Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn Read Free Book Online Page B

purple bruise on his forehead, which had spread and turned a sickening yellow. The physical reminder of my freakish new power wrenched my stomach. I took the seat in front of him and busied my hands with my backpack.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    “I’ll live.” I involuntarily shot him a glance and then quickly faced forward so Raf wouldn’t see the guilt in my eyes. Mr. Chance had remembered to wear his mini-mic, but it played like a bad phone connection as he only mumbled about half his thoughts.
    Raf tapped me on the shoulder. “Are
you
okay?”
    I was the furthest thing from okay, but I couldn’t have Raf asking questions and piecing it together.
That I almost killed him.
I gave him a short nod and pretended to be fascinated by Mr. Chance’s crackling monologue. Raf didn’t speak again until it was time to break into groups. Of course, no one wanted to be in a discussion group with the zero. Except Raf.
    His irresistible smile was back. I considered feigning illness to avoid sitting face-to-face with him, where he might see the difference inside me. The way my stomach was twisting, claiming sickness wouldn’t have been far from the truth. We turned our desks and he searched my face. I focused on my paper book and tried to interpret Mr. Chance’s halting instructions.
    “Kira.” Raf’s voice was heavy with patience.
    I wondered how long I could avoid looking at him. “Yeah?”
    “Kira, what is it?”
    “Nothing. I just…” I tried to muster the smile I usually had for him. “What are we supposed to discuss again? Because I’m pretty sure I know nothing about Hester Prynne’s life.”
    Raf scowled to show he didn’t appreciate my dodge.
    Mr. Chance’s voice was a staccato message
, “…Hester …the women…”
Raf glanced up front. “We’re supposed to discuss what punishments the women of Hester’s time would have given her.”
    A fitting topic.
What was the right punishment for almost killing your best friend? The scraping sounds of turning desks faded as the other students silently engaged in their literary discussions via mindtalk.
    “Wait.” Raf’s eyes refocused on me. “Didn’t you get the hearing aid?”
    “How did you know?”
    “Word gets around.”
    Of course, the speed-of-thought rumor mill at Warren Township High would be buzzing about my new hearing aid. “Well, yeah, I have it.” I glanced over my shoulder at our hapless English teacher. “But Mr. Chance doesn’t know how to use it.”
    “Good thing you still have me to translate.” His eyes captured mine.
    “Good thing.” I broke the stare and pretended to concentrate on the book. “So, what do you think would be a proper punishment for Hester?”
    “I don’t think Hester deserves any punishment,” he said.
    I resisted the urge to glance at him. “I don’t think Mr. Chance will take that for an answer.”
    He sighed and I nervously thumbed through the pages of the book. Then he reached across our desks to lay his hand on mine. I flushed at the sideways snickers we were garnering and flashed back to the chem lab. I jerked my hand back. He slowly dragged his away.
    “Is this about what happened… before?” he asked. My heart nearly leaped out of my chest and fell dead on the floor.
Does he know?
I peeked at him, but his face only held frustration.
    “N-nothing happened before.” I forced a grin. “People faint all the time during homework. Just thinking about my homework makes me wish I could pass out.”
     He had that stubborn look that I knew too well, the one he wore when he insisted I taste Mama Santo’s
arroz doce
or listen to his new favorite synchrony band. He would press on until he got what he was after. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about
before
…” Then I finally understood: the near-kiss.
    Which was why my brain had exploded in the first place.
    Why couldn’t he have left things alone? Waited until I changed? Then maybe none of this would have happened. And why was he