Secrets of the Sleeper: True Nature Series: Book One by Karen Lynn Bennett Read Free Book Online Page A

wasn’t ignoring me or talking about me behind their hands.
    By the time my last class arrived, the day had taken a bizarrely positive turn, and my heart felt light as I walked into Mr. Mac’s English class. I caught Zander’s eye immediately. There was an empty desk next to him. I headed toward the back of the class where he was sitting, but Zena Taylor, wearing a skirt attempting to redefine “mini” as “micro” and a low-cut blouse, slipped into the chair ahead of me, which said a lot for her dexterity because her platform heels were at least five inches. As much as I disliked her, I couldn’t help admire the way she got around without killing herself. She immediately leaned toward Zander, ignoring me standing in front of her. A few pens toppled to the floor as several guys pretended to retrieve them all just to get a peek up Zena’s skirt. Disgust tightened my lips even as an embarrassed blush spread across my cheeks. Meanwhile, Zena didn’t seem to notice them. She was too busy giving Zander another kind of peep show.
    “Hi! You’re new here.” She cast a sultry look toward him, held out her hand to Zander, and then started reeling him in.
    “Welcome to Scotts Valley High,” she said in her best kitten voice. He shook her hand politely, although it seemed to take an absurd amount of time for his gaze to reach her face. That ought to teach me . Boys were all the same.
    I cleared my throat, tempted to tell them to get a room. Zena didn’t acknowledge me in any way. She just dug her heels in and whipped her long brown hair over her shoulder with the hand that wasn’t clinging to Zander’s. Her eyelashes dipped in appreciation as she tilted toward him, almost drooling. I needed a vomit bag. Maybe I should retreat down the aisle and find another way past them , I thought. I should have known Zena would be in this class. It had all been too perfect.
    Okay, everyone has an enemy, and although I wouldn’t exactly call her my arch-nemesis, she was definitely on my list of least favorite people. She and her groupies had bullied Ruthie and me all through middle school. Basically, every bad memory of those awkward years involved Zena Taylor, the self-proclaimed gift to Scotts Valley. Gag! I told myself she couldn’t help it. What chance did you have with her parents? They were the biggest snobs in town.
    However, I loathed any time Zena and her entourage crossed over into my sphere of school. How did she get into this class anyway? Then I remembered that it wasn’t AP Lit like I normally would have taken. The school counselor thought I shouldn’t push myself with AP classes this year, which meant I was stuck with Zena and her stupid cheerleader friends.
    But right now, I felt more peeved that she was sitting next to my blue-eyed guy from lunch, whose introduction had seemed to turn my terrible day around—until now. My distaste must have been visible. Zander’s hand was still held captive by Zena, but he was looking at me questioningly, a guilty redness stinging his face. I blinked. Where had this possessiveness come from? Who was I to claim his attention? He looked more like Zena’s type anyway—gorgeous. Hoping that I looked indifferent, I smoothed my features and shoved my way over to the aisle on his other side. There was an open seat toward the back. As I tried to squeeze through the narrow aisle, my arm brushed up against him. We both jumped a little from the contact, and he finally escaped Zena’s grip. There was that warm hum again. It was not static electricity, but it seemed to cause the same reaction.
    “Oh, sorry,” I muttered and quickly found my seat. What was wrong with me? Zander’s head was twisted around toward me when I settled in and looked up. Next to him, Zena was giving me an “artful” finger gesture behind her back. Whatever. At least Zander didn’t seem mad. Actually, one corner of his mouth tilted up, which gave me fluttery heart spasms. He was really good-looking, I