You Don't Know Me Like That

 

Dafina KTeen Books
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

When I started working for the
National Enquirer
tabloid magazine, I had no idea that it would send my imagination into overdrive and help me to one day create a young diva who blows up by dishing celebrity dirt. But I'm glad for that experience, because it helped shape the stories for the
Rumor Central
series.

I am loving the love you guys have shown for the series so far, and I hope that this second book delivers as well. Please tell a friend about the
Rumor Central
series (and tell your teachers, librarians, and everyone else to get it as well!).

In the meantime, let me say a gigantic thanks to my daughters, Mya and Morgan, especially Morgan, who constantly gave me feedback and input! Thanks to the rest of my family, my friends, my agent, Sara Camilli, my awesome editor, Selena James, and all the fab folks at Kensington.

Thanks to the terrific readers who pick up my books, tell others, and show me so much love. Big shout-out to all the teen book clubs that choose my books to discuss.

Thank you to the parents, teachers, librarians, and concerned adults who turn teens on to my books. I am so grateful to you.

I can't wrap without sending a huge shout-out to my social media followers. You guys keep me motivated, inspired, encouraged, and show me so much love! A thousand thanks.

Well, that's it for now. Make sure you hit me up and let me know what you think about the second book. Now, get to reading. The third book in the
Rumor Central
series is coming soon!

Much love, ReShonda

I read the headline for what had to be the twentieth time. My fabulous photo covered the whole front page. I needed to call Alicia Keys and thank her for writing a song about me because This Girl Was On Fire!

Don't get it twisted. I already knew I was fabulous—shoot, I came out of my mama's womb fabulous—but this just proved it beyond any doubt. The fact that I was on the cover of the Entertainment section of
USA Today
—with a full spread—proved I was the hottest teen star in the country. And I hadn't had to act in one movie to get that title. In just three short months, I had become the go-to chick for all the latest celebrity gossip, dirt, and entertainment news. My show,
Rumor Central,
had exceeded everyone's expectations and had been picked up by several other cities. So, I was no longer just known all over Miami; I was now known all over the country. Next stop, the world!

“Really, Maya? How many times are you gonna read that article?”

“Don't hate,” I said, taping the newspaper to the front of my locker despite school rules. My locker was in a prime spot right by the cafeteria, so all my classmates would see it as they made their way in for lunch. I turned to my best friend, Sheridan. “Can I help it that I'm divalicious?”

“Ugggh,” Sheridan said, playfully rolling her eyes as she tapped away on her Samsung Galaxy III phone.

A few months ago, I would've had a problem with Sheridan's eye rolling. But that was then. This was now. We had settled our little beef. I'd gotten over the fact that Sheridan had pushed up on my boyfriend. And Sheridan had gotten over the fact that I had basically left her and the other members of the
Miami Divas
reality show high and dry when it came time to get my own show. Sheridan was able to forgive me because she knew if the shoe were on the other foot, she would've done the exact same thing. But the others—Shay, Bali, and Evian—they weren't so forgiving. Bali had gone back to Cuba. (His father sent him back after finding out he was involved in a vandalizing and theft ring.) But he made sure that he sent me a text every now and then reminding me how foul I was.

Evian and Shay were still walking around with attitudes. But screw them. Maya Morgan didn't need to beg anybody to be her friend.

“Hey, did you know you're trending on Twitter?” Sheridan said, tapping the screen on her phone.

“What?” I said.

“Yeah.” Sheridan turned her phone around and pointed it at me so I could see. “See,
Rumor Central
is in the top ten trends.”

“Wow,” I replied. Sometimes we got a lot of people talking after a show aired, but I had never been a top trender before. “That's crazy. We usually don't get hype like that except when the show is airing live.”

“Guess that newspaper spread is working,” Sheridan said.

“I guess.” I closed my locker, then thought I probably should get some type of book or tablet since I was heading to class. I opened the locker back up and pulled out my textbook.

