Every Girl's Guide to Boys by Marla Miniano Page A

Every Girl’s Guide series:
     
    Every Girl’s Guide to Flings
     
     
     
     
     
    Rule number 1:
    Know where to start.
     
     
     
     
    Hi, I’m Ericka Barcelona. Some people
know me as Rickie, the wayward friend of good girls Anna and Chrissy—the
girl in short skirts and high heels who has a hip party to go to every Saturday
night, who so-and-so dated or so-and-so had a summer fling with—and I
can’t really say I mind.
    But most people know me as the sister of Alexa Barcelona,
”theater’s next big thing”, “favorite teen leading lady,” which translate to
only one thing—superstar.
    She
came home last night in a good mood, as usual, telling our parents how the
audience hung on to her performance. Of course, she was being all modest and
humble and trying to downplay how amazing everyone thought she was, as usual.
My parents gave her their full attention, as usual, listening to her story like
they were not yet used to their daughter being so extraordinary. I
simultaneously tried to tune them out and keep my ears peeled for the point
where they finish fawning over her. I sulked in a corner of the living room,
flipping through a gossip magazine as I waited. As usual.
    And
then she said, “Mom, Dad, do you remember Timmy Fernandez?”
    “Your Philosophy classmate?” Mom asked. Of course she
remembered. Lexi has had a crush on Timmy since heaven knows when. But then
again, every other guy on the planet has a crush on Lexi. Timmy also happened
to be Anna’s older brother, but I guess my mom wouldn’t know that, since she’s
never had a single decent conversation with my friends.
    “Yeah,”
Lexi smiled. “He’s coming over in a while. We just need to discuss something
for our group’s Philo paper. We won’t take too long.”
    I
thought, He’s coming over for something
school-related, and she’s smiling like they’re about to go out on a date. She
knows he has a girlfriend. Pathetic.
    Dad
yawned, standing up. “Well, good luck on the paper. Goodnight, munchkin.” Yes,
he calls her munchkin. Yes, even in public sometimes. And no, she totally
doesn’t mind. Eww.
    Mom stood up to leave too, then noticed me in the
corner, “Rickie, is that trashy magazine for school, or is there another good
reason you’re still up?”
    “I was just about to go to bed,” I said. I brushed past
them, made my way upstairs, and locked my bedroom door behind me. After ten
minutes, I heard Timmy talking and Lexi giggling. Schoolwork,
my ass.
    So,
yes, I’m Rickie—Anna and Chrissy’s wayward friend, the girl this and that
guy dated, and Lexi’s not-so-perfect younger sister. I’d like to be able to say
that this is really all there is to me, that what you see is what you get.
    But here’s the deal:
give me a chance and I promise I’ll give you a whole new perspective on who I
am. Whether it’s for the better or for the worse, well, that you’ll just have
to decide for yourself.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    About the author
     
    At
23, Marla is still baffled by boys’ behavior. But that doesn’t mean she’ll give
up trying to understand. She doesn’t need much to be happy—just quiet
weekends with her family, people who let her think she’s funny even when she’s
not (which is most of the time), and friends who stay up all night with her
during intense, slightly-panicked writing sessions. She likes curling up with a
David Levithan novel, typing the very last word to a story, and baby-sitting
her two little boys, Macu and Cisco. She thinks being Candy Magazine’s Assistant Lifestyle Editor is pretty cool, and loves the fact that
she gets paid to watch chick flicks, listen to her fave bands, and stalk her
celebrity crushes.