I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Although Chloe enjoys herself at the party, the night takes a turn when Dixon tells Chloe that “everyone” knows her as “that girl from LA with the huge boobs” (89). To make matters worse, he says, “It’s a compliment! Look, before they came in, everyone just called you a lesbian, so I’d call this an upgrade. You should be proud of them!” (89). Smith promptly defends Chloe and tells him he’s being a “jackass” (89). Smith later shares with Chloe that Dixon has been racist toward him and that he dislikes Dixon.

When Chloe drives Smith home from the party, Smith reveals that Shara is his best friend. He also tells Chloe that “there’s always more going on in her [Shara’s] head than you can ever guess, and she’ll never tell you exactly what it is. You still have to figure her out” (90). Smith then tells Chloe that the reason things are weird between him and Rory is that they used to be best friends. However, according to Smith, they had a falling out when Smith started junior varsity football. Rory, he says “decided he was too cool to be friends with a dumb jock or whatever, and we kind of drifted” (93). Smith claims that Rory has always had a crush on Shara and is upset that Smith is dating her.

Because Chloe has been so preoccupied with the mystery of Shara, and with her new acquaintances, she neglected her old friends. Chloe decides not to tell Georgia that she has been preoccupied with finding cryptic notes from Shara. Chloe creates a Google document and sends the link to the burner email account Shara provided. In the document, Chloe types “Where are you” (106).

At chapel, Chloe consults with Smith and realizes that the records Shara referred to were student records they could find in Principal Wheeler’s office. Smith refuses to take part in breaking into the principal’s office because he has too much at stake with his football career. Chloe and Rory decide to sneak in together using the air ducts from the library. Because Georgia is a library aide and has a key, Chloe believes they can complete their mission after hours without being noticed.

Chloe and Rory pretend to study in the library after school. While Ms. Dunbury heats a meal in the microwave, they climb through the air conditioning vent above the nonfiction section. When several books fall, prompting Ms. Dunbury to investigate, Smith distracts her. When Chloe and Rory reach the principal’s office, they find that Principal Wheeler is working late.

While Chloe and Rory wait for Principal Wheeler to leave, Rory shows Chloe his “secret nose piercing” (128). The two have a heart-to-heart about Shara, and Rory reveals that he sees her as a dream girl because others do and confesses that he writes songs about being jealous, afraid, and thinking something is wrong with him.

Once Chloe and Rory suspect that Principal Wheeler has left, they remove the vent and enter the office. They find a note from Shara addressed to Shara’s mother and father indicating she is “fine”. Chloe and Rory find a framed photo of Shara and her parents at Anchor Bay Marina, and the key to the student records is taped to the back. Inside Rory’s file is a note from Shara revealing that she extorted Dixon to ensure that the note she hid at his house was not moved. She threatened, she writes, to “tell Emma Grace and Mackenzie that he’s been feeling up both of them behind the other’s back” (137). She also reveals that on Friday she intends to send an anonymous Instagram message to both Emma Grace and Mackenzie anyway.

In the postscript, she writes, “I’ve heard you can take your heart back, but I don’t think you can. Up close, with the light in your eyes, all you can see is what’s right in front of you” (137). Chloe is surprised that Shara is extorting her friends but appreciates that she now has a solid reason to dislike her. Suddenly Chloe and Rory hear Principal Wheeler outside and quickly lift themselves through the vent and push the vent cover over it.