“Oh, Lilly,” I breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Lilly said. “I asked Principal Gupta what would happen if no one ran—you know, to the student council. And she said Mrs. Hill would just have to preside over it. Well, you know how THAT would turn out: We’d be selling candles from here to Spring Break. So I asked Principal Gupta if I could run in your place, and she said, seeing as how there were no other candidates, she didn’t see why not. So I gave your speech. You know, the one about all the things people should do in the event of catastrophes? I guess I embellished a bit. Nothing TOO much. Just, you know, a few bits about supervolcanoes and asteroids…nothing major. People were too afraid NOT to vote for me. They held the vote last period. And I won. Well, over fifty percent, anyway. I KNEW this freshman class would respond to fear, and fear alone. It’s all they’ve ever known, after all.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s great, Lilly.”
“Thanks,” Lilly said. “Although I don’t know what I’m telling YOU for, since you didn’t help in any way. You are not my vice president, by the way. Perin is. I don’t need a boyfriend stealer as my vice president, OR as a friend.”
“Lilly,” I said. “I did NOT steal your boyfriend. I told you, I only kissed him because—well, I don’t know why I kissed him. I just did. But—”
“You know what, Mia?” Lilly snapped. “I don’t want to hear it. Why don’t you save it for someone who cares? Like J.P., for instance.”
“J.P. doesn’t like me that way, Lilly,” I couldn’t help snapping back. “And you know it!”
“Do I?” Lilly asked, with an evil laugh. “Well, maybe I know something you don’t know, then.”
“What are youtalking about?” I demanded. “Come on, Lilly, this is stupid. We’ve been friends too long to let a GUY come between us—”
“Yeah?” Lilly said. “Well, maybe we’ve been friends long enough, then. Good-bye, POG.”
Then I heard a click. Lilly hung up on me.
I couldn’t believe it. Lillyhung up on me.
I sat there, not having the slightest idea what to do. The truth was, I couldn’t believe any of this was happening. I’d lost my boyfriend and my best friend all in the same week. Was such a thing even possible?
I was still sitting there, holding the phone, when it rang again. I was so sure it was Lilly calling back to apologize for hanging up on me that I answered on the first ring and said, “Look, Lilly, I am so, so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do ANYTHING.”
But it wasn’t Lilly. A deep, masculine voice said, “Mia?”
And my heart soared. It was Michael. MICHAEL WAS CALLING ME! I didn’t know how, since he was supposedly on a plane. But what did I care? It was MICHAEL!
“Yes,” I said, my bones turning to jelly with relief. It was MICHAEL! I practically burst into tears—but this time with happiness, not sadness.
“It’s me,” the voice said. “J.P.”
My bones went from jelly to stone. My heart crashed back down to the earth.
“Oh,” I said, desperately trying to keep my disappointment from sounding obvious. Because a princess always tries to make callers feel welcome, even if they aren’t the caller she was expecting. Or hoping for. “Hi.”
“I take it you already talked to Lilly,” J.P. said.
“Um,” I said. How could I have thought it was Michael? Michael was on a plane, flying halfway across the world from me. And why would Michael ever bother calling me again, after what I did? “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
“I’m guessing it probably went about as well as when I tried to talk to her, just now,” J.P. said.
“Yeah,” I said. I felt numb. Was numbness a symptom of dysthmia? Not just emotional numbness, but actual PHYSICAL numbness? “She pretty much hates my guts. And I guess she has a right to. I don’t know what I was thinking back there outside of Chemistry, J.P. I am so, so sorry.”
J.P. laughed. “You don’t have to apologize to me,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
It was nice of him to be so chivalrous about it. But it somehow made it a little worse, in a way.
“I’m such an idiot,” I said miserably.
“I don’t think you’re an idiot,” J.P. said. “I just think you’ve had a really bad week. That’s why I’m calling. I figured you’d need cheering up, and I think I’ve got just the ticket. Literally.”
“I don’t know, J.P.,” I said dully. “I think I have dysthmia.”
“I don’t have the slightest idea what that is,” J.P. said. “But I do know that I am holding in my hand two box seat tickets to tonight’s Broadway performance ofBeauty and the Beast. Would you be interested in coming with me?”
I couldn’t help gasping. Box seats, to my favorite musical of all time?
“H-how—” I stammered. “How did you—”
“Easy,” J.P. said. “My dad’s a producer, remember? So. You up for it? Show starts in an hour.”
