Adorkable by Sarra Manning Read Free Book Online Page B

morning.
    ‘Jeane,’ said a grim voice, as I was head first in my locker. For a second I thought it was Michael Lee and, in my alarm, I banged my head as I emerged from the metal cubby hole, only to see Barney standing there.
    ‘Oh, it’s you,’ I said. ‘I thought you were someone else.’
    Barney didn’t say anything even though he was working his mouth furiously like he was chewing a massive wad of gum, which was something he’d never do because he had an irrational fear he’d swallow it and clog up his insides for ever. Heobviously wasn’t going to form actual words for some time so I continued to search for my rosebud lipsalve.
    ‘How could you?’ Barney finally asked.
    ‘How could I what?’ By now I was rummaging in the furthest reaches of my locker amid Tupperware containers that hadn’t come home in weeks.
    ‘Scarlett had to leave Maths halfway through because she was crying.’
    I sneered to myself. ‘She’s
always
crying about something. Honestly, she’s wetter than a … a … well, something that’s really, really wet.’
    ‘You called her a retard, which is wrong on so many levels.’ Barney sounded properly angry. Almost as angry as the time he’d been deep into
Red Dead Redemption
and I’d tripped over and pulled out the power cord on his Xbox.
    I found my lipsalve and carefully extricated my head from my locker. ‘I didn’t call
her
a retard. It was aimed at the whole class and I promised Alli … Ms Ferguson I’d apologise so don’t get all up in my face about it.’
    ‘You were totally out of order,’ Barney persisted, his face red. ‘Saying mean things about people isn’t cool, it’s just mean. She can’t help it if she’s not good with words and she doesn’t like talking in class. Have you any idea how frightening you are, especially when it takes a lot of courage for someone to take part in a class discussion anyway and you just—’
    ‘Barney, I
know
,’ I said gently. If I hadn’t been entirely sure that there was anything to know before, now I was certain. Barney was defending Scarlett’s honour and her right to say idiotic things in class like his life depended on it. ‘I know about you and Scarlett.’
    Fora second, Barney’s mouth hung open in surprise. Then he shrugged. ‘There’s not that much to know.’
    ‘Do you want to try that one again?’ I hissed, because I couldn’t do gentle for very long. ‘Don’t even try to pretend that there’s nothing going on between the two of you.’
    Barney sighed. ‘Nothing has happened but we like each other. A lot. But it’s complicated because she’s seeing Michael and, well, there’s you.’
    ‘What about me?’
    ‘She’s terrified you’ll kill her.’
    ‘Like I’d lay a finger on her.’ I snorted derisively.
    ‘It’s not your fingers she’s worried about. It’s why I didn’t say anything. I mean, I tried, I wanted to, but every time I bottled it,’ Barney admitted, and for once he wasn’t ducking his head, or biting his lip or hiding behind his fringe, but looking me straight in the eye. ‘You’re very intimidating.’
    ‘Intimidating? What’s so intimidating about me?’ I demanded, hands on my hips, and Barney was right: there wasn’t much to choose between my normal face and my fight face.
    ‘It’s like there’s no room for me,’ Barney said. ‘You’re always ten steps ahead and I’m always lagging behind and it’s like nothing I do or say is ever cool or clever enough for you.’
    ‘I don’t expect you to lag behind me,’ I spluttered helplessly. Now it was Barney’s turn to lean back against the lockers all free and easy because his big secret was out and the world hadn’t ended. Whereas I was standing there with my nostrils flaring and it felt as if my eyes were about to bug out of my head. ‘I try to include you in everything I do.’
    ‘Yeah, but I don’t want to wind your wool at sponsoredknit-a-thons or wander the streets of Hoxton so you can take photos for