Evernight by Claudia Gray Read Free Book Online

experiment that was about to go
bust."

More laughter now, and I realized that Mom already won over the entire class.
Even Balthazar was half smiling at her, in a way that almost made me forget
about Lucas.

Not really. But he was nice to look at, with his lazy grin.

"And that, more than anything else, is what I want you to understand about
history." Mom pushed up the sleeves of her cardigan as she wrote on the
blackboard: Evolving interpretations . "People's ideas about the
past alter just as much as the present does. The scene in the rearview mirror
changes every second. To understand history, it's not enough to know the names
and dates and places; a lot of you know all of those already, I'm sure. But you
have to understand all the different interpretations that historical events
have had over the centuries; that's the only way to get a perspective that
stands the test of time. We're going to focus a lot of our energy on that this
year."

People leaned forward, opened their notebooks, and looked up at Mom, totally
engaged. Then I realized maybe I ought to start taking notes, too. Mom might
love me best, but she'd flunk me faster than she would anyone else in her
classroom.

The hour flew by, with students asking questions, clearly testing Mom and
liking what they found. Their pens scratched out notes faster than I could
imagine writing, and more than once, my fingers felt like they would cramp. I hadn't
realized how competitive the students would be. No, that's not quite right—it
was obvious that they were competitive about clothes, and possessions, and
romantic interests. That voracity shivered in the air around them. I just
hadn't realized they'd be competitive about schoolwork, too. No matter what it
was, at Evernight, every single person wanted to be the best at everything they
did.

So, you know, no pressure there.

"Your mother is fantastic," Patrice gushed as she walked through the
hallways after class. "She's looking at the big picture, you know? Not
only her own little window on the world. So few people have that."

"Yeah. I mean—I'm trying to be like her. Someday."

Just then, Courtney turned the corner. Her blond hair was pulled up into a
tight ponytail that made her eyebrows arch even more disdainfully. Patrice
stiffened; apparently her new acceptance of me didn't extend as far as
defending me in front of Courtney. I braced myself for Courtney's latest snarky
remark. Instead, she sort of smiled at me, and I could tell she thought she was
being nicer to me than I deserved. "Party this weekend," she said.
"Saturday. By the lake. One hour after curfew."

"Sure." Patrice shrugged just one shoulder, like she couldn't care
less about being invited to what was probably the coolest party at Evernight
this fall, at least until the Autumn Ball. Or were formal dances not cool? Mom
and Dad had made it sound like the biggest event of the year, but their ideas
about Evernight were already suspect.

My curiosity about balls and their coolness or lack thereof had kept me from
answering Courtney for myself. She glared at me, clearly annoyed I hadn't
gushed all over her with thanks. "Well?"

If I'd been gutsier, I'd have told her that she was a snob and a bore and that
I had better things to do than go to her party. Instead, I only managed to say,
"Um, yeah. Great. That'll be great."

Patrice nudged me as Courtney sauntered, with her blond ponytail swinging
behind her. "See? I told you. People are going to accept you because
you're—well, you're their daughter."

How big a loser do you have to be to coast into high school popularity on your
parents? Still, I couldn't afford to turn my nose up at any acceptance I won,
no matter what the reasons were.

"What kind of party is it going to be, though? I mean, on the grounds? At
night?"

"You have been to a party before, right?" Sometimes Patrice didn't
sound any nicer than Courtney.

"Of course I have." I was counting my own birthday parties when I was
a kid, but Patrice didn't