Was hekidding ? How had heknown ? How had he known this was EXACTLY what I needed to get my mind off what a total and complete jerk I had been to the two people I cared about most in the world (besides Fat Louie and Rocky, of course)?
“I’m up for it,” I said. “I’m totally up for it!”
“I’ll meet you outside the theater in forty-five minutes,” J.P. said. “And Mia.”
“What?”
“Just for tonight, let’s not mention either of the Moscovitzes. Deal?”
“Deal,” I said, smiling for what felt like the first time all day. “See you in a few minutes.”
I hung up the phone.
Then, before I went to change out of my school uniform and into something nice for the theater, I got up and walked over to my computer.
I clicked on my e-mail. No new messages.
But that was okay. I wasn’t expecting any. I didn’t actuallydeserve any.
Then I thought for a while.
Then, finally, in the blank space, I wrote:
Michael. I’m sorry.
Then I clicked SEND.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to Beth Ader, Jennifer Brown, Barbara Cabot, Sarah Davies, John Henry Dreyfuss, Michele Jaffe, Laura Langlie, Amanda Maciel, Abigail McAden, and especially, Benjamin Egnatz
About the Author
MEG CABOTis the author of the best-selling, critically acclaimed Princess Diaries books, which were made into the wildly popular Disney movies of the same name. Her other books for teens include the Mediator series, the 1-800-Where-R-You books,ALL -AMERICAN GIRL,READY OR NOT ,TEEN IDOL ,HOW TO BE POPULAR , andAVALON HIGH , as well asNICOLA AND THE VISCOUNT andVICTORIA AND THE ROGUE . She also writes books for adults, includingTHE BOY NEXT DOOR ,BOY MEETS GIRL ,EVERY BOY ’S GOT ONE,SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT , andQUEEN OF BABBLE . She is still waiting for her real parents, the king and queen, to restore her to her rightful throne. She lives in Key West and New York City with her husband and a one-eyed cat named Henrietta.
Visit Meg’s website at:
www.megcabot.com
For exclusive information on your favorite authors and artists, visit www.authortracker.com.
Books by
MEG CABOT
The Princess Diaries
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME II:
Princess in the Spotlight
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME III:
Princess in Love
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME IV:
Princess in Waiting
Valentine Princess:
A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK(VOLUME IV AND A QUARTER)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME IVAND A HALF :
Project Princess
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME V:
Princess in Pink
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME VI:
Princess in Training
The Princess Present:
A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK(VOLUME VI AND A HALF)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME VII:
Party Princess
Sweet Sixteen Princess:
A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK(VOLUME VII AND A HALF)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES,VOLUME VIII:
Princess on the Brink
ILLUSTRATED BY CHESLEY MCLAREN:
Princess Lessons:
A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK
Perfect Princess:
A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK
Holiday Princess:
A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK
ALL-AMERICAN GIRL
READY OR NOT: AN ALL-AMERICAN GIRL NOVEL
TEEN IDOL
HOW TO BE POPULAR
AVALON HIGH
NICOLA AND THE VISCOUNT
VICTORIA AND THE ROGUE
THE MEDIATOR BOOKS:
THE MEDIATOR 1: SHADOWLAND
THE MEDIATOR 2: NINTH KEY
THE MEDIATOR 3: REUNION
THE MEDIATOR 4: DARKEST HOUR
THE MEDIATOR 5: HAUNTED
THE MEDIATOR 6: TWILIGHT
THE BOY NEXT DOOR
BOY MEETS GIRL
EVERY BOY’S GOT ONE
SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT
SIZE 14 IS NOT FAT EITHER
QUEEN OF BABBLE
THE 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU BOOKS:
1: WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES
2: CODE NAME CASSANDRA
3: SAFE HOUSE
4: SANCTUARY
5: MISSING YOU
Credits
Jacket art © 2007 by Howard Huang
Jacket design by Amy Ryan
Copyright
PRINCESS ON THE BRINK. Copyright © 2007 by Meg Cabot, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Microsoft Reader December 2006 ISBN 978-0-06-129060-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cabot, Meg.
Princess on the brink / Meg Cabot.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(The princess diaries; v. 8)
Summary: Princess Mia’s junior year in high school begins with a difficult course load, a crazy student council race, Grandmère’s search for temporary lodging, and learning that her boyfriend is moving to Japan for a year, partly because she will not sleep with him.
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-072456-6
ISBN-10: 0-06-072456-0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900
Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.uk.harpercollinsebooks.com
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
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