Read Online Never Enough by Denise Jaden - Free Book Online

been here the other night. Marcus standing and shaking her hand. My mom asking if we had any classes together.
    But Marcus looked at the floor as Mom gritted out, “Nice to meet you,” her head flicking between him and me. Then she continued on her path for the kitchen. “Come on, Claire. Help me with dinner.”
    I knew Marcus wasn’t her ideal idea of a BFF, but did she really have to act so pissed off?
    Of course, Marcus wasn’t exactly the ambassador of friendliness either, but that was different. He wasn’t outgoing with anyone. Well, except for me.
    The nanosecond they were out of the room, Marcus jumped up to leave. I followed him to the door.
    “Sorry my mom was so rude,” I said.
    Marcus didn’t even unlace his shoes, just slid them on, crunched down on the heels, and turned for the door. “See you tomorrow,” he muttered.
    I barely had the door open for him when he pushed his way through it. I thought about watching him walk down the street, but he seemed to want some privacy. Besides, I was too mad at Mom to just stand there.
    I shut the door and marched for the kitchen. How could she do that? It’s not like I had friends to spare, or anything. I was ready to give her a piece of my mind, but before I reached the door Claire’s voice trilled through from the other side.
    “I wouldn’t worry about them, Mom. Loey just had a fight with her friends and she’s using him to hang out with in the meantime.”
    Um, what ?!
    I stopped in place and stared at the door. I figured Claire would be able to see what a great guy Marcus is. How he’s so much better of a friend for me than Shayleen. Then again, Claire had a “popular” brain, and probably thought the same way as the guys who teased Marcus and pushed him up against his locker.
    I couldn’t believe how much my opinion of Claire was changing. I’d always looked up to my sister. Always.
    But for the first time, I thought of Claire as not only different from me, but as one of them —the enemy of us .

CHAPTER TEN
     
    I checked out the darkroom briefly after art class the next day and found a cupboard full of solutions and supplies. Who knew how old they were, but they would at least give me a start. Now all I had to do was get Marcus to help me with the research on how to use them.
    “I swear, my parents are working until, like, ten tonight,” I told him after last period. “My sister’s almost never there either, but even if she is, trust me, she won’t want anything to do with us.”
    Marcus shrugged like he didn’t really want to, so I said, “Or we could go to your place.”
    “Your place is fine,” he said quickly. He must have felt mysurprise, because he added, “It’s just—parents don’t usually like me.”
    “My mom doesn’t like anyone, including me, after arguing with old people all day. It’s totally not you,” I told him as we headed down the hall for the outside doors. It was partially a lie. If Marcus was friendly and outgoing like Josh, Mom would no doubt be a little warmer.
    To change the subject, I explained my idea to Marcus. “It won’t cost anything for developing if we do it ourselves,” I said, after telling him about the darkroom. “So we wouldn’t have to talk about our plans with Mr. Benson until we have something to show him.”
    Marcus’s brow crinkled. “We’re talking about a lot of pictures, Loann. And it’s not like either of us have done this before.”
    Seeing how unsure Marcus was, my confidence wavered. But we talked it over, and finally decided to research it before we made a decision.
    Marcus’s shoulders tensed when we got to my front door. We climbed the stairs toward the computer room. Before hitting the top landing, I heard Claire pecking away at the keyboard.
    I looked at my watch. “What day is it?”
    “Tuesday,” Marcus said, in an uncomfortable whisper. He took a step back down the stairs.
    Great. The one day my sister had free from her many activities. But I didn’t want