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yours.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    Am I sure? I almost laugh out loud, but sigh instead. “Positive.”
    â€œI mean, I can see how you’d like him.” When she pauses, I shoot her a quick glance. She’s biting her lip and tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel, lost in thought. “You have a lot in common.”
    â€œNothing that matters,” I say quickly. And it’s true. What really matters is that Kristen and Rock are the kind of people that just go together. They make sense. Me and Rock? Complete nonsense.
    â€œYou’d tell me, right?”
    I turn in my seat to face her. I would never betray her friendship, especially over a guy she’s so consumed with. “You’re being ridiculous.”
    With a semisatisfied sigh, she flops her head back, making me wonder how she can even see the road. “How was I supposed to know David Copperfield wasn’t about the magician?” she whines.
    â€œThe fact that it was written in 1850 should have tipped you off,” I say, grinning. Looking back at lunch, it was pretty funny. Only Kristen would think Charles Dickens could have written an entire novel about a twentieth-century magician in the nineteenth century. “Google things you don’t know about before you talk about it. Or maybe you could just take my advice and talk about things that actually interest you. When did you decide that wasn’t good enough? Every time you shoot your mouth off about things you know nothing about, you take the risk of digging yourself a hole you can’t climb out of. I won’t always be there to dig you out.”
    â€œI’ve been thinking about that,” Kristen says.
    I keep my face forward, afraid to look at her. She has a way of talking me into some really stupid schemes, and I already know this one is going to be the worst of the worst. “Nuh-uh,” I say.
    â€œCome on, Sarah. You promised you’d help me.”
    â€œI said I’d think about it,” I correct her, concentrating on the houses zipping by. Anything but looking directly at her. It’s like staring at the sun; one glance and you’re a goner.
    â€œWhat’s to think about? It’s me!”
    I finally turn my unseeing gaze from the road and look at my best friend, the same girl who’s stood by me year after year as I’ve been tormented by other kids. “Fine. I’ll listen. But I’m not making any promises.”
    Kristen pulls into the driveway at my house and kills the engine.
    â€œThat’s all I’m asking.”

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we will find it not.
    â€”RALPH WALDO EMERSON
    Chapter Five
    â€œOkay, spill it,” I say. I’m sitting on the bed cross-legged, with Ringo curled up tightly in my lap. I stroke his back, letting his rhythmic purring relax me like nothing else can.
    â€œSo, I’ve been thinking about how we can convince Rock that I’m smart.”
    â€œYou are smart, Kris.”
    â€œNot like you are. Not like he is.”
    â€œAre you really sure you want to put this much effort into pretending you’re something you’re not? I mean, don’t you think you’ll get tired of lying to him? And what kind of foundation is that for a relationship, anyway?”
    â€œWell, the way I see it, after I’ve proven how smart I am and he’s totally fallen for me, then it won’t be necessary to pretend anymore.”
    â€œYou think he’s going to just stop all conversation at some point?”
    â€œWe’ll find other things to talk about. Things I actually know something about.”
    Hard as I try, I can’t imagine Rock spending an afternoon watching Kristen try on twenty-three pairs of shoes. This is a guy who actually thinks . “You know, Kristen, you’re a pretty good catch. I’m not convinced you need to do anything to get his attention. Seems to