Orion Cross My Sky Read Online Free

She’d have to study, which was no problem. She could absorb information easily, and she figured if she could memorize Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , she would have no problem memorizing whatever she’d need to pass the test.
    Clara bustled about the kitchen making breakfast, chattering about a science exam she had to take that day. Tammy couldn’t focus. She ran her hand through her hair, then finally tugged it back into a ponytail. She ate breakfast without any gusto, barely finishing her eggs.
    Her cousin plopped down across from her at the small dining table.
    “You’ve lost like ten pounds,” Clara commented, staring at Tammy as she nudged eggs around her plate.
    “Yeah. Something like that. I’m not a little fat girl anymore.”
    Clara’s eyes widened. “You never were! I can’t believe you just said that.”
    “I can’t believe you’re denying it.” She knew she had a few extra pounds around the middle. She took after her mother, who’d always been a bit on the chubby side.
    Now, because she’d barely been eating as she went through this intense adjustment to living away from home and going out among people on a regular basis, she’d lost weight. And she didn’t mind. A part of her wished she looked like Clara—slim, beautiful like her mother Lynette, her angelic features a mirror to the goodness inside her.
    “You are beautiful ,” Clara said, leaning against the table, her tone insistent as if she hoped she could convince her with a few well-meaning words.
    “And you’re getting ketchup in your hair.”
    Clara gasped, grabbing the auburn strands and wiping them with a napkin. “Shit!”

----
    T here was no point in having a car, not in Clearwater, and Tammy was glad of that. One less thing she had to worry about. She could walk anywhere she wished, and today, she and Clara strolled to the library on the corner of Main and Maple Street. As they passed by Pete’s Service Station, the sound of an air gun made Tammy look toward the three open garage bays.
    “I wonder what it’s like in there,” she mused.
    “Where?” Clara asked.
    “The garage.”
    Her cousin chuckled. “What makes you wonder about that?”
    “I don’t know. I’m just curious.” She had always been curious, which was why she read so much. She wanted to learn everything there was to learn, do as much as she could. Especially now that she was away from her father’s house. She wanted to take part in anything that empowered her, made her feel independent. Earning her GED was a good start.
    When they reached the library, Clara took a deep breath. “Well, here goes.”
    Her cousin was hoping to get a job as a clerk in the library so she could work after school and on weekends. She’d just applied, and the director had called her for an interview. Clara appeared as if she were trembling in her strappy sandals, interlocking her fingers against her pale blue blouse and black slacks.
    “You’ll be fine.” Tammy gently rubbed her back. “I know you’ll do great.”
    “You think?” She tilted her head, looking at her as if praying Tammy was right.
    “I know it. And while you’re interviewing, I’ll be in one of the study rooms.” She clutched her notebook against her chest. “I don’t think I’ll need to study much, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
    They stepped into the lobby, then into the library.
    “You’ll be okay,” Clara said, her voice tinged with nervousness. “I’m not so sure about me.”
    “Is Gaven here?” Tammy looked around, glancing down rows of books, then peering to her left where ladies stood chuckling and whispering to each other behind the circulation desk.
    “No, thank God,” Clara mumbled. “I’m so nervous already. I love Gaven so much, but if he were here right now, I’d feel even more nervous.”
    “I guess I understand that.” She wasn’t certain because she’d never been in love before. She’d never even dated. She didn’t want to. The very idea