A Missing Peace Read Online Free PDF

B?”
    He gave a cocky smile. “Lucky guess.”
    Oh, I’m so ready to kick this guy. “Like everything else here, the library sucks. We could do better online. I’ve already pulled anything I thought might be useful.”
    He shrugged. “It’s still a good place to work.”
    What could I say? All-American Boy was right. “Fine.”
    â€œThat’s your favorite word.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “Only in English.”

    Â 
    Caleb
    We sat at one of two tables in the back of the library and worked. Mirriam was still convinced we should do a debate. She made it clear she wanted to see as little of me as possible.
    â€œWhy do you hate me?” I asked.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWhy do you hate me?”
    â€œUgh, you are so annoying.”
    â€œThat’s not an answer.”
    She cocked her head to the left, and I watched her eyes as she processed something. “No, actually I think it is.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
    â€œThat’s my favorite word, remember?”
    â€œWell, I’m borrowing it. A debate might be a good idea.” Although it would make my prom conquest harder if we weren’t spending time together. And I had no intention of paying Josh, or letting the guys pink out my jeep, which I fully intended to have fixed by then. “We’re both stubborn enough. I think we could argue each side well.”
    Her mouth dropped. “ We are not stubborn. You are stubborn.”
    â€œThen what are you?”
    â€œRight.” It was annoying, but hot at the same time. Hot? Again? Seriously, Caleb, get a grip on reality. This chick is not hot.
    But either way, I was beginning to realize I liked hanging out with this girl. She wasn’t like other girls.
    Mirriam took out her class notes and opened one of the books. She started scribbling away, and when she looked up and saw that I wasn’t, she said, “If you don’t have anything to do, I can give you something.”
    God. She was so annoying. I grabbed a book from the pile and set to work. We were doing preliminary research to pinpoint a narrow question for the debate. We had worked long enough that the library would be closing soon, and my stomach growled.
    â€œYou wanna grab a burger?” I was aware of how much like a date that sounded, but it wasn’t. I was starving, and I needed to be working on the whole prom thing, anyway.
    She looked at me with a blank expression. She leaned over and pulled something out of her bag without ever moving her eyes from the book. Then she placed a blue container down in front of me.
    â€œWhat’s this?” I asked.
    â€œMuch better than a burger.”
    I opened it to find some flat bread with a couple of dips that didn’t look appetizing and one big burrito. I grabbed the burrito and went for it. It wasn’t bad. The meat was really tender and it had a good flavor, but it didn’t taste anything like a burrito and had no spice. It was a prime example of why burritos should be left to Texicans. “Not bad, M,” I said. “Not spicy enough, though.”
    For the first time all night, she moved her head out of the book. Her eyes connected with mine, lips turned up in a rare smile, face flushed. Mirriam laughed. “It’s not spicy, because it’s not supposed to be spicy. You infidel, not everything that’s wrapped up is a burrito. Geez.”
    I placed the burrito back in the container. “Did you call me an infidel?”
    Still laughing, the way she smiled at me, I couldn’t be mad. But it was annoying.
    She shrugged. “Don’t be an infidel.”
    â€œWhat if I called you a raghead?”
    â€œYour blonde did.”
    â€œI’m sorry you heard that.”
    â€œIt’s life.”

Chapter 8
    Mirriam
    I didn’t see Caleb come out of his house Saturday. Not that I was looking. Sure, I may have glanced in the direction of his yard through my window