The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 2 by Ken Brosky, Isabella Fontaine, Dagny Holt, Chris Smith, Lioudmila Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

reeled. Was he right? Was I screwing up my stance?
    “I have another piece of advice, too.”
    “Fine,” I said hurriedly. “Out with it.”
    He shook his head. “How about a deal? You help me with my English paper and I’ll help you with your fencing.”
    “English?” I frowned. “Is this a trick? Last English class I had with you, you spent two weeks laughing at a crude joke from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest .”
    He looked down at his legs, then up at me with a “what are you talking about” kind of expression. “My baseball career is on hold, if you haven’t noticed. Rehab could take a year or more. I need to finish senior year with good grades so I have all my options open.”
    “Oh. Well, I guess I could help you … what’s your paper on?”
    “I picked a book,” he said, wheeling beside me as we made our way out of the gym. “ The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Now I have to write about it.”
    I tried to hide my surprise. “I’ve read that book. I really liked it.”
    He shrugged. “I know it’s technically Young Adult, but I’m a big fan of Native American books. And the story’s just really good. And stuff.”
    I laughed. “And stuff.”
    “So you’ll help me?”
    “Sure. We could meet tonight—crap! We can’t. Ugh. I have a date tonight.”
    Chase smiled. “Oh darn. You have such a rough life.”
    “Hey! You don’t know. He might turn out to be a butthead.”
    “True, true. Buttheads are no good.”
    We wheeled/walked over to the cafeteria on the other side of the basement. The students had already been let in and were busily snatching hot sandwiches from the steel lunch counter. Both elderly cashiers looked a bit flustered as they rang in, took money, and handed out change while the hungry teenagers began impatiently devouring their food.
    “Look at them,” Chase said, laughing. “Can’t you just tell who’s a freshman?”
    I stared at the students, then laughed. “Yup! They’re like little kids. Did we look like that when we were freshmen?”
    Chase opened his mouth to answer, then stopped when he saw Ted making his way through the crowd of students by the lunch counter. He gave us both a wave. “We’ve got some extra seats saved for you,” he said. “Hi, Alice.”
    “Hi.” I gave him a smile, then glanced over his shoulder toward the back. “Um, I think I’m going to pass. I’ll see you tonight, though.” He gave me a strange, quizzical look. “I need to talk to Tina—I mean Rachel—about something.”
    “Tina the hyena?” Ted asked. Beside him, Chase snickered.
    “Yeah,” I said. My hands found my hips. I fought the urge to let him have it. Maybe he was just posturing. Trish vouched for him, after all. “I’ll talk to you later.”
    I grabbed a ham-and-cheese sandwich and a side salad and milk and made my way to the back of the cafeteria, where Rachel and her friend Clyde were sitting.
    “Hey, it’s that chick,” Clyde said as I sat down. He was still wearing his sunglasses. His outfit reminded me of some old-fashioned Nirvana fan: flannel shirt, old faded t-shirt, even a chain wallet just like the one Rachel wore. And of course the long hair that refused to stay tucked behind his little ears.
    “Hi, Clyde.”
    He smiled, dipping a French fry in what could only be mayonnaise. “Far out. What’s happening?”
    “Oh, you know. Dreading the first weekend of homework.”
    “Tell me about it,” Rachel muttered. “At least you don’t have gym class. We’re learning Cricket. I don’t even know what Cricket is! I don’t think our gym teacher even knows what it is!”
    I smiled at the perfect opening. “You should join the fencing team,” I said as casually as I could.
    “Oh yeah,” said Clyde. He grinned. “Swords, Rach. Swords!”
    “Foils,” Rachel corrected. She shrugged. “Ugh. I dunno. Last year, it wasn’t very fun.”
    “But you were getting better,” I told her. “You really were.”
    She