Earth Angel (Falling Angels Saga) by E. Van Lowe Read Free Book Online

“You are so cool. Thank you.”
    “No problem. Glad to be of help.” As Tran called Geoffrey over to solve the problem, I slid into my seat.
    There was no way in hell Mrs. Brewster was going to allow us to wear shirts with transformers on the front, no matter how many boys trapped in their adolescence stamped their feet and insisted on it. I was off the hook.
    I realized, as we got down to work, that something had changed. It was a small thing, and yet it was huge. I had somehow bridged two very different worlds. The popular crowd ignored the geeks. The geeks detested the popular crowd. I had been accepted in both circles. Yet even though I had a place in both worlds, I was smart enough to know I could never bring the two together. That would be an oil and water moment for sure.
    Something had changed inside me as well. I felt as though I had stepped across an invisible line. On this side I was smarter, more beautiful, more confident.
    I smiled to myself as I sat working through a problem. I knew no one could see it. But it was there all the same. A brand new me.
     
    #
     
    Campus was nearly deserted by the time the mathletes let out. With both Matt and Erin gone from my life, a few of the male mathletes usually volunteered to walk me to the bus stop. Today, they all escorted me.
    When we exited the building, I was happy to discover the weather was still quite nice. Sweater weather my mother called it. My plan after I got home was to walk over to Erin’s and hopefully have a talk with her.
    As we moved down the walkway toward the street, there was a lone car sitting at the curb outside the main school entrance. I was surprised to see it was Guy’s Mustang. Guy had done his best to honor my mother’s wishes. When I had suggested to her that he could drive me home after school, she said “absolutely not. No riding in cars with any boys.” Matt was the only teen she had ever allowed to drive me around. To Guy’s credit, he never hung around after school to tempt me, until today.
    When Tran saw the Mustang, his eyes narrowed. “It’s Guy Matson,” he said as if there was a nasty taste in his mouth. Tran had had it in for Guy ever since Guy single-handedly won the countywide mathlete championships.
    “Hey fellas, thanks for walking me, but I think Guy can take it from here,” I called. I figured if Guy had stayed after to drive me home, it must be something important—like maybe he missed my lips.
    Tran pulled me aside and lowered his voice. “Megan, I know you are in love with him and can’t see he’s bad news? But you need to come to your senses.”
    My cheeks began to sting with outrage. Tran was a geek. What does he know about having a boyfriend? I wanted to tell him Guy was an angel, incapable of doing anything bad. But I knew I couldn’t. “You don’t know anything about him,” I said.
    “I know his type. Thinks he knows everything. I’ve been dealing with his type all my life.”
    There was pain in his eyes, and I knew why. Tran was smart, and because he was smart,he had been singled out to be in honors classes, and because he was singled out, he was picked on or shunned by those who saw him as different. I used to live in his world.
    “Guy’s not like that,” I said softly.
    A short burst from the Mustang’s horn interrupted our exchange. Tran looked darkly toward the car. “He will bring you nothing but trouble.”
    “Look, I know you’re only trying to look out for me. But Guy is my boyfriend. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
    He shot me a look that suggested he didn’t think I could. “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “See you Monday. And study-up! We need you to win state.” With those words, Tran and the other math geeks headed back across the lawn toward the student parking lot.
    I smiled as I resumed walking toward the car. My boyfriend was picking me up after school. No biggy.
    As I got closer I realized there was a man in the passenger seat. They both climbed out. I