Your Life, but Cooler Read online

  Check out the other books in the

  Your Life, but…series:

  Your Life, but Better!

  And coming in December 2010:

  Your Life, but sweeter!

  To my mom and dad,

  Madelin and Eliezer Velasquez,

  the best parents

  in the whole world

  And to Arielle Crystal Marte,

  my best friend’s new daughter,

  who brought joy to our lives

  when we needed it most

  Acknowledgments

  Once again, I must start by thanking my editor and friend, Stephanie Elliott. As always, you did a wonderful editing job, suggesting all the right things to make the book better. More important, you have made my dreams come true by giving me this opportunity. Thank you isn’t enough, but thank you!

  Thanks also to editorial assistant Krista Vitola, who told me she couldn’t wait to read the second book in the series. You have no idea how good that made me feel! And your help in shaping the story is much appreciated.

  A huge thank-you to copy editor Ashley Mason, who did an amazing job fixing all my mistakes and making me look good. Thank you to Tamar Schwartz, managing editor; Marci Senders, designer; Natalia Dextre, production associate; Colleen Fellingham, associate copy chief; Barbara Perris, copy chief; Barbara Greenberg, proofreader; Meg O’Brien, publicist; Alyssa Sheinmel, marketing manager; and the entire Delacorte Press team. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to each and every one of you.

  Thanks also to Angela Martini, who provided the adorable cover illustrations; Dan Elliott, who did a great job on my author photo; and Maria Flores, who created a Web site for me that I can be proud of.

  I would like to thank my family, the most important people in my life. My mother and father, Madelin and Eliezer Velasquez; my brother, Eli Velasquez; my loveable grandparents, Guillermina and David White; my niece and nephew, Jasmine and Eli; their mother, Amanda Topple-Wildig Velasquez, and grandmother, Jean Topple; my cousin Dennis Viera; my great-aunt Maria Quiñones; my cousin David Viera and his wife, Janet Viera, and their son and daughter David and Melissa Viera; my aunt Liz Pacheco; Richard and Maria Santiago, and their kids, Roque and Gabby; Ronnie Santiago and his wife, Lynette, and daughter, Kelsey; my aunt Esther…I could go on and on. I have a big, loving family and feel so lucky to have all of you. (Special mention to Jasmine and my mom, who helped brainstorm ideas for this book. It really helped!) And for those we lost last year, my aunts Milca E. Pennulla and Eugenia Kercado, you are always in our hearts.

  I also have a ton of close friends who are endlessly supportive and hilarious. (Dereeka, we’ve been friends for more than twenty years! Ericka, I can’t wait to meet your first baby! Tom, thanks for helping me break through the writer’s block and for enlisting your four nieces to be my first reviewers. Dionne, Maria, Selena, Diane, Brigitte, Esther, Jeannie, and all my friends from Ballantine—what would I do without you?) I would name all my friends here, but it would take up five pages. It’s a great problem to have. Thank you all for making my life better, cooler, and just plain great. I’d like to thank my college creative writing professor, Yesho Atil, for teaching me so much and making me laugh while you were at it. And thank you to Gene Hult and Annemarie Nye, who gave me my first paid writing jobs, and Howard for years of free haircuts.

  And finally, thank you to the readers! I really hope you have as much fun reading this book as I had writing it.

  Welcome to Your Life, but Cooler! the only interactive series that lets your true personality lead the way! You know what usually happens in these books: the reader gets to the end of a chapter, is faced with a random choice, and is told to decide what he or she wants to happen next. Well, not this time! This book is more like real life.

  In this book, it’s all about you! You are the main character, so the narrator always talks directly to you about everything that’s happening. At the end of each chapter, you’ll take a personality quiz that will help you figure out what you would do in a given situation. The outcome may not always be pretty, but it’s honest. And just like in real life, the results of your decisions can be unpredictable. Some roads lead to love, fame, and fortune, while others lead to embarrassment, arguments, and rejection.

