Out of Order Read Online Free Page A

correct her makeup and shoved everything back in her purse, swearing bitterly. Jessa overlooked the bad language and kept quiet, thank God.
    “Am I really going to go out there?” Ricky asked, wringing her hands. “What if he notices that I’ve been in here this whole time?”
    “I’m sure he wasn’t paying attention,” Jessa said soothingly, petting Ricky’s mousy brown hair.
    I glared at Jessa. “Is that really helping?” I asked her, crossing my arms. Jessa shrugged and continued to pet Ricky. “But yeah. He’s too busy showing off how much of a huge jerk he is to notice. Besides, it isn’t any of his business what you do anymore.”
    “It’s not?”
    Kate jumped in with an enthusiastic, “No, because you are a strong, independent black woman—”
    “I’m not black.”
    “Who don’t need no man —”
    “Didn’t Corey already say all of—?”
    “—because you, girl, are fabulous and smart and awesome, and he’s just the dirt beneath your shoe, okay? You need to brush him off your knees, get back up again, and walk all over his sorry ass!” Kate looked at Jessa’s raised eyebrows and sighed. “You need to walk all over his sorry behind. Now, repeat after me!”
    Ricky sighed, but she was smiling.
    “I am a strong—” Kate repeated slowly.
    “I am a strong, independent black woman who don’t need no man!” Ricky interrupted, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically. “Because I am fabulous, and he is the first step beneath my shoes and stuff, walking all over that bad boy, yep.”
    Jessa put a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles. Kate and I didn’t even bother. We looked at each other and burst into obnoxiously loud laughter.
    “Come on, Rick Roll, let’s get outta here,” I said once the stomach cramps subsided, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Kate put her arms around both of us, initiating a group hug.
    “Come on, Jess, get in here!” Kate warbled, hugging us tighter. Jessa rolled her eyes again, as she was often wont to do, but tentatively got into the group hug anyway.
    “Girl power!” Ricky laughed from her position as the crushed Oreo icing center of our hug.
    “Girl power!” the other three of us chorused, laughing and falling all over each other.
    “How am I going to get back at him?” she asked, muffled by our bodies. “He humiliated me.”
    “That’s easy,” Kate said brightly. “You humiliate him back.” A devious smile found its way onto her face as we broke the hug. “Did you ever tell him about your pregnancy scare?”
    We formulated a plan and then walked out of that school bathroom with poise and sophistication. Ricky was nervous but put up a good front. We hunted Mike down and found him by the vending machines with his new girlfriend on his arm.
    “Hey, asshole!” she said, grabbing his arm.
    He turned to look at her, affronted. If he were a cat, his neck hair would be standing on end.
    “Ricky? What?”
    “I can’t believe you would do this to me,” she shrieked dramatically, her eyes wet with what were probably genuine tears. “After all we’ve been through!”
    “Erica, this really isn’t the time or place to throw a hissy fit,” Mike said, rolling his eyes toward his new girlfriend. She didn’t go to our school so I didn’t know much about her. She was a cute blonde with hipster glasses and a purple streak in her hair.
    “This is exactly the time and place. I can’t believe you’d leave your pregnant girlfriend for this slut!”
    I winced for the other girl’s sake. It really wasn’t her fault, but Ricky was upset. The wince was replaced by a smirk when I saw the horrified looks on both Mike and his girlfriend’s faces.
    “You’re pregnant?” he asked, stunned.
    “Hell yes I am! That’s what I was trying to tell you when you dumped me,” Ricky fumed. “And I am having this baby with or without you. I’ll see you in family court, asshole.”
    “Court?” Mike looked like he was about to either faint or