Project Publicity || l.h

Chapter 20// Replaced

"Do you remember, how I told you I liked a girl in the third grade?" Luke asked, still holding my hand. It was a shame I could barely hear him. I was taken under by a huge urge to fall asleep, even though the movie was still playing and Luke was still looking at me like I was the only girl in the world. But I did remember what he was talking about; he'd mentioned this girl before.

"Hmmm, yeah," I told him.

Luke shifted in his seat, and suddenly his face was inches away from mine. "Can you guess who that was?"

"Who?" I groaned. Luke's eyes seemed to sparkle at my question.

"It was you. Jade."

...
"Jade, wake up!" My brother yells in my ear- once, twice. "Are you hungunder? Again?"

"Hung...under?" I moan, slowly opening my eyes. The light coming from my window seems to be brighter than normal, making me hiss like a vampire in sunlight. My eyes squeeze shut again.

"You know," Cam chirps. "After you drink too much from a can. You like, forget stuff. And you act really weird. Oh. And you're not allowed to drive."

"That's a hangover, Cam. Help me up." I scramble off the bed, and his little hands obediently grab my elbows.

"Cameron....how did I get home last night?" I ask, after he sets me back on my feet.

"Mom said Luke brought you home, at like noon."

"Oh."

"Have you heard from him?" I ask, watching him crawl back onto my bed.

"No, but I've heard about Ashton," Cam giggles. "He lost his pants at the party! Isn't that funny?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Where did you read this?"

"Hailey's blog, of course." He smiles mischiviously. "The comments are even funnier! Some people called Ash an 'embarrassment', hehehe."

I'm starting to think that I should limit Cam's Internet use. Maybe put Parental Control on the computer or something. "You've done your research," I tell him.

"Of course," he says, hopping off my bed. "Oh, and there's gonna be like, people hanging around our neighbourhood today."

"Why?"

"I dunno. I didn't read that part of the blog."

Cam is right. Still a little groggy, I force myself to walk over to the window that overlooks the sidewalk, and notice little groups of teenagers strolling past. "What time is it, Cam?" I ask my brother, to which he replies: "It's almost seven PM. You slept allllll day."

I whip around, staring at the ten-year-old in shock. "No, way."

"Yes, way." He frowns, annoyed that I don't agree with him.

I rush to my closet and quickly pull out a top and some jeans, trying (and failing) to run down the stairs. It makes me a little dizzy and I have to slow down with every step. Cameron chases after me, asking where I'm going. "I have to find Luke, or Hailey. I can't stay in here forever," I reply, setting foot on the first floor.

"Uh-uh," my mother says childishly, appearing in front of me. She waves her finger in front of my face, and Cam giggles. (I swear I'm surrounded by little kids.) "Did you finish your homework?" My mother asks.

I roll my eyes. "Mom, I'm 17. It's Saturday evening. I have the right to go out."

"You're not going out until you finish your homework," she replies, and to that, I sigh tremendously. But it's no use arguing with my mother. Frustrated, I walk back upstairs...but not before I grab a bottle of water and some Advil to keep myself sane.