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

of there
fast enough.
      “Mitman!” The steady fall of footsteps
grew closer and caught up to me just outside the South Wing of the school, near
the walking path that would take me home. Jake Shellinger was half-laughing by
the time he caught up to me. “Man, are you deaf?”
    “I
didn’t hear you.” The truth was I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, so
I kept walking. I never figured he was actually tracking me down.
    “Well,
you’re tall, so I guess you can’t tell when you’re hoofing it.” Jake stood and
took a deep breath. “You should go out for basketball next season. I hear
they’ll hold cuts early.”
    “Nah,
basketball’s not my thing.”
    “Too
bad,” he said. “They’re always looking for a few good guys to go out for the
team.”
    For
lack of a better conversation, I decided to stick with the athletic
suggestions. “Maybe you should go out for track?”
    “Yeah,
that’s a good one,” he snorted, as if considering leaving the Crew team was an
option. “So, I heard you’re coming this weekend.”
    The
nerve in my cheek twitched. Here it was, the scam of the century currently in
progress, only I couldn’t detect any suspicious vibes coming from Jake at all.
In fact, he seemed rather comfortable about the whole thing, as if inviting me
had been in the works for a while, and he was just now getting around to
talking to me about it.
    “I
really haven’t had time to think about it yet.” I didn’t tell him I was still
leaning toward ignoring the invitation. The only reason worth giving it a go
would be Evie, but reality was telling me that was pretty moot. She would be
there with Shane.
    “No
worries. I only wanted to give you my address. 311 Pine. It’s the only house up
on the hill, so it’s easy to find.”
    I
gave a nod, filing the street name and number away in my head, and stuffed my
hands deep into my pockets. Of course I knew of the place. It was the exclusive
A-frame on the hill. I imagined myself there, hanging out, blending in. It made
for a pretty laughable picture.
    “If
you want to come, the door’s open. Anyone who’s a friend of Shane and Evie’s is
welcome. Catchya later, Mitman.” He turned to head back to the school, but
stopped short.
    “Oh,
almost forgot. I’m supposed to give this to you, something about a study
session. Evie said you could text her anytime.” Jake smacked my back lightly
then sprinted off in the direction of the main building.
    I
waited until he was a good distance away before unfolding the paper, and when I
did, I was surprised, and admittedly relieved, to see a cell phone number
printed in Evie’s neat handwriting. I shoved it into my pocket to keep company
with the other, and walked home. In the last two hours, the unexpected fell
into my lap. Either I was the luckiest guy in the world, or things were about
to get complicated.

 

 
 
 
    Chapter Six
    Evie

 
    Out of
Shane’s friends, it was Jake I trusted most. Sure, he had the party boy image
down pat, but beneath that was something the others didn’t have, not even
Shane, and I held my breath as I watched out the window while he caught up to
Chase.
      “You’re quiet,” Tara whispered as she
leaned over the seat behind me.
    “I
don’t feel like talking.” I couldn’t help being short with her, and, given the
fact that she chose not to share a seat, I assumed she would accept my silence.
    Tara
watched closely to see if I would cave and turn around. It wasn’t going to
happen, so she could just lean there for all I cared.
    “Oh,
come on, Eves. Can’t you see I was trying to help?”
    The
way I saw it, she was ruining things. I turned and faced her and instantly saw
the look in her eyes; the one that screamed “I won!” simply by my shifting
position.
    “The
last I heard, this was a joint project. Wasn’t that what you kept saying all
along?” Tara asked me.
    I
turned back around and felt her foot kick the back of the seat in frustration.
If only I