After Summer Read Online Free

“Jamie started a new school and she’s feeling kind of weird, I think.”
    “Jamie’s the fearless one?” Taryn asked, cocking her head to one side as if visualizing every branch of the Tuttle family tree.
    “The fearless one is my sister, Ella,” Kelsi corrected her, smiling. “Jamie’s the creative one.”
    In the month Kelsi and Taryn had been at school, during cafeteria snack runs, long walks across the quad, or marathon study sessions, they’d told each other every single detail of their previous lives. Taryn knew all about the Tuttle girls, although she was still connecting the names to different stories. In turn, Kelsi knew all about Taryn’s older brother, Bennett, who was a year older and went to Amherst. Kelsi hadn’t met him yet, but she knew he was a hipster—obsessed with Iron & Wine, screen-printed rock posters from boutique design studios, and early Death Cab for Cutie songs (before they sold out, an important distinction).
    It was obvious that Taryn adored her brother. One of the ways Kelsi had known she and her new roommate were going to get along was the fact that Taryn understood what it was like to be close to family members. Some people didn’t get that.
    “Unless your cousin is going to drive us over to U Mass tonight, she can wait. We’ve got a frat party to attend!” Taryn twirled again in front of the mirror, considering her reflection. After a moment, she peeled off her bleach-splattered tank and let out a frustrated sigh. “Ugh. I hate all my clothes.”
    Clad in her black bra, denim mini, and fishnets, Tarynwalked over and helped herself to one of Kelsi’s cardigans. But instead of buttoning it closed, she wrapped it across her tiny frame and secured it with a vintage brooch.
    “Go right ahead,” Kelsi said drily, but she was just teasing. Taryn was already like family.
    “You know you want me to borrow your clothes,” Taryn said, making a face at Kelsi. “See? I’m immediately cuter. Your Anthropologie obsession helps both of us!”
    “You were cute already,” Kelsi assured her, although the blue Anthropologie sweater Taryn had put on did suit her.
    Taryn was one of those girls with the cheekbones to pull off short hair, which made Kelsi incredibly jealous. On Taryn, a pixie cut wasn’t harsh, because she left the top a little shaggy and playfully messy, twisting the longest pieces back with an arsenal of glitter-covered bobby pins. It was punky, feminine, and adventurous, all in one.
    Next to her roommate, Kelsi looked the very definition of “Playing It Safe.” Her hair was a rich, nutty brown these days, falling just past her shoulders. She liked a casual bohemian look when she dressed—opting tonight for a pair of green cargo pants, a cocoa-brown camisole, a dark denim jacket, and a fuzzy angora scarf to ward off the bite in the air.
    She might not be as funky as Taryn and her brother, butthat kind of thing didn’t bother Kelsi. She’d grown up in the same house as Ella, for God’s sake. If that hadn’t taught her how to be comfortable in her own skin, nothing would.
    “We might as well go,” Taryn said. “I look like an anime character tonight and there’s nothing to be done about it. Oh, well—right? It’s only frat boys.” She put up a hand when she saw Kelsi’s expression. “Nice frat boys, yes. But still frat boys.”
    It was a crucial difference, Kelsi mused as she locked their door behind them, and headed outside into the September night. They climbed into the car Taryn shared with her brother, and Kelsi gazed out the window as Taryn drove north along Route 9 toward the town of Amherst. Outside the window, dark and stormy-looking clouds raced by an oversized moon. It made the night seem epic.
    Kelsi pointed that out to her roommate.
    Taryn laughed. “More epic than a party with frat boys is likely to be, anyway,” she said.
    “Here we go again,” Kelsi said with an exasperated sigh that was almost entirely for show. “You don’t have to