Tunnels by Lesley Downie Read Free Book Online Page A

Mazetti fully understands the turn your frown upside down advice she always gives.
    "After you've cut the circles out, carefully place a few at a time into—"
    Ms. Mazetti was cut off when the class door swung open and David walked in. Yes, my David, and he seemed to have a glow around him. I'm just saying.
    Ashley was staring at me and I was about to ask her what her problem was when she let me know all on her own.
    "You know you can't have him, right?" Ashley sneered. "He's totally out of your league."
    Out of my league? What does she know? I hadn't told anyone but Evan that I liked David. She was probably just trying to find anything to embarrass me. I rolled my eyes at her and popped the bubble she was blowing, right in her face. She made a whimpering sound as she tried to peel the stuff off. David was talking to Ms. Mazetti and I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he did keep glancing over at me and flashing the most amazing dimples ever. Take that, Ashley.
    "Who said I was interested?" I answered her finally, though if anyone was within five feet of me they'd be able to feel the supersized electrical current stretching from him to me.
    "Class," Ms. Mazetti announced, "this is David Perkins. He'll be joining us. Go ahead and sit at the empty table next to Katherine and Ashley."
    Next. To. Me. Holy schnauzers. I'll have to make up for the mice thing because Mazetti fully rocked with her seat assignment this time. Maybe I should bring her a latte tomorrow to thank her.
    But how was I going to concentrate with him here? I need to have a little space between me and my crush. Otherwise, my crushing might be discovered. When I'm nervous I tend to have what Mom describes as "diarrhea of the mouth." Basically means I say whatever I'm thinking. And saying "I love you" in front of forty kids might be a problem.
    "Hey, is this yours?"
    I nodded and David handed me the backpack I'd left on the chair he was now sitting in. Unfortunately I hadn't closed the zippered pouch in the front, so all my stuff spilled onto the floor. You'd think I'd just told the biggest joke ever, the way Ashley cracked up and got everybody else laughing too. I could feel my face turn all shades of Valentine's Day as I got down on the floor to gather my stuff. At least there wasn't anything embarrassing lying there among all the pencils and stuff. Sam sometimes sticks one of those fake vomits or dog poos in my pack that he gets at the gag store just to freak me out.
    "Sorry, Kat," he whispered. It was a whisper I felt throughout my whole body. Whenever he talked it just did that to me. His hand touched mine and that supersized electricity sizzled between us. I'd liked boys before, but this feeling was definitely a first and made me want to reach out, hold on, and plant a big one on him. Of course, the thought of epically bombing my first kiss or hug keeps me from such extreme acts of PDA. Which is good. All I needed was for the Citrus Grove grapevine to get back to the General and get me grounded for life.
    "It's okay," I managed to say. "Thanks for helping."
    We got back into our seats and Ashley was still smirking, which was strange since it wasn't that big of a deal.
    "You should leave each donut in until it becomes a nice golden brown," Ms. Mazetti instructed. "David, you can partner with Jacob and Andrew for now."
    Phew. I don't think I should be working with hot oil around him. No telling what kind of damage I might do to myself.
    It took until the end of class for the package of eight biscuits to morph into fluffy goodness and get rolled in cinnamon and sugar. When the bell rang, I was still trying to figure out what cute thing I was going to say to David when Ashley said, "Wow, look what I found." She had a smirk on her face as she held up a fat triangular shape, which was exactly how Evan always folds the daily question we pass around our group. My stomach lurched as I reached inside my pocket, which was completely empty. Then I remembered. I'd