Read Online Forever for a Year by B. T. Gottfred - Free Book Online Page B

right toward us. The worst part? He looked so amazing, like he was in a music video and moving in slow motion. Gosh, I’m even thinking like an airhead because of this boy. Everything’s ruined.
    Peggy whispered to Katherine, “That’s him,” but I couldn’t look anymore. I had to turn away. Just let this be over, please. Please, please, please.
    What felt like an hour later, Peggy finally said to me, “He’s inside, Carrie.” I didn’t even care she used my wrong name.
    Katherine said, “He is hot. You really think he likes you? Never mind. You can be his Facebook friend, but don’t talk to him until I find out more about him.” Then Katherine left.
    I looked at Peggy, wanting her to tell me that her sister was mean and crazy and I should ignore everything she says, but Peggy just shrugged and went inside biology. I hated Peggy for one second, even though I knew she had to live with Katherine’s insanity everyday.
    I just felt so small and invisible. Like I could get sucked into the crevices between the lockers at any moment and no one would even remember I existed.
    Biology was horrible because Trevor was there and I didn’t even get to sit next to him. I tried not to think about him or look at him but that was impossible. Then Mr. Klenner called on me when he must have known I had no idea even what my name was or what planet I was on, and so I said, “Huh?” and the class laughed, or at least it felt like it, and then he asked the question again, except I still had no idea, and then he gave the answer and gave me that look that says, “Don’t be a bad student,” which I had seen teachers give to so many other people but never to me.
    I wanted to die and never come back to school, though I suppose if I was dead I couldn’t come back to school anyway. The embarrassment did make me pay attention, so I guess teachers embarrassing students must work, but it is a horrible thing to do and should be against the law.
    Trevor didn’t sit next to me in history either, which was fine. Just fine. I was thinking of him less by the minute. Lunch was fine too, though near the end, when I was talking to Kendra about our game Saturday, Peggy got up without telling me and went over to talk to Shannon Shunton and those popular girls. When I finally found her, she was walking away from their table.
    â€œWhat were you talking to them about?” I asked as we walked to algebra.
    â€œAbout the party Friday,” she said, and suddenly my throat felt like it was swelling because I wondered if Peggy would become Shannon Shunton’s best friend and not mine, then I realized that would never happen and just smiled so she wouldn’t know what I was thinking.
    *   *   *
    In math class, Henry McCarthy sat behind me, which I didn’t think about because everyone has to sit somewhere. Except then, when the teacher had his back to us, writing some weird math equation on the whiteboard, Henry leaned up and whispered into my ear. I jumped a little, but maybe only in my mind, because no one turned in my direction.
    What did he whisper? This: “I heard you were going to the Darry party Friday.” Darry was Peggy and Katherine’s last name. But he also said, “You should come to the freshman game first. It starts at three thirty. I’m the quarterback. I’m going to throw touchdowns.” And then he stopped talking. I nodded because I didn’t know what else to do. Had Henry McCarthy just invited me to come watch his football game? He had, which was almost as weird as when that junior Alexander Taylor, with his tie and his odd eyes, stopped me in the hall yesterday. Boys in high school were already much different than they were in junior high.
    When the bell rang, Henry said, “You better come,” which maybe he meant as charming, because he tried to smile, but it felt like a threat because Henry had always