"Cooney, Linda A - Freshman Dorm 02 - Freshman Lies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cooney Linda A)

hung in midair. She finally caught it before it dropped onto her head.
Winnie cheered. "Angeletti makes the catch! She fakes a toss to Faith Crowley, who never fakes anything. But Crowley may get penalized for holding. One, two-fezz!" Winnie posed in her purple tights, black minidress, and boots decorated with jingle bells. "Time's up. Do not pass go. Do not think about classes starting and all the homework I'm going to turn in late."
KC tossed the Frisbee to Faith and left the game. She flopped down on a wooden bench and looked off at the dorms that rimmed the green. She saw the old houses, one of which was her dorm, the sterile new dorms, where Winnie lived, and the brick fifties-style complex, where Faith roomed with Lauren Turnbell-Smythe.
Faith called after her, "Come on, KC. Tomorrow even Winnie will have to start going to the library, and I'll be at rehearsal every night. Let's play." She crouched, slapping the Frisbee into her palm.
"I'm not dressed for Frisbee," KC reminded her. She wasn't in the mood for Frisbee, either-not after what had happened during orientation week. Not considering what she was about to face again.
"Okay. I give up." Faith tossed the Frisbee back to Winnie and joined KC. In her denim skirt, cowboy boots, and cable-knit sweater, she wasn't dressed for
Frisbee, either. A satin ribbon was woven through her long braid, and she wore the comedy/tragedy pin she'd won at a high-school drama festival.
"You okay, KC?" Faith soothed, sitting down next
to her.
KC shrugged. "I'll be okay. Thanks." Winnie stuck the Frisbee on her head and jogged over to join her friends. "KC, don't worry."
"I'm not worried," KC bluffed. "I was just thinking about the guy that hassled me today. The one I told you two about. I still can't believe his name was
really Buzz."
"I can't believe you wouldn't even tell him your name," Winnie teased. "If it had been me, Buzz and I would have been a serious item by now."
Faith laughed. "And by tomorrow, you and Buzz would no longer be an item, and you'd be having a
nervous breakdown."
Winnie grabbed her throat and crumpled onto KC's
lap. "The truth hurts."
"Let's forget about guys for tonight at least," Faith begged. She leaned against KC's shoulder. "No more talking about guys, period."
KC nodded. She hadn't admitted why the encounter with Buzz had bugged her so much. She hadn't mentioned that he'd made her think about the sorority she hadn't gotten into, which made her worry about the money she didn't have.
Faith hooked her arm through KC's. "We're counting on you to distract us from guys, KC. You're the tough-minded one of this fearsome threesome. And I don't want to keep thinking about my breakup with Brooks."
"Ditto." Winnie grinned at Faith. "Not that I've ever thought much about breaking up with Brooks. But if I think about Josh too much I may get even crazier than I am already."
"Well, we wouldn't want that." KC had to admire her old friends' humor. Especially after what they'd been through during orientation week. Winnie had thrown herself at Josh, another freshman in her dorm, which had turned out to be a disaster. And Faith had suddenly broken up with Brooks, who'd been her boyfriend since ninth grade.
"You two are amazing," KC said.
"Very true," Winnie agreed.
Faith nodded. "We are amazing humans. No doubt about it."
KC gave them each a hug. Then they sat for a moment watching students tromp across the lawn and head for the dining commons.
"When's Lauren supposed to pick us up?" KC asked.
"Soon." Faith looked off at the dorm parking lot. "I was so relieved when she finally called me today.
I was afraid she was going to leave the university for good after what happened."
"I thought maybe she ran away and joined the circus. That's what I would have done." Winnie snorted. "Actually, I don't blame her for disappearing after that horrible Dream Date Dance."
Thinking about Lauren Turnbell-Smythe and the Dream Date Dance made KC feel sick. She didn't want to remember how rich, lonely Lauren had trusted her, how they had rushed the prestigious Tri Beta sorority together, how Lauren had been set up for a humiliating prank at the dance and KC did nothing to stop it.
Faith soothed, "Don't blame yourself, KC. You did what you could to make up for what happened." "You did," Winnie seconded. "I know." KC found some consolation in the fact that she'd finally stood up for Lauren-after the fact. She'd dumped a tray of drinks on a nasty sorority sister named Marielle. That act of revenge had lost KC her chance at joining the sorority. It had also meant getting fired from her waitress job, and without that income, KC's bank account was at zero. 1 But there was no more time for worries or regrets, because when KC lifted her face again, she saw Lauren no more than ten feet away. Lauren had arrived so quietly that it was almost as if she'd appeared out of thin air. She walked as if she were wounded. Her
chubby body looked tired. Her violet eyes had lost their glimmer. Even her normally fluffy beige hair and cashmere coat looked wilted and depressed.
"Hi," Lauren said, glancing from Faith to Winnie and back to Faith again. She avoided looking at KC.
Faith and Winnie jumped up to hug her. KC didn't move.
"We missed you."
"We're really glad you're back."
Lauren gave a half-smile. "Thanks." Her eyes skirted over in KC's direction, but didn't linger. "How are you all?"
"I'm the same," Winnie chattered. "But Faith is going to be the assistant director for Stop The World, I Want To Get Off". Isn't that great? How many theater-arts majors would get to do something like that their first semester?"
"We start tomorrow night." Faith looked down. "Some other stuff happened, too, Lauren. With Brooks. I'll tell you about it over dinner."
KC finally stood up. "What about you, Lauren?"
"Me?" Lauren stammered. "I just stayed with my mom at her hotel. I, um, wanted to spend more time with her before she went back home."
"But you can't stand your mom," Winnie blurted.
Faith shushed her.
Lauren began to ramble defensively. "I, um, decided to join the Tri Beta sorority. I really think I'll
like it there . . . eventually. It is the best sorority on campus. And my mother thinks it's important for my future to be a member. Besides, everyone gets tested during rush."
"Gross1." Winnie objected. "What they did to you was more than a test."
Faith took Lauren's arm, leading her toward the parking lot and away from motor-mouthed Winnie. "Lauren, if you want to join the Tri Betas, it's your decision."
Winnie shook her head and followed.
KC lagged behind. She was beginning to feel as if everything at U of S were stacked against her. The Tri Betas hadn't even wanted Lauren, but they'd asked her to join anyway, because she was rich. And KC, who had the looks and the drive to be real Tri Beta material, was left out in the cold. Even though KC thought some of the Tri Betas were jerks, the injustice of it all made her want to scream.