Shadow Boy Read Online Free Page A

twelve year old. That’s just sad.
    “You broke Carla’s heart?” Trent asks. The entire group goes quiet and I see all of the zoo kids, especially, staring at me. It’s only the girls in the pool that don’t seem to realize what’s going on. I can’t help but feel relieved over that—Carla would be really embarrassed, I bet, and Malina would probably get reve—
    A shot of water comes from the pool, hitting me right in the face. “Okay, now his pants!” Carla says as I wipe the water out of my eyes. A freezing stream of water lands in my lap and I yelp, jumping to my feet. It looks like I wet myself, I think as I look at the two girls. They’re both grinning evilly.
    Have I mentioned that it’s winter right now? I stare at Carla, who waves—and just to put the cherry on top, blows a kiss.
    “Oh, that’s it,” I say, kicking off my boots and jumping fully clothed into the pool. It’s a bit of a shock, even though I’m a super, but I ignore it as I chase after Carla. She swims almost as fast as she runs, but she’s too busy shrieking and laughing to get far enough. I grab her around the waist, hauling her up so her feet are out of the water, and fall backwards, taking us both under. Maybe she’s forgiven me? I hope so, I think as she swims out of my hold. I surface. Before I can blink, though, I’m staring into gleaming ice blue eyes as Malina grabs my shirt.
    Malina is a little person—she’s barely three foot five—but if she’s surrounded by water, she’s probably one of the most dangerous kids in the school outside of the major names. “I’m going to write it off as stupidity,” she whispers silently in my ear, “do you care for Carla?” she asks.
    “Of course I do!” I say, so shocked that I speak a little too loudly. “I just—I’m—” I sigh, shrugging. I don’t know what to say other than that, honestly. I feel hands on my shoulders before I have to come up with something, so I willingly let Carla dunk me under. I go deeper, hanging out at the bottom of the pool and looking up at the world. The two girls in their swimsuits, the bright colorful lights lighting up the huge pool, the chill of the water that I’ve gotten used to…
    And I remember the meeting with Shadowman. His statement about turning out just like him, it’s stuck in my head. The two girls above me, as well as a good portion of the ones hanging out poolside—they were all kidnapped by Shadowman. The sins of the father, and all that stuff, my mind whispers.
    She’s so freaking strong, I think as Carla glances down at me curiously. She’s strong enough to befriend strangers after all she’s gone through. She’s strong enough to like a guy with the same powers as her kidnapper. And she’s strong enough to act like nothing happened after he screwed up and broke her heart. My heart jerks slightly as I think about it. I reach up, rubbing my hand against my chest, wondering if I’ve held my breath too long. Instead of going up, though, I go down, heading for the biggest shadow in the pool and slipping through it. I can’t go off campus—Nico’s special force field keeps me from leaving, but I can go to my room. I head for it, coming through the wall and calling out for the lights to come on. They do, and I strip down, heading for my shower to wash off the chlorine.
    Maybe there’s something wrong with my heart, I think as I finish my shower. I still feel weird, and off-center. I pull on some clothes and head out the door, only to stop at the sight of Carla standing outside my room. “Carla—” I say, a bit surprised.
    “I uh—” she says, glancing both ways before shoving me into my room and stepping in. “I’m sorry, we can totally forget the whole crush thing because it was stupid and I’m over it now and we’ll both pretend it never happened and be happy as friends, right?” she says almost too quickly for me to follow. She gives me a hopeful look, and I find myself nodding stupidly, because