Once Again Read Free

same expression… oddly curious, knowing. I couldn’t
look away. And when he made no move to say anything, I broke the
staring contest by opening my notebook.
    Forty-seven minutes later, the bell to end
class rang. The texters from the front of the class immediately
went for their cells. Rolling my eyes, I reached toward the floor
for my backpack, and my hand brushed Lucas’s as he bent to pick up
his.
    Electricity streaked through my arm, and I
barely resisted the urge to wrench my hand away. Lucas’s eyes met
mine, and though I felt certain he hadn’t felt the same punch I
did, I was pretty sure my face was plastered with shock.
    How embarrassing.
    “Why are they even in this class?” I nodded
toward the girls with the cell phones, hoping my question would put
a stop to the awkward moment.
    “They probably got stuck here when the other
electives filled up.” He shrugged and grinned. Not only was it the
first pleasant look I’d gotten from him, but his smile was a total
killer. “Not a lot of kids choose to take a class where you have to
read books.”
    But apparently he did. Which was both a
selling point and a mystery.
    We stepped into the hallway at the same time,
and before taking off, he looked back at me as if he wanted to say
something. In that moment of hesitation before he spoke, the words
began falling again, faster this time.
    I stood, rooted to my spot. From the end of
the hall someone called his name, and Lucas turned to join
them.
    Paralyzed, I didn’t move as the words fell
into place.
    No matter what I have to do.

CHAPTER 2
     
    Though I
tried not to, I worried about lunch all through the next two
periods. I should’ve asked my new friend Jessie what time her lunch
break was, but being overwhelmed with everything, I hadn’t thought
about it. As a result, U.S. History, which under normal
circumstances I would’ve enjoyed, was a blur, and the geometry
class had seemed much more difficult to endure than it would have
otherwise.
    What if I had nowhere to sit and no one to
talk to?
    I imagined the worst-case scenario. Standing
in the cafeteria, lunch tray in hand, looking at a room of full
tables, the occupants staring back at me with no hint of invitation
in their eyes.
    So I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw
Jessie, along with Marsha and Tiffany, waving to me from a table in
the center of the cafeteria.
    The banana was the best part of lunch, as the
turkey sandwich was pretty dry and the steamed broccoli was mostly
tasteless, but I did meet a few other people at lunch. A couple of
boys at our table seemed overly attentive, as if jockeying for
position on the new girl’s priority list. They were decent guys,
and I was pretty sure they didn’t often get the opportunity to try
and impress girls. I felt bad, in a way, that they didn’t make an
enormous impression, but I couldn’t recall any names by the end of
the day.
    Walking to my car, I thought to myself that
as far as first days at a new school went, this one hadn’t been
completely terrible. It was also worth noting that a late-August
afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee would’ve most likely been
sweltering. But here in Sky Cove it was warm without humidity, and
the breeze was almost balmy as it lifted my hair off my
shoulders.
    Groups of kids were gathered at various
locations in the parking lot. The traditional end-of-the-day
debriefing I figured. I was almost to my car when one group of
particularly athletic looking boys called my name.
    I stopped, looked over my shoulder. I
recognized none of them. Apparently they’d heard about me.
    “Hey Layla!” the one with the short brown
hair yelled.
    I just stood there, unsure of how to respond.
I didn’t even know their names.
    “Lay-la,” he said again, putting the emphasis
on the first syllable.
    Great.
    The other guys snickered. A slight crowd
started to pile up.
    “Lay Lay Lay-la,” he went on.
    I began to hope the ground would open up and
engulf me.
    “Lay-la, why don’t you