Dark Before Dawn Read Free Page B

her vision. Heat assaulted her. Slowly the dots cleared, and as she squinted up, the Abraham Lincoln poster ebbed back into focus.
    She didn’t know the date or time, but the accident would be soon. No, not Scott, please don’t let anything happen to Scott, Dawn prayed. He was the only person at her new school who had been nice.
    Mr. Murray loomed over her, bushy eyebrows drawn together on his forehead. "Miss Christian? Do you need the nurse?"
    Dawn’s ears rang and clammy sweat prickled on her forehead. She had to say something.
    "No, I'm okay," she murmured. "I get low blood sugar."
    "Well … let me know if you need the nurse," Mr. Murray said.
    Discussion continued on the themes of guilt and innocence in The Crucible . Dawn drew a shallow breath. There was a slight chance she was wrong. In fifth grade, she’d had the awful feeling her mother shouldn’t go on a business trip. Worries plagued Dawn for weeks. She lost sleep and couldn't eat. To her relief, nothing happened.
    This was her very first day in this school. Maybe she should mind her own business. If she kept quiet, who would ever know? Dawn’s stomach coiled. She would know. Scott had been kind and he deserved a warning.
    After dismissal, she lingered in the crowded hallway. Scott's group gathered near the wall of lockers. Candace slouched near the bubbler, wiping her charcoal lips with her palm. She gave Dawn a stony stare.
    Dawn shifted from foot to foot as anxiety jellied her muscles. School was out for the day. If she waited, she might never get another chance. She tapped Scott’s shoulder as he retrieved a book from his locker. "Can … can I talk to you? It’s kind of important."
    Scott turned around and smiled. "Yeah, sure."
    "Alone?"
    Renee snaked her arm around Scott's waist. "Anything you can say to him, you can say in front of me."
    "I … it's just..."
    "Is this important?" Renee’s mouth crimped in annoyance.
    "Come on, chill out," Scott said. "Let's hear what she has to say."
    "Please be careful if you're on the street," Dawn whispered.
    "Huh? Be careful of what?" He closed his locker door and positioned himself against it.
    "A black pick-up truck."
    Silence.
    A snide laugh broke the quiet and a gangly blond guy with short spiky hair folded his arms across his designer shirt. "I think she wants you to look both ways before you cross. Maybe you'd better have your mommy hold your hand."
    Renee tugged on Scott's jacket. "Let's get out of here. What a weirdo."
    Scott motioned for her to go ahead and hung back with Dawn. "Sorry about my friends. They can be idiots. I’m fine though, seriously. But thanks for the warning. I’ve never had a girl so worried about me before."
    "Come on, Scott, let’s go!" Renee snapped from down the hall.
    Scott muttered something under his breath. "I’d better split. See you around, Dawn."
    He headed toward his friends. Dawn bolted down a corridor, wanting to get as far away from Renee as possible. Thank God it was time to go home. If she could only find the way out of this maze before her bus took off. She stopped to get oriented beneath a bulletin board of yellow stars and meteor showers against a dark blue background. "Making stars of the future," the title read.
    So much for a positive future in Covington. Dawn had done it again, shattered another opportunity to fit in. Wait till her mother found out. With any luck, she wouldn’t hear about it. Dawn started walking again and jumped as Ken caught her by the shoulder.
    "I’ve been looking all over for you," he said. "You coming or what?"
    "Coming? I was going to take the bus."
    "Are you kidding? My dad will kill me if I don't give you a ride home on the first day. Come on."
    "I don’t want to be a pain. If you can get me to the bus, I’ll–"
    "Look, here’s the deal. You can ride with me in the morning, and on afternoons when I’m going straight home. We’re both going to the same place, so it’s no biggie. But if I’ve got plans after school or