Have you read Lord of the Flies yet? I just read the back and OMG this book is nuttier than my aunt's banana bread! Basically, a plane with a group of boys is shot down over a remote tropical island. At first, they're thrilled to have unlimited freedom but then the bits of civilization they constructed falls apart and terror reigns.

Doesn't this sound like a horror novel rather than a piece of classic literature?! Dare I say I'm almost (and that's a very tiny almost) excited to read this but don't tell my project partner that because I'm pretty sure he'd lord it over my head until kingdom come. -Freddy aka Alex

Alexx stretched her legs onto the grass and sneezed. Fall had come with a vengeance and of course, that meant the hot Santa Ana winds came with it, kicking up dust and pollen and who knows what else. She sneezed again just as Sloane and Bri settled down beside her.

"Sorry, it took so long," Sloane said. Lunch was already halfway over. "The line was killer. Here." Sloane handed over a burrito from the school's cafeteria. "They didn't have the rice and chicken you like so I got you the bean and cheese instead."

Alexx made a face as she took it. Didn't Sloane know bean and cheese was her least favorite? If it had been Alex, she would have chosen something she actually liked. "Thanks," she said, holding back a grimace as she bit in. She quickly washed it down with a diet cola, looking away from the judgmental eyes of her friends.

Sloane and Bri didn't "believe" in soda—whatever that meant. These were the times she missed Alex the most. Her best friend would have raised her own can for a cheer and then happily chugged it down with her. But she shouldn't complain, Alexx reminded herself as she watched Keya and Cleo sit at a nearby table. At least Sloane and Bri had stuck around, unlike Cleo, who had discarded her like a piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe.

Cleo glanced her way and gave a tiny wave when Keya wasn't looking. Alexx wondered for the hundredth time what Cleo saw in Keya. Alexx was a thousand—no, make that a million—times better than Keya. She would never have made Cleo scurry around like a squirrel to do her bidding.

Cleo didn't even like theater. When they were friends, Alexx had to bribe Cleo with candy to watch musicals. What was so special about Keya? What did she have, that Alexx didn't? And would her best friend fall under the same spell?

Sloane turned to look at who Alexx was waving at. "Since when did you start playing nice with Cleo?" Lines creased her forehead. "Are you two friends again?"

"I wouldn't go that far." Once a betrayer, always a betrayer. "We're...well, I don't know what we are. I was pumping her for drama club info, and now we say hi in the halls." She tried not to think about this new development because every time she did, she got more confused. Whoever said navigating friendships was easy was a friendless fool.

Sloane wrinkled her nose. "Surprised they're not holed up in Mrs. Piccola's room. Although why they would ask her of all teachers to be their advisor is beyond me. That lady doesn't do anything but sleep and smoke in the parking lot."

"Guess they were desperate."

Sloane glanced at Cleo again, then shook her head. "I just don't get you sometimes. Why aren't you angrier at Alex for ditching you to join Keya and Cleo?"

Alexx let out an audible sigh. "We've been over this."

Sloane threw her head back and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you say you understand, but I don't. She's working with the other side."

"It's not like she wanted to go. She had too."

Sloane's lip curled. "She didn't have to do anything. She chose to be with them. Why can't you see this is the Cleo situation all over again? She's constantly hanging out with Keya—"

"She's around Keya for the club," Alexx responded with a sniff. "Not because they're best friends."

"Not what I heard." Sloane nudged Bri who was gazing across the quad, in her own little world. "What was it you were saying earlier? That Alex had dinner at Keya's house?"

Bri blinked, looking like she swallowed a bug as all attention honed in on her. Ducking her head, she fiddled with the straps of her backpack. "Um, that and they spent all weekend together."

Alexx shrugged. "That's not unusual. I mean we spend weekends together. Plays eat up time. Everyone knows that."

"Yeah, but they were hanging out at Alex's place," Sloane said.

Disbelief shot up her spine. "Are you sure?" She'd only been over to Alex's apartment once in all the years they've known each other. "Where did you hear this?"

"You know how I have math with Cleo?" Bri asked softly. "Well, I overheard her talking to another girl about how Keya was over at Alex's. Apparently, Keya even slept there."

Incredulity turned to jealousy. Alex had flat-out told her, her parents didn't want anyone spending the night. It was one of their weird quirks. Had Alex lied to her? She shook her head. "I don't believe it." Alex wouldn't have done that. Not to her.

Sloane huffed, flickering her hair off her shoulder. "Believe what you want, but I'd hate for you to be blindsided again. You don't deserve that."

"No one does," Alexx muttered under her breathe. She tore into her burrito, giving the evil to Keya who was happily ignorant of the turmoil stirring in her stomach. What if it was true?

A desperate need to talk to Alex clawed its way to the surface. Getting to her knees, she stuffed her things inside her backpack and scanned the area for Alex, who ate with Hugo and his crew, but she didn't see them.

