Read Online Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) by Brittney Musick - Free Book Online
Authors: Brittney Musick
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kid?”
He
was looking straight at me, and it was as if Tegan had disappeared into the
wall. I opened my mouth to answer, but I realized my mouth had gone dry. That
always happened when I was scared or nervous. I swallowed hard before I said,
“Silly Granger.”
“Silly?
What kind of name is that?” he laughed.
“It’s
short for Cecilia,” I mumbled.
“Oh,
it’s short for Cecilia, is it?” he said quietly, almost friendly. “Well, Cecilia ,
why don’t you tell me how much money you have?”
“What?”
I replied, making a face. I felt Tegan nudge me in the side. No doubt to tell
me to do as he said. “I have five dollars.”
“Is
that all?” he questioned as if I were stupid enough to lie to him.
“Yes.”
“Well,
hand it over,” he said, stretching his big, beefy hands out toward me.
I
recoiled as I dug into my pocket and produced the five-dollar bill Mom gave me
before I left for school that morning.
“Thank
you, Cecilia,” he said with a devious grin as a couple of teachers appeared at
the end of the hallway. “It was a pleasure doing business with you,” he added.
“I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
Then
he walked away with a spring in his step.
“Are
you okay?” Tegan whispered. I turned to her. Her usually tanned face seemed
completely absent of all color, and I was sure mine was quite similar.
I
frowned and looked at my feet. “I’m fine.”
“Maybe
you should go to the office and talk to the principal,” she said.
“What?
No way,” I replied. “You’ve heard what he’s done to other people who ratted him
out.”
“So
what are you going to do then?” Tegan asked.
“I’m
going to go to lunch, and, hopefully, you’ll let me borrow some money so I can
get something to eat.”
Tegan
looked like she wanted to argue, but finally she just nodded.
Needless
to say, I was pretty jumpy for the rest of the day. I made it a point to get
lost in the sea of people between classes for fear of seeing Mark Moses again.
I didn’t have any more money, and I didn’t want to think of what he might do
next. A head down the toilet sounded like getting off easy compared to some of
the other stuff he pulled. He was big, ugly and creepy, and I was scared to
death of him.
Chapter Four
Skylar
was always threatening to leave
me behind. Pretty much every morning after breakfast and once we’d arrived at
school, Skylar would say, “If you’re not out in the car by the time I’m ready
to leave, I’ll leave without you.”
On
a couple of occasions I’d told her, “You sound just like Mom,” who I knew she
got the threat from. Telling Skylar she sounded like Mom was a sure fire way to
earn one of her patented glares, but sometimes it was worth it.
The
thing was, though, while I knew Mom would never actually leave me, I
wasn’t so sure the same could be said for Skylar until the day she actually
left without me.
In
her defense, I was pretty sure she didn’t do it on purpose. Or so I hoped
anyway.
Normally,
I was pretty vigilant about making sure I got out to the car as quickly as
possible if I was riding home with Skylar, but on that particular day things
didn’t go as planned.
It
was a week after my run in with Mark Moses, who I’d been sure to avoid like the
plague by blending into the crowds at all times. After the last bell of the
day, I said my goodbyes to Tegan. She had informed me at lunch that she and
Tierney had plans after school, and they wouldn’t be able to give me a ride
home. Because she’d been so tightlipped when I asked about her plans, I
suspected it had something to do with my upcoming birthday, but I didn’t voice
my suspicions and decided to let Tegan think she was being sneaky.
I
was at my locker getting my things together when Annabelle Jansen, the elected
editor of the school newspaper, walked up to me. I had only talked to her a few
times in class, so I didn’t know her well, but she seemed nice enough. I’d
heard Skylar talk about her in the
He
was looking straight at me, and it was as if Tegan had disappeared into the
wall. I opened my mouth to answer, but I realized my mouth had gone dry. That
always happened when I was scared or nervous. I swallowed hard before I said,
“Silly Granger.”
“Silly?
What kind of name is that?” he laughed.
“It’s
short for Cecilia,” I mumbled.
“Oh,
it’s short for Cecilia, is it?” he said quietly, almost friendly. “Well, Cecilia ,
why don’t you tell me how much money you have?”
“What?”
I replied, making a face. I felt Tegan nudge me in the side. No doubt to tell
me to do as he said. “I have five dollars.”
“Is
that all?” he questioned as if I were stupid enough to lie to him.
“Yes.”
“Well,
hand it over,” he said, stretching his big, beefy hands out toward me.
I
recoiled as I dug into my pocket and produced the five-dollar bill Mom gave me
before I left for school that morning.
“Thank
you, Cecilia,” he said with a devious grin as a couple of teachers appeared at
the end of the hallway. “It was a pleasure doing business with you,” he added.
“I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
Then
he walked away with a spring in his step.
“Are
you okay?” Tegan whispered. I turned to her. Her usually tanned face seemed
completely absent of all color, and I was sure mine was quite similar.
I
frowned and looked at my feet. “I’m fine.”
“Maybe
you should go to the office and talk to the principal,” she said.
“What?
No way,” I replied. “You’ve heard what he’s done to other people who ratted him
out.”
“So
what are you going to do then?” Tegan asked.
“I’m
going to go to lunch, and, hopefully, you’ll let me borrow some money so I can
get something to eat.”
Tegan
looked like she wanted to argue, but finally she just nodded.
Needless
to say, I was pretty jumpy for the rest of the day. I made it a point to get
lost in the sea of people between classes for fear of seeing Mark Moses again.
I didn’t have any more money, and I didn’t want to think of what he might do
next. A head down the toilet sounded like getting off easy compared to some of
the other stuff he pulled. He was big, ugly and creepy, and I was scared to
death of him.
Chapter Four
Skylar
was always threatening to leave
me behind. Pretty much every morning after breakfast and once we’d arrived at
school, Skylar would say, “If you’re not out in the car by the time I’m ready
to leave, I’ll leave without you.”
On
a couple of occasions I’d told her, “You sound just like Mom,” who I knew she
got the threat from. Telling Skylar she sounded like Mom was a sure fire way to
earn one of her patented glares, but sometimes it was worth it.
The
thing was, though, while I knew Mom would never actually leave me, I
wasn’t so sure the same could be said for Skylar until the day she actually
left without me.
In
her defense, I was pretty sure she didn’t do it on purpose. Or so I hoped
anyway.
Normally,
I was pretty vigilant about making sure I got out to the car as quickly as
possible if I was riding home with Skylar, but on that particular day things
didn’t go as planned.
It
was a week after my run in with Mark Moses, who I’d been sure to avoid like the
plague by blending into the crowds at all times. After the last bell of the
day, I said my goodbyes to Tegan. She had informed me at lunch that she and
Tierney had plans after school, and they wouldn’t be able to give me a ride
home. Because she’d been so tightlipped when I asked about her plans, I
suspected it had something to do with my upcoming birthday, but I didn’t voice
my suspicions and decided to let Tegan think she was being sneaky.
I
was at my locker getting my things together when Annabelle Jansen, the elected
editor of the school newspaper, walked up to me. I had only talked to her a few
times in class, so I didn’t know her well, but she seemed nice enough. I’d
heard Skylar talk about her in the
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