Read Online Crushed by Laura McNeal - Free Book Online Page B

thought.
Just keep walking.
But Theo and his group were moving now, too, following behind.
    â€œThe Mummy still scootering to and fro?”
    One of Theo’s friends made sputtering putt-putt sounds, which at once grew into a chorus of putt-putting, soon mixed with laughter. What felt like a tightening cable ran from Clyde’s neck down his arms to his hands, which formed into fists.
    He kept walking, but Theo’s group followed, continuing their putt-putt sounds. Finally Clyde stopped and turned.
    Everything became quiet.
    For a muscular boy, Theo Driggs had a surprisingly fleshy face. His plump lips showed a trace of a smile. “I see the scooterist has balled his little hands into little fists. That for a reason?”
    Clyde didn’t know what to do or say. So he said something he was actually wondering. “What did I ever do to you?”
    It came out croakish, and Theo appeared genuinely confused. “Try it again in English,” he said.
    â€œWhat did I ever do to you?” Clyde said, trying to talk slowly.
    Recognition spread over Theo’s face, and the smile on his plump lips widened. He said, “You entered my field of vision. You uglified the view.”
    Snickers among Theo’s friends.
    Theo, still smiling, drew closer. “Why? Does that bother The Mummy?”
    Clyde said nothing. He simply glared at Theo.
    â€œDoes it?” Theo said, a hardness lining his voice now. “Does that bother The Mummy?” His hand jabbed at Clyde’s chest. “Does it? Yes or no?”
    There was a long moment of absolute silence. Then Clyde unfolded his fists and, in a low, croaky voice, said, “No.”
    Theo’s whole body relaxed, and his smile returned. “Good. Now why don’t you just haul your mummified pansy ass out of my field of vision so I can regain my accustomed serenity.”
    Clyde turned. From behind, as he walked away, he heard their sputtering putt-putt imitation of his Vespa, followed by derisive laughter.
    God. Theo Driggs. Theo Brain-Dead Driggs, who just came sliming out from under a rock. Talk about a candidate for “Outed.”
    Clyde somehow got through his first class, and then the next, and the next, hour upon hour, but when last period finally came, he just couldn’t bring himself to walk into World Cultures and see Audrey Reed smiling at Patrice and passing notes to her friends and just generally floating along in her happiness, so he slipped out to his Vespa and rode out to the river, where he sat freezing until he was sure his father would have left for work. Then he went home.
    â€œHello, Clydefellow,” his mother said. She’d been asleep, and now barely opened her eyes. Her face looked almost skeletal. “Good day?” she said.
    He nodded.
    â€œOn a one-to-ten?” Her voice was slightly slurred from medication.
    â€œAn eight,” he said. “Maybe an eight and a half.”
    His mother nodded and closed her eyes, and was soon asleep. Clyde went over to the desk and turned on the computer.

Chapter 17
    Excellent
    A few hours earlier, as Audrey was taking her physics quiz in the quiet of Mrs. Leacock’s room, she did something she’d never done before and had never imagined she would ever do. She moved her test paper slightly to the right and then shifted her shoulders slightly to the left, so that her answers might be seen from behind.
    The night before, when Wickham had suggested that she might move to the right or left when she was taking her test, the words that formed in her mind were,
That’s cheating.
But she didn’t say them—she was afraid they would sound nerdy or schoolgirlish—and he’d made his suggestion so casually that it was clear he didn’t see it as an ethical issue. But Audrey did. She’d been taught not to cheat, and not to respect those who did. She knew what she needed to say:
I
can’t do that. I’m sorry, I just can’t. It