18 Things Read Online Free PDF Page A

reached for my glasses from atop my head but realized I didn’t need them.
    Weird. The print describing the suit was really tiny.
I’ll have to Google if vision can improve on its own
. “I think it’s cute. You should get it.”
    “I think I will. So it’s almost time for lunch break. How about we go throw eggs at the guy in the chicken costume dancing like a freak outside Chicken King?”
    Staring at her, I asked, “Am I missing something?”
    “These days? Usually.”
    I threw my wet paper towel at her over the counter, and she laughed. I giggled with her for a few seconds before remembering I didn’t joke anymore.
    “Sean got hired there and starts today. He has to stand on the street corner, waving a sign about the daily specials.”
    I hadn’t seen Sean or Kyle since the last day I attended school. Hanging out with them would make me think about Conner even more, and that just plain hurt too much. “Sounds finger lickin’ good, but I actually need to head over to the hospital for my counseling session.”
    With a down-turned mouth, she asked, “On a Saturday?”
    “Yeah. I missed Tuesday’s appointment because I was studying for finals, so Dr. Judy rescheduled.”
    She stepped around the counter, purse in hand. “See you when you get back then.”

    By the time I reached Dr. Judy’s office on the third floor, I was five minutes late. The secretary informed me Dr. Judy was on an emergency phone session with another patient, then asked if I’d mind waiting for ten minutes.
    I agreed, then plopped down in the waiting room and noticed a guy staring at me. I stared back. He was cute if you liked Zac Efron look-alikes, and okay, I did. Clutching my purse tightly in my lap, I marveled at even noticing another guy. I’d been in a fog for the past eight weeks; I knew that at least. My grief-stricken, guilty self was my new normal. The ordinary world seemed foreign to me now. I didn’t know how to live there without Conner. So, the fact that this attractive guy gazed at me really penetrated me to the core, as if someone unexpectedly threw a bucket of cold water on my face and woke me up.
    He had perfect posture: shoulders back, straight neck, muscular arms rigid at his side. As if to challenge me to a staring contest, he leaned forward, but then he extended a hand and smiled. “I’m Nate Barca.”
    “Olga,” I said, shaking his hand, which felt cold and clammy like a dead person, but my cheeks still burned with mortification. Since Conner was my soul mate, I never expected to find someone else so… hot. I wanted to undo my ponytail to hide my shame, but if I did, it’d look like I was flirting with him.
    Tossing his hair back, which I affectionately noted was the color of coffee, he laughed. “Olga-who-doesn’t-have-a-last-name?”
    I cringed like always. My parents dubbed me Olga to honor my grandmother. I couldn’t go by my middle name—it was more horrible—Gay, in honor of my other grandma, and, to top it all off, the Russian last name proved hard to pronounce or spell. “Worontzoff.”
    Air escaped his lips like a leaky tire. “Quite the name for a pretty seventeen-year-old to have.”
    I nodded. “It’s after my grandmother. How’d you know I was seventeen?”
    Wait—did he just call me pretty?
    “I guessed. I’m seventeen, new in town.” His voice was loud, conveying authority. “Just moved here last week, which sucks. And before you ask, because everyone always wants to ask these things but doesn’t want to pry,” he said the last word in air quotes and rolled his eyes. “I’m in therapy because I drag-raced my way home on the last day of school and ended up flipping my car and flying through the windshield. I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. My parents figured I had a death wish and needed some counseling. Actually, the court demanded the therapy.”
    I couldn’t believe he told me all this so casually, and I wondered if he was this honest with everyone right off the