Читать книгу Past Midnight - Mara Purnhagen - Страница 12

Avery wasn’t kidding when she said seven-thirty sharp. I was just peeling a banana when I heard two quick honks of a car in the driveway. I glanced at the kitchen clock: 7:29.

“That’s my cue,” I said to Mom. She was still in her bathrobe, sitting at the kitchen counter and sipping a cup of coffee.

“Good luck, hon. Have a great day.”

I gathered up my backpack and left the house just as Avery honked once more. I slid into the passenger seat and smiled.

“A little impatient, aren’t we?”

She pulled out of the driveway. “Sorry. I hate being late, is all.”

I settled into my seat. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

My parents and I had driven past the school once, and it was no more than ten minutes from our house. Even if there was morning traffic, we would get to school with about half an hour to spare.

“You still need to pick up your schedule,” Avery reminded me. She had received hers in the mail the week before, but since I registered so late, I had to stop by the main office to pick up mine.

Avery chatted about some of her friends. “They’re really nice,” she said. “You’ll like them.”

“Are they all cheerleaders?”

She glanced at me. “Yes. But don’t worry. We’re not cliquey or snobby or anything. You’ll fit right in.”

“So they won’t try to recruit me? I’m highly uncoordinated. I can barely clap in rhythm.”

Avery grinned. “You may want to work on that. But no recruiting, I promise. We will not try to bring you over to the dark side.”

I noticed that, once again, we were taking a shortcut that was anything but short. In fact, it seemed like Avery never took the main road if she could avoid it, even if it meant driving miles out of her way. I asked her about it once after we took the long way to pick up medicine from Dante’s vet.

“I don’t like heavy traffic,” she had said with a shrug. “And I want to be careful with my new car.”

We arrived at school, and Avery turned into the section reserved for seniors. About half a dozen girls stood in one corner. When they saw Avery’s car, they all waved happily, then parted like a wave. They had been blocking off a specific space, I realized, to make sure that no one else could park there.

We stepped out of the car and were greeted by a chorus of hellos. Some of the girls offered Avery quick hugs. They complimented her clothes and said how great it was to see her. I hung back, waiting to be introduced.

“This is Charlotte,” Avery said finally. “She just moved here from Charleston.”

The girls smiled and looked at me closely. I smiled in return, suddenly self-conscious. They were sizing me up, I thought, judging whether or not I would be accepted into their circle. I was sure Avery had told them about me, but how much?

“Do you cheer?” asked one. I wasn’t sure who had spoken. All the girls had long, light-colored hair and perfect tans.

“Uh, no. Sorry, I don’t cheer.”

Avery laughed. “But we’ll overlook that one little personality flaw, won’t we?” she asked, and the other girls giggled at the joke.

“Any friend of Avery’s is a friend of ours,” said a girl to my left, and the others nodded and murmured their agreement. I relaxed a little. Avery suggested we go to the main office to pick up my class schedule, and we all walked as one big group across the parking lot and into the school.

We attracted more than a little attention as we made our way through the wide, crowded hallways. The girls pointed out to me where the cafeteria was and chatted about who they had for English and math. When we got to the office, they formed a semicircle behind me as I waited for the secretary to locate my schedule.

“Your locker number and combination are here,” said the frowning woman as she pointed to the bottom of my schedule. Then she noticed Avery, and something in her face softened.

“How are you, dear?” she asked. Genuine concern filled her voice.

“Fine, thanks,” Avery replied brightly. Then she nudged me and we left.

The girls passed around my schedule, comparing it with their own. “She’s in B lunch!” exclaimed one.

Avery smiled. “That means we all have lunch together.”

When we reached the senior hallway, Avery checked my locker number. “Callie, would you mind showing Charlotte to her locker?”

The tallest girl in the group reached for my schedule. She looked down at the number, then up at Avery. Something passed between them, but I wasn’t sure what it was. “Of course,” she said. “We’ll catch up with you later.”