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“Here,” he said, taking her arm At his touch, she felt a little jolt, like an electrical charge

He should haveher ar down at her His smile faded She couldn’t breathe all of a sudden; the whole world drained away until only his face was left, only his areen eyes

He started to say so so fast, she couldn’t hear his words, and then he was being pulled away froirl in a skirt that was smaller than a dinner napkin

Lexi stayed aout of breath Then she reirl in the bedazzled pink sweatshirt Tucking her chin into her chest, she bolted forward, made her way to a seat in the back row She slid onto its slick surface just as the bell rang

As the teacher droned on about the early days of Seattle, Lexi replayed that , the way he’d touched her, but she couldn’t let it go What had he been going to say to her?

When the class ended, she dared to look at hi the girl in the miniskirt said At Lexi’s desk, he paused, looked down at her, although he didn’t s

Of course he didn’t stop She rose slowly and walked to the door For the rest of the h the crowded halls, but by noon, she was lagging, and the worst was yet to come

Lunch in a new school was hell You never kneas in and as out, and the whole social order could be upset if you dared to sit where you weren’t supposed to

At the door to the cafeteria, Lexi paused Just the idea of walking in there, being scrutinized and judged, was er than that, but Mr Popular had unbalanced her somehow, made her want the impossible, and she knew firsthand hoaylaid one could be by longing It was a waste of ti She dug through her backpack, found the lunch Eva had packed for her and a well-read copy of Jane Eyre Some kids had stuffed animals or special childhood blankets Lexi had Jane

She walked idly through ca for a place to sit down and read while she ate her lunch Across the caular patch of grass, but it wasn’t the tree that caught her attention It was the girl sitting cross-legged on the grass beneath its green canopy, hunched over a book Her blond hair was divided into a pair of loosely twined braids Dressed in a delicate pink tulle skirt, a black tank top, and black high-tops, she definitely made a statement

It was a statement Lexi understood: I’m not like you I don’t need you

Lexi had spent a few years dressed the same way herself, back when she hadn’t wanted toasked where she lived or what her momma was like

She took a deep breath and walked toward the girl When she drew near, Lexi paused She wanted to say the right thing, but now that she was here, she didn’t knohat that would be

The girl looked up fro, with acne-blistered skin and green eyes that were rihtly colored rubber bands accented her braces

“Hey,” Lexi said