The

List

Siobhan Vivian

For Mommy, for a million reasons

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Copyright 2012 by Siobhan Vivian

All rights reserved. Published by PUSH, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. Scholastic and associated logos
are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

ISBN 978-0-545-16917-2

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 112 13 14 15 16

Printed in the U.S.A.23

First edition, April 2012

The text type was set in Baskerville MT.

Book design by Kristina Iulo

The perception of beauty is a moral test.

h e n r y d a v i d t h o r e a u

PROLOGUE

or as long as anyone can remember, the students of Mount

Washington High have arrived at school on the last Monday
in September to find a list naming the prettiest and the ugliest
girl in each grade.
This year will be no different.
Roughly four hundred copies of the list currently hang in
locations of varying conspicuousness. One is taped above the
urinal in the first-floor boys bathroom, one covers the justannounced cast for the fall drama production of Pennies from
Heaven, one is tucked between pamphlets for dating violence
and depression in the nurses office. The list is affixed to
locker doors, slipped inside classroom desks, stapled to bulletin
boards.
The bottom right corner of each copy has been dimpled
by an embossing stamp, leaving behind the scar of Mount
Washington High rendered as a line drawingbefore the
indoor pool, the new gymnasium, and a wing of high-tech science labs were added. This stamp had certified every graduation
diploma before it was stolen from the principals desk drawer
decades ago. It is now a piece of mythic contraband used to
discourage copycats or competitors.
No one knows for sure who authors the list each year, or how
the responsibility is passed along, but secrecy has not impeded
tradition. If anything, the guaranteed anonymity makes the
judgments of the list appear more absolute, impartial, unbiased.

And so, with e very new list, the labels that normally slice
and dice the girls of Mount Washington High into a billion
different distinctionsposeurs, populars, users, losers, social
climbers, athletes, airheads, good girls, bad girls, girlie girls,
guys girls, sluts, closet sluts, born-again virgins, prudes, overachievers, slackers, stoners, outcasts, originals, geeks, and freaks,
to name just a fewwill melt away. The list is refreshing in
that sense. It can reduce an entire female population down to
three clear-cut groups.
Prettiest.
Ugliest.
And e veryone else.
This morning, before the first homeroom bell, every girl at
Mount Washington High will learn if her name is on the list
or not.
The ones who arent will wonder what the experience, good
or bad, might have been like.
The eight girls who are wont have a choice.

THE LIST
Freshmen

Bo

Ugliest:
rco
Danielle DeMa
the Man.
n
Da
as
n
ow
Also kn
Prettiest:

Abby Warner
s!
ing family genetic
om
erc
ov
for
ed
nus points award
Sophomor

es

Ugliest:
aid
Candace Kinc
deep, btw.
insk
t
jus
t
isn
Beauty
Prettiest:
Lauren Finn
the new girl.
Everyones hot for
Juniors
Ugliest:

Sarah Singer
ugly as possible!
as
be
to
ing
try
Its like shes
Prettiest:
ycutt
Bridget Hone
er can make.
mm
su
a
ce
What a differen
Seniors
Ugliest:
r briggis
ife
Jenn
(Drumroll, please.)
gton history!
t in Mount Washin
The only four-pea
r!
Congrats, Jennife
Prettiest:

Margo Gable
ng queen!
mi
co
me
ho
All hail this year s

MONDAY

CHAPTER ONE

bby Warner strolls around the ginkgo tree, one hand

drifting lazily over the thick calluses of bark. A breeze
nips at her legs, bare between the hem of her corduroy skirt and
her ballet flats. It is practically tights weather, but Abby will
avoid wearing them for as long as she can stand the chill. Or
until the last of her summer tan fades away. Whichever comes
first.
The spot is known as Freshman Island. It is where the more
popular ninth graders of Mount Washington assemble in the
mornings and after school. During springtime, nearly e veryone
avoids Freshman Island because of the putrid smell of the pale
orange ginkgo bulbs that thud swollen onto the ground, expelling a pungent gas. This is a fine arrangement, though, because
by spring the freshmen will nearly be sophomores, and will
avoid anything that might identify them as younger.
Abbys parents dropped her and her older sister, Fern, off
here what feels like hours ago, because Fern has some debate
club thing. Or is it academic decathlon on Mondays? Abby
yawns. She cant remember which. Either way, these kinds of
mornings suck, because Abby has to get up extra early to have
time to shower, do her hair, and put together something cute
to wear. She does it all without turning on the light, so as not to
wake Fern, with whom she shares the largest bedroom in the
Warner home. Meanwhile, Fern sleeps until the last possible
minute because she has no morning routine to speak of, besides

