Soul Fire by Nancy Allan Read Free Book Online Page B

just in case.
    “Sure, I go to the parties and stuff.”
    I swallowed that hard as I visualized those scenes. “Seems weird. You going without me.”
    She bristled. “You think I’m going to sit around and mope? Have no life? It hasn’t been a picnic looking at you all cemented up like that, not to mention putting up with your freaked out parents.”
    I could see her point. “So, why do you?”
    She rolled her gum around in her mouth, and then blew a huge bubble. When it popped, she said, “Cause one day you’re going to play again…and that’s the guy I love.”

Ashla

CHAPTER TEN
    Celeste tapped her toe and checked the time on her phone. “We’re going to be late, Ashla, hurry up.”
    I’d slept in. A first for me. Getting out of bed had been a struggle. Instead of leaping up before the alarm and racing off to the shower as I usually do, I had rolled over and snoozed, not waking until Mom came up to find out if I’d croaked. “Jeez, Ashla, what’s wrong. You have the flu or something?” she had asked, concerned.
    It was worse than the flu. I felt thickheaded. My body weighed at least three hundred pounds and it felt like I was wearing heavy workout weights on my arms and legs. “Tired,” I mumbled, rolling out of bed and staggering into the shower.
    “You go ahead," I told Celeste afterward. "No point in both of us being late.”
    She didn’t move but watched as I wiggled into my jeans. “You look terrible.”
    Really? I wonder why ? Glancing in the mirror, I saw that she was right. My hair was dull, my eyes had purple swatches underneath, and my skin was so white I looked like a phantom. I’d lost weight and my figure was suffering. Ah well, who cares.
    “You know today’s going to be horrible,” she said.
    “I know.”
    “Everybody will have seen yesterday’s newspaper or last night’s news, so it’s going to be all over the school.”
    “I know.”
    “You just have to get through today, Ashla. It will be forgotten eventually. Things will be back to normal in no time.”
    I dug the biggest sweatshirt I could find out of the back of my closet and put it on. If it got really bad, I could hide inside it. “ Normal ? Oh, sure. I can forget all about it too. No point in feeling guilty all your life, right? Why not forget about it right now? Who needs the baggage?”
    Celeste closed her eyes. “How long do you think this will last?”
    I picked up my pack and started down the stairs. No time for breakfast and too late to make a lunch. “The guilt?”
    “Yeah.”
    I stuffed my feet into my sneakers and grabbed a jacket from the closet. Another place to hide.
    “Forever.”
    I yelled goodbye to Mom who was inundated with day care kids. She called back, “I made your breakfast to go. It’s on the counter next to your lunch bag.”
    I started out the door without bothering, but Celeste dashed into the kitchen and retrieved both brown bags. “Here,” she said handing them to me. “Eat before you disappear.”
    “ Disappear sounds good. At least when I get to school no one will see me.”
    “Won’t be that bad,” Celeste forecasted.
    But it was worse. Much worse .
    Everybody, and I mean everybody stopped talking when we entered the school. The walk down the hall took forever. All eyes turned to us. Whispers, accusing looks, stares, and pointing fingers followed us.
    It was like walking the death walk. It took forever.
    Finally, we turned to our lockers. Some smart-mouthed tool called out, “Hey, Cameron, wipe out any great hockey players lately?”
    “Yeah, Cameron, nothing but the best for you, right?”
    “Somebody ought’a give it right back to you.”
    “No kidding. She’s got it coming big time.”
    Nausea washed over me. I almost bolted. I wanted out of there. I’d never get through this day. Tara and Brenna, whose lockers were only a few feet from ours, kept their backs to me. Then they disappeared.
    The bell rang and Celeste and I went to our separate classes. Same thing