Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher Read Free Book Online

of some sort of cult gathering; it was like the Boyer mascot was about to order a mass suicide.
    Even though Tammi was dressed in conservative jeans and a sweater, there was no mistaking that this girl was Sage’s sister. When she stood up, I went to introduce myself.
    “Logan?” she asked before I could say a word.
    “How did …”
    “It’s stitched on your jacket.” Her voice was much softer, much less intense, than her sister’s.
    “You must be …”
    “Right.” Tammi was staring at me like I was a used car with bad shocks and no radio. I regretted trying to start a conversation.
    “So, Tammi, what do you think of …”
    “It’s okay.” Tammi’s gaze made me feel like I was standing in front of a two-way mirror with five other guys as she decided which of us had snatched her purse. If I stared at a girl that way, she’d be justified in smacking my face. Eventually, she made eye contact.
    “You and Sage snuck out together Friday, didn’t you?” She wasn’t accusing me. It was like when a cop asks you ifyou knew how fast you were going. It doesn’t matter how you answer.
    “Uh …” I wasn’t sure what to say. Was Tammi planning on snitching to her parents? And why would she? I’d covered for Laura before; you never ratted out your own sister.
    “It’s okay, Logan,” continued Tammi. “Sage told me she went to the movies with you.”
    Great. I pictured the two sisters sitting in a darkened bedroom discussing my aborted kiss.
    I dunno, Tammi, I guess he likes me, but, well … he rides a bike, and he actually grew up in a trailer. I think I’ll tell him I just want to be friends
.
    Tammi sucked in her cheeks, then peered up and down the hall and into the abandoned cafeteria. She motioned for me to lean in close.
    “Logan, Sage shouldn’t be doing things like that. I think my parents know she lied. She could wind up in real trouble if she gets caught.”
    If Tammi had been a hulking twenty-year-old marine I would have quailed at the warning. Coming from a fifteen-year-old semidwarf, it was just weird. Was she really such a goody-goody that she wanted to make sure Sage didn’t violate her parents’ insane restrictions? Didn’t she realize that she’d be forced to obey the same rules as her sister?
    Tammi wasn’t finished. She spoke in such a soft whisper, I nearly had to bend at the waist to catch what she said next.
    “Logan, I don’t mean that I want you to stay away from her. She says you’re a nice guy, and she needs a friend. Butdon’t convince her to sneak around. You might think it’s no big deal, but Sage can’t afford to get in trouble right now.”
    I nodded, and Tammi left. What had she meant by that cryptic remark? She made it sound like something awful would happen if Sage ever broke the rules. Like her parents were
waiting
for an excuse to punish her.
    Once again, I wondered what was going on at her house. Could it be that her parents weren’t strict, but abusive? Or maybe Sage had messed up big-time when she was younger and her parents no longer trusted her.
    Well, Sage had asked that we be friends. And if I was really her friend, maybe someday she’d tell me what was wrong.

chapter seven
    B Y W EDNESDAY , our frogs were nothing more than skeletons and scraps; sad carcasses of use to no one but the sausage factory. Last cuts tomorrow, test Monday.
    For the first time since this lab began, Tim wasn’t in charge of the surgery. He was having some kind of stomach problem and spent most of the hour slumped in his chair.
    “How often does this happen?” whispered Sage as we filled out our lab report.
    I watched Tim drop two tabs of Alka-Seltzer into his Coke. “Less often than you’d think. He must have accidentally eaten a vegetable.”
    Sage got up to return the animal to the lab fridge. Tim focused his bleary eyes on me.
    “I shouldn’t have come to school.”
    “Don’t I tell you that every day?”
    Tim gave me a thin smile and looked over at Sage. “So