Ripple by Mandy Hubbard Read Free Book Online Page A

officially over. They tread on my binder, shredding my trig homework and leaving dirty footprints in their wake. I snatch up what remains of my homework and shove it into my binder.
    Suddenly, a hand appears in front of me, holding a stack of my chemistry notes. My eyes trail from the hand, up to the arm, then shoulder, then neck . . . until I’m staring up at Cole’s face. He looks concerned. “I think these belong to you.”
    I look up at him, forcing all emotion from my own face. I stifle a thank you as I stand up, rip the papers from his hands, and shove them inside my bag. For a split second, I let my gaze linger on his.
    Then I spin around and stalk off.
     
    Several hours later, I sit in English class, fidgeting in my seat. Sienna and Cole sit too close for comfort. Everyone does.
    I wish they would all simply forget my existence. I wish I could forget them, too, but it’s impossible to forget my former life. I ache for the friends I once had, because I know that I can never have them again.
    I have to deny myself friends. It’s the only way I’ll stay alive. The only way they’ll stay alive.
    And it’s not like they want me back anyway. At Steven’s funeral, Cole tried to talk to me, but I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. And then seconds later, Sienna showed up, told me I had no right to be there, and, in a final display of emotion, slapped me.
    Cole grabbed her by the waist and hauled her away, screaming; and by the next time I saw her at school, she’d withdrawn, created a cool, detached image that fools everyone. Everyone but me.
    Mrs. Jensen hands back my graded homework for the first two weeks, jolting me from my trip down memory lane. I look at the marks.
    A
    A
    A
    I smile a little as I slide the graded essays into the back pocket of my mostly reassembled binder. If the rest of life could just be as easy as homework. It’s almost as effortless as swimming.
    Mrs. Jensen returns to the front, dusting her hands off on her jeans. “So now that that’s done, let’s get right into our first big project.”
    A few students groan, but I perk up. Even though I don’t look forward to school, I like my classes. Someday, I’m going to be a doctor or a research scientist. I’ll find the cure for cancer or something. I’ll give back to this world the things I’ve taken.
    I’ll go away for college, somewhere far away and big enough that I can be anonymous, blend into the student body. Sure, I’ll have to find somewhere else to swim, but I’ll worry about that when I come to it.
    “Your first project will be done in groups.”
    Murmurs spread throughout the room as students attempt to snag partners. My heart sinks, even as I try to remind myself this is part of working toward something bigger than the curse. Maybe I can work with that new guy, Erik something-or-other. Maybe he hasn’t heard the rumors about me yet, even though we’ve already had weeks of classes.
    Mrs. Jensen clears her throat to silence the rumblings. “Before you get too excited, I will be assigning groups of three. So let’s see. . . .” Mrs. Jensen begins dividing the room up. As she reaches our corner of the room, the horrible, inevitable truth dawns: I’m going to end up with Sienna and Cole.
    No. This can’t happen. I can’t talk to her. I can’t talk to him.
    Just as I expected, she names the three of us off and then turns back to the board, as if she hasn’t just drastically altered the course of the universe, or at the very least, sparked off the third world war. I grip the edges of my table and struggle to breathe.
    “For your project, I’d like you to read and discuss a novel. You may choose any book you’d like, but you’ll need to submit your selection for approval by tomorrow. Your assignment will be to complete an interpretive project for the class, which must include both a paper and a presentation. There are three of you, so I expect some good results.”
    The class begins shuffling their desks around. I