Wraith Read Online Free

not?” I regretted the words the minute I said them. The reason why was clear. Everyone thought I was psycho. No one but me thought he was.
    “First of all, Michael Brooks and Trey Arnold have been his best friends since second grade. They weren’t going to abandon him just because he got in trouble.” My eyes narrowed in confusion, barely registering Ava’s movements as she packed up her lunch.
    “Wait…what?” I asked. “But he’s new…he just transferred here, right?”
    Ava shook her head. “No. He’s always been a student here. Well, he was until he got sent to some kind of boot camp or wilderness program or something for nine months. He just came back.” She lifted her head to get a better view. “I will admit though, he didn’t look like that before he left. The short hair is definitely new. They must have shaved it. Not to mention he looks like he grew a couple feet.”
    I turned discreetly in my seat in an attempt to get a better look at him. He was talking easily with his friends, while he leaned back casually in his seat and propped his feet on the bar beneath the table. His hair was still short but as the days passed, it lacked the tidiness from when I first saw him. It seemed the hair on his face grew faster than that on his head though, as his beard was spreading thickly across his jaw. He glanced in my direction, and our eyes locked for a split-second before he turned away, re-engaging his friends.
    “Boot camp? What did he—” The bell rang and the sudden clatter of chairs and trash being thrown away as students rushed out of the room to their next class.
    “I’ve got to run—math test—but I’ll see you in art, okay?” Ava called, swinging her satchel over her shoulder and darting toward the door.
    “Bye.” I waved, but my eyes were on Connor and his friends as he ducked out the door and into the swarm of kids in the hallway.

    N INETY MINUTES LATER, I’M perched on my stool next to Ava and waiting for Ms. Anderson to stop talking about shading techniques. I was dying to find out more about Connor. I couldn’t stop watching him, trying to envision his lanky frame and scruffy beard in military boot camp clothing. I shook my head to remove the ridiculous image from my thoughts.
    There was no way that kid spent time in boot camp.
    Ms. Anderson finally directed us toward our projects and I rummaged through my bag for my drawing pencil.
    “Hey,” I whispered to Ava who was already busy with her picture. “Do you have an extra pencil? I think I left mine in my locker.”
    She shook her head no and mouthed, “Sorry.”
    I walked over to Ms. Anderson’s desk and asked for a hall pass. She handed it over with a disapproving nod, and I bolted out the door and out into the hall. The corridor had that calm, cool feeling all schools have when everyone is in class. The only sounds came from a locker door slamming near the science wing and my footsteps echoing off the shiny floor. I turned the corner and gasped when I came face to face with Evan.
    “Watch it!” I whispered, peeking over my shoulder. “What are you doing?” I continued to walk toward my locker, with him hot on my trail.
    “I saw you come out here, so I thought I would drop in and say hello.” I turned to glare at him and was rewarded with a megawatt smile. “Hello.”
    “Evan. You need to go, and I have to get back to class. Ms. Anderson is PMSing or something and I don’t want to get detention.” My fingers spun the dial on my lock and I searched for my pencil, eventually finding it behind a stack of books.
    “Fine! But I need you to give that kid Connor a break. If he tries to talk to you again—just do it.” I looked at Evan suspiciously and noticed he refused to make eye contact.
    “No. Have you heard where he’s been?” My voice rose and I dropped it back down looking around for other students. I couldn’t afford getting caught talking to “myself” in the hallway again. “He was basically in kid