Quince Clash Read Free Page A

friend.
    â€œI’ll take you,” Noelia piped up as she slipped her arm into the crook of Santiago’s arm.
    â€œI’ll take you, too,” added Violet, taking his other arm. Noelia and Violet led him down the busy corridor as the bell rang.
    â€œHey,” Mona called after them. She turned to Fabi and inquired softly, “I heard that Maria Elena was sent to a convent in Monterrey. Is it true?”
    Fabi shrugged, smiling to herself. Everything was definitely back to normal.
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    At lunch, Fabi caught up to her friend Milo in the lunch line. Students were skipping ahead of him, but he didn’t seem to mind or notice. Milo was not from South Texas, and it was obvious by the way he dressed in his oversize coat, Adidas sneakers, and retro red glasses. He was nodding to himself, lost in his own world, totally absorbed in some new song he’d found, and bouncing softly to the beat. Fabi grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.
    Milo smiled, pulling out his earphones. “Hey, you have to listen to this song I just discovered by this French DJ. Check it out.”
    Fabi held the headphones to her ear. The music was fast and good for dancing, with electronic beats. But it also sounded like every other song Milo raved about. Her stomach started to growl. “Hey, let’s get lunch before they run out of the fruit plate.”
    They grabbed their trays and headed to the food counter. Fabi turned away from most of the cuisine: chili cheese nachos, chocolate chip cookies, mac and cheese — Milo’s favorites. But Milo was a short skinny kid who never gained a pound. Fabi was into eating healthy. She wished they had a salad bar like at her best friend’s high school. But Georgia Rae was in McAllen, a real city. Dos Rios was a decade behind the rest of the country. They were surrounded by farms and had a large population of migrant workers who worked the fields up and down the country, but there was no place to buy organic produce in the neighborhood. Being a vegetarian was a constant struggle at school and at home — especially since her family ran Garza’s, a traditional Mexican restaurant.
    â€œDaddy said I can have a quinceañera if I really want to,” an annoying voice said behind her. “We already booked the McAllen Convention Center. And my dress is so cute. You’re so going to love it. I designed it myself. It’s a black-and-white strapless dress. My mom got the best fashion designer in Austin to make it. He was real expensive. But my mom says you only turn fifteen once.”
    Fabi didn’t have to turn around to know who was behind her. Melodee Stanton, head of the Dos Rios dance squad, was the most annoying girl at school. Her horde of worshipers swore her tweets were gospel. Fabi had hoped that their relationship would improve after Melodee (secretly) helped her prove Santiago’s innocence earlier that fall. But Melodee was on no one’s side. She only cared about herself. The best thing for Fabi was just to stay away from her. Besides, Melodee enjoyed making other girls’ lives miserable.
    Fabi leaned over the counter. “Excuse me,” she said to the lunch server. “Is there any more of the cottage cheese and fresh fruit platter?”
    â€œFresh fruit?” Melodee echoed mockingly behind her. “Some people just don’t know when to give up.”
    Fabi jerked back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Melodee continued talking loudly to her friends, ignoring Fabi’s comment. “If I looked like that, I’d just stop eating, period.”
    Fabi could feel tears welling, but she held them back. That’s exactly what Melodee wanted. She enjoyed pushing people’s buttons. It gave her power. So Fabi bit back her hurt and left the lunch line.
    She rushed over to her sister’s table. Alexis was eating her lunch with a couple of her friends.
    â€œAre you okay?” Alexis asked,