Anywhere But Here Read Free Page B

Now, though, I grabbed a pair of jeans and whatever shirt was clean before throwing my hair in a ponytail. 
    Shane grunted.  “She is,” he said.  His eyes grew as his cheeks pinked.
    Damon shot Reg an amused look and the two of them shared a chuckle.  I pretended as if nothing happened.
    “What do you have after lunch?” Damon asked, once he rid the chuckles from his system.
    “Creative Writing,” I muttered as I managed to liberate a corner of the label off the glass and tore a thin strip.  “Then a free period.”
    “She must take all the smart classes,” Reg grumbled as she mashed the rest of her burger before shoving it in her face.
    “Not really,” I said.  Eager to remove attention from me, I nodded at a group of girls laughing at a table in the middle of the cafeteria.  “Who are they?”
    “Gina, Grace, Dayna , and Shannon,” Reg said.  “They’re the ones that are afraid you might become some sort of beauty queen of the school.”
    “How pathetic,” I said as I watched one of the blondes apply a liberal amount of gloss to her lips.  My mouth fell into a frown.  Just a year ago I had been exactly like that – center of attention, lip gloss wearing, giggly and flirty. I had had a group of pretty friends who dated handsome jocks.  Idiotic, really. “Like I give a crap what people think.”
    Laughing, Reg pounded a fist on the table, attracting the attention of people in the vicinity.  “Love this girl!”
    I suppressed a smile and ducked my head, not wanting all eyes on me.  It wasn’t my intention to become some sort of freak show nor was it my intention to gain unwanted popularity.
    I lifted my eyes and gazed at the pretty girls from between my lashes and watched as Curly-Haired Dude and his friend paused at Gina’s table, muttering something that made the girls giggle and bat their eyes.
    Curly-Haired Dude was cute, I had to admit, but Gina and her friends had nothing to fear if they thought I’d steal his attention.  I didn’t want it, pure and simple.
    Damon glanced at the other table as a wry smile touched his lips.  “That’s Ian Finley – everyone calls him Fin – and Grant Cooper.  They’re on the hockey team.”
    My brows crunched together as I faced him fully.  “This tiny school has a hockey team?”
    “No,” Shane laughed.  “The town does, though.  There are two divisions – seventeen to twenty –one and then twenty-two and over.  It’s quite popular, really.”
    I nodded, my interest waning.  I glanced at the clock and jumped from my seat. I realized lunch would soon be ending and I wanted to run to my locker.  “Um, guess I’ll see you guys later.”
    “Sure,” Damon said as he continued to linger over the scraps of his lunch.
    I hurried out of the cafeteria, totally aware of the eyes following my movements, and found my locker.  I checked my schedule for the classroom number, found it on the map, and crammed everything in the front pocket of my backpack.  The lunch crowd was filtering out of the cafeteria and I was desperate to get to my class before I was engulfed in the horde of students and forced to greet someone.
    Mr. Ellis, the rather rotund Creative Writing teacher, looked up from his desk to smile softly as I crept into the room.  He stood and offered me a beefy hand which I shook with only the slightest trepidation.
    “You must be Rena,” he said.  “I have a book and a journal for you, but you’ll need to purchase a thesaurus.”
    “Okay,” I said as I took the materials, shifting my backpack strap up my shoulder.  “Where should I sit?”
    He gave me a wink that didn’t creep me out – much.  “Over there,” he said, pointing to a corner.  “Last seat in the joint.  Maybe we’ll redo the seating chart or something…”
    “It’s fine,” I said as I practically ran to the desk.  I hung my backpack on the back of my chair and perused the textbook as the other students wandered inside.  I didn’t bother