The Edge of Forever Read Free Page B

the only reason I know that is because of the pictures Aunt Grace has of him. I wonder if one of the women is my mother. I don’t have a clue. Aunt Grace doesn’t have any pictures of her.
    Yeah, I know that’s weird, but I’ve been living with Aunt Grace since I was little. I have a few hazy memories from before then, but not much. Flashes of me running in a wooded area. The smell of lavender as my mom would tuck me into bed at night. Little things that don’t tell me anything.
    And I’m pretty sure I used to live in a big city. Sometimes I get these images of tall buildings that seem to touch the sky, as if I’m in the midst of them looking up. Now this backwoods town is home, including all the small-minded people who inhabit it. Anyone who deviates from their idea of normal is considered too weird to associate with.
    Lucky me.
    “Earth to Alora. Are you even listening to me?”
    A hand waves in front of my face, and I blink several times before turning to my best friend, Sela. “Sorry. What did you say?”
    The two girls sitting across from us, Sela’s new friends, laugh in a high-pitched twittering that makes me want to stab my ears. Or them.
    “Are you okay? You’re acting weird,” she says.
    For an instant, I consider telling her about the dream, but I change my mind. There’s no point because I can’t remember any details. “I’m okay. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
    That’s close enough to the truth. On the nights I dream about my dad and the mystery ladies, I always wake up with a feeling of dread. Of course, sleep is impossible afterward.
    “Right,” Sela drawls. She takes a bite of her salad before continuing. “Anyway, I asked if you wanted to practice with us this afternoon. Jess and Miranda decided to try out for the squad too, so I thought we could all work on some cheers together.”
    “Yeah, Laura, it’ll be fun,” says the one on the left, Miranda.
    “It’s Alora,” I reply through gritted teeth.
    “Oh, right. Sorry.” From her tone, I can tell she’s not.
    I don’t understand what Sela sees in Jess and Miranda. They’re as deep as a mud puddle. All they do is talk trash about everybody, what guys they like, and clothes. Plus they try to dress matchy all the time. Like now, they’re both in tight capris and off-the-shoulder shirts, and last week they each dyed a blue strip into their hair. Seriously. But Sela’s mom wormed her way in a local women’s club a few months ago, and next thing I knew Sela had two new besties.
    I take a deep breath and lean closer to Sela. “I don’t know. I really need to study. Aunt Grace will kill me if I fail another test. And I might have to help out at the inn after school.” I look at the ignored history book on my lap, feeling guilty. Aunt Grace told me she didn’t need any help this afternoon. We aren’t expecting any guests.
    When I peek at Sela’s face, she’s wearing an expression that reminds me of an impatient parent dealing with an irritating kid. “You said you would.”
    “I know, but I’m not good at that kind of thing.”
    “How do you know that? You’ve never tried.”
    Jess rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically. “Oh, come on, Sela, you’re acting like her mom.”
    I bite my lip. That hurts because I have no clue how my mom would react in this situation.
    “She knows what I mean. And didn’t you say your aunt was okay with you trying out?”
    “Yeah, but she wants me to keep my grades up too.” That’s the truth. Aunt Grace wasn’t sure about me going out for the squad, but Sela kept asking her and she finally said it might be good for me. Maybe I can get Aunt Grace to tell Sela that she changed her mind. Or something else. Like the fact I’m barely passing history.
    I failed my last two history tests, and Aunt Grace threatened to ground me if I didn’t make at least a C on this one. She says I never did that badly when she homeschooled me, which isn’t exactly true. I don’t know what’s