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"Maggie Mae, you look beautiful!" Mrs Carpenter said as I walked into the living roo "Red suits you Makes your black hair look thick and glossy"

"Thanks," I answered, grinning I put on rabbed

"Your lunch," she said "I apologize again for forgetting to send you with so to eat yesterday I hope you like peanut butter"

"Sounds good" Peanut butter was definitely not ars can’t be choosers

I walked the half roaned I was the oldest student there Probably the only senior who had to ride the bus to school The students filed onto the waiting bus I followed and sat in an empty seat

Nervous jitters zipped around inmyself that since I looked nice and my hair was clean and dry, today would be better than yesterday

I h the busy hallsat the locker rooirls on the track tea me warily They dressed in silence and hurried out before I had , Miss Mortensen," Coach called as I strode out onto the track "Why don’t you go and warm up with the other kids"

I nodded and headed toward the bleachers, studying my trackon the bleacher, I leaned over my shin and placed my hands to either side of my shoe With my eyes closed, I breathed out and deepened the stretch I’d never ood it felt, ale of a cat stretching its long, flexible body jumped into my head My eyes popped open and I backed a step away from the bleachers

"Did you pull asun glea off his black hair He s intelligent to say A whistle blew, saving irls line up for hurdles," Coach called

I stepped past Bridger and trotted over to the start line with the other girls Three of us were seniors, the fourth a junior Esponita was a short, irl; Danni Willia as a horse’s; and the third girl, short and wiry-thin like she didn’t eat enough, was Ginger, a junior from my math class

The whistle screeched and I was off The three other girls were left in my dust, but as I reached the hurdles, the noise of feet slapping the ground and heavy breathing was creeping up behind ht beside e I looked forward again and focused, pushing o faster, run harder, juan to pull ahead of Danni, gliding over each hurdle But then so perfectly, down to the tiniest detail, as if looking at the world through awhite paint on the hurdles, a grain of sand on the track, an ant carrying a crued I could hear the ticking of Coach’s stopwatch--fro heart almost matched my own In fact, I could hear the heartbeats of everyone on the field, an to grow, pricking sharp against my palms I panicked Midleap over a hurdle I froze and h the air before crashing to a painful, bloody stop

Instantly, my claws shrank back into short, blunt nails,but ainst pain Fear was holdinghad never happened tothe daytiht into a pair of hazel eyes, brownish with a circle of green around the pupil

"Are you hurt?" Ginger asked She touched ers felt like acid

"You have road rash on your chin," she explained, showing ie Mae! Are you hurt?" Coach yelled as he ran across the football field I rolled onto roaned and fell back to the track My paler than huspecial attention toif it hurt

"I’ the hole in my new track pants and the bloody knee beneath

"Good Scratches won’t slow you down But these ankles are a secret weapon I’lad they survived the fall unscathed O’Connell," Coach barked

I looked at Bridger in time to see the sie to the nurse’s office"

Bridger rolled his eyes, but ca me up by my wrists

He strode across the field I followed a shaky pace behind, and he neither looked at le word until we entered the school Inside, he slowed his pace and eyed my chin

"So, why’d you freak out like that?" he asked

"What are you talking about?"

"Right before you tripped on the hurdle, you freaked"

I ran lad the skin around the theh"

"Does your face hurt?"