Black Tuesday by Susan Colebank Read Free Book Online Page A

deal with a window that faced west as the afternoon sun hovered on the horizon.
    â€œWho is it?” She wasn’t up to talking to Tom. He’d already left three messages with her dad. She hadn’t turned on her computer in the last couple of days, but she was sure she’d find a few e-mails from him, too.
    He was persistent, she’d give him that. Which was part of the reason he’d lasted as her friend for so long. All the others had gotten sick of her always studying and not being the typical teenage girl who would talk on the phone two hours every day.
    â€œIt’s Mr. Reynolds.”
    As in Coach Reynolds. Did she want to talk to him? She rubbed between Britney’s ears. Her wrist and nose hurt, which meant the painkillers were wearing off. At least she wouldn’t be loopy talking to him.
    In her gut, she knew what the topic of conversation was going to be.
    â€œI’ll use the phone in here.” She hadn’t heard the phone ring because she always kept the ringer off. That way she didn’t lose her concentration when she was in the middle of a trigonometry equation. Jayne picked up the phone and covered the mouthpiece before hitting the TALK button. “Hang up, Ellie!”
    Once she heard the click, Jayne spoke. She tried to make her voice sound like it usually did. Confident. “Hi, Coach.”
    â€œGood to hear your voice, Jayne. I just wanted to see if you were okay after, uh, the other day.”
    â€œI’m doing good.” Even in her current state, she couldn’t let her grammar mistake go by uncorrected. “I mean I’m doing well, thank you.”
    â€œHeard you hurt your arm?”
    â€œYeah. Well, the wrist. My nose is in a splint, but that should go away in a couple of weeks.” The neck brace had been more annoying than helpful and now sat in the dark under her bed.
    â€œI wish you could finish out the season with us. Especially since this would’ve been the first year we had a junior be captain and first seed.”
    She felt something hot and prickly in her eyes. She blinked, willing the tears to go away. “Yeah, me too. But there’s always next year, right?”
    â€œExactly. Next year.” Coach cleared his throat. “So, Jayne, I wanted you to hear it from me first before you read it in the Javelina .”
    Since Jayne was the features editor, she knew exactly what he was about to tell her. Her throat closed up and she felt her nose start to run. You will not cry. You will not cry. You deserve this . “What’s that, Coach Reynolds?”
    â€œI made Missy captain.”
    She knew the words were coming. They still hurt all the same, though.
    â€œAnyway, with everything you’re going through, this whole captain business probably isn’t high on your list of priorities, right?” He laughed, and it sounded nervous.
    Jayne felt the room start to close in on her. She got up and opened the blinds.
    Across the street, the Travises’ minivan was coated with dust. Someone had etched GO JAVELINAS! on the back window. Judy Travis had been her partner in chemistry, but Judy’d had a bad habit of whispering when the teacher was talking. Jayne had eventually lied to Mrs. Pollock about a draft from the air conditioner and early-onset arthritis and had been moved four seats over.
    â€œYou there, Jayne?”
    â€œYeah.” At least she didn’t feel like crying right now. She was too busy thinking about normal teenagers. And how she’d been trying so hard for so long not to be one of them.
    â€œYou okay with everything?”
    For a second, she thought he was talking about her life. No, she wasn’t okay. But she wasn’t about to use Coach as a phone counselor. The man taught history and wore the same gym shorts in two different colors to class every day. “I’m good, Coach. Really.”
    â€œGood, good.” He cleared his throat again, a lengthy affair that