Between the Lives Read Online Free Page B

many?’
    Miriam was standing behind me, but I could feel her cringe.
    Lucy bit her lip sheepishly. ‘Well, most of the senior year, and there might have been a few invites to some of theirfriends outside of school. You know, I mean, word got out and I didn’t want to say no.’
    I just stared and put my hands on my hips.
    ‘Eighty to a hundred.’
    I kept staring.
    ‘Okay, a hundred and fifty max!’ she said quickly.
    My immediate reaction was to freak out. I’d told Mom fifty people max! But then I remembered that both Lucas and Ryan had had parties after graduation. Those bashes weren’t even in conjunction with their birthdays, and they were both huge – police at the door – affairs. Mom survived those. So instead of losing it, I regrouped and rolled my eyes. ‘I hope you have security.’
    Lucy nodded, relieved. She tossed back her tight brown curls and smiled brightly, strawberry-glossed lips framing super-white teeth. ‘Sure do. The boys all know they are on detail.’
    By ‘the boys’ she meant our respective boyfriends. More specifically Miriam’s and mine – Lucy was still flying solo and in a permanent lust-crush with Noah.
    We weren’t with the football guys or the basketball boys. Our school, thank god, operated on a more even hierarchy. If you could keep up and you looked good in whatever set you were walking with, you could stay. It wasn’t a perfect system – if you were a geek who couldn’t socialise or work a look then you were a geek and that was it, and there were still lunch-tabledivisions and car-pooling priorities – but it was better than most high schools.
    And actually it was people like Dex who’d made it possible.
    He was smart, studious, a great sportsman and he looked hot – in whatever he wore. Everyone wanted to either be him, or date him, and he was nice to everyone. A few years back he’d started having parties, inviting the whole class – not only the cool group – and everyone just started being friends. And then … he picked me. We’d been together for the last two years and it made total sense. Our social statuses complemented one another seamlessly.
    When the three of us walked into English class, I saw Dex straight away, sitting in his usual seat middle-back. I immediately smiled and took my place beside him.
    ‘Hey, Sabine,’ he said, leaning in to talk close to my ear.
    ‘Hey, Dex.’
    He really was a beautiful guy – athletic build, sandy blond hair, and a dazzling smile that he delivered with such confidence it made the whole package even more attractive. Only problem … when I looked at him I just didn’t feel it . Whatever it was.
    Part of it I’d never be able to fix. The fact was, Dex was only eighteen. His life so far had been a smooth ride and the rest of it was panning out to be just as blessed. And I … well, if there was only one of me, that would have been fine, but I was eighteen twice , and my life was … complicated. The bottom line was that even though I was never going to, would neverdream of … But ifthere were someone I might one day consider telling about my wacked-out existence, it wouldn’t be Dex.
    ‘What’s up? Your face is all twisted,’ Dex whispered, giving me a curious look.
    I forced my forehead to relax and pushed the thoughts aside. Normally I was better at keeping them at bay. ‘It’s nothing. I just remembered that I need to pick up my new shoes from town before tonight.’ Lie, lie, lie.
    Dex smiled, buying it too easily. For some reason, it made me mad. I turned my attention away from him and fake-concentrated on the lesson to avoid having to talk to him again.
    Giving myself all that staring-into-space time wasn’t helpful. My mind was on a mission and I found myself prodding at my not-broken arm. And the questions began …
    Have the rules changed?
    No. This must be a one-off. Was this a one-off?
    Will my arm be broken when I go back to my other life? Was this a glitch and will it only last for one