After Alex Died Read Online Free Page A

talk about it.”
    Sofia placed a hand on my upper arm. “Sometimes talking about it helps.”
    But bottling it up inside was easier. “I think break’s over. We’d better get back inside.
     
    ***
     
    We had one more session before lunch. Dr. Jones explained the curriculum for the program and described some of the weekend activities where we were expected to chaperone the students. We were going to be taking the kids on major overnight trips to New York City and Washington, DC as well as a number of day trips to historical sites around New Jersey. When I glanced over at Cameron, he was looking at me and he looked lost. If I didn’t know what an asshole he was, I might have felt sorry for him.
    By the time we actually made it to lunch, I was starving. I filled my tray with French fries and a mustard/ketchup combin ation that I loved and Sofia grabbed me by the elbow and led me over to a table she was sharing with Antonio.
    “Nothing like eating healthy,” Sofia teased as I sat down.
    “Potatoes are a vegetable and ketchup is made from tomatoes and they’re healthy.”
    She rolled her eyes and picked at her salad.
    “Does that even have dressing?” I asked.
    “No,” she complained. “I’m on a diet.”
    “You do not need to lose any weight,” Antonio said as he looked Sofia up and down. “You’ve got the right amount of everything in all the right places.”
    Sofia grinned and then bit into a cucumber.
    “Where’s your partner?” Antonio asked as I was about to pop a fry in my mouth.
    I glanced around the cafeteria and pointed my fry at a table in the corner where Cameron was sitting by himself eating a ha mburger.
    “Why don’t you invite him to sit with us?” Antonio sugges ted.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I replied.
    “Why not? It would be nice to have another guy to hang out with.”
    I looked at Sofia to give me a hand but she just shrugged. I got the feeling that she was going to be taking Antonio’s side on things from now on.
    When I saw Cameron glance around the room, I waved to get his attention. He gave me a strange look, like he wasn’t sure why I was waving at him. I gestured for him to come over and watched as he grabbed his tray and made his way over to us.
    As he stood uncomfortably at the head of the table, Antonio said, “Hey, man. Want to sit with us?”
    Without saying a word, Cameron took the seat next to Antonio, which was directly across from me.
    “What’s up?” Antonio asked.
    “Not much,” Cameron replied. He picked up what was left of his hamburger and lifted it to his mouth but then thought better of it and let it fall back on his plate.
    “The food here sucks,” Antonio said. “I go to Rutgers. The food’s pretty good there. Better than average. This is like dog shit.” Antonio pushed the pizza on his plate away from him in disgust.
    Cameron nodded in agreement.
    “So, where do you go to school?” Antonio asked.
    Cameron shuffled in his seat. He looked uncomfortable. “I’m at the community college,” he muttered.
    My jaw dropped. Cameron got a full scholarship for Penn State. How did he end up at the community college?
    “That’s cool,” Antonio said.
    “So, how do you know Dee Dee?” Sophia asked. I elbowed her in an effort to get her to stop but she just glared at me.
    I stared at Cameron in an effort to persuade him to keep his trap shut but he wasn’t looking at me. He was playing with the French fries on his tray.
    “We went to high school together.” When Cameron glanced up at me, his green eyes looked flat and lifeless.
    “That’s what Dee Dee said,” Sofia added. She eyed me as if she wanted me to elaborate. I knew she was digging for information but I wasn’t ready to dish it out yet. I never talked about Alex’s death and what happened to him his freshman year in high school. After a year of living with my roommate, Kellie, the only thing she knew was that Alex had died. She never asked for any details and I never