That's when she noticed Hugo coming toward her. Heads turned as her brother strode across the quad with his long legs and indiscernible expression. Bri's cheeks started to pinked as he approached, and Alexx wondered how she could have been so blind. Was she out of the loop in all her friends' lives?

Ignoring Bri and Sloane, Hugo grabbed Alexx's arm and pulled her to her feet. "Need to talk to you for a minute."

"I'm busy," she said, brushing grass and dirt off her jeans. "Can't it wait?"

Hugo shook his head and dragged her to a deserted hall.

"What's up?" she asked impatiently. If this was about her mom's picture again, she didn't want to hear it. So what if she kept it in her wallet? It wasn't like her mom was going to come back and demand she hand it over.

Hugo shoved his hands in his pockets and wet his bottom lip. "Have you talked to Alex recently?"

She tugged on her earlobe as a bad feeling crept down her back. "Why do you want to know?"

Hugo nibbled on his lip as his brows furrowed. Moments passed until finally, he shook his head. "Never mind." Hugo turned to go, but she threw out a hand and stopped him.

"Is everything okay between you two?" she asked. His expression had her worried.

He shook his head. "I don't want to go into it with you. You're her best friend and my little sister."

"Exactly," Alexx responded with a firm nod. "Who better to talk to than me?"

Sighing, Hugo walked a bit aways, his hand cupping the back of his neck. "She was supposed to call me back last night, but she didn't. I wouldn't think anything of it, maybe she fell asleep or got busy or something, but she didn't sit with me today at lunch either."

They also hadn't given her a ride this morning. Alex had texted that was taking the bus since she had to go early for the drama club.

"She's probably busy with that club. You know how Freddy gets when she's in the 'sew zone.'"

"I thought so too," Hugo replied, "but I just ran into Keya and Cleo, and she's not with them. Said there wasn't a meeting today."

Unease filled Alexx. Her best friend was many things, but a flake and a liar weren't one of them. A harsh wind blew through the hallway, creating a vacuum effect. Hugo nudged her by the wall and stood in front, blocking her from the wind.

Hugo pressed his lips together for a moment as his expression warred. "I hate even to ask this—god I sound like a teenage boy—"

"You are a teenage boy," she pointed out.

"—but has she said anything about me to you?"

"As far as I know, everything is great." Alexx hesitated, hated even to bring it up. "Maybe she's worried about Libby."

Surprise infused with his voice. "Libby? Why would she bother Alex?"

Seriously? How obtuse could he be? "Um, maybe because you've been texting her. I saw it on your phone."

"To talk about gaming stuff. It's not like I'm professing my undying love."

"Maybe Freddy found out and is feeling...I don't know, jealous? Worried?" That's how she would feel if she was in the same position.

"But I haven't done anything!" Hugo exclaimed.

Alexx put her hand next to her mouth and leaned forward. "Let you in on a secret. For generations, guys have been saying they haven't done anything, and for generations, they've been lying."

Hugo's head snapped back; indignation stamped on his face. "That's what you think of me?"

"No. You're not a player or a liar, but you have to admit it doesn't look good."

"Okay, not that I have to explain anything, because I don't," he said with a pointed look, "but Libby and I are just friends. And even if something were going on, Alex wouldn't know because I haven't seen her all weekend. She's been busy with that damn play."

That damn play meant the world to her best friend. Hugo, Bri, and Sloane might not get it, but Alexx did. She might not like her best friend working with Keya, but she sure as heck understood it. "Don't put this all on her. You've been busy too."

Hugo threw up his hands. "I know. I'm not blaming her...I just..." He paced away, letting out a long groan. "This is so wrong. I shouldn't be getting advice from my little sister about my love life."

"Well, you can, and you are, so spill, Hugo Lorde." She wiggled her fingers. "Come on."

"It feels weird, but..." He sighed again. "But I guess you know her best. Do you ever..." He squeezed his eyes shut like not seeing her would help. "Ever feel like Alex is hard to reach? Holds stuff back?"

She laughed, which made Hugo's eye pop back open. "You've known her for how long and you're just figuring that out?"

"I knew she was reserved, but I thought that would change once we became closer, but then I realized to become closer, she can't be as reserved. It's a Catch-22." Hugo kicked the wall, his shoulder hunched. "Is she the same way with you?"

"Absolutely. Look, Alex doesn't open up easily to anyone. It's just one of the things you have to accept." It could be frustrating at times, but Alex was Alex. And just because those walls were there didn't mean a person couldn't topple them over. Alex needed a little friendly encouragement to get beyond them. Good thing she had a best friend who had no problem encouraging.

Hugo nodded, but his expression concerned her. He stilled when she touched his shoulder. "Hugo, you can't expect her to dump everything on you. You guys just started whatever it is that you're doing. I mean, I'd call it dating except you've never gone out on a date—"

He covered her mouth. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're worse than a bored grandma, you know that?" He blew out a breath. "And for the record, I'm taking her out the moment we both have a free night."

