Chasing Boys (17 page)
And by the way, I just think guys are not worth the angst.
Of course I don’t say any of this. I will say it, and a whole lot more, but for now I have to focus on getting through this visit.
“Thanks for coming,” I say.
“I had a message on my cell phone to come here and hang out with you on your dad’s birthday. So we can do that. Or we could take the day off and catch a movie at the mall. Your choice. I’m Margot,” she says as she links arms with me.
And somehow I just know we are going to be friends.
“I’ll give it an hour, then we’ll see.” We begin walking through the cemetery. “Maybe we could say hi to Gran too?”
“We’ve got all day,” says Margot.
“Is your sister still going out with Rufus?” I ask.
“We have so much to catch up on,” says Margot.
As always, thanks to Maryann Ballantyne and Andrew Kelly for having faith in
Chasing Boys
. To Andrew for his insightful comments and thorough reads. To Maryann for her enthusiastic phone calls the day she finished reading it.
To Simon Lush for his help with the “ologist” scenes.
To Susie, Bernie, and Caity for reading the unedited proof and passing on their comments.
Thanks to Alison Arnold for her insistence on getting it as right as can be—including the acknowledgments. And last, but not least, Chandra Wohleber, who made sense of my English.
Copyright © 2007 by Karen Tayleur
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in Australia in 2007 by Black Dog Books
First published in the United States of America in January 2009
by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
E-book edition published in July 2010
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Tayleur, Karen.
Chasing boys / Karen Tayleur.
p. cm.
Summary: With her father gone and her family dealing with financial problems, El transfers to a new school, where she falls for one of the popular boys and then must decide whether to remain true to herself or become like the girls she scorns.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8027-9830-5 • ISBN-10: 0-8027-9830-6 (hardcover)
[1. Interpersonal relations-Fiction. 2. Self-confidence-Fiction. 3. High schools-Fiction. 4. Schools-Fiction. 5. Fathers-Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.T21149Ch 2009 [Fic]-dc22 2008023241
ISBN 978-0-8027-2229-4 (e-book)