Read Online Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy - Free Book Online Page B

doom. But I don’t really remember them. All I remember are the last words he saidas I climbed out of the car. Angelina had already gotten out and was doing some weird arm stretches near the trunk.
    “She’s a little different,” my dad said. “Watch out for her. Protect her. She’s your flesh and blood.”
    I glanced at her in her jacket. Once she took it off and revealed her inside-out wolf T-shirt I didn’t know how I could protect her.
    “Everyone is going to see she’s a total geek,” I whispered. “I
really
hate this.”
    My dad nodded. “I like your attitude. Angelina is totally neat. And everyone will see how
really
great she is!”
    He had to be kidding. But he didn’t look like he was kidding. Had he misheard me? How could he confuse “I
really
hate this” with “how
really
great she is”? How could he think I thought that Angelina was “neat”? I wanted to correct him, but my father looked incredibly serious and ridiculously proud of me. “Not everybody who looks at Angelina sees what we see. You’re an impressive kid. I’m glad you’re mine.”
    I could not believe my morning. My dad blinked at me very lovingly and it looked as if he was about to cry. In the parking lot! So I said what I thought I needed to say to make him stop. “Thanks. I’ll make sure Angelina has an awesome day.”
    Then I grabbed Angelina by the arm and sped her up the walkway toward my school’s front doors.
    “You are so eager to learn!” she said.
    “We need to get to the bathroom,” I said under my breath. I knew what I had to do.
    We got to the bathroom and I made Angelina enter the same stall as me.
    “Are you sick?” she asked.
    I didn’t quite know how to answer that. So I unleashed a flood of honesty. “Angelina, if you wear that shirt, you won’t make a single friend. People will brand you a major loser and maybe even throw food at you in the cafeteria. They usually serve breadsticks on pizza Monday, and those are pretty easy to aim. Please. Please. Please. I’m class captain. I can’t have a loser for a cousin. Please.”
    She looked at me with big, surprised eyes. “But it’s the only shirt I have with me.”
    This was a problem. Why hadn’t I thought to bring my periwinkle shirt as a spare? Angelina reached for the door.
    “No,” I said.
    She stopped. “What?” she asked.
    I knew what I needed to do.
    I pulled off my pink bohemian tunic and pushed it into Angelina’s stomach. I would wear her wolf shirt. Just like my father wanted, I would protect her. I, Lane Cisco, would look like the geek.
    As I stood in my bra, dreading the morning bell, I realized this was the most vulnerable I’d ever felt. “Give me your shirt.”
    “All right. If you insist,” she said.
    I knew I was making a mistake the second I slid that T-shirt over my head. I didn’t even bother putting it on inside out. “Can I borrow your jacket too?” I asked. I slipped on her jacket right away and zipped it up so that nobodywould see I was wearing a glowing wolf head. Once Angelina had put on my pink shirt she looked cute and normal. It was crazy how much one piece of clothing could transform this girl.
    “Time for Mr. Guzman’s class,” I said, tugging on her arm a little.
    But she didn’t follow me. “I need to fix my hair,” she said.
    That was a bad idea. Her hair looked good.
    “We don’t want to be late,” I said. I still had to find Leslie and drop off my cookies.
    “But wearing your shirt has changed my look. I need to adjust my hair.”
    This was nuts. The last thing Angelina needed to do was adjust the part of her that looked shiny, healthy, and normal.
    “I’ll meet you in class,” she said.
    What? What? What?
    “No way!” I said. “It’s my job to take you there.”
    Then her voice got stern. “If I can make it from Eagle River to Santa Fe, I can make it down the hallway to Mr. Guzman’s class.”
    Wow. My cousin really lacked gratitude.
    “Fine,” I said. “I sit in the third