Run Read Online Free Page B

might be furious with her. After all, he and Heather had a history. Or maybe he'd just say, "I told you so," which, of course, would be even worse.
    She told herself the only thing that mattered to her was that she'd passed the first test, and that Sam was one step closer to safety.
    She hoped.

High School Drama
    GAIA HUNG BACK AFTER THE BELL, until the classroom had emptied. Then she snatched the video and stuffed it into her beat-up messenger bag. She'd destroy it later. Crush it, or burn it, or something equally absolute. The last thing she needed was for it to wind up playing 24/7 on the Internet -- the scene of her nightmares playing out for the global community's entertainment.
    Ed was waiting for her in the hall.
    So were Heather and a sea of salivating spectators.
    Gaia took one look into Heather's very wet, very red, very livid eyes and considered walking right past her, rather than enduring the obligatory scene of high school drama that everyone was expecting. But Gaia stayed rooted in place. She'd done what she was about to be accused of. Some remote part of her was eager to clothe herself in blame. Maybe even needed to.
    "Where did you get it?" Heather asked, her voice surprisingly even. "Where did you get that tape?"
    "I found it," Gaia answered. True. There was the requisite murmur from the crowd at this stunning tidbit of noninformation.
    Heather's perfectly lined eyes narrowed. "You're not even going to deny it was you?"
    "No." Another murmur, this one louder.
    "Are you going to explain?" Heather took a step closer. Megan and the other sidekicks exchanged a look that said things were about to get interesting.
    "I didn't know what was on the tape," Gaia said with a shrug. Also true.
    Heather let out a noise that was somewhere between a shriek and asphyxiation. "Tell me where you got it," she said. She was right in Gaia's face. The tangy sweetness of her perfume made Gaia's nose itch. The girl was brave. But then, she did have the entire school behind her. And she didn't know what Gaia was capable of. Not that Gaia had any intention of letting Heather find out -- let alone the ever-growing crowd.
    "I already told you," Gaia said.
    And then Heather pushed her. It was the kind of push that normally wouldn't have affected Gaia in the slightest -- had she been expecting it. But Heather had caught her off guard, and Gaia stumbled backward until her shoulders pressed into the wall.
    The crowd let out a little "ooh." Gaia righted herself, standing up straight for the first time in recent memory.
    Heather took the slightest step back, betrayed herself with the smallest flinch. Gaia was sure she was the only one who saw it.
    "What kind of psychotic freak are you?" Heather said loudly, shoving Gaia again.
    This time Gaia didn't budge. "The kind of psychotic freak you don't want to push again," she said under her breath.
    There were a few things Heather could do at this point, and Gaia watched her face with interest as Heather ran through the possibilities in a fraction of a second. Where would the roulette ball land?
    Would Heather:
    A) call Gaia's bluff and push her again?
    B) lose her shit and run?
    Or
    C) back off with some catty remark, thereby making herself look like the bigger person and the victor?
    "You're not worth it," Heather said.
    So it was going to be C.
    Good choice.
    There was a disappointed muttering from the male contingent, a sigh of relief from the females. Heather backed up, fixing a wry smile on her face. "You do realize that your life at this school is beyond over," she said, then snorted a bitter laugh. "Not that it ever started."
    The masses laughed and scoffed and made general noises of agreement.
    Gaia said nothing. Moved not an inch.
    Heather took this as cause to smile even wider, and turned to her friends. "Show's over."
    And with that the crowd dispersed, punctuating Heather's threat with their own disgusted looks and comments.
    Gaia didn't bother to look like she cared. She didn't care.