Read So Into You [The Jane Austen Academy Series #2] for Free Online

breath across her cheek.
    She picked up her pen. She couldn’t worry about Fanny or causing drama or being the reason for a scene. She wanted to stay, even if that meant putting herself out there.
    Even if it meant fighting against the universe a little bit.

Chapter Three
     
     
    Ellie awoke Sunday to find Emma and Lizzie leaning over her.
    "There, she’s awake now, are you happy?" Emma asked. "Can we go?"
    Ellie wiped the sleep from her eyes. "What’s going on?"
    "Bergie posted the results," Lizzie said.
    Ellie kicked the blankets off her legs and pulled a sweatshirt over her head. "Did you see them?"
    "No!" Emma said as she paced.
    "Not yet," Lizzie said. "We decided to wait for you."
    " You decided," Emma said. "And then barricaded me in here."
    Ellie tuned out their bickering as she stepped into her flip-flops and nervously gnawed her cheek.
    She wanted the award. She wanted to stay. After a lifetime of being taught that wanting something too much was the surest path to disappointment, wanting terrified her.
    She could easily lose to Fanny, who was smart and who, she’d discovered, had won every academic achievement award every season since their freshman year.
    "We should have checked," Emma said. "We should have told you so you wouldn’t have to walk out there and face the results."
    "Emma, shut up!" Lizzie shook her head with exasperation as she followed Ellie into the hall—and straight into Fanny.
    "Oh . . . hey." Ellie tugged at the hem of her sweatshirt.
    Fanny looked her up and down, then glanced at Lizzie and Emma behind her.
    She looked so alone, going to check the scores by herself, and Ellie was suddenly grateful for Lizzie and Emma, even if they sometimes drove her crazy.
    They walked in silence toward the academic corridor. Ellie’s stomach was in complete turmoil and seemed to rumble louder as they approached.
    The corkboard of results was six feet away—and ever closer.
    She stopped in her tracks. "Wait," she blurted.
    Fanny half-turned toward her.
    "Good luck," Ellie said.
    Fanny gave a half-smile. "Both of us are too smart for luck." With that she turned and walked more quickly toward the corkboard.
    Emma dug her elbow into her spine. "Come on," she said. "Don’t let Fanny scare you off. You’re twice as smart as she is."
    "Three times," Lizzie said.
    Ellie drew courage from them, but her legs kept shaking as she followed Fanny. By the time she reached the corkboard, her gaze had dropped to her feet.
    What if she didn’t win?
    What if she didn’t have enough money to stay?
    What if it all ended here?
    She looked up—just as Emma and Lizzie threw their arms around her in a hug and squeezed her between them as she read her name.
    She’d won!
    She’d won!!
    She hugged them back, but the smile slid from her face as Fanny’s gaze met hers. "I’m sorry," she said.
    "Don’t be," Fanny said. "I won’t be sorry when I win the next one." Fanny walked back to her room without turning back.
    "Why do I feel so bad?" Ellie groaned.
    "Don’t," Lizzie said. "She doesn’t need the award. She’s on full scholarship."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Positive," Lizzie said.
    "I can vouch for that, too," Emma said.
    Ellie glanced between the two of them in awe. Having Lizzie and Emma as friends was like having her own personal espionage ring. Between the two of them, they knew everything.
    "You have to call your parents," Lizzie said. "Tell them you’re staying!"
    "It’s only enough to keep me here through Thanksgiving. And you heard Fanny—she’s going to be ready for me next time."
    "That’s plenty of time to come up with the rest of the money." Emma spun around with a shrewd lift of her brow. "Even without the academic achievement award, there must be other ways. If we put our heads together, I bet we could raise enough money to buy this whole place."
    "I wish," Lizzie grumbled.
    Ellie twisted her fingers in her sweatshirt. She’d won. She had the right to stay. Was she fighting the universe? Or was the