Awakened by Ednah Walters Read Free Book Online Page A

cleared the stairs and removed hers from her folder.

    “Yeah.” I retrieved mine, and we compared them. We didn’t share a single class. At least we both ate during second lunch, the one after the fourth period. “So I guess I’ll see you in the cafeteria?” I asked, trying hard not to sound desperate.

    “Sure. I’ll wait for you by the south entrance.” She pointed at a door a few feet away. “And that’s your math room. I got to run, see ya.”

    I gave her a brief wave, grinning. Maybe she and I would be friends after all. I was still smiling when I entered the classroom. My smile died a quick death when twenty pairs of eyes locked on me. Whispers followed. I swallowed and kept my gaze on the teacher as I walked to his desk. I handed him the paper from the office introducing me as a new student.

    Mr. Cook, a short man with thick glasses and an overbite, pointed out a chair in the back of the class. Before I could escape to the desk, he said, “Tell the class your name and where you’re from, please.”

    Did he have to do that? I didn’t need the extra attention. Even though math was one of my favorite subjects, I decided I didn’t like Mr. Cook.

    “Lil Falcon, Kansas.” It came out like one word.

    On my way to my seat, I nearly tripped over my skirt and heard a few giggles. A girl with braces smiled at me then went back to her scribbling. I took the chair beside her.

    The next few classes passed in a blur. Any moment I expected my powers to re-emerge and something bad to happen, like bolts of lightening to zip through the class. And every student who looked my way, every teacher I met, I wondered if he or she was a Guardian trainee or Civilian. Add to those was my worry about Bran. I couldn’t even explain why his problems were becoming mine. By fourth hour, I was a nervous wreck and my head was ready to explode. There was so much pressure between my ears. For my next period, I realized I had no idea where to go, and I stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at my map.

    “Hey,” a voice said from behind me.

    I jumped, my heart thumping in my chest.

    “Lil Fallon, right?” the girl with braces from my algebra class asked when I faced her.

    “Lil Falcon .” Are you a Guardian? I attempted to telepath her, but the girl gave no indication that she heard me.

    “McKenzie Warren,” she said, her braces winking at me. I had never met anyone who looked pretty in braces, but she managed to pull it off. “So what’s your next class?” She peeked at my map, a smile on her face.

    “English. I was told it’s in a separate building. I can’t seem to find it.” I shrugged a little in embarrassment, but I was relieved. She wasn’t one of us, which meant she was human.

    McKenzie nodded. “That’s where I’m headed. I’ll show you.”

    The school, with its many stairs and levels, was very confusing. When I tried to follow her, streams of students from every which way blocked my path. “Excuse me…pardon me….” All I got were smirks and gawks. It took me a few seconds to wedge my way through the crowd.

    “Jeez, how many kids are in this school?” I mumbled in frustration when I reached McKenzie’s side.

    She laughed. “Over seventeen hundred. The entire valley has, like, only three major high schools, and each year, the student body keeps growing. You’d think they’d add a new school or something.” She rolled her eyes. “Was your previous school big?”

    “No, small.”

    “Oh. Where was it?”

    “Kansas.” And before that New Mexico, Texas, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

    “Where in Kansas?

    “Clyde.” At her puzzled expression, I added, “An insignificant speck in the middle of nowhere.”

    “Hmm, no wonder I never heard of it.” I could tell she was holding back a grin. “So how do you like it here?”

    “It’s, uh, big.”

    She laughed. “Is that a problem?”

    Sheesh, she was taking this interrogation a little too far. “Not really. I like