Burning Hearts Read Free

robots. Forget zombies. It’s kittens, puppies,
and baby birds. The enemy.”
    Caleb lightly smacked his palm against his
forehead. “Why didn’t I see it before?!” he exclaimed
dramatically.
    Jenna laughed. “Ah, I love y’all.”
    Riddick looked deeply into her eyes.
“Seriously, are you high? And where can I get some?”
    “ I’m not—”
    Jenna was cut off from the nearby noise of a
girl laughing. She turned to see the Stuck-Ups—her former
friends—sitting three tables over. Sadie was giggling like a hyena
at something or someone. She kept looking over at Jenna’s table,
pointing, urging Kit to look and condemn too; he preferred to keep
stabbing a plastic Spork at his food.
    Jenna turned back to her Misfits. “There’s
your cuz,” she reminded Kylie with a half smile.
    Kylie rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me I’m
related to that sorry excuse for a human being.”
    Sadie Pierce and Kylie Vale were unfortunate
cousins. When they were kids, they used to be close, but as the
years passed, they drifted apart; it was all Sadie’s doing.
Apparently, the Pierces were the upstanding folk of Oasis, whereas
the Vales were a bunch of “drunks, bastards, and convicts,” if you
believed Sadie’s gossip.
    “ Freak!” yelled another one
of the Stuck-Ups.
    Jenna knew that voice and turned to focus on
Daniela Ross. Her long brown hair was in a braid at the side of her
head. It was the new style going around and Daniela had boarded the
Conformity Train. She sat on the lap of her boyfriend, Barrie
Novak, who used to flirt with Jenna. He had long auburn hair that
was slowly turning brown. He seemed more interested in Daniela’s
body than staring at Jenna.
    Daniela and Barrie sat next to Emma Wane and
Aidan Clare. Emma had recently chopped all her blond hair off into
a pixie cut and added pink streaks to the front. Jenna hated to
admit it, but it looked good. Aidan, who was experimenting with
dreadlocks, had his brown hair tied up in a small bun.
    “ Yeah, she’s such a freak!”
Emma agreed. She nudged Aidan. “She’s such a weirdo, right
babe?!”
    Aidan shrugged, noncommittal. After Kit, he
was the second guy Jenna had been closest to. Barrie was always a
sleaze. Even when Val had turned everyone against her, Barrie
caught her alone at school, saying that if she’d go out with him,
he’d leave the Stuck-Ups. So of course when she refused, he joined
in on the Let’s Bash Jenna Movement. If only Daniela knew how
fickle her Barrie could be when it came to girls. Jenna had been
the closest to Emma, thinking they were BFFs. Her jabs hurt the
worst, along with Val’s, who’d told her on more than one occasion
that he loved her.
    While the girls sneered, the guys ignored.
All except Val. He folded his arms over his chest, staring at her.
Jenna was confused by his look. He wasn’t sneering; he wasn’t
judging; he wasn’t plotting. He was just staring. For a moment,
Jenna thought she saw a fleeting look of melancholy.
    Was Val sad? Did he miss her?
    She continued to stare at him until he
casually brought his middle finger up and flipped her off with a
grin stretched across his face.
    She turned back to her friends, shaking her
head. “I can’t wait to get outta here.”
    “ Wanna skip?” asked
Riddick.
    Jenna shook her head. “I meant Oasis.”
    “ Where are you gonna go?”
asked Caleb.
    Jenna shrugged. “I dunno. Anywhere.” She
sighed. “Before I commit murder.”
    “ Ah, go ahead,” Riddick
urged. “I’ll visit you in prison. Slip you cigarettes and razor
blades in a hollowed-out copy of Pride and Prejudice.”
    Jenna chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure the ghost of
Jane Austen would love that.”
    Kylie smiled. “Ooh, I wish I could meet
someone like Mr. Darcy.”
    “ Darcy was a jerk,” Pru
declared.
    “ He was proud, is all,”
Kylie countered.
    “ Pride is okay,” Caleb
stated. “It’s vanity that’s the problem.”
    “ I’m more of a Jane Eyre
fan,” Riddick confided. “That girl