Uncanny Day Read Free

We connected like hockey players.
    I knew it was her. Kate Huddy, the editor of the school newspaper, the Weekly Beak , and major pain in my butt. She’d been trying to discover my secret ever since I started dishing out private information. She had probably timed it perfectly for us to run into each other. The girl was relentless, and even worse, I had a crush on her.
    We’d known each other since the fourth grade. I couldn’t be sure what drew me to her. Maybe it was her self-confidence or outgoing personality, things I lacked. She always had that going for her, that and her fascination with the weird. Conspiracy newspapers, Hollywood gossip magazines, and comic books, to name just a few of the items I helped her pick up off the floor.
    â€œHey, better watch it there, Muddy,” I said. Kate had inherited the nickname “Muddy Huddy” due to the fact that she got deep into the dirt of people’s personal lives. One time she was on to a few teachers at school. Those articles never made it to print in the school newspaper, but they surfaced in other mediums, such as her online blog of the same nickname. She had run into trouble a few times with instructors when some of the stories turned out to be fact. She was good at investigative reporting, I’d give her that, but she’d never crack my secret.
    I stood. Kate was still collecting a few more of her things. On the floor under a comic book, I spied a thin black notebook flipped to an open page. Among the words written, I saw Dean’s name. Bending back down again, I scooped it up. Kate and I might have been friends, but she wasn’t very fond of Dean.
    â€œHey, what’s this?” I asked as I tried to read more. She made a move and snatched it from my grasp quicker than a ninja.
    â€œNone of your business,” she said.
    I held up my hands in surrender. “Whoa, Moody.” I stretched out the long vowel on the word, egging her on. “What’s a matter? No insane questions for me today?”
    She brushed back a few short strands of auburn hair from her face. Curling them behind her ear, she rose to meet me.
    â€œActually,” she started, “I wanted to see if you’d be interested in doing an interview with me.” She produced her cell phone and started thumbing over it. “I’d have to fit you after Greg Wilkins.”
    That guy was becoming popular fast. I changed my surrendering hands into pistols and pointed them at her. “Um, no thanks.”
    I leaned forward to get around her. Kate sidestepped into my path. I could smell her perfume.
    â€œOh, come on, what’s it going to hurt?” The glow from her screen brightened her eyes. I knew what she was doing. The puppy-dog look had always been a tactic with her. Next she would use reverse psychology. I began to back away.
    â€œAll right, fine,” she said. “I don’t need you to confirm what Dean already told me anyway.”
    I stopped cold in my tracks. A scary thought popped into my head. I tried to laugh playfully.
    â€œYou talked with Dean? About me? Nice try, Muddy,” I said, trying to sound confident.
    My thoughts flipped back to seeing Dean’s name in Kate’s black notebook. Maybe she was somehow gathering evidence against me. I knew she wasn’t above trading secrets with enemies to crack an even bigger one. I guess I never realized it till then, but I was her biggest competitor in terms of news and gossip for the newspaper. Maybe she saw me as a scoop threat. And we were friends, right?
    â€œI could even get Trent off your back,” she said.
    Either that was a shot in the dark, or she’d seen the three of us leaving the guys’ bathroom. She was good, I’d give her that, but I was the one who did the mind-reading at River West High School. I wish I’d had more time to talk to Dean, get things straight. Or, ha! I could just read her mind. Duh.
    There was one rule in order for