The Rules for Disappearing by Unknown Read Free Book Online

sure what
    he has in mind once he catches me so I hold up both hands and say,
    “Truce. We’re even now.”
    “Even?” His hands go out to his sides, like he’s confused. “How do you figure we’re even?”
    “You made fun of my singing. That deserved a little bit of
    retaliation.”
    Ethan drops back down in his seat and pulls mine closer to the table with his foot. “For the record, I said you sounded good. Not my fault if you can’t take a compliment.”
    I move my seat a little farther from the table before sitting back down, not trusting he won’t go for some sort of revenge.
    “What do you grow?” For some reason this whole farm thing
    fascinates me. I’ve never known anyone who actually had a farm or grew things. Or looked so cute covered in dirt.
    “Mostly cotton, some corn and soybeans.”
    “So what do you do there, exactly?”
    Ethan lifts up his cap and slides it back and forth a few times before fitting it back on his head. “Well, this time of year we mostly fix equipment and get the fields ready. We have cows, too, so you gotta make sure they have plenty of food since it’s so cold out.”
    His face looks chapped from the wind, and the tips of his dark hair curl over the edge of his cap. And that voice, deep and smooth, those words rolling right out.
    “Why were you fighting with that other guy?”
    Ethan’s smile drops.
    S—
    “He’s an asshole.”
    N—
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    I wait for him to explain, but apparently that’s all I’m going to get.
    “Did you get in trouble? It kinda surprised me that you didn’t get suspended.” I tear off a small chunk of crust and pop it in my mouth.
    “Technically the fight happened off school grounds,” he says
    putting “off school grounds” in air quotes. “Principal couldn’t touch us. That jackass wanted to keep going once we hit the parking lot.
    That’s why we got called in.”
    I’m starving so I give in and pull the plate closer. There probably won’t be any leftovers at home so this may be my only chance to eat. I pick every single thing off the pizza and Ethan laughs at me as he shovels his fourth piece in his mouth. It’s a good thing Teeny and I don’t have an appetite like that, or we would have starved months ago.
    “Now my turn for a question. What’s the story on Meg Jones?”
    Loaded question if there ever was one. “Not much. Just moved
    here from Arkansas. My dad got a job here. That’s pretty much it.”
    The guilt eats at me every time I lie. I’m going to need coun-
    seling at some point—maybe I should find a Liars Anonymous
    meeting, “Hi, I’m Meg from Louisiana. No, that’s not right. I’m Suzie from Texas. No, not that either. . . .”
    “What part?”
    “Um, Lewisville.”
    Ethan’s face lights up. “No friggin’ way. Ever see the Fouke
    Monster?”
    What the . . . Fouke Monster? There was no mention of a
    —S
    —N
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    monster in my neatly typed three paragraphs. I shake my head.
    Surely, No! is the right answer here.
    He watches me a second. I tuck a few short strands behind my
    ear and try not to panic.
    “So, how’d you end up working here? This is your first day,
    right?”
    “Came in and ordered a pizza. Asked for a job. The last waitress quit, so lucky for me.” His mouth opens, I assume for another question, but I’m saved by the door chimes. I jump from the table.
    A few new customers trickle in to pick up to-go orders. Once
    they leave, I want nothing more than to run back to that table. I force myself to stay at the counter. Ethan walks over when it’s clear I’m not coming back.
    Before he can say anything, I put my hand up. “Ethan, thanks
    for the pizza, but I need to get back to work. I don’t want to make Pearl mad or lose my job.” It had been too nice—a simple conversation with a cute boy. It wouldn’t take