  Along the way, you might learn a little something about the kind of person you are and the kind of girl you want to be. Are you book smart? Romantic? Do you have a jealous streak? Are you a good friend? Answering the quizzes will help you figure that out. All you can do is be yourself and hope for the best. (If all else fails, of course, you can always start over from the beginning and see where different choices might have led you. That part’s a little better than real life.)

  So go ahead; get started. What would you do on an ordinary day if something extraordinary happened to you? Start reading to find out. It’s just like your life…but cooler.

  Good luck!

  Don’t be alarmed. That wailing sound you hear is not an ambulance siren; it’s just Mark Bukowski attempting to sing the theme song from The Little Mermaid.

  “Wandering free, wish I could be part of your wooooooorld…,” Mark finishes, raising his arms in a triumphant V while his friends laugh and egg him on. They all seem to be loving the show Mark is putting on in the schoolyard, just outside the main entrance, where everyone gathers before the doors open for homeroom.

  Meanwhile, your best friends, Jessie Miller and Lena Saldano, are both covering their ears and wincing as if in real pain. “Now that’s just mean,” Jessie complains, furrowing her light blond eyebrows.

  Lena quickly checks the clock on her BlackBerry. “Seriously! It isn’t even eight o’clock yet. Isn’t there some law against damaging the eardrums of minors, especially this early in the morning?”

  You can’t help but smile. “If there isn’t, there should be. Good thing I’m not awake enough yet to care,” you finish with a yawn, adjusting your backpack on your shoulder. It has already been months since school started, but you’re still missing those carefree summer days when you could sleep in until noon if you felt like it. If only school could start at ten or eleven. Or maybe if you could just take your classes over the Internet somehow…

  Before you have a chance to indulge in your homeschool fantasy, Jessie flicks your temple with two hot pink fingernails.

  “Hey! That hurt!” you cry, rubbing your temple.

  “Good, maybe it’ll wake you up a little. This is no time for you to be half asleep. Today could be major!”

  For once, you don’t need Jessie to tell you that. After a pretty exciting summer, the school year has been kind of a snoozefest in comparison. But today everybody’s buzzing about the choir (which explains Mark’s ode to bad singing). According to the flyer that the faculty advisor, Mr. Parker, posted yesterday, they are holding spontaneous auditions this afternoon. It seems your school was chosen to participate in an all-state competition, and the winners get to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. (Talk about big time!) Since the choir had been full of eighth graders who all graduated last year, the director is in desperate need of new blood—especially a soloist. The last-minute auditions are designed to find people who can—and will—sing at the drop of a hat, without weeks of practice and preparation.

  “Jessie’s right,” Lena says. “This audition could be historically important. The choir has been too packed to accept any new members for so long, and the eighth graders always got the good solo spots. But now it’s wide open! Having lowly fifth, sixth, and seventh graders take over would be a major coup.” She clicks open a screen on her BlackBerry and types something with both thumbs.

  “And let me guess,” you reply, peeking at the screen. “You’re going to blog about it, right?”


  She shrugs. “Of course. Charlie suggested we do kind of a tag-team blog. He’s going to get the teachers’ point of view about the choir and music education while I focus on the student body and what they think of the audition process.”

  It doesn’t surprise you at all that Lena has teamed up with Charlie Daniels. Not only is he just as much of an overachiever as Lena (he even wears ties to school!) but you suspect Lena has a little crush on him. Not that she would admit that in a gazillion years.

  “Does that mean you’re auditioning too?” a squeaky voice chimes in behind Lena.

  You all turn to see Amy Choi standing there, her straight black hair swinging as she looks at each of you excitedly. You can only hope she didn’t overhear you say anything you don’t want blabbed all over town. Amy considers herself the TMZ of your school. She never met a rumor she didn’t like, and she definitely isn’t above using her videophone to catch you doing something embarrassing and then posting it on YouTube.

  “Not me,” Lena answers immediately. “Journalistic principle and all. I can’t report on the story and be a part of it too.”