brushing her teeth and cycling through a rotation of jeans and

boxy T-shirts.
This morning, Fern had proudly put on a new T-shirt that
shed bought online. It had an ornate crest printed on the
chest, proclaiming allegiance to a rogue sect of warriors from
The Blix Effect, a series of fantasy novels all of Ferns friends
are obsessed with. And in the car, Fern had asked Abby to give
her two French braids, one on each side of her head, like the
ones the female main character in The Blix Effect wears into
battle.
Fern only ever wants Abby to give her two French braids,
even though Abby can do a knot or an up-twisthairstyles
Abby feels are better, more sophisticated choices for her sixteenyear-old sister. But Abby never says no to Ferns requests, even
though she finds it weird that Fern wants to dress in what is
essentially a costume, because the braids do make Fern look
better, or at least like she cares a little bit about how she looks.
School buses and cars begin to appear. One by one, Abby is
warmed by her friends hugs. They all spent the weekend sending pictures of potential dresses back and forth to one another
for the homecoming dance on Saturday night. The dress Abby
is completely in love witha black satin halter with a thick
white bow cinching the waistis on hold in her size at a store
in the mall. Her only hesitation is that none of her freshmen
girlfriends seem to know how dressed up youre supposed to get
for high school dances that arent prom.
Ooh! Lisa! Abby says when her best friend, Lisa Honeycutt,
comes walking over from the parking lot. Did you show
Bridget my homecoming dress? Does she think its too formal?

Lisa throws one arm around Abby and pulls her in for a hug.
My sister said its perfect! Pretty and fun, but not in a tryingtoo-hard kind of way.
Abby sighs with relief at having received Bridgets approval.
Abby and Lisa are the only two girls in their group of friends
who have older sisters who also go to Mount Washington. Not
that Abbys Fern is any match for Lisas Bridget.
Abby had been invited to spend a week this past summer at
Lisas vacation home at Whipple Beach. Thank god, otherwise
her summer vacation would have consisted entirely of tagging
along on Ferns college visits.
During that week, Abby and Lisa snuck into Bridgets bedroom to look around. They stuck their heads in Bridgets closet.
They found a few boys phone numbers hidden in Bridgets
sock drawer, and held her charm bracelet against their wrists.
They tried on all of her makeup, which was perfectly arranged
atop Bridgets white wicker vanity. Abby had always dreamed
of having a vanity, but there was no place for one.
Bridget mainly stayed by herself that week, texting her
friends back home and reading a stack of books that shed
brought with her, and she only went to the beach with Abby
and Lisa once for a couple of hours. But on the one rainy night,
Bridget let them hang out with her in her bedroom. She curled
their hair with her thick barrel iron and let them watch a
corny old movie from the foot of her big fluffy bed. Abby and
Lisa asked Bridget questions about what Mount Washington
High was really like, and Bridget gave them lots of helpful,
frank advice, like to be cautious when hooking up with older
guys, to gossip only with the friends you completely trust, and

how to hide the smell of liquor on your breath from your

parents.
Fern, meanwhile, offered nothing beyond recommendations
of which math teachers at Mount Washington really knew their
stuff. And Abby wondered, more than once, if Bridget even
knew who Fern was, despite the fact that both girls were in the
same grade.
Lisa is about to go chat with their other friends when Abby
leans in and whispers, Did you finish the Earth Science worksheet?
Lisa makes a frowny face. Abby, you cant keep copying my
homework! Youre never going to learn anything.
Abby combs her strawberry blond hair with her fingers.
Pretty please? I just got too caught up in looking at dresses last
night. Itll be the last time. She puts her hand over her heart.
Promise.
Lisa sighs, but she heads into the school to get it from her
locker.
Abby calls out, Love you like a sis!
A few minutes later, Lisa sprints back outside, her black
ponytail swishing wildly. Abby! she screams, loud enough so
that everyone at Freshman Island turns to look. Lisa dives
forward the last few feet and grabs Abby to keep herself

from falling. Youre the prettiest freshman girl at Mount

Washington High!
Abby blinks. Im what?
Youre on the list, dummy! The list! My sister is on it,
too. Lisa looks at the other girls, her braces twinkling in a
proud smile. Bridget got named the prettiest girl in the
junior class!

Abbys jaw goes slack with surprise. Even though she isnt
sure what Lisa is talking about, it is clearly news to be excited
about. Luckily, one of their other friends asks, What list? and
then e veryone turns to Lisa for an explanation.
As Lisa fills them in, Abby nods along, pretending that she
isnt as clueless as the rest of them. Of course Fern hadnt bothered to mention this very important thing, just like Fern
wouldnt have a clue about which dresses were right for the
homecoming dance. Sometimes Abby wished that Bridget was
her sister.
Okay. Lots of times.
Abbys friends take turns bouncing her around with congratulatory hugs, and each squeeze makes her heart flutter a
little faster. Though the freshmen boys act uninterested in their
celebration, Abby notices their game of hacky sack inch closer
to where she is standing.
But it still h
asnt sunk in. There are a lot of pretty freshmen
girls at Mount Washington, and Abby is friends with most of
them. Did she r eally deserve to be at the top of the pack?
It is a strange, foreign place for her to be.
Im sorry you girls didnt get picked, Abby says suddenly
to e veryone, and she partly means it.
Please, Lisa says, pointing at her mouth. Whos going to
vote me prettiest of anything with these railroad tracks running
across my face?
Shut up! Abby cries, knocking into Lisa. Youre so pretty!
Way prettier than me. Abby honestly thinks so. In fact, she is
lucky to have made the list this year, because when Lisa finally
gets her braces removed, all bets will be off. Lisa is at least five
inches taller than Abby, with long black hair that always looks

