Read Online League of Strays by L. B. Schulman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: L. B. Schulman
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coaster with no way to slow down.
Nora took a thick black marker off a cluttered desk and flicked the top across the room. On the whiteboard, she scrawled, MA DAMN IS A BITCH!
My mouth dropped open. For my seventh-grade science project, I’d analyzed the effectiveness of various solvents in removing different kinds of ink stains. Nothing had worked on a Sharpie. How much would it cost to replace a whiteboard, anyway? Five hundred? A thousand? Money the school didn’t have.
Kade was standing under the doorjamb. I saw him wink at Nora. She leaned against the whiteboard, ankles crossed, and smiled.
Zoe found a penknife in one of the desk drawers and was systematically stabbing some footballs from the supply closet. When she was done mutilating them, she pressed her clunkyblack boots down until they each exhaled a last breath. Then she flung the rubber pancakes across the room. They whizzed by Richie’s head like flying saucers.
As I watched them, Kade snuck up behind me, his body flush against my backside. Manipulating my hands, he plunged them into the recycling bin and tossed the shredded paper into the air. I felt like a rag doll.
Richie launched into “Auld Lang Syne” while confetti streamed down on our heads. After the first line, he la-la-la’d through the rest.
“What a lame song,” Zoe said.
“New year, new start.” Nora glowed. I’d never seen her look so happy.
“It’s February already,” I said.
Nora grabbed a book and threw it at me. I ducked.
Techniques for Better Volleyball
slammed against the rear window and slid to the floor.
“You’re not even strong enough to crack a window,” Zoe teased.
“I am!” Richie hollered. He lifted a postage meter over his head and hurled it across the room. The machine shattered on impact, creating a spiderweb of cracks in the glass. With a light tap from Kade’s fist, the pane crashed to the ground. Glass skittered across the floor.
I froze, fascinated and horrified at the same time. My eyes swept over the room, cataloging the damage. It looked like a twister had swallowed everything up, then spit it back out. Hockey sticks snapped in two. A punctured exercise ball droopedover the arm of an office chair. A torn soccer uniform hung from a coat hook like a flag of defeat.
I picked up a small trophy, a sixth-place finish for our less-than-stellar swim team. My eyes drifted up to find Kade in front of me. I started to shake my head, or maybe I imagined I did. No, I didn’t do this. I didn’t do any of this. But I stopped, trapped in Kade’s smile. My arm pulled back and suddenly the trophy was released, flying through the air. It hit a vase of dying flowers, which seemed to tumble in slow motion to the floor. The glass split open and water seeped out into a heart-shaped puddle.
Kade leaned in. “Nice job, Charlie.”
I smiled back, relishing the tickle of his breath on my ear.
Zoe waved a navy-blue binder over her head. “Hey, everyone, look at this!”
Nora glanced at the dates on the cover. “Oh my God, this thing goes back three years!” She yanked it from Zoe’s hands. After a quick check, she began ripping out pages from the middle.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Kade hissed.
The others stopped, mid-destruction.
“When they look at the torn pages, the suspect list will go from a few hundred to twenty-five,” Kade said. “All they have to do is check out the C’s and below, and your name will be on a short list.”
Nora fanned an arm across the room. “You think someone’s going to notice a few missing pages in all this mess?”
“We can’t leave any clues.” Kade’s voice was steely.
“Come on, guys. It’s OK,” Richie said, palms up.
“Why don’t you just destroy the whole book?” Zoe asked.
Kade stepped toward Nora, holding out a hand in what I assumed was a peace offering. She turned her back to him.
Zoe pulled a lighter out of her purse. The wavy blue flame danced under the grade book. A minute later, smoke
Nora took a thick black marker off a cluttered desk and flicked the top across the room. On the whiteboard, she scrawled, MA DAMN IS A BITCH!
My mouth dropped open. For my seventh-grade science project, I’d analyzed the effectiveness of various solvents in removing different kinds of ink stains. Nothing had worked on a Sharpie. How much would it cost to replace a whiteboard, anyway? Five hundred? A thousand? Money the school didn’t have.
Kade was standing under the doorjamb. I saw him wink at Nora. She leaned against the whiteboard, ankles crossed, and smiled.
Zoe found a penknife in one of the desk drawers and was systematically stabbing some footballs from the supply closet. When she was done mutilating them, she pressed her clunkyblack boots down until they each exhaled a last breath. Then she flung the rubber pancakes across the room. They whizzed by Richie’s head like flying saucers.
As I watched them, Kade snuck up behind me, his body flush against my backside. Manipulating my hands, he plunged them into the recycling bin and tossed the shredded paper into the air. I felt like a rag doll.
Richie launched into “Auld Lang Syne” while confetti streamed down on our heads. After the first line, he la-la-la’d through the rest.
“What a lame song,” Zoe said.
“New year, new start.” Nora glowed. I’d never seen her look so happy.
“It’s February already,” I said.
Nora grabbed a book and threw it at me. I ducked.
Techniques for Better Volleyball
slammed against the rear window and slid to the floor.
“You’re not even strong enough to crack a window,” Zoe teased.
“I am!” Richie hollered. He lifted a postage meter over his head and hurled it across the room. The machine shattered on impact, creating a spiderweb of cracks in the glass. With a light tap from Kade’s fist, the pane crashed to the ground. Glass skittered across the floor.
I froze, fascinated and horrified at the same time. My eyes swept over the room, cataloging the damage. It looked like a twister had swallowed everything up, then spit it back out. Hockey sticks snapped in two. A punctured exercise ball droopedover the arm of an office chair. A torn soccer uniform hung from a coat hook like a flag of defeat.
I picked up a small trophy, a sixth-place finish for our less-than-stellar swim team. My eyes drifted up to find Kade in front of me. I started to shake my head, or maybe I imagined I did. No, I didn’t do this. I didn’t do any of this. But I stopped, trapped in Kade’s smile. My arm pulled back and suddenly the trophy was released, flying through the air. It hit a vase of dying flowers, which seemed to tumble in slow motion to the floor. The glass split open and water seeped out into a heart-shaped puddle.
Kade leaned in. “Nice job, Charlie.”
I smiled back, relishing the tickle of his breath on my ear.
Zoe waved a navy-blue binder over her head. “Hey, everyone, look at this!”
Nora glanced at the dates on the cover. “Oh my God, this thing goes back three years!” She yanked it from Zoe’s hands. After a quick check, she began ripping out pages from the middle.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Kade hissed.
The others stopped, mid-destruction.
“When they look at the torn pages, the suspect list will go from a few hundred to twenty-five,” Kade said. “All they have to do is check out the C’s and below, and your name will be on a short list.”
Nora fanned an arm across the room. “You think someone’s going to notice a few missing pages in all this mess?”
“We can’t leave any clues.” Kade’s voice was steely.
“Come on, guys. It’s OK,” Richie said, palms up.
“Why don’t you just destroy the whole book?” Zoe asked.
Kade stepped toward Nora, holding out a hand in what I assumed was a peace offering. She turned her back to him.
Zoe pulled a lighter out of her purse. The wavy blue flame danced under the grade book. A minute later, smoke
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