Between These Lines (A Young Adult Novel) Read Online Free Page A

lied. Thanks to Tara.
    “Eves,”
Tara turned to me, “stop worrying.”
    But
the bathroom had already begun to spin slightly.
    “See,
now you can flirt with Mr. Mysterious right under Shane’s nose,” she said as if
she was the clever one. “Don’t tell me this isn’t working out perfectly for
you. So, see? I couldn’t say anything at lunch otherwise Shane would suspect I
was helping cover things up for you.” She paused, her face smooth and serene
even as the venom oozed from her lips. “I couldn’t possibly bring myself to
step between you and Shane.”
    The
idea of secrets took on new meaning, and so the question came without warning,
before I could even think of what I was asking, before I could process in
advance how it would affect things.
    “So
this was your idea?”
    “Mmm
hmm.” Tara leaned across the sink and carefully arranged her hair.
      “Is that what you whispered to Shane in
the hall?” My eyes shot up to meet hers, to catch a glimpse of her reaction the
moment my words met the dead air between us.
    Tara
was quiet.
    Clearly,
it wasn’t a topic that could be brought up out of the blue while walking down
the hall. It wouldn’t garner a blasé reaction from Shane, and it most
definitely wouldn’t cause such an intimate look between the two of them.
    Her
words rang in my ears; the reference to flirting with Chase beneath Shane’s
nose.
    This
time I recognized the reflection in the mirror. I didn’t have to second-guess
myself. I watched, as quietly composed as I could be, as Tara’s pretty,
porcelain face went bone-white.

 

 
 
 
    Chapter Five
    Chase

 
    Lunch left
me confused and wishing I hadn’t agreed to go with Evie. It would take some
masterminding, but I was seriously considering asking Mr. Floyd to team me up
with another group. I spun the dial and yanked the lever to the side, taking
the day’s downfalls out on my locker. It almost went undetected, that little
flash of white. Puzzled, I pulled it from the inside slat on the door.
    At
first I thought it was from Shane, who always got the last word in, no matter
what. Then, I wondered if Evie had planted the note. Maybe she second-guessed
herself and would back both she and Tara out of working on the project with me,
which would leave me off the hook from doing it myself.
    But
then I read it.
    What
a joke. It was an invite to Jake Shellinger’s house party this weekend, which
would be a hit, at my expense, of course. Even if I ignored my first instinct,
which to crumple the stupid invite and chuck it in the trash, I could handle
Shane. I had managed to stay out of his way for years and I had no intention of
stealing his girlfriend, even though I liked her.
    Then
a thought crossed my mind that it was Evie after all. A peace offering for what
happened at lunch. Somehow, I was okay with that, and if Evie still wanted me
around, then too bad for Shane Whitley.
    The
only thing standing in my way between the bell and getting out of this academic
purgatory was Technical Media. I sucked it up, shuffled onward, and did my best
avoiding everyone around me. I was greeted by a strange descending quiet,
complete with watchful eyes, as soon as I walked in. Normally, I would slither
in, grateful for the invisibility. Now, since lunch, it was the opposite, and I
didn’t know what to do with the attention.
    “Psst.
Chase.”
    I
turned in my seat toward a boy named Brent Lockhart, who gave me the chin-nod.
    “Nice
move on switching ranks, Mitman.”
    I
wanted to tell him I never switched. Evie was the one who asked me to lunch to
talk about a paper, and ever since, I’m a freaking super-star.   I returned the chin-nod and turned back
around to face front, which wasn’t much better. Rhonda Simpson stared at me. I
managed to give her a half smile, then whipped out my pencil and began erasing
the top of my desk in a metaphoric effort to make everyone in my classroom
disappear until the bell rang, and when it did, I couldn’t get out