In All of Infinity by H. R. Holt Read Free Book Online

wasn’t the tallest member of the team, standing a mere
5’9, nor was he powerfully built. His father often claimed that the
Partridge men were ‘late bloomers.’ Isaac still had something to be
proud about: although the others were well built and towered above
him at 6’, he was the smartest by far. He was the leader.
     
    “See you,” said Kyle Crum, the wide
receiver. He was focused on his food now, which he hadn’t eaten any
of since he’d been busy labeling the new students. He was a smart
kid, Isaac knew, but spent more than half of his time being a
goofball.
     
    “Where are you going?” Penelope asked and
looked up at him, biting into her sandwich and staining the food
with lipstick.
     
    “I’m sure the guys can take care of you,” he
said and started walking away.
     
    Isaac looked at his group, realizing there
were hardly any of them who spoke when they were at lunch. He’d
always been the one to start them talking, even when they said that
they didn’t want to. He further knew that Blitzer had a thing for
Penelope, but he was too ‘manly’ to reveal his emotions. When Isaac
had stated his real feelings for Penelope, Blitzer had smiled and
slapped the quarterback’s arm with delight. He realized, of course,
that he was running out of time because they were a year away from
graduating. He didn’t have long to reveal how he felt.
     
    Isaac strolled over to the table furthest
from civilization, placed his food on the table with a bang, and
smiled when she jumped.
     
    “Did I scare you?” he asked and sat down.
She refused to lower the book, actually raised it higher so he
couldn’t see her face. He read the title aloud, realizing it was a
library book about animals and not a textbook that had been
assigned by her teachers. “Are you interested in animals?” She
refused to speak and kept the book in front of her face. “I have a
Rottweiler. His name’s Gable. I named him after Clark Gable. Do you
watch movies?”
     
    “Mmm,” she said in response.
     
    “Oh. I see. You’re a fan of Tarzan,” he said
and laughed at his own joke. “I don’t think Tarzan would need to
read about animals, though, because he was always around them. What
do you think?”
     
    She moved the book away from her face with a
flick of her wrist and held it with pinky and thumb on opposite
pages. He smiled at her, but stopped when she didn’t return it. He
could tell by her expression that she wanted him to get lost. He
wondered if he was right assuming she was detached, because she
seemed to be the loner type. They were connected about being
disconnected.
     
    “Do you often ignore people, or is that a
new hobby?” he asked and slightly scooted his plate away. He rested
his head on his hand, and put his arm on the space he’d made by
moving the plate. He wanted her to speak, and realized that being
annoying usually got everyone talking. “I have several hobbies.
Talking is one of them, unless you haven’t noticed. My name’s Isaac
Partridge, by the way.”
     
    “Partridge? What kind of name is that?”
     
    “At least I have a name.”
     
    She bookmarked her place and put the book
beside her on the table, then looked at him with a grimace on her
face. He noticed her gaze was focused over his head and he turned
to see the Brevard twins coming towards him.
     
    “Isaac!”
     
    He smiled but he wasn’t feeling happy to see
them; perturbed was more the word. He stood up and waited for one
to sit beside him, and then the other sat beside the new girl. With
a smile, he realized they were all acquainted.
     
    Isaac sat down and looked from one Brevard
to the next, realizing the one sitting beside him was Demi. She
wore glasses while Danielle didn’t. She hardly read anything except
assignments while Demi could delve into any and all material with
ease. He had seen her go from reading a comic book to classic
masterpieces in the span of an hour. In his mind’s eye, he could
see her in a library,