Cherry Red Summer (Emely and Elyas Book 1) Read Online Free

not a widely understood concept there, so I preferred the library.
    I also worked three or four shifts a week waiting tables at a little cocktail bar called Purple Haze. My parents couldn’t be categorized as big earners, so even though they wanted to support me financially, my job at the bar took some pressure off them. Luckily, tuition is basically free in Germany, so I had to earn only enough to cover room, board, and books. I actually preferred earning the majority of the money I needed.
    The pay at the bar wasn’t particularly good, but since I didn’t have an extravagant lifestyle, I got by fine on the couple of hundred euros a month I earned there. There were always student loans if I needed them.
    Granted, given my ditziness, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a born waitress, but after two years of practice, I had gotten relatively good.
    What little free time I had I now spent mostly with Alex. Whenever a couple of days went by when we didn’t get together to do something, we would at least meet each other on campus somewhere. I’d celebrated my birthday with her a week ago, and I couldn’t remember when I’d had so much fun. We spent the whole night bar-hopping and clubbing, and it was the most welcome change of pace I’d had in a long time. Even though there were moments that gave me pause, I was still thrilled to have her with me again. It was almost as though we’d never been apart.
    Alex had settled in splendidly in the two weeks since she’d moved. She was completely wrapped up in her new program. She positively beamed anytime she talked about it, which was practically every two minutes, saying it was exactly the right fit for her. She had also started to fall in love with Berlin. She was feeling on top of the world, and—even though it was actually impossible—she seemed to be getting to know the place better than I did.
    Alex was floating on clouds. I was totally happy for her.

    Alex’s face beamed as she maneuvered through the crowd in the gigantic lecture hall as though it were a small gathering in her own living room. My lecture had just finished.
    “Emely,” she said once she had found me near the doors, “it’s Thursday afternoon, it’s beautiful outside, and I’ve heard a rumor that my best friend—who I’m sure still has some ancient swimsuit from when she was a kid—is going to be joining me on a trip to the pool.” She rocked back and forth on her heels.
    I sighed. “First of all, my swimsuit is nowhere near that old, and second, the grapevine is mistaken,” I said. “I still have two hundred pages to read by tomorrow morning. So, regrettably, you’re going to have to go on your excursion without me.”
    Alex stopped rocking on her feet as she frowned and jutted out her lower lip. “Oh, man! I was really hoping you’d come along.”
    “I’m sorry, Alex,” I said. “But I just can’t swing it. Should I feel guilty for spoiling your afternoon, or do you have someone else you can ask?”
    “Well,” she started, “Elyas is coming, too, so you haven’t spoiled my afternoon. But it’s still too bad. It would have been way more fun with the three of us!”
    The three of us? My eyes grew big. If I’d known her stupid brother was coming, my answer would have been a resounding no in any case.
    Apparently Alex got along fairly well with him, or at least she pretended to. It was truly beyond me. But the two of them had had a good relationship since they were little. Oh well. No need to understand everything in life.
    “Another time, OK, Alex?” Now I wasn’t the least bit sad about having to waste such a beautiful day in the library.
    “It’s all right,” she said in a sulk. “Do you at least have a little time for me tonight, then?”
    “If I finish reading the book on time, I’ll try to pop by later. But no promises.”
    “Too late, you already did!” she said grinning. “I’ll see you tonight. Gotta go. Have fun reading!” Before I could reply, she had