Broken (The Outsiders Series) Read Free

better now that things have changed, ma’am. And coming here will help me too.” I smile at her to push my point further, and when she smiles back, I know I’ve done my job.
    “Well, Carter, all I need is your last name and signature. Since you’re eighteen, I don’t need your parent’s signature. Just a driver’s license to prove it. Sound good?”
    I nod and pull out my wallet. I probably needed to get my driver’s license updated to my new address soon. Although, it might make it easier for Jack and my mom to find me here. And I don’t want that. “My last name is Daniels,” I add when I hand the woman the card.
    “All right, Mr. Daniels. All you need to do is wait h ere,” she says as she rolls her chair back and stands up. “I’ve got to go get your schedule set up and all. You can sit in one of those chairs over there,” she says as she points to two chairs in the corner of the office.
    I nod and sit down. I pick up one of the magazines and open it while I wait. I read two of them before the woman comes back into the room. She moves behind her desk and staples some papers before putting them in a folder. Then, she starts humming and clicking things on her computer.
    “Now here,” she says as she bends down to pick up something off the printer, “is your new schedule. Here at Mason County, we do what’s called block scheduling; this means that you take four classes a semester, for a total of eight classes a year. Your first class, World History, is in the science wing.” She pulls out a map that shows the building and all of its rooms. The school is shaped like a figure eight. There are labeled wings, with the electives wing in the center of the school, right behind the office.
    “Then, you’ve got Chemistry in the science wing as well. Third class is always lunch,” she adds as she points to a separate building on the outside of the figure eight. “And your fourth and fifth classes are part of the literature wing.”
    I nod, noting that I’ll only be using half of the school this semester. The science and literature wings are essentially the same wing; it’s just split in half. “Thank you, Ma’am. I truly appreciate all your help this morning.”
    “No problem, Carter. All you need to do is stop by the Principal’s Secretary’s desk before leaving. Principal Wiggins likes to spea k with all of his new students. It’s just that way,” she says as she points down a hall that moves further into the main office. “Just follow the blue carpet, darling.”
    I do as the woman says, even though everything inside of me tells me not to. I don’t want to be triumphant out there, only to be caught in a lie in here. Principals don’t tend to like me much. It’s like they can tell that I’m damaged or something. And I don’t need Principal Wiggins to see right through my disguise.
    “Clare,” shouts a man’s voice from up ahead. Great, so Principal Wiggins is a man. That makes it even better.
    “Yes, Mr. Wiggins,” says a short, large woman as she stands up and moves around the front of her desk. She waddles into Principal Wiggins’ office.
    “ I need you to get the deputy on the line, Ms. Clare. I feel as though those football junkies are using steroids again.”
    Ms. Clare pulls in a deep breath and nods her head before turning around and waddling back out. She stops when she sees me standing there and stares. Then, she breaks out in a friendly smile and moves to sit behind her desk. The chair squeaks as she settles down, and I have a feeling it’s protesting. “May I help you, young man?” she asks me.
    “Yes, Ma’am. My name is Carter Daniels and I just enrolled. The woman out there asked me to come back to meet Principal Wiggins. Is he busy?”
    “Oh, no. He’s never too busy to speak with a student, Carter. Just walk on in there, all right?”
    I nod and move into the office. It’s big, with a large wooden desk and bookshelf. Tons of books about troubled students, student