Holly's Heart Collection Three Read Online Free

Thanks to a night spent applying a zillion moisture treatments. This morning I’d used Mom’s hot styling brush. My hair was still a little too fluffy, but the shine and flexibility had returned. I was a walking, breathing hair reconstructor ad.
    Mrs. Hibbard hadn’t said anything about the bags under my eyes, but I knew they were obvious. What a way to start my freshman year. I’d grabbed two cans of caffeine-packed pop on my way out the door and stashed them in my schoolbag. The caffeine would keep me going at least till lunch.
    As I boarded the bus, I searched for Andie, Paula, and Kayla. Mostly older kids—upperclassmen—sat in the back of the bus. I found a seat close to the front, wondering if my friends had gotten a ride to school.
    Stan had.
    Somehow, my stepbrother had talked Mom into letting him catch a ride with an older friend for the first day of school. But had he included me? Guess that’s what happens when tenth graders get pushed up to the second rung of the high-school ladder. One rung higher made a big difference—in attitude.
    What if . . .
    I daydreamed about how things might’ve been. This moment, I might be riding off to my last, fabulous year of junior high. Top of the totem pole. Right where Andie and all the rest of us cool freshmen belonged.
    The bus came to a stop across from Dressel Hills High School. As I waited to get off, I noticed the Miller twins standing on the school steps with Danny, Billy, and Andie.
    Andie spotted me as I came off the bus. “Holly!” she called, and I ran across the street to meet her. “Wow, your hair looks great!”
    “What you really mean is it looks poofy.”
    “C’mon, Holly, it’s not that bad.”
    “Thanks,” I said, “but you won’t believe what I went through to get it semi-manageable.”
    She cocked her head and studied me. “You look wiped out, girl.”
    “You’d be tired, too, with just five hours of Z s.”
    Andie grinned. “You’re here; that’s all that matters.” I sighed, glancing at the twins heading up the school steps. “Getting stuck riding alone on the bus the first day of school when your best friend is—”
    “Don’t give me grief over that,” Andie interrupted. “It wasn’t my idea.”
    I felt foolish for saying anything. “Just forget it,” I muttered. And we turned toward the steps of the enormous old high school. I, for one, was definitely not looking forward to this day.
    Once inside, we headed for our lockers, assigned during recent registration. Andie’s was close to Paula and Kayla Miller’s— a random assignment from the school office. The threesome chattered about the day and their schedules while Danny and Billy hovered nearby. My locker was practically a mile away, down the hall. I trudged off by myself, feeling lonely. And puffy haired.
    A pit stop in the bathroom confirmed my worries. My hair was not only puffy, it had started to frizz up—and out! Now that it was shorter, there wasn’t enough length to weigh it down.
    I decided to brush it out and pull it back against my head in a tight, single braid. Running the hot water, I held my brush under the faucet. Frantically, I plastered my hair against my temples, as wet and straight as possible.
    Perfect. Now if I could just do this after every class. Sure, it was a hassle, but it beat looking like something out of a circus freak show.

    Homeroom, Room 202, with Mr. Irving seemed strange. A male homeroom teacher? It just didn’t fit. Not for me, anyway. Oh, there’d been male teachers in junior high—Mr. Ross, the infamous science teacher with only one necktie, and the adorable student teacher last spring, Mr. Barnett. But homeroom? Never!
    Maybe that’s why things were so unsettling. But maybe it was something else. Andie was down the hall in Room 210—Miss Shaw’s homeroom. My best friend and I had never been separated in school like this.
    I took a deep breath, trying to push out negative thoughts. Once seated, I got my backpack situated