Phone Calls From a Rock Star by J. L. Paul Read Free Book Online Page A

feet,
startling them both with my shout. “I don’t want anyone to know. I
don’t want people bugging me about meeting Jake.”
    “ Want to keep him to
yourself, huh?” Annie grinned. Sure, it was selfish but I did want to keep him to
myself. He was my friend. No one else was there that magical night. Jake and I
had bonded in a way I didn’t think I ever could with anyone else. I
didn’t know a whole lot about him but I felt like I knew him. No, I didn’t
want to share.
    “ I just don’t want anyone
to know right now.”
    They both nodded. “You know we won’t,” Annie
vowed.
    Cammy’s eyes grew serious.
“I can’t believe he kissed you!”
    ***
    I dropped my backpack on the table with a
loud thump. Cammy and Annie eyed me fretfully as I plopped in a
chair and hid my face in my arms. It was only the first Wednesday
of the school year, and already I had a ton of homework. Most of it
was Calculus, which was definitely not my strongest subject.
    “ What’s the problem,
Bella?” Cammy asked. I peeked at her and grimaced as she chewed on
something unidentifiable. Not like I wanted to identify it.
Gross.
    “ I hate school,” I mumbled,
hiding my eyes again.
    “ But it’s only the first
week,” Annie said. I peered at her, preparing to give her a
menacing one-eyed glare, but the food on her tray caught my
attention. Roast beef sandwiches, salad, fruit. Yay. No junk food
today.
    I sighed one of my infamous Drama Club sighs
and heaved my body from my chair. I stumbled to the food line and
piled my tray with various things. When I returned, I plunked my
tray on the table and picked up my fork.
    “ I can’t wait for this
weekend. I’m leaving campus and eating all things greasy and
yummy.”
    “ You’re going to have a
heart attack before you turn twenty-five,” Cammy chastised as she
took a dainty bite of her salad. I stuck my tongue out at her just
as Lance and Dean placed their trays on the other side of the
table.
    “ How’s the first week
going, girls?” Lance asked. He smiled, flashing beautifully perfect
teeth. My mind turned to mush.
    “ Great,” Annie said as she
kicked me under the table.
    “ Ow,” I cried. Glaring, I
fought the temptation to throw my apple at her head. “What was that
for?”
    Lance turned his smile on me, and I forgot
that I wanted to injure my best friend. “Did you get that Calculus
assignment done yet?”
    I was fortunate enough to have Lance in my
Government and Calculus classes. “It was just assigned about ten
minutes ago,” I blurted. Annie’s toe struck my shin again. I opened
my mouth to chastise her, but the firm look in her eyes stopped me.
“But I’ll get to it tonight.”
    Chuckling, Lance and I discussed the
assignment until Krysti’s shrill laughter distracted him. I glanced
over my shoulder and spotted her giggling and flirting with Kevin
Albertson. I honestly didn’t know what she could possibly see in
him. He was cute, true, but he was also severely lacking in the
brains department.
    “ So, Lance,” Annie said,
bringing his attention back to our table. “Are you going to the
Fall Festival?”
    He frowned and the grooves in his forehead
deepened. “Not sure. I probably will.”
    “ Who are you taking to the
dance?” Cammy innocently asked. I nearly took a page from Annie’s
book and kicked Cammy under the table - Lance just broke up with
his girlfriend, after all. Instead, I took a bite out of my
sandwich.
    “ Maybe I’ll take Bella,
here,” Lance said with a grin.
    I choked. It wasn’t pretty. I could actually
feel my face turn purple. Lance rushed around the table and whacked
me on the back as I managed to swallow the food constricting my
airway. I attempted a weak smile as I took the juice he offered and
sipped it slowly.
    “ Are you okay?” His dark
eyes were laced with concern. I only nodded, not trusting my mouth.
“Good. So, how about it? Do you want to go to the dance with
me?”
    Did he even have to ask? Well, okay, I