Prelude (The Rhapsody Quartet) Read Free Page B

spurt, after all, I thought with a frown.
    I pulled the shirt down as far as it would go, and noticed, dissatisfied, that my midriff was still slightly exposed.
    I took a deep breath in and felt it catch about halfway. I had zero doubt in my mind now that I’d shrunk the last load. My sports bra was killing me, digging into my armpits and chest uncomfortably. I wondered if I could go to the bathroom and ditch it, if I really even needed a bra with this shirt at all.
    Like any good teacher, Mr McGregor had a radar for when a student wasn’t paying attention. Since I was preoccupied with my clothing issues, he immediately called on me, “Sarah!”
    I tried my best to stop fidgeting, sputtering out, “Yes?”
    “Can you tell me which god was the patron of Athens?”
    It was an easy question, “Athena… a god dess , Mr McGregor.” The tone of voice was a little bit rude, but truthfully I was hoping to be sent to the office or at least told to go outside so I could change my clothes. Mr McGregor didn’t seem to notice or care about the attitude, however, and beamed back at me, making me wonder if his mistake was intentional.
    Jeremy Wilson, who sat in the seat next to mine, whispered to me, “Wow, you’re really smart, Sarah.”
    I smiled back at him, nodding. Jeremy never gave me the time of day before. Receiving his attention now felt awkward and strange. I hunched down in my seat, letting my hair fall over my shoulder, trying to create a barrier between us.
    Mr McGregor smiled, “Excellent job, Sarah. At least one of you is paying attention.”
    Amanda Montgomery turned from the seat in front of me and said, “I love that you had the answer. McGregor is always trying to trap people like that.”
    I nodded, just wanting to get back to the lesson. I kept pulling down my shirt. The extra attention was making me feel self-conscious. I squeezed my eyes shut. Just keep lecturing .
    The class was silent, and I peeked my eyes open a crack. The whole room was staring at me in fascination. Now I really felt anxious. I leaned forward to Amanda, “Why did we stop the lesson?” I asked her.
    She smiled widely, “It’s you , silly. Did you want to continue?” She seemed a little confused, her eyes were soft, hazy.
    I looked around. The gaze of the entire class was still fixed on me, everyone grinning widely, the same dreamy expression on their faces that Amanda had on hers.
    Well, almost everyone. Stacie Robinson was glaring at me, drumming her fingers on the wood of her desk. She looked a little baffled, but mostly angry. This was a prank. Someone heard it was my birthday, and I was getting pranked.
    I sat in silence, staring at the board for a few minutes until sighing. “Guys… this isn’t funny,” I said, “pay attention to class, okay?”
    In unison, the class turned back to face Mr McGregor, with the exception of Stacie. It was incredibly eerie. Stacie continued to eye me for the rest of the hour. That was hardly surprising because A: I’d been singled out, which automatically made me the enemy, B: Stacie doesn’t like me, or anyone under a certain level of popularity on a good day, and C: I threw up all over her shoes yesterday, and she was probably (justifiably) still mad about it.
    I continued to tug at my clothes. I wondered if I could change into my sweats from PE during the break. Even if it made me late, that seemed like a better plan than sticking it out. This was seriously uncomfortable.
    The bell rang, and I ran out of the class, stumbling a little and trying not to run into people. A few of my classmates stopped me at the door to see if I wanted to be friends, to hang out after school, to build a bonfire on the beach. I pushed past them, shaking my head the whole time.
    I headed for the locker room, hoping I had enough time to change before the tardy bell sounded. Ignoring the strange looks from the girls around me, I spun the dial on my lock and jerked it open.
    I pulled the sweats out, grateful to