Fifteen Lanes Read Free

was a senior. I also thought he had a girlfriend.
    “Isn’t he going out with Anoosha Kapur?” I asked, immediately wishing I’d kept quiet. Despite Kyle’s advice, it was rarely a good idea to join in their conversations.
    “Are you saying I’m trying to steal someone else’s boyfriend?” Madison glared at me.
    “No, I—”
    “Or maybe you think I’m not in the same league as a girl like Anoosha?”
    I hesitated. I’d never thought about it till she brought it up. Anoosha was really gorgeous, and nice as well. She and my brother had dated, only for a short time, but even after they broke up she always said hi to me in the hallways.
    I shouldn’t have hesitated.
    “Really?” Madison broke into my thoughts. “Well, thank you very much! Perhaps you’d like to sit with girls who are more worthy of you. I don’t know why you even waste your time with us.”
    “As if she could get any guy, much less a guy like Todd,” added Kelsey.
    “I’m sorry,” I said. Madison was blowing this way out of proportion.
    “I suppose you think because you hung out with the popular kids when your brother was here that you were one of them,” said Madison venomously.
    I stared at her in shock. I didn’t know where she was getting her information. The only person I hung out with was Tina. Sure, I might have said hello to my brother’s friends, but it never went further than that.
    “You’ve got it all wrong—”
    “No, you’ve got it wrong,” Madison cut in. “Just because Todd was your brother’s friend doesn’t mean he’d ever be interested in you.”
    This conversation had spiraled so far out of control that I was speechless, though Madison’s comment about Todd and Kyle got me thinking. They definitely weren’t friends, which was a little strange since they played on all the same teams and hung out in the same crowd. In fact, I’d always had the feeling that Kyle didn’t like Todd, but ours was a tiny school, less than two hundred kids, so Kyle was savvy enough not to be openly hostile.
    Madison startled me by jumping to her feet. The rest of the girls stood up with her.
    “In future, we’d appreciate it if you ate lunch somewhere else,” she said.
    Tears sprang to my eyes. I knew they hadn’t welcomed me, but I’d thought, at least I’d hoped, that over time they’d warm up. Before Tina, I might have expected to be shunned, but hadn’t our friendship proven that I wasn’t a complete freak?
    I was grateful when the lot of them flounced out. Reaching for my bag, I dug out my Math book and buried my face in it. Equations swam across the page in front of me. I’d really thought I had a shot with Madison’s group. They weren’t populars, or braniacs, or socialites. They were just ordinary, in a nice way, like me. Why wouldn’t they give me a chance?
    I missed Tina and Kyle so badly I wanted to scream or hurl something. The effort of holding back tears was suffocating. Grabbing up my books, I ran for the nearest bathroom. I just made it inside a cubicle before the tears spilled out. I shoved myfist into my mouth so I wouldn’t make a sound. How was I going to get through two more years of this?
    Perhaps you’re thinking this was the terrible event that warranted the sinister theme music.
    Not even close.

Noor
    Starting school …
    I could barely contain my excitement the first time I put on my school uniform. It was a light-brown shirt with a darker skirt, white kneesocks and black leather shoes. I’d never worn shoes before. They pinched. I kept catching my reflection in their gleam. If I twisted my feet the light danced across them. Deepa-Auntie and I laughed to see it.
    Ma fixed my hair into two braids. They were very short and stuck straight out on either side of my head. I was happy my hair was long enough to braid at all. The year before, Ma had shaved off every inch of it because of lice.
    “Easier to keep you bald than bug free, dirty girl,” she said.
    “It’s not her fault,