shiny and a tiny little mole at the top of her left cheek. She has
a great body, with curves and boobs. Really, the only thing that
isnt perfect about Lisa is her braces. And maybe her feet, which
are kind of big. But people usually overlook that sort of thing.
You are the worst at taking compliments, Abby, Lisa says
with a laugh. But this is seriously huge. Everyone in school will
know who you are now.
Abby smiles. Shes never been more excited about the next
four years than she is right this minute. I wish I knew who
picked me so I could thank them. The idea of one girl, or
maybe even a delegation, bestowing this honor on her is
extremely exciting. She has friends, older girls, she didnt even
know about. So...where did you see the list?
I saw a copy on the bulletin board near the gym, Lisa
says. But they are everywhere.
Do you think I c ould take one? Abby wonders. She wants
to keep the list someplace special. Maybe in a scrapbook, or a
memory box.
Definitely! Lets go grab one.
The girls hold hands as they run into school.
So who else is on this list? Abby asks. Besides me and
your sister?
Well, the ugliest freshman is Danielle DeMarco.
Abby slows down. Wait. The list names ugly girls, too? In
the excitement, shed missed that part.
Yup, Lisa says, pulling her along. Wait until you see it.
Whoever wrote it this year put funny things underneath everyones names. Like Danielles called Dan the Man.
Abby isnt friends with Danielle DeMarco, but they are in
the same gym class. Abby had watched Danielle kill it during

the mandatory mile run last week. It was admirable, and Abby
could have probably run faster than the crappy seventeen minutes she ended up with, but she d
idnt want to be sweaty for the
rest of the day. Of course she feels bad that Danielle has been
named the ugliest girl in their class, but Danielle seems tough
enough to handle it. And, hopefully, Danielle will understand
that there are other girls who c ould have been named the ugliest, too. Just like in Abbys case. Its truly the luck of the draw.
What did it say about me?
Lisa lowers her head and whispers, It congratulated you for
overcoming genetics, before letting out an embarrassed giggle.
Fern.
Abby bites the inside of her cheek and then asks, Is Fern the
ugliest junior?
Oh, no, Lisa says quickly. Its that freaky girl Sarah
Singer, who scowls on the bench near Freshman Island. Abby
lowers her eyes and nods slowly. She guesses Lisa can see her
guilt, because Lisa pats her on the back. Look, Abby. Dont
worry about the genetics thing. It d
oesnt mention Fern by
name. I bet a lot of people dont even know you two are sisters!
Maybe, Abby says, hoping what Lisa says is true. But even
if most of the kids at school dont know theyre related, her
teachers sure do. It has been one of the worst things about
going to Mount Washington: watching her teachers realize,
after the first week or so, that Abby is nowhere near as smart
as Fern.
Lisa continues, Anyway, Fern always gets the recognition.
And every time she does, youre so happy for her. Remember
last year, when you made me sit through that three-hour Latin
poetry reading contest Fern competed in at the university?

That was actually a big deal. Fern got picked out of the
whole high school to recite it, and she won a bunch of scholarship money.
Lisa rolls her eyes. Right, right. I remember. Now its your
turn to get some attention.
Abby squeezes her friends hand. Yeah, the genetics comment
is kind of mean. But Lisa is right. Its not like Abby herself said it.
And she is always cheering on Fern for her academic stuff. She
never even complained once about those early-morning wakeups or all the college visits theyd gone on this summer instead
of a vacation.
Not out loud, anyway.
When they get close to the gym, Lisa jogs a few steps ahead.
Here it is, she announces, tapping the paper with her finger.
In black and white.
Abby finds her name near the top of the list. Her name! Seeing it makes the whole thing way more real, feel more earned.
Abby is, officially, the prettiest girl in her freshman class.
Shes not sure how long she stands there staring at it. But
eventually Lisa pinches her arm. Hard.
Abby tears her attention off the bulletin board. Fern is
marching down the hall with incredible purpose, her book-bag
straps pulled tight over her shoulders, the tails of her French
braids swinging side to side.
If Fern knows Abby is on the list, Abby certainly cant tell.
Fern walks by exactly the same way she usually does at school
as if Abby d
oesnt exist.
Abby waits until Fern rounds the corner. Then she pulls the
list off the bulletin board, using her pinky nail to ease out
the staples, careful not to tear the corners.