Uncanny Day Read Free Page B

thing.
    On its rubber track, a name kept revolving around and around. Written in huge white letters and surrounded by a giant heart, as if someone had painted it there, was the name “Greg Wilkins.” Yep, same name as on the dance flyer I had found inside Laura’s dryer. Stephanie’s was in plain sight because she openly had a crush on Greg. Laura’s was more secretive; thus, I had to search for it. Just one more thing I’ve learned in the mind-reading business.
    The bizarre thing was that in Laura’s mind, below Greg’s name, was the third word “lies.” This was absent from Stephanie’s. People’s minds were puzzle boxes. Yes, I could read them, and most of the time information was easy to get, but sometimes I came across little trip-ups like this.
    All Stephanie wanted to know was who Laura was going to the Fall Ball with. I had my answer and then some. Why would the additional word “lies” be in Laura’s mind? Did she know something Stephanie didn’t? Was she protecting her friend from a betrayal Greg would later inflict on her? I’d been messing around too much inside Laura’s mind to even bother looking for more clues. Then again, I wasn’t getting paid to decipher Laura’s thoughts, just to find out whom she was taking to the dance.
    Just the facts.
    In Stephanie’s mirrors, I was again faced by my tired reflection. It complemented the appearance of the jeans I’d been wearing—rough and faded. I rubbed my eyes. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept for a period longer than a couple of hours.
    Suddenly, one of the can lights above me flickered. I turned to look at it as it abruptly popped and fizzled out. That was strange. The treadmill began to rev up, moving faster now. I bit my lower lip, quickly searching for more clues. I guess it didn’t matter. I had the information Stephanie wanted and my job was done. It was getting weird in there, and I wanted out.
    Slipping back into my own head, I saw that Stephanie was now just eight feet away from me. She was a cute girl, with an oval-shaped face, brown hair, matching deep-brown eyes, and cheeks that puffed into an equally cute smile, but she was no Laura Hartman. (Ah, I’m just kidding.)
    â€œSo?” she said, shooting the friend she had been walking with a sideways glance. I did the same out of pure awkwardness. The girl suddenly made a shocked expression as if she had just accidentally interrupted Stephanie and me in a deep conversation. The girl turned, creeping into the classroom next to us.
    â€œWhat did you find out—who is she going with?”
    Okay, when it comes down to it, crawling around inside people’s minds, discovering secrets, can get to be sort of…Oh, what’s the word … troublesome ? Just as this job had become. I was really ready to be done with it, get myself out of these two girls’ minds and move on. I had bigger problems to deal with.
    I held out my hand, saying, “We agreed on fifteen.”
    She rolled her eyes and let her shoulders sag. Hefting her books into one arm, she reached around to her back pocket.
    â€œHere.”
    Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Lincoln were securely placed into my open hand. Once I felt the money touch my fingers, I said, “Greg Wilkins.”
    That’s when I saw Kate Huddy pass behind Stephanie and drift effortlessly into our classroom. I took that as my lead-in and followed her, not wanting to see the expression on Stephanie’s face when the treadmill in her mind came to an utter and complete stop.

Chapter Six
    I HATED FIRST PERIOD, hated it with a passion. Not only was it world history, taught by none other than Mrs. Pearot, or the Pirate, as everyone called her, but Kate had somehow made it a priority to be assigned the seat across from me and used every minute of class to mess with me. The late bell hadn’t even rung when she started in.
    â€œSo, what