Shadow of a Life by Mute8 Read Free Book Online Page B

actually
been studying for the tests. I’m not concerned about any of
them.”
    Camille rolled her eyes and slammed
her locker door shut. We walked side by side to our first period
class. She’d been particularly quiet on the bus that morning and I
guessed that she was still angry about being rejected on
Sunday.
    First period was English and I handed
in the assignment I’d finished writing on Saturday. Thankfully I’d
finished it during the first part of the weekend. If I’d met Sophia
first, I don’t think I would have gotten around to it.
    The rest of the day dragged on without
anything eventful happening. I found myself continuously looking
over my shoulder and peering into the middle of crowds, expecting
Sophia to pop up at any moment, but she stayed away. In fact, I
didn’t see her until Camille and I were heading out the school door
at the end of the day. We planned to ditch the school bus and grab
a ride on a city bus to Grandma’s Café so that I could make good on
my promise to hang out with her. Sophia suddenly appeared, carrying
a backpack and looking like any one of the other hundreds of kids
spilling out of the school.
    “ Hey, you two. Where are you
headed this beautiful afternoon?” She wore the sunniest smile I’d
ever seen.
    I could feel Camille tense next to me.
She said nothing and just kept walking.
    I shrugged. “We’re heading over to
Grandma’s Café for some ice cream. Want to come?” I probably
shouldn’t have invited her, but I thought that if Camille got to
know Sophia it would help.
    “ Sure, that sounds fun. You
don’t mind, do you, Camille?”
    Camille turned to Sophia and
half-smiled, but the look in her eyes screamed,
‘ Go away’.
    Apparently half the school decided
that ice cream sounded good because Grandma’s was packed when we
got there. We finally managed to snag a table made for two and an
extra chair from a nearby table. It wasn’t a secret that a lot of
the eyes in the room were on our little group—especially those
belonging to the opposite gender. I’m sure they were all wondering
who Sophia was and how they could possibly find out so they could
try to hit on her. Sophia acted oblivious to the attention we were
getting, but Camille kept flashing her own famous smile and tossing
her hair over her shoulder with a flip of her head. I wondered if I
should try the hair flip thing. With my luck I’d pull a neck muscle
and end up embarrassing myself horribly.
    The three of us made small talk and I
kept looking at my watch. I wanted to get back to our research, but
I didn’t know how to nicely get rid of Camille. Sophia tried to
include her in the conversation as much as she could, but for the
most part Camille ignored her and spoke only to me.
    Finally, unable to stand it any
longer, I pushed back from the table. “It’s getting really late. I
should probably go home.”Camille looked at her watch. “What are you
talking about? School’s only been out for forty-five
minutes.”
    “ I have homework to do,” I
lied.
    “ What homework?” Camille
quizzed. She didn’t believe me.
    “ It’s for my math class.”
The answer seemed safe since it was the only class we didn’t have
together. I was in an advanced math class and Cam
wasn’t.
    “ Whatever. Let’s go then,”
Camille said dejectedly.
    The three of us barely spoke as we
walked home. When we got to my street, Sophia and I turned off
together. Camille stopped walking.
    “ Are you following her
home?” she asked Sophia in an accusatory tone.
    “ What? Oh, no. Well, sort
of. I left something at her house when I was over there yesterday
and I’m just going to grab it quickly,” Sophia answered.
    Camille nodded slowly before quickly
turning and continuing toward her house. I’d gained a spring in my
step, but it seemed as if she’d lost one.
     
    *****
     
    The rest of the week actually flew by
and before I knew it, Friday was upon us. The last day of school
was always a half day and, in my