Read Online The Boy Project by Kami Kinard - Free Book Online Page A

Julie shot down the driveway as soon as she saw me. I practically had to break my neck to stay even ten paces behind her, which was as close as she wanted me to get, evidently, since she never slowed down OR looked back.
    We jogged down to the end of Mill Street, a pretty long street, and then turned the corner onto Hobby Lane. Julie went the length of Hobby Lane, then turned back and did the street again. I just followed along slowly — trying to catch my breath so I could run
with
my sister instead of
after
her. But when we got to the corner of Hobby and Johnstone, she doubled
back
to run down Hobby Lane
again.
    â€œWhat gives?”
I called as she passed me. She didn’t answer. But she really didn’t have to because just about then, Lyle Bernard came out of his garage on a bike.
    I have to admit that seeing something that looks like Lyle makes getting out of bed ridiculously early in the morning almost worth it. That’s because there’s only one word to describe him:
sleek
.
    His tan legs show off long, defined muscles, but not the bulging bodybuilder type.
    His shoulder-length hair is thick, straight, and the color of coffee —without cream. His face is sculpted looking. There isn’t a line in is body that looks out of place. And seeing Lyle today made me realize what a long way those twelve-year-old guys, like his brother Phillip, have to go. Maybe I’m gathering data on the wrong-aged subjects. . . .
    Lyle paused at the end of the driveway to pull his hair back into a short ponytail before putting on his helmet. Julie picked up her pace about then and in a second she was jogging in place in front of him as he fastened his chinstrap.
    I was too far away to hear what they were saying, so I shifted into high gear. I swear I’ve never run so fast in my entire life! My legs felt like they were being sunburned from the inside out. The sting of a new-shoe blister on my right heel made every step excruciating. Sweat poured down my forehead at white-water speed and blurred my vision. But did I let a little major discomfort get in the way of potential eavesdropping? No!
    Finally, I got close enough to hear what they were saying.
    â€œReally?” asked Julie.
    â€œYep,” said Lyle. Then he hopped onto his bike. He looked back over his shoulder and waved as he rolled away.
    Julie turned around and slowly jogged backward, watching him.
    â€œSo — you — like — Lyle?” I panted. It was what Mrs. Hill calls “a rhetorical question.”
    â€œShut up, Kara,” said Julie. She left me in her dust. Again.
    But at least I had a chance to do some unobtrusive observing of Lyle. With Julie talking to him, he didn’t even notice me staring. When I thought about how easy it was for me to stare unnoticed, it was kind of depressing. . . .
    Anyway, there’s no point in doing any future “observations” on Lyle, unless it’s for my own personal enjoyment, because Julie is obviously in love with him. But here’s the data I got on him. Just in case.

At school. Before the first bell.
    I got to school early today and I’m soooo glad I did because I would have missed all of the action if I hadn’t.
    But I didn’t miss Alex Brantley getting out of his dad’s SUV. And I didn’t miss seeing him walk up to Maybelline like he does every morning and I didn’t miss seeing him say something to her that made her start crying, grab The Sponge, and hurry away. And I didn’t miss seeing Alex Brantley turn to Alex Langford, shrug, and start motioning with his hands like he was explaining something. But you really don’t have to explain anything when you’ve said something to the girl you’ve been going with for almost three years that makes her cry, grab her BFF, and run away. Because everyone knows what that means. Alex Brantley just broke up with Maybelline.
First period
    Maybelline
still hasn’t come to class. I bet