Read Online Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah Pepper - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sarah Pepper
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program.
W hen the bass drums went off in the classroom above the weight room, I assumed that some of the basketball players or wrestlers commandeered a room. The bass was cranked. A rap song played over the speakers. Surely, the music teacher would realize that someone was seriously blowing off some steam upstairs. I knew something was afoot after three techno songs. I finished my last squat set and decided to get a drink, and do a little investigation. I took the stairs two at a time, bounding up the steps.
I peered in Mrs. Dotson’s secondary music classroom which used to be the home-ec classroom. Inside was Little Miss Unconventional. I would have expected to see a giraffe dancing to the beats before I could convince myself that Alice Mae was performing—with her eyes closed at that. Light-pink ballet shoes were laced up around her ankles, making her pink tights no longer ridiculous; they matched the mood. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun.
I leaned against the door frame and watched. Ten seconds of observation made it clear that Alice Mae was a talented dancer. Her balletic movements were excellent. Her legs went on forever. She spun on her toes. I was never one to be hypnotized by any kind of dance, but the way Alice Mae moved was so graceful and fluid. She twirled on her toes effortlessly. I crunched mine. It looked painful. The music didn’t match the style of her dance, but at the same time it did. She was able to hit the beats with impression stances as well as move gracefully between challenging poses. I caught my breath when she leaped into the air and both legs were perpendicular to the floor. But what was truly earth-shattering was when she pulled her leg up straight beside her head.
“ Pick your jaw up off of the floor.” Dax nudged my shoulder.
I hadn’t heard him come up behind me. I didn’t think too deeply about what that meant.
Alice Mae was still in her own little world, oblivious to the fact that she not only had drawn Dax and my attention, but Mick’s as well. He stood behind Dax and glanced over his shoulder.
“ I don’t think there’s a tighter derrière in the entire school, but to be fair, I haven’t been able to check out all the new freshmen yet,” Mick said, rubbing his chin.
Falling onto her heels, Alice Mae rested her hands on the small of her back and looked up at the ceiling. Her hairline was dripping wet, and she was breathing heavy. My jaw literally fell open when she stripped her shirt so that she was only wearing a fitted sports top. I predicted that girls everywhere went on yo-yo diets or worked their tails off in the gym to get a stomach like hers.
Dax left, I think...
My feet were unmovable. Mick didn’t budge an inch either. Hidden under her baggy t-shirt was this perfectly sculpted woman. It wasn’t like she had a six pack, but she could eat cupcakes for the rest of the year and still not have a muffin top.
What alarmed me more than my own drool was that t he entire length of her arm was battered and bruised. Half the dark spots there was ripped flesh. I’d had similar injuries from sliding into home base, but I sincerely doubted that she was much of a ball player. My stomach twisted into knots. I imagined the worst. Was she okay? Hell, I didn’t care if she had kicked my family jewels, no one deserved to get slapped around.
“ You’re still gunning for Courtney, right?” Mick asked, seemingly oblivious to Alice Mae’s injuries.
“ Got a date with her next Saturday.”
He grabbed my shoulder. “I never thought I’d be glad you were hooking up with the hottest redhead in school.”
With that, he pushed away from me and approached Alice Mae. His walk screamed confidence. When he reached the podium, he grabbed the remote for the speakers and turned down the music.
Alice Mae stopped instantly. Her face turned three different shades of red. I wasn’t buying it. The girl could act.
“ Was I intruding?” she asked weakly, looking from Mick to
W hen the bass drums went off in the classroom above the weight room, I assumed that some of the basketball players or wrestlers commandeered a room. The bass was cranked. A rap song played over the speakers. Surely, the music teacher would realize that someone was seriously blowing off some steam upstairs. I knew something was afoot after three techno songs. I finished my last squat set and decided to get a drink, and do a little investigation. I took the stairs two at a time, bounding up the steps.
I peered in Mrs. Dotson’s secondary music classroom which used to be the home-ec classroom. Inside was Little Miss Unconventional. I would have expected to see a giraffe dancing to the beats before I could convince myself that Alice Mae was performing—with her eyes closed at that. Light-pink ballet shoes were laced up around her ankles, making her pink tights no longer ridiculous; they matched the mood. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun.
I leaned against the door frame and watched. Ten seconds of observation made it clear that Alice Mae was a talented dancer. Her balletic movements were excellent. Her legs went on forever. She spun on her toes. I was never one to be hypnotized by any kind of dance, but the way Alice Mae moved was so graceful and fluid. She twirled on her toes effortlessly. I crunched mine. It looked painful. The music didn’t match the style of her dance, but at the same time it did. She was able to hit the beats with impression stances as well as move gracefully between challenging poses. I caught my breath when she leaped into the air and both legs were perpendicular to the floor. But what was truly earth-shattering was when she pulled her leg up straight beside her head.
“ Pick your jaw up off of the floor.” Dax nudged my shoulder.
I hadn’t heard him come up behind me. I didn’t think too deeply about what that meant.
Alice Mae was still in her own little world, oblivious to the fact that she not only had drawn Dax and my attention, but Mick’s as well. He stood behind Dax and glanced over his shoulder.
“ I don’t think there’s a tighter derrière in the entire school, but to be fair, I haven’t been able to check out all the new freshmen yet,” Mick said, rubbing his chin.
Falling onto her heels, Alice Mae rested her hands on the small of her back and looked up at the ceiling. Her hairline was dripping wet, and she was breathing heavy. My jaw literally fell open when she stripped her shirt so that she was only wearing a fitted sports top. I predicted that girls everywhere went on yo-yo diets or worked their tails off in the gym to get a stomach like hers.
Dax left, I think...
My feet were unmovable. Mick didn’t budge an inch either. Hidden under her baggy t-shirt was this perfectly sculpted woman. It wasn’t like she had a six pack, but she could eat cupcakes for the rest of the year and still not have a muffin top.
What alarmed me more than my own drool was that t he entire length of her arm was battered and bruised. Half the dark spots there was ripped flesh. I’d had similar injuries from sliding into home base, but I sincerely doubted that she was much of a ball player. My stomach twisted into knots. I imagined the worst. Was she okay? Hell, I didn’t care if she had kicked my family jewels, no one deserved to get slapped around.
“ You’re still gunning for Courtney, right?” Mick asked, seemingly oblivious to Alice Mae’s injuries.
“ Got a date with her next Saturday.”
He grabbed my shoulder. “I never thought I’d be glad you were hooking up with the hottest redhead in school.”
With that, he pushed away from me and approached Alice Mae. His walk screamed confidence. When he reached the podium, he grabbed the remote for the speakers and turned down the music.
Alice Mae stopped instantly. Her face turned three different shades of red. I wasn’t buying it. The girl could act.
“ Was I intruding?” she asked weakly, looking from Mick to
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