Burning Hearts Read Free Page A

went through hell and she
could’ve gone crazy, but she didn’t.” He smiled and put his arm
around Jenna’s shoulders. “And neither are you.”
    Jenna smiled. “Thanks—but that was a
story.”
    He removed his arm and took a swig of his
soda, swallowing loudly. “And ours are too if someone were to write
it all down.”
    “ The Merry Misfits,” Pru
suggested.
    “ Merry?” Kylie furrowed her
brow. “Doesn’t that mean happy?”
    “ I was being sarcastic,” Pru
clarified.
    “ We are happy,” Caleb
countered with a dimpled smile.
    Jenna nodded. “That’s right. We’re seniors.
We’re passing…barely…all our classes.” She gestured among everyone.
“And we all get along. I’ll admit, when I was with the Stuck-Ups,
we didn’t interact. And when I got tossed out, y’all could’ve lemme
sit alone, friendless,”—she smiled—“but y’all didn’t.”
    Kylie wiped a tear away.
    “ You know who should’ve gone
crazy?” Riddick said, clearly trying to get off topic.
    Jenna turned to him and smiled. “Who?”
    “ Harry Potter.”
    “ I don’t follow,” said
Caleb, shaking his head.
    “ Think about it,” Riddick
continued. “That dude lived in a cupboard under the stairs for
years. A freaking cupboard! If that was real life, Harry would’ve
murdered the Dursleys.”
    “ Magic?” Pru suggested as an
explanation.
    Riddick shook his head. “Nah. Ain’t no magic
trick badass enough for Harry to keep his sanity while basically
being locked in a mini closet.”
    The bell rang, ending their discussion of the
lives of fictional characters.
    When Caleb wheeled out from under the table,
Riddick exclaimed enthusiastically, “I’ll take you to class,
buddy!”
    “ But I wanna!” Jenna
whined.
    Riddick chuckled. “I know you do.” He tugged
gently on her red hair. “I was just messing with you.”
    Jenna relaxed and got behind Caleb, ready to
push him down the hall. “Later, peeps,” she said in farewell to
Kylie, Pru, and Riddick.
    “ See y’all later,” said
Kylie, waving before heading off.
    Pru just gave a smile and a wave, leaving in
another direction. Riddick was already walking away, listening to
his iPod. They’d meet back later at the end of school; it was
always a daily celebration.
    Jenna and Caleb’s next class was easy-going.
Art with Ms. Jane Rush-Holliday meant students could explore their
inner Monet or Picasso by sitting with their friends, listening to
music, and even chewing gum.
    She rolled Caleb to the elevator; it was a
privilege for faculty, staff, those with disabilities, and the
every-once-in-a-while student with a broken leg.
    Caleb used his student ID as a key card to
unlock the doors. Jenna rolled him inside, much to the chagrin of
the students who had to deal with backed up traffic down the
hall.
    As they rode up, he said, “I know your
secret.”
    She smiled, but had no idea what he was
talking about. She hoped that he was playing and decided to play
back.
    She stood in front of him. “I have so many!
Which vice do you know about? And are you gonna tell? If so I’ll
hit you. Not in the face. Don’t wanna leave a noticeable mark. I’ll
use a thick heavy phone book, slamming it against your chest.”
    “ You know for a psycho, you
hide your maniacal schemes very well.”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ Well, I only know two of
your secrets.” He raised a finger. “One, you’re only my friend so
you can ride the elevator.” He raised another finger. “And two, you
still sleep with your stuffed bear at night.”
    “ Ugh!” she groaned, raising
her fists, pretending to be found out. “You got me, Caleb.” She
smiled. “But you’re wrong on one thing.”
    “ Oh, yeah?” He leaned back
in his wheelchair. “Which one?”
    “ I sleep with a
stuffed bunny .”
    Caleb was trying not to smile. “Oh, sorry, I
must’ve got that wrong. All those nights I was sitting up in that
tree, staring at you through my binoculars, I guess I saw
wrong.”
    “ You