Beautiful by Amy Reed Read Free Book Online

am melting. I am wanting to tell Alex. I am wanting to shove this letter in James the asshole’s face, in his slutty girl’s face. I am going to explode.
    â€œWhy are you smiling?” Justin says.
    â€œDon’t fucking talk to me,” I say too loud, and everybody looks at me like I just pissed on the floor.
    â€œCassie, you’re this close to detention,” Mr. Cobb says with his white, skinny fingers held up like tweezers, and the gifted boys snicker and the gifted girls roll their eyes like they always do.
    â€œSorry,” I say, but I’m not. I have this note in my hand and that’s all that matters. What matters is the coolest guy in school thinks I’m hot. I stare at the letter, looking for more clues, but all I see is my misspelled name and the incorrect form of “your” so I take a pen out of my bag and make it perfect. The letter is perfect and the boy who drives wants me.
    â€œDid everyone finish
Romeo and Juliet
?” Mr. Cobb asks, and everyone says yes. A couple of girls who went to private school together roll their eyes again, and I want to tell themit would be more efficient if they never stopped rolling their eyes, if they just kept them rolling and rolling until they rolled right out of their heads and I could step on them and smash them like grapes.
    One of them whines, “We read that
two years
ago.”
    Mr. Cobb says, “Then you’ll be that much ahead of the curve,” and that seems to satisfy them. “Some of us haven’t read any Shakespeare yet,” he says, and everybody looks at me like I’m responsible for this remedial assignment.
    â€œWe’re going to break up into groups of two to analyze and perform a scene for the class,” he says. Everyone starts squealing and fighting for partners while smelly Justin and I just sit there because we’re the only ones no one wants.
    He looks at me and says, “You want to be my partner?”
    â€œWhatever.”
    Mr. Cobb tells us to move our chairs together and discuss our scene, and Justin is already turned to the page with the kissing.
    â€œYou be Juliet and I’ll be Romeo,” he says.
    â€œYou be Tybalt and I’ll be Mercutio,” I tell him.
    â€œBut you die,” he says.
    â€œAnd you kill me.”

(SIX)
    â€œHome sweet home,” Alex says, and it smells like smoke and something rotting. The front door closes with a bang and she throws her coat on the floor, onto a pile of other coats and half-emptied shopping bags. There is a frozen pizza in one of them that appears to be fully thawed. The paper bag is dark with moisture and there’s a puddle around it.
    â€œThis way,” she says, and leads me into the living room. There is stuff piled everywhere and I can hardly see the floor. The room is hot and the air feels damp, like someone has been taking a shower for months.
    â€œThis must be Cassie,” says a raspy voice coming from the couch. I did not notice the woman lying there with hairand clothes as black as the leather. Her lips are red with lipstick and her eyes are painted dark and something about her reminds me of a cat. A thin, lanky, sleepy cat.
    â€œAren’t you supposed to be at work, Lenora?” says Alex.
    â€œI’m home sick,” says the woman, faking a cough and laughing a deep laugh. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
    â€œYeah, right,” Alex says to the woman. “Let’s go downstairs,” she says to me. I nod and follow even though I want to keep listening to this cat-woman purring in her low voice.
    â€œCassie,” the woman says, and I turn around. She sits up and pats the space next to her on the couch. “Come talk to me for a minute.”
    I look at Alex and her face is angry, but I go and sit by the woman anyway. The couch is warm where her legs were and I sink into it. Something smells familiar.
    â€œMy daughter tells me you’re smart,”