Sheridan shrugged. “Well, you're doing something. Listen to what some of these tweets say:
‘If you're not watching Maya, you're missing out,' ‘Maya's got the dirt,'
and
‘Can't wait to see what Maya's talking about tomorrow.'
”

One of my classmates walking by must have overheard us, because she stopped and said, “Oh, yeah, congrats on that.” She pointed to Sheridan's phone. “You've been trending all week.”

“How do I not know this?” I said, pulling out my own phone and going to Twitter. I clicked on and read some more of the tweets.

All of them had the hashtag #RumorCentral and came from someone using the Twitter handle Rumor Central.

“Wow,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, looks like your social media department is on top of things,” Sheridan said.

“I know. And to think, I thought they were kinda whack. But as soon as I get into work this afternoon, I'm going to go give them major props.”

“And a raise,” she joked as we made our way to class.

 

As soon as I hit WSVV, the TV station where they filmed
Rumor Central,
I headed to Tamara Collins's office. She was the executive producer on my show and the one who called all the shots.

It was after five, so Tamara's secretary wasn't at her desk, so I just knocked on her office door.

“Hey, Tamara,” I said, once she called for me to come in. I was always in awe whenever I went into her office. Talk about top of the line. Everything in here was first class—from the marble desk to the plush leather chairs. Her walls were covered with awards that I guess she'd won for her television shows, and pictures of everyone from Jay-Z to Justin Bieber. The only thing out of order was her cluttered desk.

“Hello, Maya. How was school today?”

“School was school.” I shrugged as I walked in. I wasn't into my senior year like the rest of my classmates. Even though we were a private school, we still did the typical senior week, parties and events during homecoming—none of which interested me. I was on a whole different level than those busters at Miami High.

I plopped down in front of Tamara's oversized desk. She was sifting through a pile of papers on it. I smiled as I took in her BCBG suit. It was a new design that had just come out last week.

“I just wanted to swing by and give props to the social media department. They are on it.”

She didn't look up from her desk. Obviously, she was searching for something. “Maya, what are you talking about?”

“I'm talking about Twitter.”

“What about it?”

I guess she didn't know either. “
Rumor Central
is trending on Twitter. I didn't do it, so I just assumed the social media department did it.”

She finally stopped and stared at me. “I don't see how that's possible. We just got rid of the old girl because she was so behind, she didn't even know what Instagram was.”

I smiled. “Well, whoever took her place is definitely on his or her job.”

She looked at me. “Yeah, that's just it. We don't have anyone working social media right now.” She picked up the phone. “Let me call marketing. They usually don't leave until late.” She punched in a number. “Hey, Sara, it's Tamara. Do you have anyone working on the publicity for
Rumor Central
?” She paused. “So, they're just doing PR and not social media?” She paused again, then shook her head. “Okay, thanks. Let me know when you get someone. I'd like to meet with him or her.”

“So, what's up?” I asked when she put the phone back on the hook.

“Well, what's up is someone else is behind that Twitter trending. It's not us. Publicity was aware of it, and they were actually trying to find out who was behind it. Sara said they'd called you earlier to see if it was you.”

I shook my head. “I didn't get a message, but no, it's not me.”

Tamara smiled. “Guess it looks like you officially have a serious fan. He or she is going all-out.”

“Wow, I guess I do,” I said, a bright smile spreading across my face. “Wish we had someone like whoever is behind this on staff,” I said. “Because if I'm trending above Kim Kardashian, I'm obviously doing something right.”

“You know,” Tamara said, cocking her head like she was thinking, “you may be on to something.” She pressed the intercom. “Kelly, are you still here?”

“I'm here,” her secretary said. “I just stepped away for a minute. But I am about to go. Do you need anything?”

“Yes, just for a minute. Can you come in here? I have someone I need you to find. Maya's superfan.” She smiled my way. I grinned back at her. I had fans, I knew that, but this was taking things to a whole different level. But I guess that's what happens when you're divalicious like me!