Crumbling Walls (Jack and Emily #1) Read Online Free Page B

need to know. Except for math, but that’s not her fault. Everyone needs to have something they suck at.”
     
    Rolling her eyes, Emily studied the schedule, “You’ve got both math and English with us, but you haven’t got any easy test givers. Sorry.”
     
    Taking the schedule back, “Well, at least I’ll have company for a couple of classes.”
     
    Turning on her heel and heading down the hall, both boys keeping to her sides, “Where’s Gil?”
     
    “We had a falling out this summer. He decided he likes to smoke weed and I decided he was an asshole. That and the fact that he got busted for the aforementioned weed and is now attending a nice little place I like to call private school."
    “I’m sorry.”
     
    “S’okay, who needs him anyway?” Putting his arm over Emily’s shoulder, which Jack noticed she didn’t flinch away from, “I’ve got my girl and the new kid who hasn’t figured out yet that I’m not exactly normal and who hopefully won’t see that until after he discovers he likes me for me and not for my hair color.”
     
    Jack laughed, “Um, can I ask why green?”
     
    “’Cause they were out of orange.”
     
    As they dropped Jack off at his first class, “Makes sense.”
     
    And with that, their junior year began.
     
    ▪▪▪
     
     
    By the time art class rolled around Tim was dragging a thousand books with him and he dropped them with a bang on the table next to Emily, “Mind if I share?”
     
    “Nope. What’s with all the stuff?”
     
    “Locker lock’s broken and apparently maintenance can’t fix it until after school, so I get to haul all this crap with me until then.”
     
    Standing back up, “Come on. I’ll let you use mine for now. You can’t be carrying everything with you. You’ll look like a freshman.”
     
    Gathering up his pile, “Thanks.”
     
    They made it back to class before the bell rang, given her locker was only a few feet down the hall. Settling back at the table, “So, how’s Jack surviving?”
     
    “He’s doing okay. A little nervous this morning but then I turned him over to Dex and he should be completely corrupt by tonight.”
     
    “Dex?”
     
    “Yeah, tall kid, green hair, pierced eyebrow.”
     
    “Cool name.”
     
    “Well, Dexter really didn’t fit him so he shortened it. I’d say it was a good call.”
     
    “Oh yeah.”
     
    Just then the teacher walked in, “Pencils up, paper ready, draw.” And she set a bowling pin, a Rubik’s cube and a golf ball on the table in the middle of the room. “One catch, they can’t be actual size. Bigger, smaller, I don’t care, just not life-size.” And with that, she walked back out.
     
    Tim looked over at her confused, “What?”
     
    With a grin, Emily stood to collect two boards and some paper for them. Clipping the paper on the plastic boards, she handed him one, “Do what the lady said.”
     
    “We just draw then. No teaching?”
     
    “Not today. She did this last year too. First day out, she jumps in to see where everyone stands. We’ll critique near the end of class and go from there.”
     
    Already digging up his favorite pencil, “Kick ass.”
     
    “Generally.”
     
    Everyone talked throughout the class. There were several room wide discussions of movies, vacations, classes and teachers as well as people getting up, moving around, looking for different angles, light sources, more comfortable chairs. By the time Ms. Tassleman got back and critiques began, Tim had decided this was by far the best class he’d been to yet.
     
    Emily had turned slightly away from him and worked diligently throughout the hour. When her critique came up, Tim couldn’t do anything but stare. He had thought he was good, but he could see now she would be very tough competition.
     
    After the class had finished ripping her paper apart, as they had with everyone’s, with extremely constructive criticism, it was his turn. Walking to the front of the class, he set his board against