Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski Read Free Book Online

there. If he could hear what people were thinking at all.
    “You’re worrying for nothing,” Tess said. “Look at him, he’s fine!”
    Cooper waved to her again.
    Mackenzie’s heart sped up. “Please just check.”
    “Fine, give me a sec.” Tess hurried over and sat down in the empty spot beside him. Mackenzie pretended to be interested in the lunch choice of tacos or grilled cheese, as she tried to digest what was happening.
    A voice in her head sounded just like when the person talked out loud—but a bit muffled. Like there was a pillow over the person’s mouth.
    —heard Olivia passed out— thought Adam from homeroom as he walked by with a can of Diet Sprite.
    —the tacos might look like cat barf but they taste really good— thought a freshman who passed by her next.
    She could only hear people in her immediate vicinity. As soon as Adam walked away and the freshman walked by, the freshman’s thoughts kicked in.
    The theme song from Dora the Explorer hit her next.
    Unfortunately it was catchy. She couldn’t help but sing along.
    And then she heard someone’s, If I cover my nose with my hand, will anyone notice me pick it?
    Ew, really?
    Mackenzie realized Tess was waving her over. Tess was too far for Mackenzie to hear what she was thinking, so she held her breath as she walked to the table. She gave Tess a look.
    He doesn’t have it! Tess thought at her before jumping over to BJ.
    Mackenzie exhaled.
    “Hey, babe,” Cooper said. “What happened to our plans?”
    “I’m sorry,” Mackenzie said, sitting down beside him. “I forgot I have stuff to do. I’m just going to get some food to take with me.” She hated that she was lying to him again. Hadn’t she told him enough lies? But she had to talk to the rest of the crew and figure out what to do. Figure out what this was.
    He looked right into her eyes. I’m so bummed she canceled on me again. I miss her.
    Crap. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the mouth. He tasted like ketchup.
    “Get a room, you guys,” Joel hollered. He was chewing on an oatmeal cookie. This sucks. I’m glad I swiped it instead of coughing up the fifty cents.
    “I was hoping to,” Cooper answered him, “but I’ll take what I can get.” He kissed Mackenzie again but then pulled back. Maybe I can change her mind. “We still have time …”
    “I can’t,” Mackenzie said. “I’ll see you later.” She stood up abruptly.
    What a cold bitch. It was coming from Joel.
    “At least I don’t steal from the lunch lady,” she barked.
    He flushed. She saw me?
    Mackenzie knew she probably shouldn’t have said that. But c’mon. He’d called her a bitch.
    What can we say? It wasn’t the first time someone thought Mackenzie was a bitch, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.

CHAPTER NINE
Us Against Them
    Our first meeting took place in club room 309, the chess room.
    It was small, and it had no windows since it was an interior room. It had brown carpet and smelled worse than the Chambers Street subway station in August.
    Some of us sat on desks, some of us on chairs.
    It was not the most organized meeting. Understandable, since on Day One we were kind of a mess. Half of us were talking out loud, the other half were thinking, and we all had headaches.
    We’d rounded up eleven of us. We weren’t sure if there were only were eleven of us, or if we could only find eleven of us. But one thing was definite: all eleven of us were from homeroom 10B.
    Who were we? We were Pi, Mackenzie, Tess, BJ, Jordana, Olivia, Nick, Isaac Philips, Levi Jenkins, Brinn Ferrero, and George Marson, who went by Mars.
    The original eleven.
    Pi and Olivia had walked by Nurse Carmichael’s office and found Mars and Levi waiting for the nurse to get back from her condom run. Tess had found Nick, Isaac, and BJ disoriented in the cafeteria, and Olivia had found Brinn mumbling to herself in the bathroom.
    I can’t believe this is happening, thought Olivia now.
    “It’s happening,” Nick