The Art of Lainey Read Online Free

the text message and puts her phone away without replying. She holds up a tattered red-and-black paperback.
    “Maybe there is.”

Chapter 3
    “A LL WARFARE IS BASED ON DECEPTION. ”
    —
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
    “
T
he Art of War
?” I raise an eyebrow. It sounds vaguely familiar, like I heard it referenced in a movie or something. It also sounds as old as dirt. “Why do you have that?”
    “Seriously? It’s on our summer reading list. Don’t you ever do your schoolwork?” Bee slaps me on the leg with the book. “It’s by a Chinese military strategist named Sun Tzu. It’s mostly about war, but people have applied it to all kinds of scenarios—business, law, college, sports, relationships.”
    I squint at the cover. It figures brilliant Bianca would turn to some dusty schoolbook for advice. “You think a dead Chinese guy can help me get Jason back?”
    “A dead Chinese
warlord,
” Bianca corrects.
    My eyebrow creeps up even farther. “My world is ending and you’re channeling your inner warlord?”
    Bee smiles. “Hear me out.” She flips the book over and starts reading the back cover.
“‘Master Sun Tzu’s military treatise is required reading on battlefields and in boardrooms.Countless people of all ages have benefited from his wisdom.’”
She tosses the book to me.
    I snatch it out of the air. “This is never going to help.” The cover is decorated with a bunch of symbols that look like tic-tac-toe boards on crack. I flip past the introduction and start skimming from the top of a page.
“‘The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.’”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever that means.”
    “Read them,” Bianca says. “The five factors.”
    “‘Moral law, heaven, earth, the commander, method and discipline
.
’”
I clear my throat. “Which is six things, not five. I’m supposed to take advice from some dead guy who can’t count?”
    Bee ignores me. “So you can think of those as loyalty, timing, natural resources, leadership, and organization. These are the things you need going your way to be successful.”
    “Super. All I have to do to win Jason back is become my mother.”
    “No, really, Lainey. Give it a chance. Millions of readers can’t be wrong.”
    “That’s like saying millions of boy-band fans can’t be wrong,” I mutter, but I flip through a few more pages. They’re full of words I’ve never heard of, like
ramparts
and
bulwark
. Even the words I do understand don’t make much sense. My eyes start to glaze over. “Is there a translation?”
    “This
is
a translation.”
    “Is there maybe a translation to the translation?
The Art of War
for Dummies?”
    “You can do this.” Bee reads over my shoulder.
“‘All warfare is based on deception.’”
She points at the next page.
“‘Hold out baits to entice the enemy. . . . Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected
.
’”
    I stare down at the text. “So how do I use that to win back Jason? Sneak up on him when he’s at the gym and offer him a protein smoothie?”
    “You have to read the book first,” she says. “Then we’ll make a plan.”
    “You’re giving me a homework assignment?” I ask. “Because honestly, I don’t feel like reading a book right now. I feel like hunting Jason down and forcing him to tell me what I did.” I sigh dramatically. “Which was
nothing.
So if I can make him see that, show him we’re fine and he’s just being mental, then he has to take me back, doesn’t he?”
    “Yes,” Bee says. “About the assignment. Sorry, no about everything else. And you need to stay away from him at least for a few days, give him space, don’t be clingy.”
    “I am
not
clingy,” I snap. At least I don’t think I am. Crap, now I’m having doubts about everything. “Fine. You’re right. I’ll stay away.” I pause. “But maybe I