The Daughters Read Online Free Page B

paused and then looked up at her with surprise. “Yeah.”
    “That’s so funny,” she said. “I’m reading it right now. I’m kind of obsessed with it.”
    “Me, too.” He pulled the book out of his bag. His copy was even more wrinkled and battered than hers.
    “I finished it a while ago, but I like to carry it around with me,” he said, flipping through the pages. “Kind of like a rabbit’s
     foot or something.” He gave a sheepish shrug. “I want to be a writer.”
    “So do I,” she said.
    “You do?” he asked, peering into her eyes. Her heart lurched into a rapid-fire sprint just as she felt someone walk up behind
     her.
    “Todd? Oh my God!”
    Ava Elting neatly stepped her Pilates-toned body past Lizzie as if she weren’t even there and threw her arms around Todd’s
     neck. “I
heard
you moved back,” she cooed, her voice rising and falling as she hugged him. “It’s
soooo
good to see you.”
    As usual, Ava looked like she’d spent hours getting ready for school. Her perfectly-shaped auburn ringlets were pulled back
     with a jeweled barrette, her brows were plucked into neat tadpoles, and her fingernails were French manicured. Just looking
     at her could be exhausting. It had probably taken her all weekend to get that groomed. But Lizzie secretly wished she could
     be the same way.
    “Hey, Ava,” Todd said, pleasant but cautious, returning the hug. “Good to see you.”
    “So you had enough of stuffy old England,” she said, tipping her head and batting her saucer-shaped brown eyes. “What happened?
     Did you miss being around girls with good teeth?” She giggled and swung her Hervé Chapelier shoulder bag up her arm.
    “Well, um, my dad made us move,” he said. “But yeah, I guess you could say the girls here have, uh, better teeth,” he said
     in a resigned voice. “Or whatever.”
    “Of
course
they do!” Ava said, playing with the diamond A that she always wore around her neck. “I’m sure they’re going to miss you.”
    Todd just blushed and looked down at the floor.
    There was something else Ava excelled at besides grooming, and that was talking to guys. And anyone else, really. Ava Elting
     was probably the most confident girl Lizzie had ever seen. She had been that way since the third grade, and her constant socializing—and
     flirting—had propelled her to the top of the New York City private school food chain. There wasn’t a charity committee she
     didn’t oversee, a party she didn’t get invited to, or a guy she couldn’t talk up—usually to stunning results. True, she was
     pretty, with her toned runner’s legs and carefully styled hair, but it was the force of her personality—and her shameless
     flirting—that usually got her any guy she wanted.
    “Oh, hey!” Ava exclaimed, turning around and suddenly acknowledging Lizzie’s presence. “I’m so rude! How was your summer,
     Lizzie?”
    “Great,” Lizzie said through a gritted smile. “How was yours?”
    “Oh, you know, it was the usual—tennis camp in Florida, and then riding camp in Bedford, and then just lying out in Southampton…
     wait!” She looked back at Todd. “We should all have lunch today. When’s your lunch period?”
    “I don’t know, is it down there?” Todd asked Lizzie.
    Lizzie wanted to mention that it had been years since she and Ava had eaten lunch together, but she just looked back down
     at his schedule. “Eleven forty-five,” she said.
    “Oh, I’m twelve thirty,” Ava said disappointedly, tossing one of her curls. “Whatever. You’ll just have to come over after
     school sometime this week so we can catch up.”
    “Sure,” Todd said with an appreciative smile. “That’d be great.”
    Lizzie felt her stomach sink. She knew for a fact that Ava had barely even known Todd before he moved away—he definitely hadn’t
     been one of the popular guys at St. Brendan’s. Now, just because he was cute, she was going to pretend they were old buddies.
     And flirt with