Read Online Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate by L.J. Smith - Free Book Online Page B

invitation to Gillian.
    And Macon Kingsley, who she called Macon the Wallet because he was so rich. His hair was brown and styled, his eyes hooded, and there was something cruel to the sensual droop of his mouth. But he wore a Rolex and had a new sports car and right now he was looking at Gillian as if he’d pay a lot of money for her.
    And Cory Zablinski—who was Cory the Party Guy because he constantly seemed to be arranging, going to, or just recovering from parties. Cory was wiry and hyper, with foxybrown hair and darting fox-colored eyes. He had more personality than looks, but he was always in the middle of things, and at this moment he was waving madly at Gillian.
    Even Amy’s new boyfriend Eugene, who didn’t have looks
or
personality in Gillian’s opinion, was wiggling his fingers eagerly.
    David had his hand up, too, despite Tanya’s cold expression. He looked polite and stubborn. Gillian wondered if he’d told Tanya he was just trying to help a poor junior out.
    (Pick… Macon.) The ghostly voice in Gillian’s ear was thoughtful.
    (Macon? I thought maybe Cory.) She couldn’t pick David, of course, not with Tanya looking daggers at her. And she felt uncomfortable about picking Bruce for the same reason—his girlfriend Amanda Spengler was sitting right beside him. Cory was friendly and, well, accessible. Macon, on the other hand, was vaguely creepy.
    This time the voice in her head was patient. (Have I ever steered you wrong? Macon.)
    (Cory’s the one who always knows about parties….) But Gillian was already moving toward Macon. The most important thing in life, she was discovering quickly, was to trust Angel absolutely.
    â€œThanks,” she said softly to Macon as she perched on an empty stool behind him. She repeated after Angel: “I’ll bet you take good notes. You seem like a good observer.”
    Macon the Wallet barely inclined his head. She noticed that his hooded eyes were moss green, an unusual, almost disturbing color.
    But he was nice to her all period. He promised to have his father’s secretary photocopy the thick sheaf of biology notes in his spiral-bound notebook. He lent her a highlighter. And he kept looking at her as if she were some interesting piece of art.
    That wasn’t all. Cory the Party Guy dropped a ball of paper on the lab table as he walked past to get rid of his gum in the trash can. When Gillian unfolded it she found a Hershey’s kiss and a questionnaire:
R U new? Do U like music? What’s yr phone #?
And Bruce the Athlete tried to catch her eye whenever she glanced in his direction.
    A warm and heady glow was starting somewhere inside Gillian.
    But the most amazing part was yet to come. Mr. Leveret, pacing in the front, asked for somebody to review the five kingdoms used to categorize living things.
    (Raise your hand, kid.)
    (But I don’t remember—)
    (Trust me.)
    Gillian’s hand went up. The warm feeling had changed to a sense of dread. She
never
answered questions in class. She almost hoped Mr. Leveret wouldn’t see her, but he spotted her right away and nodded.
    â€œGillian?”
    (Now just say after me….) The soft voice in her head went on.
    â€œOkay, the five classes would be, from most advanced to most primitive, Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista… and Eugene.” Gillian ticked them off on her fingers and glanced sideways at Eugene as she finished.
    (But that’s not
nice
. I mean—)
    She never got to what she meant. The entire class was roaring with laughter. Even Mr. Leveret rolled his eyes at the ceiling and shook his head tolerantly.
    They thought she was hysterical. Witty. One of those types who could break up a whole classroom.
    (But Eugene—)
    (Look at him.)
    Eugene was blushing pink, ducking his head. Grinning. He didn’t look embarrassed or hurt; he actually looked pleased at the attention.
    It’s still wrong, a tiny voice that wasn’t