My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros Read Free Book Online

and added, “Sorry, Nina, I didn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with bringing your own food, if you’re into it.”
    â€œThat’s okay.” I didn’t want her to see that I felt bad, although I couldn’t seem to stop frowning. I felt like my lips were tugging down my entire face, all droopy basset hound style. Maybe that theory about how humans start to resemble their pets was really true.
    I forced myself to smile. A big, fake one.
    â€œBesides, who cares about lunch? It’s the stupidest meal of the day anyway,” I added.
    No one said anything back.
    Shelley took a bite from her sandwich. I noticed that it was peanut butter and jelly right away just from the smell.
    My stomach clenched a little.
    I realize that sitting near peanut butter is not a big deal. My mom and dad have told me that a billion times, although they follow that up with “So long as you don’t eat it. Or touch it. Or look it directly in its eye.” Ha ha. But it’s weird when the person next to you is eating your own personal poison.
    My cool uncle Mike who’s a yoga teacher insists that I’m lucky that I have food allergies, because “at least you know what your Kryptonite is.” I didn’t feel very lucky at that moment.
    I looked around the lunchroom. There was plenty of yelling and laughing and chewing and talking. Everyone seemed to be sitting where they were meant to be. Except me. I felt out of place.
    I was out of place.
    Shelley took another nibble from her sandwich. A dot of peanut butter covered the navy polish on one of her fingertips.
    Was I getting a hive? I felt itchy all of a sudden. Was I having an allergic reaction?
    I took a breath. I tried to remind myself that there wasn’t any possible way I could have eaten anything I was allergic to, since I hadn’t even put a finger near my lips, let alone taken a bite of food, but my body didn’t believe me.
    â€œI forgot to get my pen back from Tiernan from earlier. I’ll see you later,” I said, standing up. Brianna turned back to Shelley without a word, but that was okay, because I was freaking out and hoping my face wasn’t puffing up and if it was, that neither of them noticed.
    Brianna and I used to play the “Which is worse?” game a lot, like, “Which is worse: peeing your pants at school or being bitten by a hundred fire ants?” I couldn’t decide which was worse—having an allergic reaction, or having a total panic freak out and looking crazy in front of the two people you most wanted to look cool around.
    I could see Tiernan sitting over at the peanut-free table with some other kids. I wasn’t even sure why I’d come up with him as my excuse. It was just his name was the first one that popped in to my mind. Maybe because I’d been with him all morning. Or maybe because I’d never seen him be anything but nice—ever—and I desperately yearned to be near a friendly face.
    I hustled over, sitting down quietly at the very end of the bench, right next to Tiernan, without saying anything. I heard insanely loud laughter from Brianna and Shelley.
    â€œUh, yeah, I can pretty much guarantee that whatever they’re talking about is not that funny,” Tiernan said, looking at me and shaking his head.
    I was so grateful I had to stop myself from hugging him. My breathing felt fine again. Go figure.
    Tiernan was sitting next to Madison Sullivan, who honestly used to cry every time someone even ate a peanut within twenty feet of her until, like, last year. And Pouty Heidi was there with them too, even though I didn’t think she had allergies—she’s just friends with Madison. Pouty Heidi isn’t her real name—it’s Heidi Burnett—but she never seemed to smile, so Bri and I called her Pouty Heidi behind her back all the time. The crazy thing was she looked like a young, just as pretty version of some famous