Naked by Stacey Trombley Read Free Book Online Page A

tutoring.”
    Her shoulders stay hunched over as she smiles. I sit in the chair next to the awkward girl, and she sends a quick smile to the office lady. “Thank you, Mrs. Norberry.”
    Just then the bell rings.
    “Well then,” Mrs. Norberry says. “I’ll leave you two alone. But hurry on or you’ll be late for class.”
    She leaves the room, and now Jen and I are alone.
    I try to breathe deeply as we look at each other in silence.
    “Want me to show you where your first class is?” Jen says.
    I’m the city girl. It should have been me who was brave enough to make the first move.
    “Sure,” I say.
    Jen leads me to my first class, history with Mr. Shelf.
    “Thanks,” I say. “I’ve got it from here.”
    And thankfully that’s enough for her to leave me and go to her own class.
    I stand there and stare at the room number and take deep breaths. I don’t go inside.
    I close my eyes and see Luis. I feel his breath on my ear as he says, “Everything is going to be okay.” And I repeat that to myself.
    I don’t care what anyone thinks.
    Everything is going to be okay.



Chapter Seven
    I open the door, and a dozen heads turn toward me, curious. I stop and stare like a deer in headlights. They look at me, and I look back at them.
    “Can I help you?” a young teacher in a button-up shirt and paisley tie asks. This must be Mr. Shelf.
    “Yes, um, I’m new.”
    “Oh!” He grabs a few things off his desk and hands them to me. “Here, take these. This is your syllabus and your book… What’s your name?” He’s talking very fast, and I’m not sure I know what he’s even talking about. What’s a syllabus?
    “Anna Rodriguez.”
    I sit down at the first empty seat, next to a redheaded girl with braces.
    The young teacher begins talking about some group project. He tells me I can skip it and write an essay instead. He makes it sound so simple.
    Group projects. Essays. Syllabuses.
    Yeah, I am definitely in over my head.
    But as much as an essay sounds like a trip to the dentist, I’d rather work alone than with these kids whose wide-eyed looks are starting to make me wonder if I have antennas poking out from under my curls. It’s like I’m some kind of alien. Guess I kind of am.
    The redheaded girl keeps glancing over at me. Easy enough to ignore. I’m just the new girl.
    But then I hear someone whisper something to her that could be meaningless or could mean everything.
    A boy leans over to the redhead and whispers, “She’s that girl.”
    I raise my eyebrows.
    That girl from L.A.? The punished heiress? The foreign exchange student?
    “What girl?” the redhead says.
    “The one that disappeared. For years.”
    My stomach twists. I’m pretty sure I might throw up. How in fuck’s name would he know that?
    My hands start to shake; my head pounds. Thanks, Mom, this was an awesome idea. I close my eyes and listen for any more whispers. Is this all they know? Is even this just a rumor? I need to know how much they’ve figured out.
    “Mr. Thomas,” Mr. Shelf says, louder than before. “Care to explain what the fuss is all about?”
    The whole class turns to the now red-faced skinny boy behind us. “Anna Rodriguez is the girl they’ve been looking for since sixth grade. I remember seeing the posters.”
    “Do I look like that girl?” I ask. Blood is pounding in my ears now, but I know I don’t look anything like that old Anna, and that might be my only way out of this now. “We could just have the same name,” I say with a confidence I don’t feel.
    “Come now,” Mr. Shelf says. “You’ll have a chance to get to know our new student after class is over.” The class quiets, and he leans down next to me. “Are you okay?”
    I nod. The last thing I want to do is run out of the classroom. Then they’ll know something is wrong.
    Mr. Shelf resumes teaching, and I do my best to look normal, but I still see eyes darting toward me. I try to ignore them, but it’s hard.
    I cross my arms, feel my