Six by M.M. Vaughan Read Free Book Online

had a tendency to then just ignore Emma, which annoyed them both. Sometimes—rarely—people would look horrified and make their excuses, and sometimes—as Michael did now—they would start to shout.
    â€œNICE TO MEET YOU!”
    â€œDeaf,” said Parker. “As in she can’t hear anything. She can lip-read though.”
    â€œOh yeah, right. How do I do the sign for ‘nice to meet you’?”
    Parker showed him, and Emma, still smiling, waited patiently as Michael got Parker to demonstrate it three times before turning to Emma and repeating it.
    â€œNice to meet you, too,” signed Emma.
    Michael paused for a moment in thought and then turned to face Emma. He slowly pointed to her, then to himself, and then made a triangular shape with his arms above his head. Parker watched—half confused, half amused—as Michael then proceeded to do an elaborate mime that looked like he was pulling something as he ran furiously on the spot with his arms out.
    Emma turned to Parker and shrugged.
    â€œWhat are you trying to say?” asked Parker.
    â€œIt’s a bike. I’m riding a bike. Wasn’t it obvious?”
    Both Parker and Emma shook their heads, and Michael sighed.
    He turned to Emma and mouthed his words slowly. “Do you want to come to my house tomorrow and ride bikes?”
    Emma hesitated and Parker stepped in. “Emma doesn’t have a bike. She got a goat instead.”
    â€œWhat?” asked Michael.
    â€œYeah, my dad offered to get us a bike each when we got here, but Emma said she’d rather use the money to buy a goat in Africa. My sister’s a bit strange.”
    Emma signed to Parker.
    â€œShe says one goat can provide enough income to feed a family of four.”
    â€œThat’s really nice,” said Michael slowly to Emma. “I have enough bikes—you can use one of mine.”
    â€œHow many bikes do you have?” asked Parker.
    Michael shrugged. “A few. Anyway, do you want to come or not?”
    Parker looked at Emma and she nodded. “Sure,” said Parker. “I think my dad can drop us off, but I have to check with him first.”
    Michael grinned. He swung his backpack to the floor and unzipped it, then scrambled around until he found a pen and a scrap piece of paper on which he wrote his name, address, and phone number.
    â€œHere,” said Michael, handing Parker the piece of paper. “You can get your mom to call if you want.”
    â€œNot my mum, my dad.”
    â€œYour dad then. Come at eleven? Or whatever time you want. You can stay all day if you want to.”
    â€œOkay,” said Parker. “I’ll call you later and let you know.”
    â€œCall you later about what?” said a voice behind them.
    Parker turned and found Aaron standing behind him with his arms crossed. He was alone.
    â€œNone of your business,” said Parker.
    Aaron repeated Parker’s words in a terrible English accent, and Parker narrowed his eyes at him.
    â€œThat’s not even a good impression.”
    â€œThat’s not even a good impression,” repeated Aaron in the same voice.
    Parker stared at Aaron. “What’s wrong with you?”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you ?” responded Aaron in his normal voice.
    Michael pulled on Parker’s sleeve. “Just leave it,” said Michael quietly.
    â€œYeah, listen to four-eyes,” said Aaron.
    â€œLeave him alone,” said Parker.
    â€œOr what?” asked Aaron. He lifted his chin and pulled his shoulders back. Aaron, it was obvious, was looking for a fight. Maybe it was the humiliation of earlier, or maybe it was that his sister and new friend, not to mention the other students in the corridor, were watching, but whichever it was, Parker was not ready to back down.
    â€œOr you’ll regret it,” said Parker, taking a step forward. His heart began to thump loudly, but he clenched his jaw and