Against All Odds Read Online Free PDF Page A

up in a sloppy bun and I’m pretty sure bags are starting to form under my eyes. This could have something to do with the fact that I barely slept last night, not to mention the fact that I haven’t had a chance to finish a full cup of coffee in the last six hours.
    “Um,” I say staring at him on the other side of my car, “don’t you want to take your own car?”
    He shrugs. “Not really.”
    What is it with this kid? Can’t he take a hint?
    “But you have practice after school,” I point out.
    “But you have to stay after for newspaper,” he points out, jiggling the handle on the car door like he’s getting impatient.
    What does the kid have a book on my life or something? I don’t feel like driving him. I’ve already decided that I don’t want to be around him at all. I’m about to tell him this when I glance up and see my dad’s face peering at us through the kitchen window. I sigh and hit the unlock button on my car.
    Once we’re in the car I flip the radio on and turn it up way louder than necessary, hoping he’ll get the hint that I really don’t want to talk to him. But, of course he doesn’t.
    “So,” he says reaching over and calmly turning the radio down, “what were you doing up at three thirty in the morning?”
    What the hell is this kid’s problem? Can’t he see that I’m not buying the whole nice guy act?
    This is the thing about guys like Nathan Daley. They get through life by making girls feel like they care. They look at a girl and they read them. Then they make them feel special so they can get exactly what they want out of them. No way in hell am I going to tell him I have trouble sleeping. Angelina doesn’t even know that. On the other hand, I’m smart enough to know that he’s the type of person who’s not likely to drop something until he gets an answer.
    “Oh, you know,” I say hitting the turn signal and switching lanes, “just the usual, wild crazy night out.”
    He looks at me skeptically, taking in my appearance as he does. “You had a wild and crazy night?”
    “What,” I say, “hard to believe?”
    He smiles. “You’re trying to impress me by making up a wild and crazy life.”
    “Believe it or not Nathan, not everything is about you.”
    He laughs and pulls his iPhone out of his pocket. “Well the twenty six Facebook messages I got from kids who go to your school prove otherwise.”
    The twenty-six Facebook messages? What is he talking about? He already has friends at my school? He hasn’t even had his first day yet. Is this some kind of joke?
    He then clears his throat like he has something really profound to say and begins reading straight from his phone.
    “This one’s from Matthew Russo. ‘Yo bro, heard you’re coming to play ball here with some real winners. Looking forward to meeting you.” He laughs when he’s done reading like this if the funniest message he’s received in his life.
    I feel my heart start to beat extremely fast in my chest. Matthew Russo is one of the most popular kids in our grade. He’s the captain of the basketball team and absolutely perfect. I’ve only been in love with him since like the seventh grade, and he’s only known I don’t exist since like the seventh grade. It makes perfect sense that I’ve spent the last five years trying to get Matthew to notice me and Nathan has his attention before he’s even met him.
    “Or this one,” Nathan’s says scrolling through his phone, “from Ava Johnson.”
    Ava Johnson is a girl in our grade. She’s a cheerleader, has big boobs, and will pretty much sleep with anything that walks. I can only imagine what she has to say. I give a little laugh to myself as Nathan keeps reading.
    “Can’t believe you’re really coming to our school. I was cheering at the game we played against you last year. You looked so good I wanted to lick the sweat off of your—“
    “OKAY, OKAY,” I say cutting him off, “I don’t need to hear anymore.”
    He laughs, then reaches