Crossing the Line Read Free Page B

tried to smile, but she looked small and fragile beside the towering high school students. Fabi could easily remember what her own first day at Dos Rios High had been like — it was only last year that she’d been standing where her sister was now. The imposing new building with its grand marble dome, numerous palm trees, and pretty fountains seemed out of place in their small, dusty town. It reminded Fabi of a storybook oasis in One Thousand and One Arabian Nights . If it weren’t for her best friend Georgia Rae having such a good sense of direction, they would have been lost all year. Fabi felt a touch of sadness. Georgia Rae was starting her first day at Mac High today. It was just thirty miles away, but it felt like the opposite side of the moon.
    â€œLet me see your schedule,” Fabi said to Alexis. She reviewed the list quickly. “Okay, you have Mrs. Lara for freshman English. She’s real nice. Try to sit in the front of the room. That way she won’t call on you as much. Eww, you have Mr. Goss for science,” Fabi went on, making a gagging expression. “We used to call him Mr. Gross. He spits when he talks, so try to sit at the very back.” Alexis’s eyes widened in alarm. “It’s not that big a deal. C’mon.” Fabi started climbing the steps. “I’ll walk you over.”
    Alexis sighed. “Thanks. I can’t help being so nervous. Look at my hand.” It was shaking. “I don’t know what I would do without you — hey!” A short, gawky boy with long, sweeping bangs rushed right into her.
    â€œExcuse you!” Fabi called out at him. The boy adjusted the stack of books he was carrying to pull out his earplugs. He smiled sheepishly, hip-hop music blasting from the tiny speakers, and mouthed “Sorry” before hurrying back down the hallway. Fabi rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders at Alexis. Then she looked back at the river of students streaming up and down the halls.
    â€œThe thing about high school,” Fabi said, navigating her little sister expertly around a swarm of girls fixing their hair in a locker mirror, “is that there are rules — just like in the real world. Once you understand the rules, everything falls into place.”
    â€œRules?” Alexis asked, looking everywhere in awe.
    They were standing in the main hall that fed into five adjacent buildings. Hundreds of students pushed through the entrance-way. Fabi noted the new faces. Dos Rios High served all the small towns in the area by busing the students in. The chatter of friends reunited after the summer was deafening. Fabiola scuffed her Vans at the emblem of the two catfish fighting each other etched into the linoleum floor. “See those beef-heads over there in the yellow and black matching jackets?” she asked her sister. The group of boys she was referring to were high-fiving and punching each other on the shoulders in some barbaric masculinity rite. “Those are the jocks. Big, burly, all into sports. Not much for personality, though.”
    Alexis smiled. “They’re cute.”
    â€œDon’t waste your time,” Fabi said sternly. “Those guys only hang out with cheerleaders or girls from the dance squad. Like I said, there are rules.”
    Fabi turned toward a crowd of gorgeous girls with perfect hair, manicured nails, and beautiful skin. They looked like they’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine, and reeked of money. “Those are the fresas , mostly rich kids from Mexico. They won’t even look at you unless you’re wearing the ‘right’ designer clothes. There are the popular kids who are all into student council, school spirit, and bake sales. In the computer lab and library you find the geeks and nerds. Then there are the emos, who wear all black with lots of black eyeliner.” A girl with rainbow hair and a nose ring marched by in combat boots, just as Fabi added,