Carrie Diaries

Candace Bushnell

The Carrie Diaries

For Calvin Bushnell

Contents

Chapter One A Princess on Another Planet Chapter Two The Integer Crowd Chapter Three Double Jeopardy Chapter Four The Big Love Chapter Five Rock Lobsters Chapter Six Bad Chemistry Chapter Seven Paint the Town Red Chapter Eight The Mysteries of Romance Chapter Nine The Artful Dodger Chapter Ten Rescue Me ChapterEleven Competition Chapter Twelve Y Can’t Always Get What Y Want ou ou Chapter Thirteen Creatures of Love Chapter Fourteen Hang in There Chapter Fifteen Little Criminals Chapter Sixteen How Far Will Y Go? ou Chapter Seventeen Bait and Switch Chapter Eighteen Cliques Are Made to Be Broken Chapter Nineteen Ch-ch-ch-changes Chapter Twenty Slippery Slopes Chapter Twenty-One The Wall Chapter Twenty-TwoDancing Fools Chapter Twenty-Three The Assumption of X Chapter Twenty-Four The Circus Comes to Town Chapter Twenty-Five Lockdown at Bralcatraz Chapter Twenty-Six The S-H-I-T Hits the Fan Chapter Twenty-Seven The Girl Who… Chapter Twenty-Eight Pretty Pictures Chapter Twenty-Nine The Gorgon Chapter Thirty Accidents Will Happen Chapter Thirty-One Pinky Takes Castlebury Chapter Thirty-Two The NerdPrince Chapter Thirty-Three Hold On to Y Panties our Chapter Thirty-Four Transformation Chapter Thirty-Five A Free Man in Paris

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CHAPTER ONE

A Princess on Another Planet

They say a lot can happen in a summer. Or not. It’s the first day of senior year, and as far as I can tell, I’m exactly the same as I was last year. And so is mybest friend, Lali. “Don’t forget, Bradley, we have to get boyfriends this year,” she says, starting the engine of the red pickup truck she inherited from one of her older brothers. “Crap.” We were supposed to get boyfriends last year and we didn’t. I open the door and scoot in, sliding the letter into my biology book, where, I figure, it can do no more harm. “Can’t we give this whole boyfriendthing a rest? We already know all the boys in our school. And—” “Actually, we don’t,” Lali says as she slides the gear stick into reverse, glancing over her shoulder. Of all my friends, Lali is the best driver. Her father is a cop and insisted she learn to drive when she was twelve, in case of an emergency. “I hear there’s a new kid,” she says. “So?” The last new kid who came to our school turned outto be a stoner who never changed his overalls. “Jen P says he’s cute. Really cute.” “Uh-huh.” Jen P was the head of Leif Garrett’s fan club in sixth grade. “If he actually is cute, Donna LaDonna will get him.” “He has a weird name,” Lali says. “Sebastian something. Sebastian Little?” “Sebastian Kydd?” I gasp. “That’s it,” she says, pulling into the parking lot of the high school. She looks at mesuspiciously. “Do you know him?” I hesitate, my fingers grasping the door handle. My heart pounds in my throat; if I open my mouth, I’m afraid it will jump out. I shake my head. We’re through the main door of the high school when Lali spots my boots. They’re white patent leather and there’s a crack on one of the toes, but they’re genuine go-go boots from the early seventies. I figure the boots havehad a much more interesting life than I have. “Bradley,” she says, eyeing the boots with disdain. “As your best friend, I cannot allow you to wear those boots on the first day of senior year.” “Too late,” I say gaily. “Besides, someone’s got to shake things up around here.” “Don’t go changing.” Lali makes her hand into a gun shape, kisses the tip of her finger, and points it at me before headingfor her locker. “Good luck, Angel,” I say. Changing. Ha. Not much chance of that. Not after the letter.

Dear Ms. Bradshaw it read. , Thank you for your application to the New School’s Advanced Summer Writing Seminar. While your stories show promise and imagination, we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a place in the program at this time.

I got the letter last Tuesday. I...