Left Out Read Free Page A

Landon.”
    â€œFranken stein, dude. Frank-n-stein!” And they’d point to their own heads with fingers in the spots where the moveable magnetic discs connected to the disc implants beneath his scalp. Sometimes they’d stick out their tongues, cross their eyes, or both.
    Landon was nervous when a waitress took them to their table near the boys. He sat in the chair with his back to thethree boys and focused on the menu. There were lots of choices. His father ordered a tuna melt, and Landon asked for the same. Genevieve got turkey on a croissant with brown mustard and Swiss cheese. She didn’t eat like a kid, and it was just another way that she seemed more advanced than Landon, even though she was a year younger.
    Landon couldn’t understand the chatter behind him now. The sounds he heard with the implants weren’t sharp enough for him to understand what was being said without the ability to also see a person’s lips. He could read lips fairly well, but the best way for him to understand what was being said was to hear the fuzzy sounds and see the lips at the same time.
    Landon tried not to stare at his sister, but he couldn’t help feeling concerned each time she glanced past him to where he knew the boys were sitting. Then she put her croissant down without taking a last bite. Her face turned dark. Her eyes moved in a way that told Landon the boys were headed toward their table. Landon tapped Genevieve’s arm, trying to get her to look at him. If he could draw her into a conversation, she might not do anything bad, but she swatted his hand away without moving her eyes.
    The three boys moved past the table in a tight group. Landon heard one of them say something, but he had no idea what because the diner wasn’t quiet and the boy didn’t speak loudly. It must have been bad, though, because Genevieve sprang from her chair and darted at the biggest one of them like a terrier on a rat.

4
    Genevieve gave the redhead a shove, pushing him back so that he stumbled into another table, upsetting the drinks of the four ladies who sat there. Landon heard a muffled shriek. Both he and his father jumped up. His father grabbed Genevieve by the shoulders, holding her back.
    â€œWhat’s your problem?” The redhead glared and clenched his fists. He stood nearly as tall as Landon, though half as wide.
    â€œMy problem is you! ” Genevieve struggled to get free. “And you!” She kicked out at the pug-faced boy’s shin. Thankfully she missed, but the three boys backed away toward the door.
    â€œCome on, Skip.” The spiky-haired one tugged the redhead’s arm. He turned to the pug-faced kid with the floppy hair and said, “Xander, let’s just go.”
    The entire diner stared in disbelief as Genevieve’s eyes brimmed with tears.
    â€œGenevieve, you can’t act like this,” their father scolded as he guided her back to her seat. He kept his voice even and calm, though, and then he turned to the ladies at the table of spilled drinks where a waitress was already at work with a towel. He produced his wallet and removed some bills. “I’m very sorry. I’ll pay for those drink refills and any cleaning.”
    Landon took a quick look around. Everyone was staring and whispering. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to die. He shook his head and tapped Genevieve to get her attention. “You know I don’t want people staring,” he scolded.
    â€œYou can’t let people disrespect you—here or when you’re on the football field, Landon,” Genevieve said. “You need to learn that.”
    â€œThis isn’t the football field. This is the diner.”
    Genevieve gave him a fiery look that quickly melted, and he was afraid she would burst into tears, but she bit her lip and put her hand on top of his and said, “I’m sorry, Landon. I just can’t stand . . .”
    â€œDon’t worry so much about