Lennon's Jinx Read Online Free Page A

this girl in the
cafeteria.”
    I
can’t imagine Lennon doing something so romantic and cute when he’s had a tidal
wave of one-night stands. “What happened to her?”
    “She
moved away. She was only here that one year. I swear, it crushed his little
heart.”
    So,
he was young and sweet once. That certainly changed.
    I
continue destroying the evidence of the party while Rena watches me. The large bag
is going directly outside to the garbage when I’m through destroying the party
evidence.
    “Why
are you cleaning up now?” she asks.
    “Step-monster
comes home in a few hours.”
    “That
sucks.” Rena pitches in and scrubs the counters with a damp sponge. “I thought
he wasn’t coming home for a few days.”
    “Not
any more. He just called to give me the good news.”
    “You
can spend the night at my house if you want.”
    “Step-monster
will be more suspicious and fuming if I’m not here when He gets home.” I work
in panic mode, spilling alcohol on the floor from the half-empty red cups. “Will
you kick everyone out for me?”
    “No
problem,” she says. “I’ll stay until the house is spotless. Don’t worry. We’ll get
this done before Bill gets home.”
    “What
would I do without you?” It’s hard for me to imagine.
    Rena
grins at me and tosses a bottle into my open garbage bag. “You wouldn’t survive.
That’s for sure.”
    She’s
absolutely right. I wouldn’t last one minute without her, but it’s not like I
wasn’t there to soak up her tears over Byron. I’d do the same for her at any
hour of the night, which I’ve proven countless times by sneaking out and
lending her my shoulder.
    As
if it can’t get any worse, Alex saunters into the kitchen. “There you are.” He snakes
his arms around my waist. “I’ve been looking for you.”
    I
tense—my body revolting against the memory of the aftermath of that night just before
my sixteenth birthday. Chills run amok all over me. Okay, there are a few guys
who scare me worse than Lennon. Alex is one of them. Who invited him anyway?
    “Then
you haven’t been looking very hard,” I say, wriggling out of his grasp.
    “God,
you look hot,” he says, eyeing me like a piece of candy. “How come you don’t
dress that way at school?”
    The
leather boots and mini skirt were for Zach, though he didn’t show. He probably
couldn’t pry himself away from his play-toy Kelly. I was hoping to make him
jealous. Instead, my outfit has given most of the senior guys here the green
light. That wasn’t my intention.
    Alex
slides closer to me. “Why won’t you go out with me?”
    “When
hell ices over,” Rena says, like the pit-bull everyone knows she can be.
    “I’d
be happy to meet you both down there,” he says, winking.
    I
step away from him and behind Rena. The distance makes me breathe easier.
    Nothing
ever goes right for me. Alex. Step-monster coming home. Lennon. Why didn’t Zach
show up without Kelly and slip his warm arms around me? Because I screwed
up—big time.
    I
sigh and dump more plastic cups into the overflowing trash bag in an attempt to
clear my name from the many violations I’ve accrued tonight. It’s been a while
since Step-monster caught me at anything, and I don’t need to give Him any more
ammunition.
    “Party’s
over,” Rena says, pushing Alex toward the front door, “so Adios .”
    “See
you guys, manana ,” he says.
    How
am I going to face Lennon in choir tomorrow after seeing his…? A flush prickles
my neck.
    Unlike
me, he joined the top high school choir without trying out. I didn’t get in until
my junior year, and even now, I have a ‘B’ because I can’t read music. It’s the
only ‘B’ I’ve ever gotten in my entire life, and it sucks. This whole mental block
thingy keeps me from catching onto the treble and bass clefs. I hate the fact
he doesn’t really have to work at music like I do.
    My
shoulders sag just thinking about school tomorrow. I dread sitting next to Lennon.
The heat that boy