Read Online Never Enough by Denise Jaden - Free Book Online Page A

Marcus rushing off. “No biggie,” I told him. “We’ll just ask Claire if we can use the computer for a few minutes.”
    I took the rest of the stairs two at a time.
    “Can we get on there for a bit?” I asked.
    Claire grabbed a paper bag from beside her and crumpled it up, then turned back to the computer and chewed something before she cleared her throat. “I’m busy. Can’t you use it later?”
    “Oh, come on, Claire. You’re just on G-chat. We both know you’ll be on there for hours.”
    “And you won’t?” She tilted her head until her hair fell like a barrier between us. Like she was trying to get her hair to have the last word in this conversation.
    “We just need it for a bit of . . . homework.” I put my books down, accidentally knocking her brown crumpled bag to the floor.
    “Fine.” She hit the X at the top of the screen, grabbed her trash so quickly I was sure the bag must be on fire, and marched out of the room, not even looking at Marcus as she went.
    I wondered what she needed to hide in the bag. Did she think I would take it from her? Marcus pulled up a chair beside me, seemingly much more relaxed, which brought me back to the moment.
    I stared at the screen, not knowing where to start, but I knew I had to put up a confident front. I Googled “darkroom,” which garnered more than a million entries, everything from electrical advice to children’s slumber parties. Marcus reached past me and added the word “photography.” I felt the heat of his arm hovering in front of me until he pulled back. Our search results were slightly more manageable at twenty thousand.
    Marcus pointed to one called “Darkroom Basics.”
    I clicked on it and a splash screen for Kettleton College in Chicago appeared. The screen morphed into one of black text, an article with the heading “Introduction to the Darkroom.” Underneath that, a few lines advertised the college’s photography program. I skimmed over the ad and went straight for the information I needed. Scrolling down, I read about chemical mixing, light, temperature, and resin-coated and fiber-based papers. More than anything, I was starting to grasp how much there was to learn.
    Since Marcus seemed like the computer whiz out of the two of us, we switched spots. He printed off some pages, and I leafed through them, circling things I thought were important while he continued searching. I figured if I could make the amount we had to learn appear smaller somehow, that could only be good.
    The next thing I knew, Claire tapped her foot in the doorway.“I thought you weren’t going to be long, Loey. It’s been more than an hour. I need to get back on there, and you know you’re not supposed to have boys upstairs.”
    I couldn’t believe my ears. Did she really just say that?
    “Oh, like you’ve never had boys upstairs,” I snapped back. Her face went beet-red, and I wondered exactly how many of Mom and Dad’s “boys rules” she had broken. The idea made me more angry than giddy or jealous. “Don’t worry. We’ll go downstairs and work, since we have nothing to hide.”
    I knew it was a bitchy thing to say, but she’d really embarrassed me. She glared, but didn’t say anything back, and she was in my warm chair with her G-chat screen open before Marcus and I reached the door.
    *   *   *
     
    A couple of students sat at a side table working on art projects when we arrived after school the following day. Thankfully Mr. Dewdney remembered why I was there.
    He opened the door at the back of his classroom for us. “Now I expect you both to keep this room clean.”
    I scanned the messy storage area. “Um, of course.”
    “Obviously you know what to use for light and temperature. The controls are here.” He motioned to some dials on the wall.
    I nodded, trying to don my most confident face.
    I thanked him and let Marcus into the small room first,surprised when Mr. Dewdney didn’t made a big deal about me being alone with Marcus the