Radiant by Christina Daley Read Free Book Online Page A

them.
    "Hey, you were in that accident," Laci said. "You okay?"
    Mary turned. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine, thanks."
    "Good." Laci turned her attention back to the guy.
    Mary started to walk up the stairs again. But then she stopped and turned. "You're Carter's girlfriend, aren't you? How's he doing?"
    Laci looked at her. "He's okay, I guess. But I'm not his girlfriend."
    Mary wrinkled her brow. "You're not?"
    "Nah," Laci said. "Not anymore. He's kind of a freak now."
    Freak? "Because he's glitchy?" Mary asked.
    "That's part of it," Laci said. "He also said some stupid stuff to me. So, I dumped him."
    Wow, Mary thought. That accident happened just last week. High school relationships really did rise and fall at the speed of light.
    "I see," Mary said. "Well, thanks."
    "No prob."
    Mary went upstairs and found David waiting for her. "Here's your bling brush," he said, handing it to her. "I washed it and everything. Thanks a bunch for letting me borrow it."
    " No problem," she said as she unrolled her brush bag and slipped the long handle into an empty pocket. Mary noticed a slight bruise on the side of his face. "What happened to you?"
    He chuckled. "Had a disagreement at our last game." David wasn't really an artist. He was a hockey player. When he moved from Canada with his parents and started going to Lewis Prep, he switched one of his electives to Art because he had a crush on Sienna. "I don't date white guys," Sienna had told him the first time he asked her out. "But I'm not white," he had said. "I'm clear." Sienna didn't go out with him until he asked her a third time, and it was only so that he would stop asking. They'd been together since.
    David looked at Mary. "Are you all right? You seem kinda down."
    " I didn't sleep well last night," she admitted.
    " Dealing with a lot, I'll bet," he said.
    Y ou have no idea, she thought.
    " Hey there," Sienna said as she walked up to David's side. "Not trying to steal my boyfriend too, are you?"
    Mary chuckled. "Of course not. But what do you mean by 'too'?"
    Sienna gasped. "You didn't hear?"
    " Come on, Sienna," David said. "Gossip makes you so unsexy."
    " But this isn't gossip. It's concerning Mary," she said.
    " What are you talking about?" Mary asked.
    " I'm talking about Carter and Laci's break up."
    "I heard about that," Mary said. "Laci dumped him. But how does that concern me?"
    "I heard that Carter dumped her ," Sienna said. "The point is that they aren't together anymore. Kinda convenient for that to happen after an accident involving you and him."
    Mary was speechless for a moment. Then, she frowned. "You're a moron."
    Sienna looked a t her like a deer in headlights.
    David frowned. "T hat was too far, Mary."
    Mary ignored him as she snapped at Sienna. "You hear this and that and whatever. Who the crap cares? Just leave me alone."
    Before they could say more, Mary darted down the nearest stairwell and left the school. On the bus, she recalled her encounter with Laci. She seemed okay and pretty nice, actually. Not broken up or anything. But then again, she could have been acting because she was flirting with that other guy. Despite who did the dumping, that might've been why Carter was so distant.
    H e was the same way the next day. And the day after that. And every day that week. The only time Mary saw Carter was in Physics, and he sat in the back and didn't make eye contact with anyone.
    When the Honor Roll was posted for the quarter, Ma ry found her name in the usual spot. It would be higher if it weren't for that cursed English class. But at least they were through with the Italian hell book.
    She looked at the rest of the list and found Carter's name, which had never appeared on the Honor Roll before. But there he was at the thirteenth rank. Somehow, in less than a month, he had improved his GPA exponentially.
    Another few days passed. Finally, Mary couldn't stand it anymore. After Physics, she ran out the door to catch Carter in the hall. "Carter! Wait a minute!"
    He stopped