Mayday by Jonathan Friesen Read Free Book Online Page A

count?”
    â€œSome days better than others. Crow’s the smart one.” I grinned, and followed my escort out the office door.
    The halls were empty during first hour, a strange vacuum filled only with the click of Wiggle’s heels.
    â€œYou will like Mrs. Herbert.” Wiggle waddle-
clicked
forward. “All the kids do.”
    I nodded. I held nothing against her. She taught science and knew how to smile. She had treated me well, winking at me whenever she, too, dressed in basic black.
    Yeah, Mrs. Herbert was kind, and I had treated her like garbage. Classic Crow.
    Wiggle gentled opened the door and stuck in her head. A moment later, Mrs. Herbert squeezed into the hall, glanced from Wiggle to me.
    â€œIt’s late in the year to be moving to a new school. Where did you attend before?”
    â€œPuerto Rico?”
    Wiggle coughed and set her hand on my shoulder. “This is Shane Raine, Crow’s half sister.”
    Mrs. Herbert broke into a wide smile. “Well, that is good news. Crow’s one of my favorites. She steals my outfits on occasion, but that’s easily forgiven.”
    One of your favorites? Are you kidding?
    â€œI’ll leave you to get to know each other.” Wiggle spun and
clicked
back toward the office.
    Mrs. Herbert reached for the doorknob. “Are you ready?”
    â€œHold on. You didn’t really mean that about Crow, did you? That she was your favorite. I mean, that was a fake and fuzzy welcome.”
    She leaned close. “‘I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him,’ or in this case, in her.”
    â€œCicero,” I whispered.
    â€œI know the others don’t see it. The teachers see arrogance and insolence. But look close and it’s so clear. There’s a wit and wisdom that transcends her years. Beneath the hardness, there’s an old soul.” Mrs. Herbert straightened. “That probably makes absolutely no sense to you.”
    â€œNo, I get it. I totally get it.”
    She raised a brow and led me into her room, to the most predictable of receptions; it followed the three stages perfectly.
    Stage One: endure zoo animal status.
    My classmates watched me take out a pencil. Watched me twirl my hair. Watched me get a bathroom pass. In Stage One, they make sure you’re human. They make sure you don’t do anything too
out there
. They assess your value. I must have used the bathroom correctly, because when I returned I had slipped into Stage Two. Kids cozied up to me, hoping I possessed something to boost their popularity status.
    â€œHey, Shane. Come over here.” Suzanne Wadley and four other girls fought for my attention. I chose Suzanne because Crow never cast a glance toward her.
    â€œYou’re new here,” she said. Many stupid remarks fill the conversations of Stage Two. “Where you from?”
    â€œTennessee,” I lied, but it was the first state I could think of.
    â€œCool. How’d you end up in Minnesota?”
    â€œI’m staying with my half sister. You might know her—Crow Raine?”
    And with those last two words, I vanished into Stage Three. Suzanne smiled, turned and rolled her eyes at her friends, code for “this new girl will not be an asset.” From there, you’re an eyelash from ostracism, which I achieved by hour’s end.
    Then I saw Basil.
    He stood in the hallway outside the door, and my heartbeat skipped. He was cute at thirteen and floated above the other boys’ stupidity. He was cool and polite all at once, a rare commodity for a seventh grader.
    I lowered my gaze and hugged my science text, pressing hard into the wall as I tried to slip by.
    â€œHey, new girl!”
    It was time to find Crow, but one crooked smile from Basil slowed me down. “Are you really Crow’s half sister?”
    I started to speak but thought better of it.
    â€œAnd now you’re living in that house?” He stepped nearer.