The Gifted Ones: A Reader Read Online Free

before you ask, yes, Nathan’s parents will be there.”
    Grace rolled the next section of hair and held it carefully away from Ellie’s head. “Good. I like them.”
    “You should; they’re even stricter than you are.” Ellie gave her aunt a devilish grin in the mirror.
    Grace gave her one back. “I know. That’s why I’ve always encouraged your friendship with that boy. So who else will be there?” She unrolled the iron and laid the curl along Ellie’s neck.
    “Well, me, Karen, Wanda, and Liane, of course. And Liane’s baby brother, ’cause otherwise her parents wouldn’t let her come, and Nathan and Tommy and Jammer, and this other kid, Aiden.”
    Grace looked up in her head. Ellie assumed she was mentally matching faces with names. “Tommy, I remember, and Jammer…is he the boy who wants to be a professional surfer?”
    Ellie giggled. “Uh, yeah. Not the sharpest bulb in the chandelier, but he’s really funny.”
    “Okay, now I remember. You know, I think he has a crush on you—”
    Ellie cranked her head around and looked directly up at Grace, nearly yanking the curling iron out of her hand. “Aunt Grace, get real! Surfer Boy forgets I’m alive until he needs help in Geometry. He only chases cheerleaders.” She turned back toward the mirror and picked up one of Grace’s lipsticks. She spoke matter-of-factly as she played with it, “Guys don’t go for dorky girls like me. I mean, not that way. Especially not ones wearing big ugly glasses and with a face full of stupid freckles.” Ellie wrinkled up her nose, studying her reflection in the mirror.
    Grace rolled some loose tendrils around Ellie’s face. “Honey, you just wait. You’ve already gotten rid of the glasses. The rest will come. Believe me, your science-geek mom was a bit awkward in high school, too, but she was extremely popular in college, and fighting them off with a stick after that.” She leaned over, placing her face right next to Ellie’s, and spoke into the mirror, “And you look just like her.”
    “Oh, yeah, I wish.” Ellie reached across the dressing table. She touched the photograph that sat just below the mirror, a youthful shot of her mother. In it, Lucy’s strawberry-blonde hair fell gently over her shoulders, surrounding her oval-shaped face and accenting her pale skin. Her clear blue eyes jumped out of the image, as though she could see right through to the present day. Ellie felt her nose tickling and saw it turning red in the mirror. She quickly shifted her eyes over to some of Grace’s jewelry and make-up. Anything to get her mind off her mother.
    She supposed that Grace had noticed it as well, since she promptly changed the subject. “So, uh, who was that last boy you named? Aiken?”
    “Aiden. Aiden Orcutt.”
    “Right. I’m having trouble placing him. When did I meet him?”
    Uh-oh. Ellie bit her lip. She’d been so hoping that lack of familiarity would slip by unnoticed. “Um, I don’t think you have. He’s new. He just moved here from, uh, Kansas, I think. But he’s really nice, Aunt Grace. Nathan said so. They’ve been hanging out.”
    Grace set the curling iron down. “Now, wait a minute, Ellie. You know our rules—”
    “I know, I know, but I haven’t had a chance—” The doorbell interrupted them, and Ellie jumped up. “Please, Aunt Grace, just this once, okay? I promise you can meet him at school next week, when you come pick me up. I’ll make sure. And I won’t be late coming home, not even five minutes. And I’ll text you every hour. Okay? Please?”
    Grace sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she gave her head a little shake. “Okay, sweetheart. Go on. But I do expect to hear from you, every hour, on the hour.”
    Ellie grinned, giving her aunt a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Aunt Grace, you’re the best!”
    She raced out of the room and started down the stairs, but not without hearing her aunt’s final helicopter warning, “And grab