She ripped his hand away. "That'll never happen at this rate. Relationships take sacrifice."

"How would you know? You've never been in one."

"I was too! With Billy Holbrill in the second grade."

"Didn't that end with you punching him and then getting detention?"

She put her hands on her hips and thrust her nose in the air. "The teacher was clearly biased since he was her son."

Her brother chuckled. "Georgie, Georgie, Georgie. You busted his tooth."

"It was a baby tooth. He was going to lose it anyway. Really I did him a favor." And the little jerk deserved it. No one called her friend a bad word and got away with it—even if that friend was Cleo.

"But seriously," Alexx said, holding down her curls as another gust blew by. "Don't worry too much about you and Freddy. She likes you. Things will work out. You'll see." But despite everything she said to her brother, she still worried about Alex. Something was wrong. Her gut told her so.

After parting ways with Hugo, Alexx texted her.

Alexx: Hey, wondering where you are. Want to get some ice cream at the vending machine by the gym?

Several minutes passed with no answer. Her best friend wasn't the best communicator, but she always responded to texts. Always.

Alexx: Hello? You there?

Alexx: Where are you eating lunch?

Still no response so Alexx wandered down the halls searching. Where was she hiding? Terra Linda was big, but not that big.

A flash of brown caught her attention, and when she saw who it was, she felt a streak of pleasure. "Ravi!" she yelled, her voice echoing down the empty hall.

"Hey," he greeted, stopping so she could catch up. "What's up?"

She threw him her biggest smile, praying nothing was stuck in her teeth. "Trying to track down Alex." He probably didn't know who that was so she tacked on, "My best friend."

He stiffened, getting a weird look on his face that she couldn't decipher. "Alex?"

A light bulb flashed. He most likely assumed she was talking about a guy. Was Ravi jealous? "Yeah, remember me telling you about her? She's the one who loves that book you were reading."

Something flashed in his eyes, but he lowered his lashed before she could tell what it was. "I know Alex. She's the one who got me reading that book."

Her body went stiff as her eye twitched. "You...you know each other?"

"Yeah, we're English partners."

"She never said anything..." Alexx started to grow clammy as her heart pounded. It didn't mean what she thought it meant. Maybe he just transferred into Alex's class, or perhaps they were talking about two different Alex's.

Ravi shrugged, shifting his books from one arm to another. "We just got paired today, which I don't know whether to be thankful or afraid. That girl hates classics with a passion."

Her hope was dashed. They were definitely talking about the same Alex. She tried to force a chuckle, but it came out as a cough. Clearing her throat, she murmured, "Yeah, no classics for Freddy."

"Freddy?" Ravi asked.

"It's a nickname." Alexx's stomach churned as she tried to process everything. "I didn't even realize you two were in the same class."

Ravi's bushy brows came together. "She never mentioned me?"

Alexx shook her head slowly as she went from cold to hot. "Nope. Never mentioned a single world." She must have put too much force behind her words because Ravi reared back as if she'd struck him. She plastered a fake smile across her face and said, "I, uh, better go. See you tomorrow at Playhouse."

"Bye," he said, already walking away before she could say goodbye back.

Alexx's teeth clenched as she fought against the panic rising in her chest. Why wouldn't Alex tell her about knowing Ravi? A million excuses flashed through her mind, but none made sense. Unless...

She flinched. The thought was too unfathomable. Alex was firmly in like with Hugo. Not Ravi. Even the best actress in the world couldn't fake the kind of chemistry those two had. There had to be another reason. Had to be.

Feeling sick to her stomach, Alexx went to the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. She slowly breathed in and out, calming her nerves and mind. The solution was simple. She would track Alex down and ask her point-blank why she kept Ravi hidden. There was no other way to discover the truth.

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang. She was about to open the stall when the bathroom door opened. She heard footsteps, then the person unzipping their bag. They started the faucet and then began to do whatever they were doing when a phone rang.

Whoever was in the bathroom answered, "Yeah?"

Between the running faucet—which wow, talk about wasting water—and the fact that their voice bounced off the walls creating a strange echo, she couldn't place the voice, but Alexx swore it sounded familiar.

"Stop worrying," the person said. "I'm being discreet. Alex has no idea what we're doing."

The words chilled her. Alex? Alex, who? There were plenty of Alex's at Terra Linda High—boys and girls—so it could literally be anyone. What if...what if it was her?

She desperately wanted to open the stall door, but the shock had her legs on lockdown. Instead, she placed her ear against the door, trying to get a clearer sound.

"Uh-huh. The plan is still a go. Okay, I've got to run, or I'll be late for history. Text you later."

Alexx held her breathe as the person finished whatever they were doing. As soon as the girl left, she tumbled out of the stall. Where had she heard that voice before?