Certainty by Eileen Sharp Read Free Book Online

smile suddenly jumping across my face.  I had zero chance of looking nonchalant.
    “Hey. You start out early,” he said, smiling back at me.
    “Not always.”
    He munched on his toast and rode beside me. I asked if his family had made any progress on the boxes and he rolled his eyes.
    “Yeah. My sisters finished unpacking all their toys and my Dad and I unpacked their books.”
    “I would unpack my toys first, too. Smart move.”
    “I kind of did the same thing. I didn’t even pack my skateboard. I carried it with me when we drove out here.” He finished the rest of his toast in two bites and deftly hopped his board over an uneven crack in the sidewalk.
    My phone buzzed and I checked out the text from Katie. Hi
    Hi
    Hows Ren?
    I glanced over at him. He was watching me so I waved the phone.
    “It’s Katie. She says hi.”
    He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. “What’s her number?”
    I gave it to him and soon we were both texting her.  His mouth quirked in a smile. “She wants to know if you have a boyfriend.”
    I blushed. “No, she didn’t. She knows everything about me.”
    “Apparently not.”
    “Tell her I don’t.” Would he tell her whether or not he had a girlfriend?
    We were busy for a while then, walking in silence and texting Katie. She gave me the amazing news that Ren did not have a girlfriend.
    We stopped to cross the road and Ren picked up his skateboard, glancing over at me. I was finishing up my text to Katie.
    “You shouldn’t do that while you’re crossing the road,” he said.
    “You can watch out for me,” I said, still texting away like mad.
    Maybe he wants a girlfriend, she wrote back. If only.
    “That’s really unsafe,” he warned me again.
    I almost laughed out loud because it was so ridiculous, but I didn’t. He seemed pretty serious about road safety. We made it across alive and I complimented him on our miraculous survival but he just shook his head at me.
    “Trust me, I’ve seen things change in an instant.”
    I felt a little guilty for being amused. There was so much about him I didn’t know. He may have lost someone in his family or a friend.
    “I’m always careful when it’s just me.”
    “You’d be better be careful when I’m not around. I can’t stalk you all the time.”
    A rush of warmth rushed through me.
    “Well, I wouldn’t want that,” I answered, failing to stifle the smile that stole over my lips.
    We walked the rest of the way chatting about random stuff but I couldn’t help wondering if he cared about me enough to worry. It made my heart race a little faster and then I reassured myself that he probably cared about everyone. 
    We parted ways at my locker and he waved goodbye, promising to see me in Spanish.
    In homeroom they announced that student elections would begin in two weeks. This meant there would soon be a campaign poster plastered to every available space on walls and lockers.
    Kyle turned in his seat. “I'm running for vice president. Do you think I'll win?”
    “Why not president?” I asked. I wasn’t trying to flatter him, I just really thought he could win.
    “Because Noah is running for president. We figure the two of us together would be unstoppable." It was an arrogant statement, but probably true. "You'll vote for us, won't you?"
    "I will definitely vote for you!" I promised, without committing a vote for Noah. I've learned to keep my opinion about him to myself. Everyone seemed so quick to jump to his defense, especially Katie. She's had a crush on him since last year and couldn't see past his good looks and charm.
    When I entered Spanish class Sr. Ruddy was at his desk, head bent over some papers.
    I sat down and waited for Ren, which fortunately didn’t take long. He arrived with Noah and Maddy, the three of them walking through the door laughing, Maddy between them, looking up at Ren. She was preppy perfect today, her hair pulled up in a sleek pony tail.
    Ren saw me and waved, walking toward my desk until