“I know it’s not true, but it’s still out there. And people believe it.”
“On second thought, you don’t need to read those.” She tries to take the magazines from me but I won’t let her. I have to see what lies they’re spreading. “Jade, just forget it. I only showed you so you’d know what’s going on in case you heard people talking about it.”
I flip through the magazine that had the prom photo on it. Inside is a page-long story about Ava and Garret. There’s a pull-quote from Ava in the middle of the page:Garret was my first love. I never should’ve let him go.
“First love? Garret never told me they dated. Why would he keep that a secret?”
“Jade, I’m sure it’s a lie. And if it’s not, then so what? They dated in high school. Big deal.”
“Itisa big deal because he should’ve told me. It would explain why Ava acts so possessive over him. Listen to what she said about him. ‘Garret and I started dating when we were 15. From the first time we kissed, I knew that I loved him. Garret loved me, too, but he wouldn’t admit it so we broke up. We dated again senior year during the filming of Prep School Girls and then he ended it, even though I knew he still loved me. But get ready Garret fans, because the Kensington boy may finally be realizing that our love is meant to be.’”
I toss the magazine on the floor. “What the hell? And she seriously thinks people will believe this?”
“I know it sounds bad, but she’s just saying that to get people to watch the show. It’s probably in her contract. Everyone knows those reality shows aren’t real. And Garret won’t even be on the reunion episodes.”
“Which means that Ava can say whatever she wants about him and he won’t be there to defend himself! And the producers will make it look like she’s telling the truth. Garret said that last year the show edited videos of him to make it look like he was dating Ava. But he wasn’t. He said he barely talked to her in high school.” I hold up the magazine with the prom photo. “But he obviously went to prom with her. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that. Why would he go to prom with someone he claims he didn’t even talk to? And why didn’t Ava say anything? All this time she could’ve been rubbing it in my face.”
“So there’s proof she’s lying. She wouldn’t say that stuff in front of Garret because she knows he’d say it’s not true.” Harper hesitates, eyeing the stack of magazines. “Either that or she purposely wanted you to find out now, right before the show starts. Maybe she’s hoping to get a reaction from you. Those shows love to create drama.”
I pick up the other three magazines and flip through them. Two of them feature the other girls on the show with just a paragraph about Ava. But the last one is all about Ava and Garret, along with quotes from fans about what a cute couple they make and how Garret is super hot. There’s even a sidebar with stats about Garret, half of which aren’t even true.
“His major is business, not pre-law,” I say, reading through the list of lies. “And he’s not a surfer. He’s taken a few lessons. That’s it. And listen to this. It says that Garret wants to be a senator someday. He hates politics.” I toss the magazine on the floor. “It’s like the producers are trying to make Garret into a character for the show without his involvement.”
“That’s how these shows work. They’re not at all reality. They just pretend to be. And they make up stuff to get ratings.”
I get up to leave, taking the magazines with me. “Can I borrow these? I have to show them to Garret.”
“You can have them, but Jade, don’t get mad at him about this. This is all Ava’s doing and the producers of the show.”
“I won’t get mad at him. I’m just going to ask him if any of this is true.”
“You already sound mad. And if you get mad at Garret, you’ll only be doing what Ava wants you to do. She’s trying to break you two up. You can’t let her do that.”
“I’ll see you later. I have to get to class.”
I take the magazines back to my room, then grab my backpack and head to physics.
“How was your weekend?” Carson is already in class, early as usual, and in way too good a mood.
I drop my backpack, causing a thump as my textbook hits the floor. “It was fine.”
“Doesn’t sound fine. You sound pissed. Did something happen with Garret? You guys didn’t break up, did you? Because that would really suck on Valentine’s Day weekend.”
I look at him, noticing how he almost seems happy when he says it. “No, the weekend was great. Really great. I’m just in a bad mood about something else.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. Just forget it.” I reach down to get my book out, wishing I hadn’t come to class so early. “So how was your weekend? Did you take Kerry out?”
“Yeah, we went out for dinner Sunday night. What did you and Garret do?”
I don’t want to tell him, but I know he’ll keep asking until I do. “We went out of town to a hotel that overlooks the ocean.”
“Did he give you those earrings?”
I feel my ears, noticing the diamond studs. “Yeah, he did give me these.”
“Must be nice to have that kind of money. I could only afford dinner. But Kerry didn’t seem to care. It’s not like she expected a gift or anything.”
