Starseed by Liz Gruder Read Free Book Online Page A

in her arms for days, soothing him.
    But animals and humans were different creatures. He had acted on instinct. Or maybe animals and humans weren’t so different: she thought of Douglas Lafarge thrown in the dumpster and everyone teasing that fat guy, Albert Jackson, for eating three lunches.
    Woofy had one tooth that stuck out above his lower lip. Despite his comically tragic appearance, he was a wise dog. Lucy, the black Labrador, licked her hand; Woofy tried to hop up on her lap.
    “No, sit. Be good.” Kaila communicated well with her animals. Talking to them was like listening to music. She just had to listen with an open mind to hear their true message.
    Lucy and Woofy sat on the butter-colored threadbare needlework rug and gazed up at her adoringly. Kaila reached into a plastic container decorated with dog bones and gave them a treat.
    Lucy gobbled the Milk-Bone then barked.
    “No,” Kaila said. “I’m not making popcorn tonight.”
    Lucy’s favorite treat was popcorn, and her eyes rolled back showing the whites in abject pleasure when she got lucky enough to eat popcorn.
    Lucy barked again.
    “No,” Kaila said. “I told you I am not making popcorn.”
    Lucy barked three times.
    “Don’t you take that tone with me, young lady,” Kaila said. “I will not be ordered around.”
    Lucy looked at Kaila, panting, her pink tongue sticking out.
    “All right,” Kaila said. “Yes, I agree. That’s fair. I will make popcorn for you this weekend when I’m not at school.”
    Lucy lay down, resting her head on Kaila’s foot.
    Facebook beckoned. Soon as she logged on, Kaila was astonished to see the navy people icon beaming red with friend requests. Those two prep boys in her English class, Derek Mendoza and Wade Stoops. That beautiful prep girl, Priscilla Snowden. The dork from the trash can, Douglas Lafarge. And friend requests from Melissa and Pia.
    Almost everyone she had contact with wanted to be friends. Tears pricked her eyes. Not unreal friends from half-way across the world that she’d never meet, but real, flesh and blood people.
    Through blurred eyes, Kaila studied a friend request from someone named Valdyr Lawless whom she didn’t remember meeting. She confirmed the request nonetheless. Valdyr Lawless. Such a strange name. She clicked on the profile, but it didn’t say much other than he attended Bush High.
    After confirming the friend requests, she searched for “Jordyn Stryker” but no luck. He probably didn’t know about Facebook because he had been secluded in that cult. She tried to deny her disappointment. Or maybe, she pondered, he was Valdyr Lawless. People sometimes used phony names on Facebook. Valdyr would be a name someone like Jordyn Stryker might use as an alias.
    She brushed her teeth, took a shower, and blow-dried her hair. Reluctantly, she wrapped the plastic on her head like a shiny black turban. Recalling her mother’s terror and the subsequent visions upon removal of the plastic, she decided to keep it on. Still, there had to be a freer solution.
    She climbed in bed. Homework. Ugh. She focused intently and scanned the books, turning the pages, absorbing the information. She scribbled on loose leaf. She finished her homework in minutes. Class work was a breeze—and boring. It was the people and cliques that were difficult to understand.
    Kaila turned out the table lamp. In the dark, her thoughts looped like speed cars around a racetrack. She thought of Jordyn, how cute he was, how she loved it when he studied her like she was the only person on the Earth. She thought of the others, how odd, yet how smart they were.
    Wait a minute.
    She recalled that creepy feeling when Echidna took her hand and insisted they be friends. Maybe she just didn’t know how to act. There was something else, but Kaila could not recall. Well, forget it then.
    Kaila thought of Melissa, recalling when Melissa first smiled at her and knowing they might become best friends. And Pia, when she said they’d