Winter Untold (Summer Unplugged) Read Free Page B

the time we leave the office, first period has already started an no one lingers in the hallways to see me walking with my new acquaintance.
    “I have yearbook for first period,” Chase says, reading over his newly printed class schedule. I hold out my hand to stop him from walking head first into a concrete column in the middle of the hallway.
    “I have yearbook too. It’s this way.”
    A grin lights up Chase’s face. “Really? How crazy is that?”
    “It isn’t that crazy. Only seniors can be in the yearbook class and it’s a really small class this year so it only makes sense that they’d throw you in it.”
    “Good point, but I requested this class. I love photography.”
    I snort. “Sucks for you because yearbook is a lot more than photography.”
    “Geez, girl, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.”
    “Something like that,” I say, not bothering to tell him that the way I woke up this morning, suddenly blasted awake by Jace’s alarm only to have him leave me for the airport, is exactly why I’m in such a crappy mood.
    “Luckily other people’s sarcasm and general assholery does not affect me, so even though other people might find you hard to be around this morning, I want you to know that I am still in a great mood.”
    I cock an eyebrow and stop in front of the yearbook classroom. He laughs and pushes open the door. Ugh, that boy really annoys me.
    Ms. Jennifer, our yearbook teacher, spends the majority of all classes sitting in the back of the room, huddling over her cell phone, smiling in this creepy sort of way that makes me not want to know who she’s texting or what they’re texting about. She’s in her mid-twenties and the rumor is that she’s not even certified to be a teacher but she had a degree in journalism and our school was desperate. All I know is that her apathy makes this the best class ever.
    Chase finally leaves me alone in favor of chatting up the yearbook editor, a senior named Eric. I work on my page layouts, choosing to use pictures of students who are my friends even though we’re not supposed to be biased. I don’t just use pictures of friends though. If someone is a bitch to me, you can bet I’ll find the most unflattering photo of them and make sure it gets a spot in the yearbook. That’s pretty much why the girl who talked shit about my best friend Becca will be featured on page sixty-four, smiling in the hallway with a shadow casting on her pants exactly in a way that makes it look like she pissed herself.
    Whoops! is the caption.
    I’m starting to get tired of peeking into my backpack to see if my phone has a new text from Jace. He was in such a rush this morning, I didn’t think to ask where he was going or how long the flight would take. Thanks to my forgetfulness, I’ve now become a phone-checking zombie, desperate for some kind of attention from the guy I love. Seriously. How the hell did people date each other before there was instant digital communication?
    “Bayleigh, if you’ll stop staring at the phone that you are totally not allowed to have in class, maybe you would be able to answer me?” Ms. Jennifer hovers over my desk, hands on her hips.
    “Shit,” I say, before dropping the phone back into my backpack and sitting straight in my desk. She’s cool and she won’t take away my phone, but still, no one likes to be given the stare by a teacher. “I’m really sorry, it’s a…family thing,” I say in a quick scramble to come up with an excuse that will keep me out of trouble.
    The look on her face tells me she doesn’t believe my made up excuse. “I asked if you will be attending the town’s Winter Festival?”
    I nod and she smiles and tosses a camera bag on top of my desk. “Awesome. You’ll be our second photographer.”
    “Wait, what?” I put my hand over the bag, wishing I could give it back. “I can’t take photos for the yearbook on that night. I’m—I’m busy.” Jace flashes across my mind. If he