Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Read Online Free Page A

haven’t talked to Abby, or invited Martin along to crap, or locked them into empty classrooms together. I don’t even know what he wants, honestly.
    I’m kind of hoping to avoid finding out for as long as humanly possible. I guess I’ve been doing a lot of disappearing. Or glomming onto Nick and Leah, so Martin won’t try to talk to me. I pull into the parking lot on Tuesday, and Nora hops out—but when I don’t follow, she pokes her head back inside.
    â€œUm, are you coming?”
    â€œEventually,” I say.
    â€œAll right.” She pauses. “Are you okay?”
    â€œWhat? Yeah.”
    She looks at me.
    â€œNora. I’m fine.”
    â€œOkay,” she says, stepping back. She shuts the door with a soft click and heads toward the entrance. I don’t know. Nora’s weirdly observant sometimes, but talking to her about stuff can be kind of awkward. I never really noticed it until Alice left for school.
    I end up playing around on my phone, refreshing my email and watching music videos on YouTube. But there’s a knock on the passenger side window, and I almost jump. I think I’ve started expecting to see Martin everywhere. Except it’s just Nick. I gesture through the window for him to come in.
    He climbs into the seat. “What are you doing?”
    Avoiding Martin .
    â€œWatching videos,” I say.
    â€œOh man. Perfect. I’ve got this song in my head.”
    â€œIf it’s by the Who,” I inform him, “or Def Skynyrd or anyone like that, then no freaking way.”
    â€œI’m going to pretend you didn’t just say ‘Def Skynyrd.’”
    I love messing with Nick.
    We end up watching part of an episode of Adventure Time as a compromise, and it’s the exact perfect distraction. I keep an eye on the clock, because I don’t actually want to miss English class. I just want to cut off that margin of time before class begins, where Martin might try to talk to me.
    And it’s funny. I know Nick can tell something’s up with me, but he doesn’t ask questions or try to make me talk. It’s just one of those things about us. I know his voice and expressionsand his weird little habits. His random existential monologues. The way he taps his fingertips along the pad of his thumb when he’s nervous. And I guess he probably knows the same kinds of things about me. I mean, we’ve known each other since we were four. But really, I don’t have a clue what goes on inside his head most of the time.
    It actually reminds me a lot of the thing Blue posted on the Tumblr.
    Nick takes my phone and starts scrolling through the videos. “If we can find one with Christ imagery, we can totally justify skipping English.”
    â€œUm, if we find Christ imagery, I’m using Adventure Time for my free-response essay.”
    He looks at me and laughs.
    The thing is, it isn’t lonely with Nick. It’s just easy. So maybe it’s a good thing.
    I’m a little early for Thursday’s rehearsal, so I slip out the side door of the auditorium and walk around to the back of the school. It’s actually pretty chilly for Georgia, and it looks like it rained sometime after lunch. Really, though, there are only two kinds of weather: hoodie weather and weather where you wear a hoodie anyway.
    I must have left my earbuds in my backpack in the auditorium. I hate listening to stuff through the speakers of my phone, but music is always better than no music. I lean againstthe brick wall behind the cafeteria, searching my music library for an EP by Leda. I haven’t listened to it yet, but the fact that Leah and Anna are obsessed is a promising sign.
    Suddenly, I’m not alone.
    â€œOkay, Spier. What’s your deal?” Martin asks, sidling up beside me against the wall.
    â€œMy deal?”
    â€œI think you’re avoiding me.”
    We’re both wearing Chucks, and I can’t decide if my