  You and Jessie share a look while trying to hold back your smiles. You know you’re both thinking the same thing. Sure, Lena. That’s why you don’t want to audition. You’re pretty sure it has more to do with the fact that over the summer, Amy videotaped Lena hurling into a trash can in the mall. For a while, that YouTube clip got more hits than the one of the baby dancing to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video. Since then, Lena has been trying to lie low, not that you blame her.

  “Just as well,” Amy says with a shrug of her shoulders.

  Lena carefully tucks her thick brown hair behind one ear. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Amy sighs and rolls her eyes as if to say, Don’t you know anything? “For starters, they’re going to be looking for singers who are really serious about performing because…” Amy looks to her left and then her right and then leans in close, as if she is about to drop a humongous secret. You find yourself leaning in too. “The producers of that show Glee might attend the Carnegie Hall performance, looking for extras.”

  You and your friends immediately lean back and give a synchronized eye roll. You don’t even have to say a word. Your smirk and crossed arms say it all. Yeah, right. The producers of a major TV show are going to be cruising for talent from your podunk town. Fat chance.

  Amy, seeing the disbelief on your face, prissily adjusts her Hello Kitty messenger bag on her shoulder and purses her lips. “Fine, don’t believe me. But look around. You really think even the jocks would be getting ready to audition if it weren’t true?”

  Hmm…She’s got a point. As you take a quick look around the schoolyard, it becomes instantly obvious that singing fever has infiltrated every single clique there is: the popular kids, the jocks, the brainiacs, even your little group of indefinables. (When Lena advised you that “indefinables” is not technically a word, your crush—and now friend—Jimmy Morehouse responded that made up or not, nothing else quite describes your merry band of misfits.) Everywhere you turn, kids are standing in tightly huddled groups practicing scales or singing along with their iPods. Melanie from the cheerleading crew is carrying a pom-pom in one hand and sheet music in the other. You bet even Mona Winston, the queen of the popular girls—and your sworn enemy—is warming up her pipes somewhere. (Though you hope her busy modeling schedule will keep her away. Mona has never liked you, so you usually try to steer clear of her if you can.)

  If Jimmy didn’t already have an art exhibit to worry about, he’d probably be out here too, singing “Do-Re-Mi” instead of getting to the art room super-early to do some last-minute painting. It’s hard to believe that you and Jimmy have become close enough friends that he actually called you last night to invite you to the local community center’s art show to see his work after school. But he totally did. (This is a huge leap forward, considering that a mere two months ago you barely had the guts to say hi to each other.) And adorably, he even dropped the phone a few times. Sure, that could have just been him being his usual klutzy self, but you prefer to think it was because he was really nervous when he asked you—as if there were any possible way you would say no! Naturally, you promised to come out and support him.

  But let’s get back to the matter at hand. You hate that you have absolutely no retort for busybody Amy. Could what she’s saying be…true? Your doubt must be obvious, because Amy gives you a happy little “Mm-hm!” and turns her attention back to your friend. “Besides, no offense, Lena, but the solo spots always, always, always go to the A-listers. Just like everything else.” To be fair to Amy, you know she isn’t actually trying to be mean. In fact, there isn’t a drop of malice in her voice as she says this. She is simply stating it as a fact, as if she had just said “Pizza tastes good” or “Mona Winston is evil”—neither of which anyone in his or her right mind could argue with.

  Still, Lena has to object. “But they can’t barge in and take over the top spots this time. The faculty judges choosing the soloists are supposed to be unbiased.”

  Amy sighs deeply and shakes her head. “Didn’t you even read the flyer? They’re looking for student judges too—to get ‘real kids’ opinions’ or something. They’re looking for a soloist who can really connect with kids, not just win over adults. And who do you think is going to sign up to be a judge?” She nods slyly over at Lisa Topple and Maria Santos, two of Mona’s most loyal cronies. You’ve heard that Lisa is only loyal because she wants to use Mona’s modeling connections to become an actress. Maria transferred to your school around the same time as Mona, so you guess they bonded over being the new girls. Maria doesn’t seem to really like Mona—no surprise there—but being her friend does come with some perks, like meeting the occasional celebrity. And Maria is the type of kid who does’t necessarily crave the spotlight, but she’ll do whatever she can to make sure her friend gets it.

