Perfect (Book Two)

Twenty-Eight: It's Not A Party Without Hanna Marin.

As her taxi pulled up to Kingman Hall, Hanna threw twenty bucks at the cabdriver, an older, balding guy who seemed to have a sweating problem. "Keep it," she said. She slammed the door and ran for the entrance, her stomach roiling. She'd bought a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos at the train station in Philly and had maniacally scarfed down the whole thing in five frantic minutes. Bad move.

To her right was the Foxy check-in table. A whippet-thin girl was close-cropped blond hair and tons of eyeliner was collecting tickets and checking off names in her book. Hanna hesitated. She had no idea where her ticket was, but if she tried to bargain her way in, they'd just tel her to go home. She narrowed her eyes at the Foxy tent, which flowed like a birthday cake. There was no way she was letting Sean get away with this. She was getting into Foxy, whether Eyeliner Girl liked it or not.

Taking a deep breath, Hanna sprinted at top speed past the check-in table. "Hey!" she heard the girl call. "Wait!"

Hanna hid behind a column, her heart beating fast. A beefy bouncer in a tux ran by her, then stopped and looked around. Frustrated and confused, he shrugged and said something into his walkie-talkie. Hanna felt a little satisfied thrill. Sneaking in gave her the same rush as stealing.

Foxy was a blur of kids. She couldn't remember it ever being this packed. Most of the girls on the dance floor had taken their shoes off, and they held them in the air as they spun. There was an equally enormous crowd by the bar, and more kids were gathered in line by what looked like a karaoke booth. By the looks of the nearly set, empty tables, they hadn't served dinner yet.

Hanna grabbed the elbow of Amanda Williamson, a Rosewood Day sophomore who always tried to say hi to Hanna in the halls. Amanda's face lit up. "Heyyy, Hanna!"

"Have you seen Sean?" Hanna barked.

A surprised look crossed Amanda's face; then she shrugged. "I'm not sure..."

Hanna pressed on, her heart pounding. Maybe he wasn't here. She swirled directions, nearly colliding with a waiter carrying a huge tray of cheese. Hanna grabbed an enormous chunk of cheddar and shoved it in her mouth. She swallowed without even tasting it.

"Hanna!" Naomi Zeigler, dressed in a gold sheath and looking very faux-tanned, cried. "How fun! You're here! I thought you said you weren't coming!"

Hanna frowned. Naomi was clutching James Freed. She pointed to both of them. "You guys came together?" Hanna had thought maybe Naomi was Sean's date.

Naomi nodded. Then she leaned forward. "Are you looking for Sean?" She shook her head, awestruck. "It's all everyone's been talking about. I seriously can't believe it."

Hanna's heart sped up. "So Sean's here?"

"He's here, all right." James ducked, pulled a Coke bottle full of a suspicious-looking clear liquid from his inside jacket pocket, and dumped it into his orange juice. He took a sip and smiled.

"I mean, they're so different," Naomi mused. "You said you guys were still friends, right? Did he tell you why he asked her?"

"Lay off." James nudged Naomi. "She's sexy."

"Who?" Hanna screamed. Why did everyone know about this but her?

"There they are." Naomi pointed across the room.

It was as if the sea of kids parted and a huge spotlight beamed down from the ceiling. Sean was in the corner by the karaoke machine, hugging a tall girl in a black-and-white polka-dotted. He had his head crooked around her neck, and her hands were dangerously close to his butt. Then the girl turned her head, and Hanna saw the familiar elfin, exotic features, and that trademark blue-black hair. Aria.