Out of the Ashes Read Free Page A

purple flecks to match my walls. Once we put it up I spent hours rearranging and organizing my room.
    With all the activity, I never gave another thought to Greg or sharing books until school on Monday. I was at my locker getting my things ready for first class when I heard his voice.
    â€œShelby! I have some books for you.”
    I turned to see him standing beside me with four books in his arms. In fact, everyone around turned and looked. There was a sudden silence in the locker area.
    â€œThese four are great.” He was smiling and didn’t seem to notice that there was a very interested audience in the background. “I figured you’ve probably read most of the classics, so I picked more modern books.”
    â€œUh, thanks.” I mumbled, taking them from him. I noticed that the one on top was Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes , which I’d read not long ago. I’d loved it and found myself irrationally annoyed at the thought that his taste was apparently similar to mine. Then I realized he was standing there waiting.
    â€œI haven’t had a chance yet to pick out anything for you,” I tried to keep my voice low so that the other students couldn’t hear. “It was a busy weekend.”
    â€œThat’s okay, no rush,” he said pleasantly. “I just hope you enjoy these as much as I did. I couldn’t put them down.”
    Giggles started then, along with oohs and aahs. He became aware of the stares we were getting. Instead of getting embarrassed, like any normal human being, he got an intense look on his face and said, “Perhaps they have never been where we have been. They laugh because they don’t know our secret places. Don’t let them bother you, Shelby. To thine own self be true.”
    Our secret places! To thine own self be true! I could have crawled into my locker and stayed there for the rest of the school year! The teasing started then and went on all day. It spread through the school faster thanyou can imagine. Everywhere I turned I heard those two phrases repeated. I did my best to ignore the whispers and hoped it would just go away.
    Betts cornered me at lunch. “What is all this talk about you and Greg and secret places? Are you holding out on me? Where did you two go this weekend? And why didn’t you tell me about it?”
    â€œHonest, Betts, I swear I didn’t see him again until today. I never even gave him another thought. He brought me some books this morning and made some remarks that everyone took the wrong way.” I didn’t know how I could explain to her that the secret places he mentioned were in the books. I knew what he meant, but there was no way I could make her understand.
    â€œOkay, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.” She looked hurt and kind of angry.
    â€œBetts, wait!” I implored, but she was walking away and didn’t even turn around.
    I started to eat my lunch alone amid snickers and comments that were loud enough for me to hear. The worst part of it was that Nick looked at me and laughed a couple of times. He was leaning over and whispering to his friends, and I knew they were all talking about me and Greg. It wasn’t fair. And there was no way for me to clear myself.
    All I could do was hope the talk would die off when people saw that I wasn’t hanging around with Greg. Ikept my head down, ignoring the talk around me, trying to pretend that my sandwich was the most fascinating thing in the world. And then it got worse.
    â€œHey, there. Want some company?”
    I looked up to see Greg standing with his lunch in his hand. Before I could open my mouth to tell him I’d rather be alone at the moment, he plopped down in the seat across from me and spread his food on the table.
    I was embarrassed to tell him what everyone was saying about us. Mainly, I was afraid that he’d say or do something that would give everyone more ammunition to add to the