Careful What You Wish For Read Online Free Page B

of us.” Did I mention how awesome he was?!
    â€œWe can squeeze. I’ll make sure everybody feels right at home,” Courtney said.
    â€œThat’s okay,” I said.
    â€œThen I guess you’ll have to catch the show from over here.” She smirked at me and sauntered back to her table.
    I didn’t have to wait long to find out what she meant. Courtney began doing one of her infamous impersonations. “Please don’t hit me, I’m a nice giant,” she said in her best Max voice. “I’ve only eaten three students, and they weren’t even the cool ones.”
    â€œLeave him alone,” she said, switching voices to one that I hate to admit, sounded remarkably like mine.
    â€œThank you, Double-A, defender of giants and flatchested girls everywhere,” Courtney said, back in her Max voice.
    It made me sooo angry. Not just because it stung every time I heard that nickname, but because she was so awful. And no one did anything to stop it.
    At least Max had tutoring during lunch and didn’t have to see what was going on. But still . . . I was sick of how mean everyone was. Wasn’t there enough evil in the world?

chapter 7
    â€œJe parle, tu parle, ils parl —I’m never going to get this French conjugation. I should have taken Spanish,” I said as Gabi and I were walking to class after lunch.
    â€œYou’d have the same problem there. You don’t study enough,” she said.
    â€œThanks, Mom.” However true it was, I didn’t need a lecture. Not from her. Besides, she did enough studying for the both of us. Gabi’s mom was majorly into grades. If Gabi didn’t come home with As, she had to give up things like TV. Which was a punishment for me, too. My mother hates television, and I’m barely ever allowed to watch it. I depend on Gabi when it comes to my viewing pleasure.
    â€œI’m just saying that if you stud—” Gabi’s channeling of Mrs. Gottlieb was cut short as Courtney powered by with Jaydin and Lana in tow. Courtney flipped her hair over her shoulder as she passed, hitting Gabi right in the eye with it. “Uck. How annoying. I don’t know why people like her.”
    â€œThey don’t. They’re afraid of her.” I watched as Courtney forged her way into class. Right as she turned, Max stuck his head out the door. And, like always, he wasn’t watching where he was going. Instead of looking ahead, his eyes were on the floor. The two collided—head-on. It was a major train wreck. The kind where you knew there’d be casualties. In this case, it was Max.
    Courtney gave him a long, cold stare. Her eyes were slits. “What’s your problem?”
    â€œSorry. It was an accident,” Max mumbled. He had one arm on the doorframe. It was like he needed it to steady himself.
    â€œWell, you should be sorry,” Courtney said, elbowing him in the gut as she moved past him.
    The look in Max’s eyes . . . I couldn’t take it. It was like Courtney had pulled all the lights out—straight through his pupils. So for the second time in one day, I jumped to Max’s defense.
    â€œCourtney,” I shouted.
    She turned to face me, her hands on her hips. “What do you want?”
    Be strong, you can do this , I told myself. It wasn’t the first time I went head-to-head with Courtney, but it was never fun. She could be vicious. But someone had to stick up for all the people she hurt. And that someone was going to be me. “Apologize for elbowing him.”
    â€œNo,” she said, keeping her hands on her hips.
    â€œDo it.” I took a step toward her.
    She took a step toward me. “Who’s going to make me?”
    Do not show fear, do not show fear. “I am.”
    My heart was on turbo speed. Did I just challenge Courtney Lourde to a fight? I didn’t know how to fight. And I didn’t want to. I bruise super easily. But I couldn’t back