Solo Read Free Page B

the in-crowd. "Everyone, this is Eliana. She's new to Myrtle Creek."
    Suddenly, I had a flashback of their whispers and snickers from second period. I took a seat. "Hello."
    Emily made an effort to say hello. Sasha, Miss Popular herself, acted as if she had a much better conversation going with Evan. Evan had no problem staring at me as I sat down.
    Jack put in a little more effort. "So, what brings you to Myrtle Creek?"
    "Well, my dad is in the military and he was deployed overseas. This is where my grandparents live, so my parents decided my mom and I should stay here while he's gone."
    While Sasha looked bored by my story, Evan listened with curiosity. He chimed in, "Where did you move from?"
    "We lived in southern California last. We've moved around a lot." I took a sip from my water bottle.
    "Do you surf? You look like a surfer chick." Jack seemed interested.
    I choked on my water. "Surfing? Me? —No. But, I love to boogie board."
    Casey laughed. "Oh, so you have a real California tan?"
    I glanced at Sasha, then back at Casey. "Yeah, it's real."
    Sasha glared at me. At that point, I knew we weren't going to be best buds. I sat quietly eating my lunch when someone caught my attention. I only got a glimpse of him as he left the cafeteria, but even at a distance, he definitely left an impression.
    On our way to Spanish, I turned to Casey. "I hope I didn't say anything wrong at lunch, everyone got quiet."
    "Don't worry about it. They'll warm up to you. It's just that we've always been a small group. It takes time for them to welcome new people."
    Even though Casey tried to ease my mind, I still felt weird about Sasha's vibe.
    We entered Spanish class. Casey introduced me to our teacher, Mrs. Hernandez. I thought I was in the clear as I started down one of the aisles, but I was wrong. Mrs. Hernandez said, "Eliana, agradable, apenas usted sabe tan que hablamos solamente español en clase."
    Great, they only speak Spanish in this class. This should be fun.
    "Introdúzcase por favor a la clase en español."
    I couldn't believe she really wanted me to introduce myself in Spanish. "Okay, Soy Eliana y me moví aquí desde California meridional."
    I could tell that no one in the class really cared that I'd moved from Southern California. I just wanted to take my seat, but the teacher insisted on asking more questions.
    "Eliana, qué le trae Myrtle Creek?"
    What brings me to Myrtle Creek? I guess the real question should be what can I say to get her to stop asking me questions?
    "Bien, mis padres limitan, amordazado, y forzado me para moverse aquí contra mi voluntad." I shrugged with a smirk.
    There was a delayed reaction, but one by one, the students slowly realized what I had said. "My parents bound, gagged, and forced me to move here against my will." The roaring laughter caught the teacher off guard.
    "Okay, Eliana, please take a seat. Your Spanish is remarkable." The teacher handed me my textbook.
    I walked to a seat at the back of the class, impressed that I'd shocked Mrs. Hernandez into speaking English in her "Spanish-only" class. I sat next to Casey. Some of the students were still laughing as Mrs. Hernandez tried to get everyone focused on the day's lesson. Across the room, a familiar face smiled at me. It was Sammy Alvarez, the guy who'd given me a tour. I threw him a courtesy smile and looked back at the dry erase board.
    I reminded myself I was only in Myrtle Creek for a year. I could handle this place if I found some kind of activity to keep me busy. The sound of the bell interrupted my thoughts. I couldn't believe I'd zoned out for the entire period. The homework assignment on the board saved me. At least I could read what they'd gone over in class. Casey walked to my desk while I was writing the assignment in my notebook.
    "I'll wait for you after next period," she said.
    Casey really was my lifesaver today. She made a great makeshift GPS system. I didn't have to ask a hundred people where my next classroom was. I