Afterlife Academy

Afterlife Academy by Jaimie Admans Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Afterlife Academy by Jaimie Admans Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jaimie Admans
in school, there are plenty of girls who would love
to get close to me. They think if they sit by me once, they will automatically
be a part of the popular crowd.
    But here I don’t know anybody.
Hopefully that will change because it’s still only my second day, but it’s
disconcerting to walk into the canteen that I know so well and be all alone. I
don’t do going solo. Back at home I know everyone.
    Here I try to smile at people as
I pass them, but they either ignore me or look me over with distaste and
disinterested eyes. It sucks to be the new girl. I’ve never been the new girl
before, although I’ve given plenty of them that same look myself. I’ve never
stopped to consider what it might be like on the other side of that look.
    It sucks. Big time.
    I join the queue at the food
counter. I’m in line behind a tall girl who is completely grey. I try to say
hello to her but she looks at me angrily and hunches her shoulders in a way
that clearly says leave me alone .
    Someone else joins the queue
behind me. I turn around to smile but she just stares at me.
    Fine, I think.
    Maybe it’s just the fact that
it’s not even half past seven in the morning yet. Way too early. Back at home,
school doesn’t start until nine. Still early, but slightly more humane than
this.
    Maybe people will be friendlier
later.
    Even I don’t feel my usual self
at this time of day.
    “How come you look so weird?”
the girl behind me asks abruptly.
    Could she be more blunt?
    “I don’t look weird, I look
alive,” I snap.
    “You aren’t. So to me you just
look weird.”
    “Yeah, well, grey isn’t exactly
your colour, so why don’t you take a look in the mirror before insulting other
people?” I ask.
    The tall girl in front of me
turns around at the sound of our exchange and stares.
    God, people here are so rude.
    “Take a picture, it’ll last
longer,” I snap. I’m already pissed off beyond belief and I’ve only been here
five minutes.
    “Let me guess.” The tall girl
snorts. “You were a prom queen.”
    “No,” I say angrily. “Why does
everybody keep saying that?”
    “How’d you die?” she asks
brusquely.
    “Car accident,” I mutter. I
guess this is the favoured topic of conversation around here. “And you?”
    “Bus accident,” she says.
    “How do you die from a bus
accident?” the girl behind me asks like it’s the strangest thing she’s ever
heard.
    “I got hit by one,” the tall
girl says. “Why don’t you talk to Little Miss Cheerleader and leave me alone?”
    “Why don’t you keep your voice
down?” the other girl responds.
    “Hey, why don’t you both shut
the hell up?” I say loudly. Loudly enough to attract a few glances from nearby
kids. “It’s seven in the morning, have a little consideration.”
    “How come you’re so blond
anyway, Blondie?” the tall girl asks me.
    “They’re called highlights,” I
snap. “And don’t call me that.”
    I should have known that the
last thing you want to say to anyone is not to call you something because then
they’ll just do it even more. I should know. Sophie and I are the ones who call
people names in the canteen in the mornings. And it’s fun. Unless you’re the
one being called names, I guess.
    “That doesn’t answer my
question, Blondie.”
    “How am I supposed to know?” I
growl. “I just got here yesterday. This is all new to me. I have no idea how or
why I’m not grey yet, but I’m not. I thought you weren’t supposed to
discriminate against people here. Pot, kettle, black and everything. Or should
that be pot, kettle, grey?”
    “Orders,” someone says loudly
and I realise that we’ve made our way to the front of the line.
    The woman with horns is standing
behind the counter, glaring at the tall girl and looking utterly displeased.
    The girl regards her with a
disgusted look on her face.
    “Toast,” she orders without any
manners. “And don’t go breathing on it, it might catch light. And don’t bloody
touch it,

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