After Me Read Online Free Page A

fall on him because the girls drool over his muscles?”
    He picked at a hole in the knee of his jeans. “He’s been making my life miserable since second grade, but now he does it in front of Lauren Ross every chance he gets.”
    “What does she do when he acts that way?”
    He shrugged. “She doesn’t laugh or anything like some of the girls. She usually just looks disgusted and walks away.”
    “Sounds like she thinks he’s a jerk too.”
    “Then why is she going to the Winter Formal with him?”
    “Probably because all her friends oohed and ahhed when he asked her.” I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, Nate. If she’s got any brains like you thought, she’ll find out real quick that he’s nothing but a bully and kick him to the curb.”
    He kept his eyes downcast and sighed. “I won’t be holding my breath until that happens.”
    “Then she’s as dumb as he is. And I know a smart kid like you would be bored to tears with a dumb girl, no matter how cute she is. Wouldn’t you?”
    “Yeah, probably.” He looked up at me with a little smile. “But maybe I wouldn’t care how boring she was as long as I got to see her in that red skirt.”
    I pretended to be shocked. “Here I was thinking you were one of the good guys, and you turn out to be a little creeper.” I pulled him to his feet and pushed him toward the door with a laugh. “Get out of my room, you disgusting male.”
    * * *
    M onday morning I stepped off the bus at Bay Harbor High School and checked out all the clichéd groups gathered in the parking lot outside the main building—popular kids, druggies, emo kids, nerds, and the outcasts who didn’t fit in anywhere. Well, all but one boy who was just sprinting back and forth across the parking lot for no apparent reason, although the look on his face made it clear that he was determined to be on time for something .
    Like I’d told Nathan, I’d never cared what anybody thought about me when I was alive, so I sure didn’t now that I was dead. But my Barbie doll looks and my mother’s bank balance had always guaranteed me a spot at the top of the high school food chain, and I’d never considered hanging out anywhere else, mainly because it hadn’t been worth the effort. Now that I was free to be part of any group I wanted, why not have some fun?
    I ignored the looks I was getting from the A-List crowd and walked toward a group of boys who were all wearing T-shirts featuring comic book heroes or video games. Surely one of them was a computer whiz who might be able to help me track down BOSSMAN.
    “Hi, I’m Gwen,” I said to nobody in particular. “Today’s my first day. Can one of you guys help me find my way around?” They stared at me with their mouths literally hanging open, so I snapped my fingers in front of a couple of faces. “Hello? Anybody in there?”
    The boy closest to me—a short little dude with dark curly hair—recovered first and grinned at me. “I’ll help you. My name’s Sidney—Sidney Ambrose.”
    “Great, thanks.” I pulled my schedule from my purse. “I’ve got Algebra II and Trig first period. Guess I ought to at least show up, even though it’s pretty much pointless.”
    “Hey, I’m in that class too!” Sidney’s brown eyes were huge with excitement. “Don’t worry, I can help you pass, no problem.”
    I smiled and put an arm across his shoulders. “I knew I liked you, Sid.”
    A tall boy with glasses and a ponytail tapped me on the shoulder. “He gets mad if anybody calls him Sid.”
    “Mind your own business, Justin.” Sidney glared at him. “She can call me anything she wants.”
    Justin pushed his glasses up on his nose with an indignant sniff. The rest of the group looked at Sidney with either jealousy or awe marring their acne-ravaged little faces, and I knew he would probably commit grand theft auto for me if I asked.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a guy wearing a football jersey walking toward us with a