Haven [1] A Stranger Magic by D.C. Akers Read Free Book Online Page B

pink. Sam chose the red. As fate would have it the t-shirt had white letters that said, “I See Ninjas!” in bold across the front.
    He tried to talk the principal into letting him go home early or wearing his gym shirt the rest of the day. Both ideas were shot down. The gym shirt was school-issued and needed to be turned in that day. Leaving early was not an option, not without written permission or a phone call from a parent, or having his mother pick him up at school. All of which were never going to happen. The last thing Sam wanted to do was tell his mother about his KISS t-shirt lying in several pieces at the bottom of a toilet.
    Unfortunately, gym would be the highlight of his day. School seemed to drag on. Thank God it ’ s the last day, Sam thought.
    He made it through the rest of the morning unscathed. By lunch time he was starving. As he approached his locker with his stomach growling, Sam recalled the first thing Travis had said to him that morning: “Hey, your mom said pack a lunch”. He never had.
    Sam slowly stopped walking, took in a deep breath and told himself, Just breathe, Sam, just breathe . He turned and grudgingly walked back in the direction of the lunch room.
    He only had fifty cents to his name so he got a carton of milk for lunch. It would have to hold him over till he got home, if he made it that long without starving to death. He spent the entire lunch hour waiting for Travis, but Travis never showed up. He had gym right before lunch. Travis was always late, but never missed lunch. Sam knew that was not a good sign.
    When the school bell finally rang at the end of last period Sam had to contain himself from bolting through the doors and screaming out FREEDOM AT LAST!
    Kids ran from all corners of the building. They looked like ants leaving their hill. Sam, who was feeling extremely self-conscious in his new adopted wardrobe, waited patiently for Travis in front of the school. Like always, Travis was late. Finally, after about twenty minutes or so, he surfaced. At first, Sam did not recognize him. His head was hanging low, and he was wearing a different shirt too.
    As Travis came closer what had happened became all too clear. Sam could feel his blood pressure starting to skyrocket as he stared at Travis, appalled. The sheer humility Travis wore on his face spoke volumes as he weaved through the crowd of kids who were laughing at him.
    “You have got to be kidding me!” Sam said through gritted teeth.
    The shirt Travis wore was bright pink with large, bold black letters that said, “I Don’t Skinny Dip, I Chunky Dip.”
    “What happened to your shirt?” Sam asked quietly, trying desperately not to draw any more attention to them than necessary.
    “Someone stole it in gym!” Travis replied, defeated and embarrassed. “Hey, what happened to yours?”
    “Don’t ask!” Sam replied. “Let’s go and find a rock to crawl under.”
    They both turned in time to see Daniel Harris, the school prankster, walk by with his group of knuckle-draggers.
    “Aw, look at the twins! Did you fish that out of the toilet too?” he yelled pointing at Travis. They all laughed and pointed in Sam’s and Travis’s direction while climbing into Daniel’s SUV.
    Suddenly it all made sense. Daniel was in Travis’s gym class and Billy, Bobby, Timmy, and Todd were in Sam’s. Sam’s and Travis’s numbers had finally come up. Daniel and his group of idiots had been the ones to take their shirts. They had pulled one last prank before school ended and Sam and Travis had been the victims.
    “Can this day get any worse?” Sam moaned as he turned and walked toward home.
    “Hey, I kind of like your shirt,” Travis said.
    “Figures,” Sam replied.
    The walk home was less than thrilling. Travis rambled on about Star Wars .
    “You know I love the movie but come on! First you try to save the princess, then you kiss her, then you find out she’s your sister! I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking I would