Read Aries Rising for Free Online Page A

still smiling, I knew it wasn’t a joke.
    “Just swimsuits, Ms. Snider. No astrology.”
    At least not right now.

    I knew Snider was going to be a problem if I got the column, but that couldn’t stop me. Stacy was already beginning to have confidence in me. Even though she had claimed the beach idea as her own, she was rewarding me by letting Terra High be one of the featured schools.

    The news spread. Other students asked me about it. That day, it seemed as if every girl on campus wanted to be in CRUSH . I wondered how that would feel—to know you looked so fabulous that you could be in a national magazine. Or to at least think you could be. If I had that much self-confidence, there would be no stopping me. I might just have the nerve to reach for my phone and call Ireland. Might just demand to know why a certain hot guy had suddenly gone so cold.
    “Hi, Chili. Hi, Paige. Hiiii, Logan.” Dina Coulter, cheerleader—Kat’s Virgo friend, and suck-up, had oily dark hair and bright lips curved into a perpetual valentine smile. In addition to being a royal pain, she spent her days walking the halls and greeting everyone by name. Except for me. We had-n’t spoken since I had used astrology to figure out that crazy situation last spring, when I was still a sophomore. But it appeared that I was suddenly once again worthy of attention.
    “Hi,” the three of us murmured in unison.
    “I heard about CRUSH ,” she said, and turned her beady little gaze on me.
    “Oh, you did? Are you interested in trying out?”
    Chili and Paige rolled their eyes.
    “Maybe.” Dina shrugged. “I just wanted the guidelines, that’s all.”
    For Kat, of course. Virgo Dina thought there should be a ten-page printed list of rules for everything including getting out of bed in the morning.
    “Just show up,” I said. “The photographers will be here on Thursday.”

    “Are there going to be tryouts?”
    “No, this isn’t cheer. They’re just going to take photos at the beach and around the school.”
    “Come on, Logan,” she said. “You’ve got to have more information than that.”
    “If I did, I’d tell you, even though I know who you’re really asking for.”
    “So what?” she said. “Kat has as good a chance as any of your friends. That’s the real reason you’re not sharing what you know, isn’t it? You want Chili to get it.”
    “That’s ridiculous,” Chili said. “If you think Logan would cheat for me, or if I’d even want her to ...”
    “I wouldn’t put anything past either one of you.”
    “Just a minute,” I said before their exchange turned into a fight. “I have no idea who’s going to be selected, okay? I was able to get the magazine to feature our school, that’s it. And I was lucky to do that.”
    “Okay then.” Dina shrugged and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until Thursday.”
    With that, she took off down the hall.
    “Can you believe her?” Chili said. “She’s acting like there’s some secret code or something.”
    “You don’t need a secret code to get chosen,” I told her.
    Paige grinned. “Not if those people at that magazine have a brain among them.”
    “They do,” I said. “But they aren’t the ones making the decision. It’s the designer who will be featured in the issue. She’s going to be at the launch party too.”

    “What designer?” Paige demanded.
    “She does swimsuits. Her name is ...”
    “Not Graciela Perez?”
    “Yes, that’s the one. Is she good?”
    “Oh, Logan,” Paige said, “she’s awesome! You’ve got to get me into that party.”
    “Get us both in.” Chili wrapped her arm around me.
    “I will do my best,” I said. “In the meantime, show up on Thursday in something sexy, both of you.”
    “What about you?” Paige asked.
    “I’ll be there to cheer you on,” I said. “Astrologer to the stars.”
    Chili stared at me for a moment, and I knew that it was one of the rare times she wasn’t speaking