Premeditated by Josin L. Mcquein Read Free Book Online Page B

you belong, get him so used to your presence that he misses it when it’s gone, and you’ll be able to look him in the eye when you deliver the killing blow.
    “Which one makes more?”
    Dex again.
    “The headliner, loser,” Chandi said, then wadded up a piece of paper and fired it at his head. Everyone (other than Dex) laughed.
    “Today, we’re going to test Miss Pepperidge’s assertion that grabbing and keeping someone’s interest is a simple matter of will and skill.” Mr. Cavanaugh hopped to his feet and clapped his hands for attention. “Everyone cinch up. No spaces. If you’re in the back rows, move forward to the middle two. If you’re in the front, scoot back.”
    Up to that point, we’d been spread out wherever we happened to fall when we came in. Abigail-not-Abby had taken what she’d deemed her seat and shooed me toward the side of the room, where Brooks and Dex had settled.
    I threw my bag over the seat in front of me and claimed the spot next to Brooks, as I was in the “move up” area. This was my first excuse to get near him that I hadn’t had to manufacture or needed Dex to initiate, and I wasn’t losing it to someoneelse. Especially not Chandi “I don’t want to be a cookie” Pepperidge. She’d made the choice to hold court with a group of girls in the far right front, and I’d already climbed over the row into my new seat by the time she figured out where Brooks was sitting and headed his way. If she hadn’t been so hateful, I probably wouldn’t have grinned at her.
    She flopped into the seat next to Jordan-from-homeroom like it was the one she wanted.
    “Everyone pair off,” Mr. Cavanaugh said. “Mr. Coleman with Mr. Nieves. Miss Jackson and Miss Highview. Miss Pepperidge with Mr. Grant. Dex and Miss St. Croix … Sorry, Jordan. Next time, watch where you’re sitting. Mr. Walden and Miss Powell. Mr. Yancy and Miss Bell. Mr. Kane and Mr. Lawson, and Mr. Leung and Mr. Sanders. Is that everyone? Good.”
    Me and Brooks
.
    I couldn’t have planned it better if I’d tried. Now I not only had an excuse to sit close enough to get a feel for how he did things, I had a reason to talk to him that didn’t involve awkward introductions or evading his girlfriend.
    Mr. Cavanaugh clapped again, letting the room’s acoustics carry the sound, and we all turned back to the stage.
    “Now that everyone’s settled—no, Jordan, you can’t move—your assignment. You and your partner have five minutes to plan, then we’re going to do a little experiment. People in the back row, you’re going to attempt to get the attention of those in the front row. People in the front row, you’re going to anchor your attention elsewhere. Take out your iPhones, iPods, and all those other iThings we teachers pretend you don’t have stashed in your pockets and bags. Until the experiment is over, the ‘i’ means ‘invisible’ to me.”
    “Spot me a phone, Wally?” Dex turned around in his seat.
    “Only if you swear never to call me that again.” Brooks dug into his pocket and pulled out a sleek phone, then tossed it over the seat.
    Dex’s face lit up with the glow from the screen as he turned back around and switched on a game that sounded suspiciously like my uncle’s brainchild.
    “This isn’t fair, Mr. Cavanaugh,” one of the Tweedles whined. “How are we supposed to get someone’s attention when they’re busy? It’s impossible.”
    “That’s the point.” Apparently Chandi had a thing for paper balls because she lobbed another one at the Tweedle’s head. “No one gives you attention, you have to take it.”
    “Exactly right, Miss Pepperidge.”
    She flashed a triumphant smile, which soured into something more sinister when she glanced my way.
    “Okay, everyone. Games on, earbuds in. Planning time starts … 
now!
”
    All around me, the room morphed into a combination of whispers and flashing lights from people’s phones. Everywhere except for me and Brooks. Neither of us said