

  Anna followed Millie’s gaze and looked down at the phone she’d found in the woods. It was sticking out the front pocket of her messenger bag. Frowning, she pulled it out and shook her head. “This? No, I just found it this morning. It’s a little beat up and the battery’s dead. You don’t know anyone who lost a phone, do you?”

  “Nope.” Millie grinned at her. “But if you can get it to work, maybe today’s your lucky day.”

  Anna smiled back. “I hope you’re right.” Anna wasn’t used to having lucky days. But maybe, just maybe, her luck was about to change.

  Once the final bell rang, Anna rearranged her artfully messy bun and put on some strawberry lip gloss. And then she headed straight for the Corner Café.

  As she pushed open the door, she was surprised to hear someone call her name. “Anna?”

  She turned and stared into a pair of the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen. It was him. The boy from her English class. And her history class, although she’d sat in the very back and he hadn’t seemed to notice her at all. And he knew her name.

  Her breath caught and she felt her cheeks turn pink.

  “I’m Johnny. Olivia said you were meeting her here.” A dimple creased the right corner of his mouth, making his smile contagious. “She wanted me to let you know she’ll be here in a few minutes. She had to run back to her locker and grab her books.”

  “Uh, yeah. Hi,” Anna said, attempting to recover. “Yeah. Olivia.” Could she possibly be any more of a dork? He was going to think she didn’t know how to speak in complete sentences.

  Johnny looked around. “Eden might already be here.”

  Anna nodded. Right. Olivia. Johnny had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. And of course it was one of the Ashbury twins. She felt a surge of disappointment but immediately pushed it away. She didn’t want a boyfriend anyway. She was just trying to fit in and make friends.

  They stood for a few moments in silence, watching students pass the window. Anna felt awkward and gawky standing next to Johnny. He was at least a head taller, and his shoulders were broad and muscular. He
was wearing a football jersey. She looked at him from the corner of her eye as he scanned the crowd.

  “There she is.” Johnny motioned toward Olivia, who was walking toward them, her heels clacking.

  She definitely has confidence, Anna thought. “Hey,” she said as Olivia approached.

  Johnny whispered something to Olivia and she giggled. Anna self-consciously touched her hair. Her jeans and top were fine but nothing special. She’d purposely tried to dress as casually as possible this morning—she didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard. And her still-damp sweater was balled up in her bag. Olivia, on the other hand, wore makeup that looked almost professionally done, a miniskirt, and a pink lacy tank top that fit her perfectly.

  “So.” Olivia put on big sunglasses that hid her eyes. “I saw the rest of the group with their books at a table on the other side. We should head over.”

  Books? That took Anna by surprise. Olivia and her crew didn’t seem like the type to sit around and study. But maybe things were just different like that in a small town.

  “Gotta get to practice. See you guys later.” Johnny headed off in the opposite direction, leaving Anna alone with Olivia. She could almost feel Olivia’s cold eyes boring into her through her dark glasses before she turned without a word and led Anna across the room.

  Eden’s face lit up as Anna pulled out a chair next to her.

  “Hey, Annabel!”

  “Hi.” Anna’s eyes shifted to Olivia, who seemed to be scowling at her. She definitely got the impression Olivia didn’t want her around. Which made no sense at all, since she was the one who’d invited her in the first place.

  Sitting next to Eden was one of the clones from the hallway.

  “This is Nessa Bloom,” Eden said. Nessa glanced up from her textbook only long enough to give Anna a slight nod.

  Everyone except Anna began opening their textbooks and notebooks and grabbing their pens. She silently watched them, trying to figure it out.

  “So, Anna.” Olivia looked down at her through her sunglasses. “You’re in GATE, right?”