Read Online Envy (Fury) by Elizabeth Miles - Free Book Online Page B

Like the other day, she’d told Skylar that only “superclose friends” could visit her and her cousins at their house. “We pick them out special,” she’d said. When Skylar had looked at her inquisitively, secretly wanting to know if she’d made the cut, Meg had giggled and said, “Don’t worry, Sky. I chose you the moment I saw you.”
    This evening Meg had shown up brandishing a drugstore box with a blond model on it: “Let’s highlight your hair!” And she’d massaged the dye into Skylar’s hair—her fingers tracing wild patterns on her scalp—as Skylar sat there thinking, At last. A friend.
    And not just any friend. A beautiful, cool, older friend. She felt a flutter in the back of her throat. What would Lucy have to say about that ?
    Now they were upstairs in Skylar’s tower bedroom, Skylar’s hair hanging damp around her shoulders.
    “This is going to look awesome ,” Meg said, twirling a strand ofit around one of her fingers. They both stared at Skylar’s reflection in the mirror as Meg turned on the hair dryer. “You’re going to love it once it’s dry.”
    If only Meg went to Ascension. . . .
    Because what Skylar wanted more than anything was someone to whisper with in the halls, to pass notes to in class, to giggle with in assemblies. That kind of friend. Someone like Gabby. She was embarrassed to admit it, but she’d become slightly fixated on her blond rescuer from day one. Gabby was everything that Skylar wanted to be. She represented the new life Skylar imagined for herself, far away from her old demons.
    Meg pointed to a book on the dresser. “Is that the yearbook?” When they’d hung out yesterday, Meg had suggested that Skylar check out last year’s Ascension yearbook from the school library. “Time for a crash course! Who do you know so far? Any cute boys at Ascension?”
    Skylar felt warm, and not just because of the hot air being blasted at her head.
    “I see that blush,” Meg said gleefully, shutting off the dryer and plopping down on the bed. “You better tell me!”
    And so they began poring over the book. Skylar turned the pages slowly, picking out Gabby and her friends among the candid shots at pep rallies and dances.
    As she flipped through, trying to find the sports pages so she could show Meg a picture of Pierce, she passed the section thathighlighted Ascension’s artsy types. On the fine arts page she saw a charcoal drawing, heavy and dark, of an open eye surrounded by drooping flowers and bones. It was untitled, and done by someone named Sasha Bowlder. The picture startled her, and for a moment she couldn’t look away.
    “That’s a beautiful piece,” Meg said, touching it lightly with a slender finger. “Too bad someone defaced it.”
    Over the drawing someone had scrawled Witch in blue pen. The image, taken as a whole, made Skylar feel weird.
    She was happy to find the sports section, and even more pleased to see a feature about Pierce: Freshman Football Phenom , it was called, and it described how last year Pierce was the first frosh to make it onto the varsity team in almost a decade.
    “That’s the guy I have a crush on,” she said, feeling young and foolish. “He’s a football player. He’s really popular. Apparently he’s going to be Ascension’s starting quarterback next fall. He’d never notice me.”
    “Um, the football player who lent you his sweatshirt ?” Meg cried, running the brush through Skylar’s hair a few more times. “I’d say he’s already ripe for the picking. And,” she added as she finished, stood Skylar up, and spun her around, “if he didn’t notice you before, he’ll definitely notice you now.”
    •  •  •
    With newfound confidence, Skylar strutted through the doors of Ascension High on Thursday morning, sporting her new scarfand freshly highlighted, blown-out blond hair. She’d paired the scarf with a black crewneck top and light-wash jeans.
    She looked cool. Effortless. Not like the shy girl in