Twisted by Amity Hope Read Free Book Online Page A

trickled in seconds before the bell rang.
    I pulled my eyes from Ben. I didn’t want to be caught staring again.
    Mr. Schroeder strolled in. Either Olivia or Hailey had mentioned he was the football coach. He looked it. He was short and stout and appeared to be born without a neck. He scrawled “Poe” across the board. I settled back in my seat. We were starting out easy. I’d written a research paper on Poe the year before. He was my one and only literary favorite. I could probably recite Annabel Lee in my sleep.
    “Welcome to American Lit,” he ground out. He had a raspy voice that was going to grate on my already frazzled nerves. “You should all know I don’t like to waste any time. Today we’ll jump right in.” He motioned to the board. “As you’ve noted—”
    The wall phone rang, interrupting him. He scowled as he ambled over to answer it. After a brief discussion he replaced the phone and aimed a scrutinizing glower at Ben.
    “ You !” he grumbled as he pointed an accusatory finger. “You’re wanted in Mrs. Birkendorf’s office.”
    The blondish guy from earlier chortled. “Tough break McCaffey. Tell the old battle ax hello from me.”
    I shot him a glare that went unnoticed.
    Ben silently rose from his seat and left the classroom.
    I wondered if this had to do with the altercation at his locker. If it was, then the other guy shouldn’t still be seated at his desk. He certainly shouldn’t have such a cocky attitude because I had seen it all. Ben had done absolutely nothing wrong. He remained calm even after being provoked.
    I tried to stop thinking about Ben by dutifully doodling the day’s notes about Poe’s personal life into my notebook. It was all review for me but it helped pass the time, which was going too slowly. Ben didn’t return until minutes before the bell rang.
    Mr. Schroeder wrapped up his lecture and then wiped the board clean. “I hope everyone was paying attention today. You should expect a quiz on this information tomorrow.” There was the expected collective groan. He looked at Ben as if just noticing his return. “Mr. McCaffey, you’ll have to get today’s notes from someone.”
    The guy I was really beginning to loath snickered. “Like that’ll happen.”
    I realized this was the second rude comment that had gone completely unnoticed by Mr. Schroeder. I wondered if he was possibly on the football team and the coach was playing favorites. Even if the teacher refused to notice, I did. I threw another scorching glare his way, willing him to look, but he left me disappointed again.
    I glanced over my notes. All review to me. The bell rang. I tore the two pages out of my notebook and leapt to my feet. I slid my hand across Ben’s shoulder to get his attention before he left. His eyes met mine and he froze.
    “You can keep these,” I told him. “I did a research paper on Poe last spring.” I set my notes on his desk and walked away without waiting for a response.
    My last class of the day was Calc with Phoebe. It was my worst subject and it was worrisome that I couldn’t concentrate on a single word Mrs. Edwards was saying. The class seemed interminable, even worse than American Lit had been while waiting for Ben to return. When the bell finally rang I bolted from my seat. Phoebe was close behind. We pushed our way through the crowd, dumped our books in our lockers and headed outside.
    We sat on the long stone and cement bench at the north entrance waiting for Olivia and Hailey. Really, I couldn’t imagine what was taking them so long. It was the first day of school. The weather was still gorgeous. Why not just get on with it and get the heck out of here?
    Phoebe glanced at her watch.
    I was watching the back doors, looking for Hailey and Olivia. I saw hordes of students but no shiny blond and fake ebony. When the flow turned to a slow trickle, Ben emerged. He was headed toward us and I was debating the consequences of saying hello.
    Before I could think it all the