Read Online The Outsider by Melinda Metz - Free Book Online

— but she hoped maybe if she ignored Kyle, he’d just go away.
    â€œAm I missing something? Are you, like, the hottest girl in school? What makes you think you’re so special?” Kyle demanded.
    Maria nudged Liz. She’s probably madder than I am, Liz thought.
    â€œKyle, get a clue, get some therapy, get a life,” Liz said. “Just get over it.”
    Maria nudged Liz again. “Your shirt,” she whispered.
    Liz glanced down and saw that her baby tee had ridden up — revealing one of the silver handprints on her stomach. When I reached for the pork rind, she thought.
    Did Kyle notice? Probably not, she decided. The prints had begun to fade, and Kyle was pretty distracted by the sound of his own voice. Liz slid the shirt back down, trying to make the movement look casual.
    â€œYou should get rid of your attitude,” Kyle was saying. “You — ”
    â€œThat’s it, Valenti,” Alex interrupted. “Get lost.” Kyle pushed himself to his feet and stared down at Alex. “What — are you going to make me?” Kyle demanded.
    Alex stood up and faced off with him. Alex was shorter than Kyle, and he probably weighed twenty-five pounds less. But he didn’t back down. He took a step closer.
    Wonderful, Liz thought, rolling her eyes. Now I have to be nice to Kyle so that he doesn’t kill Alex.
    â€œLook, Kyle,” she said in her sweetest voice. “I didn’t mean to — ”
    â€œForget it, okay? Don’t even bother.” Kyle moved away from Alex and glanced around the quad. He jerked his chin toward Isabel Evans. “Who cares about you? If
she
didn’t want to go out with me, then I’d have to be upset.” He stalked off.
    Alex sat back down. “What a total and complete jerk.”
    â€œYeah, Liz is much, much prettier than Isabel,” Maria added.
    Liz cracked up. “I don’t think that’s what he meant,” she told Maria.
    Maria turned to Alex. “Oh, come on. Liz is way more gorgeous than Isabel, right?”
    â€œDifferent types,” Alex muttered.
    â€œYeah. Liz treats guys like human beings. Isabel treats guys like dirt,” Maria answered. “I don’t know why any guy would want to go out with her.”
    Alex looked over at Isabel. “Yeah. Blond hair, blue eyes, curvy body. Who would want to get close to that?”
    Maria whacked him on the shoulder. “I will never understand guys. Just because you like how she looks, you don’t care that she has the personality of a taxidermist.”
    â€œI had a dream about her the other night, and it had nothing to do with dead animals,” Alex protested.
    â€œIt’s hard to believe she and Max are brother and sister,” Liz said. “I mean, yeah, they have the same hair and eyes.”
    â€œBut not the same curvy body,” Alex joked.
    Liz ignored him. “But Max’s personality is totally different. Max is nice to
everyone.”
    Maria grabbed Liz by the arm. “I just realized. Isabel is Max’s sister. Does that mean she’s also a — rdquo;
    Liz slapped her hand over Maria’s mouth. She couldn’t believe Maria had almost blurted out Max’s secret. She was going to have to sit her down and remind her how serious it would be for Max if the truth about him got out.
    â€œA what?” Alex asked.
    â€œOh no,” Liz said. “Don’t try to weasel out of it. You have to tell us your dream. You brought it up — that means you have to tell.”
    Maria pulled Liz’s hand off her mouth. She gave Liz a little nod to show she understood. “Yeah. I’ll analyze it for you. I’ve read every dream book there is.”
    â€œThere’s not much to analyze,” Alex said.
    Another save by Liz Ortecho, Liz thought. She glanced over at Isabel Evans. She looked so, well, normal. But Maria had a good point.
Could
Isabel be an alien, too? She must