  Her point made, Amy flounces away to talk to Lisa and Maria. You open your mouth to protest, but no sound comes out at all. As much as you hate to admit it, Amy is right. The popular kids do always get the solos, and they’re the captains of all the sports teams and usually get all the leads in the plays. So unfair!

  Looking over at Jessie and her furrowed brows, you can tell that the same thought is dawning on her. Only, her sky blue eyes are twinkling and the beginning of a smile is curling her gloss-covered lips. That can mean only one thing: She’s got a plan.

  “Girls,” she says, throwing her arms around your and Lena’s shoulders so that you three form a huddle of your own, “Amy is telling the truth. You realize what this means, right?”

  “Yeah,” you offer in mock disbelief. “If the Queen of Gossip is right, it means all the other gossip rags might be right sometimes…and I might have to actually start believing all those Enquirer articles! So Megan Fox really is an alien!”

  Lena giggles, but Jessie just gives you an exasperated sigh. “Maybe, but that’s not where I was going. It means yeah, the popular kids rule the school, but maybe that’s only because we sit back and let them. We have a real chance with this choir thing to shake things up!”

  Lena is no longer giggling. You can tell that Jessie has just tapped into her inner social activist. “A call to action?” Lena says, arching one eyebrow. “I’m intrigued. Go on.”

  “Well, for starters, I’m going to get the most unlikely kids in school to audition. Who knows what kind of talent has been hiding out in the bio lab and goth club? I can even glam them up a little if they want.” Jessie nods at Lena.

  “And how about you and Charlie focus your blog on making sure everything stays fair?”

  Lena nods enthusiastically as she furiously types into her BlackBerry. “Charlie’s going to love that angle. We’d be honored to do our part for justice!”

  Jessie smiles a brilliant smile, flashing all her teeth. “Great! That just leaves one crucial part of the plan: our secret weapon.”

  “What’s that?” you ask just
as the bell rings and people start shuffling into the building, heading for homeroom.

  This time it’s Jessie and Lena who share a knowing look before Jessie says, “Duuuh. You! You’ve just got to go for the solo spot! They’re only picking one for the competition piece. I’ve heard you sing and you would put Christina Aguilera to shame.”

  You have to admit you’re a big shower singer, and, well…you have kind of a nice voice. Okay, a great voice. And you totally have a fantasy of singing on top of a car in the middle of New York City, à la Taylor Swift during the MTV Video Music Awards. But fantasizing about singing in front of the whole world and actually doing it are very, very different things.

  “I don’t know,” you mutter hesitantly as you walk into your homeroom class, taking a seat behind Mary McCullen and Holly Deever—who everyone calls Mary Sunshine and Holly Happy-Go-Lucky behind their backs since they are the two gloomiest girls ever.

  “You don’t know what?” Mary butts in, turning around in her seat to face you, her stringy black hair clinging to one cheek. Holly, sitting in the seat in front of Mary, turns around too. Looking at their matching black T-shirts, black jeans, and black sneakers, you’d swear they called each other in the morning to coordinate their looks.

  Holly: How about the gray T-shirts today?

  Mary: Nuh-uh. That’s waaay too cheerful

  Holly: Um…black again?

  Mary: Now you’re talking. And don’t forget to look like your dog just died all day

  Holly: Got it.

  If it weren’t for the fact that Holly has deep chestnut brown hair and is about five inches shorter than Mary, you’d have trouble telling them apart.

  Jessie, sitting to your left, speaks up first. “She doesn’t know if she wants to be the next Britney Spears or not.”

  “She doesn’t know if she wants to revolutionize the world by auditioning, or if she should just sit on the sidelines and watch,” Lena adds from her seat to the right of you. You suddenly find yourself missing Lena’s Shakespeare phase, when she was quoting the Bard every chance she got. Now that she’s thinking of joining the school paper (to add to her future college applications, of course), she’s been reading every newspaper she can get her hands on, and seems to think every little incident could be a huge world event.