Read Online Rules Of Attraction by Simone Elkeles - Free Book Online Page A

laughter erupts from one girl. I know who it is before I
    look up.
    “Madison, I don’t find this funny. Be respectful to your classmate,”
    Mr. Furie says, then adds, “That’s not a request. That’s an order.”
    Madison puts her hand over her mouth. “I’m good,” she says
    through her fingers.
    “You’d better be,” Mr. Furie says in his stern voice. “Go ahead,
    Kiara. Continue.”
    Okay. I can do this. If I can talk to Tuck and not stutter, maybe I
    should just pretend I’m talking to Tuck. I look up at my best friend. He
    gives me a small wave of encouragement from his seat in the back of
    the room.
    “. . . people on reality shows are celebrities . . .” I pause and take a
    deep breath, then continue. I can do this. I can do this. “. . . because we
    let the m-m-media—”
    Another burst of laughter echoes in the room, this time from both
    Lacey and Madison.
    “Miss Stone and Miss Goebbert!” Mr. Furie points toward the door.
    “Out of my class.”
    “You’re not serious,” Madison argues.
    “I’ve never been more serious. And I’m also giving you and Miss
    Goebbert three days of after-school detention starting today.”
    “Don’t do that,” I whisper to Mr. Furie, hoping no one else can hear
    me. “Please don’t do that.”
    Madison gets a shocked look on her face. “You’re giving us
    detentions for laughing? Come on, Mr. Furie. That’s not fair.”
    “Tell it to Principal House if you have a problem with my
    punishment.” Mr. Furie opens the top drawer of his desk and pulls out
    two blue detention slips. He fills out both and motions for Madison and
    Lacey to come get them.
    Both girls shoot me a furious look. Oh, no, this is not good. Now I’m
    on Madison’s radar, and I don’t know if there’s any way I can get off it.
    When he hands them the blue slips, Madison shoves hers in her
    purse. “I can’t have detention after school. I have to work at my mom’s
    boutique.”
    “You should have thought about that before you disrupted my class.
    Now, both of you, apologize to Kiara,” our teacher orders.
    “That’s okay,” I mumble. “You d-d-don’t have to.”
    “Oh, I insist. We’re s-s-s-s-sorry,” Madison says, and suddenly
    Madison and Lacey start giggling again. Even after they hurry out the
    door, I can hear their laughter echoing as they walk down the hall.
    “I apologize on their behalf for their inappropriate behavior,
    Kiara,” Mr. Furie says. “Would you still like to share your paper?”
    I shake my head and he sighs, but he doesn’t argue when I return
    to my desk. I wish the bell would ring so I could go to the girls’
    bathroom and hide. I’m so mad at myself for letting them affect me.
    For the next twenty-five minutes, Mr. Furie calls on other students
    to read their persuasion papers. I keep looking up at the clock, praying
    for the minutes to go by faster. It’s hard holding back tears that are
    threatening to pour out any minute. As soon as the bell rings, I grab my
    books and practically sprint out of class. Mr. Furie calls my name, but I
    pretend not to hear him.
    “Kiara!” Tuck says, grabbing my elbow and spinning me around.
    A stupid tear falls down my face. “I want to be alone,” I choke out,
    then run down the hall. At the end of the corridor, there are stairs
    that lead to a vacant locker room rival teams use during tournaments.
    Nobody uses it during the day, and just the thought of being alone
    where I don’t have to put on a fake smile sounds like heaven right now.
    I’m aware I’ll be late for study hall, but Mrs. Hadden doesn’t usually
    take attendance and even if she does, I don’t care. I don’t want
    everyone to see me an emotional mess.
    I push open the locker room door and sink onto one of the benches.
    All the energy I used during the last half of English class to stop
    myself from losing it rushes out of me. I wish I could be stronger and
    not care what people think, but I do. I’m not strong like Tuck. I’m