Wraithsong Read Online Free Page B

right guy. Anthony’s loose jeans cover what I
think looks like strong legs and a firm behind, and his white and
red Liverpool t-shirt hugs his chest and broad
shoulders.
    “ Did Principal Jenkins tell
you what you’d be doing today?” Anthony asks without turning around
to look at me.
    “ Yes, of course,” I say,
slightly annoyed, and definitely not wanting to discuss anything
about the humiliating meeting with someone I just met.
    “ Well, you’re not dressed
suitably for weeding,” he says, almost mockingly.
    Immediately on the
defensive, I say, “Why do you say that?” I think I’ve done an
excellent job in choosing a comfortable and appropriate ensemble to
do all the dirty work in: jean shorts and a tank top.
    With an abrupt motion,
Anthony swivels around and comes closer. “You’ll be crawling a lot,
so you’ll want long pants made of thin cotton or linen. If you wear
shorts,” he eyes my shorts and almost frowns, “the bugs are going
to eat you alive and the skin on your knees will become all scuffed
up. Do you have a sun hat? Or sun screen?”
    “ No.” I wouldn’t need
either.
    “ And you’re going to get sunburned.”
He rolls his eyes.
    He’s making me upset. “No
I’m not. I never burn,” I say dryly.
    He grabs my arm, startling
me again, and examines it. “Ouch, you’re hurting me!”
    “ You’re as pale as an
albino,” he sneers.
    “ I adapt well to the…sun.”
I pull my arm back forcefully. Who does this guy think he is? He
seems like a gardener from hell.
    Anthony opens the squeaky
glass door. “If you’d like, you can start tomorrow when you have
the appropriate attire.” He walks out and the door slams shut
behind him.
    I’m ticked off that he
doesn’t even show me the decency of holding the door open for me.
Flinging the door open, I follow after him. “No.” I march up behind
him. “I’ll be fine and I want to start today.” So I can get it over
with as quickly as possible.
    Anthony picks up a few
rusty gardening tools. “Suit yourself.” He continues across the
large grass field behind the school, and then skirts around to the
building’s northern brick wall.
    It’s difficult keeping up
with his fast pace. “Do you always run to your destinations?” I
breathe heavily.
    “ I’m not running. I’m just
in a hurry to get this done so I can catch my soccer
game.”
    “ Soccer?”
    “ Yeah, you know where they
kick the ball with their feet and—”
    I interrupt him. “I know
what soccer is.” Why is he acting so condescending toward me? I
just met him and I’ve been nothing but nice. I can’t see his face,
but I get the feeling he’s rolling his eyes at me.
    “ Many
girls your type don’t, and I doubt you really know anything about the
sport,” he says, still moving at an unusually fast pace.
    “ You never walk alone!” I
shout.
    Anthony stops dead in his
tracks, swivels around and glares at me with a frown. “What did you
say?”
    “ You never walk alone,” I
repeat, my hands hitting my hips, smiling because I know that will
get his attention. ‘You never walk alone’ is Liverpool Football
Club’s slogan.
    “ How did you know that?”
Although shocked, a shadow of a smile emerges on his
lips.
    I’m proud that I actually
know something about soccer, and that judging from the shirt he’s
wearing, Liverpool is probably about Anthony’s favorite team. “My
dad’s favorite soccer team was Liverpool.”
    He narrows his eyes and
steps in my direction. His presence is daunting, leaving me
suddenly breathless, so I lean back a little.
    “ Doesn’t he support them
anymore?” he asks.
    “ Why would you think that?”
My defenses are at their peak. He can mess with me, but not my
dad.
    “ You said ‘was,’
right?”
    “ Oh.” I don’t really want
to share with Anthony the details of my life, especially since he’s
been acting like an idiot, but I decide to answer anyway. “No, my
dad passed away about a year and a half ago.” I try