After Dakota Read Online Free PDF

her reading glasses and is outlining everything a student can do to lose points in her class that the girl next to Cameron whispers, “I feel enlightened already.” The accent (British or Australian) makes him look over, and looking over makes his heart stop.
    Dakota sits next to him. She wears a white fuzzy sweater, plaid skirt, black fishnet leggings. How is she here? Has he gone mad?
    It takes him staring awkwardly for five seconds, or maybe thirty, to see just enough subtle differences – eyebrow color, mouth shape – that it’s not her. He could have skipped the obviousness and simply glanced sideways at her binder, where Rosemary Vickers is written in large cursive on the front. An unfamiliar name from his history here at school.
    “…and let me tell you, there is no surer way to incur my wrath,” Mrs. Gordon says. Cameron tries to pay attention, despite the fact that a foxy ghost hovers in his peripheral vision.

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    Third Period Prep: Bryce. He sits in the Commons, the large central room painted in red and white, ringed with padded seating. The announcements come over the loudspeaker: yearbook pictures, schedule changes. Then Principal Rodriguez’s voice. “As some of you may know, we lost a member of our school family recently when Dakota Vanzant, class of 1982, passed away tragically. Our motto here is, ‘Once a Thunderbird, always a Thunderbird.’ In that spirit, I’d like to ask everyone to take a moment of silence.” Twenty seconds later, by the huge clock over Bryce’s head, Rodriguez says, “Thank you.”
    Bryce wonders if the principal has had to say those words before. Or if he’ll have to say them again. When he’ll have to say them again.
    Rebecca Hall enters and sits against the far wall. She’s always been known as Reblecha (usually behind her back). The acne beard, the big nose, the asymmetrical eyes – her whole face looks like it was put together in random, Mrs. Potato Head-style. The weirdest part about her, though, is her sister, Natalie, who’s a stone cold fox. Everyone assumes Reblecha is adopted, because how could the same genes have produced both girls?
    “Hi, Bryce,” she says and waves. He waves back quickly before anyone important walks past and sees. He zips up his backpack and leaves, in case she’s thinking of sitting next to him.

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    Fourth Period World Affairs: Claire. Everyone knows that Neal Hagen migrates to a summer home when school’s over, for the purpose of surfing. Everyone knows he drives the cool VW van that graduating seniors get to autograph. And of course he’s the only male teacher on campus with a ponytail.
    To Claire, he’s a hippie whose crowded classroom is decorated with a surfboard, various surfing and skateboarding photos, and a poster from the Olympics showing two men with their fists raised in the Black Power salute. She ends up sitting in the far back corner of the room.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, to understand our world, you need knowledge of our world,” Mr. Hagen says from the podium after taking roll. “So, to that end, we’ll be having…” With great flourish, he tears down the blank sheet of butcher paper on the wall behind him. Beneath it waits a large world map, with the names of countries all covered. “…a geography bee!” A groan whips through the room.
    Claire can’t believe this; it’s like her mom called the school and arranged for them to schedule something easy for her, to make up for not going to Sandia. Her dad used to be a Continental Airlines pilot, and whenever he came home from a trip, he would sit down with her, Bryce, and a world map to mark his route.
    He presented them with trinkets – the geisha doll, the colorful money, exotic liquor bottles like a wizard’s potions for himself – from far corners of the globe. He taught them Konnichiwa and Bonjour and Goddag .
    Claire told him that one day she would go to all the places he’d been, and even more. Then he retired to work as “a desk jockey” at