Alone Read Online Free PDF

out there? If I yell out my window, will you be standing downstairs like some kind of twenty-first century Romeo? Or will I just attract a collection of curious New Yorkers who will glare at me and then tell me to “shaddap”?
    How about if I call to you with my mind? I’ll close my eyes and think, Ed Fargo, Ed Fargo, Ed Fargo, and that will open up a metaphysical channel to your heart. I’ll make a mental QuickTime movie of our kiss and e-mail it to your brain. Then perhaps you will remember the Russian girl you spent so much time with.
    All right, Tatiana. Get ahold of yourself. It has only been one day since the kiss—not even a full twenty-four hours. The boy has not called you, but he might be busy and distracted. Or maybe he is waiting on purpose so he doesn’t seem too overeager.
    Oh, but I hate this waiting on purpose.
    I know I’m overanxious because Gaia has put me in a state of extreme tension, but I also really like this boy, Ed. I’ve been horribly lonely since I came here from Russia, and he was the first person to show me around and introduce me to this strange, dirty city. I mean, pepperoni pizza—who knew there was such a thing?
    I really like Ed. I want him to call me.
    Just my luck I have to share a home with the girl he loves. Who hates me for no reason, who uses up the good intentions that my mother has for her, and who comes in the window at all hours when there is a perfectly good door for her to use. Gaia. Gaia the infinitely infuriating.
    Okay. If he doesn’t call in one half hour, I will send him an e-mail. Just a friendly e-mail. An electronic message from my heart to his, disguised as an innocent hello. Of course, how to make this sound so innocent is difficult. If only I could write to him in Russian! I’d know just how to do it so that I didn’t sound anxious or needy. Too bad Ed Fargo is about as Russian as a Chicken McNugget.
    A cute, friendly, heartbreaking Chicken McNugget.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]

Ed,
    So this is what kissing is like in America! I have to admit, it was as delicious as the pizza you introduced me to. So what happens next?
    I do not expect you to have an answer for me. I know you are feeling conflicted. You still have feelings for Gaia.
    You have to work this out for yourself, but I just want to say this: I am not conflicted, and I would never be cold to you the way she is. If you sit back and think about this, I know you’ll eventually see the truth.
    Just don’t make me wait too long.
    Tatiana

    [DELETED]

Gene’s Tongue

    ED WENT STRAIGHT HOME TO TEST out Lydia’s five-step plan. First period would just have to wait.
    He was out of the hospital, away from the geezers, in the place where he felt most comfortable. In fact, in the very apartment where he’d learned to walk in the first place. He was alone, too. And there was nothing here to impede his progress across the floor. Except his own stupid brain.
    He sat on his bed, the crutches tucked neatly underneath so he couldn’t see them and feel tempted to use them. His armpits felt sort of cold and lonely without them. But they were going to have to get used to that—at least, he hoped they would.
    Across the room, tacked to the wall with Scotch tape, was a vintage Kiss poster, from the early days of their reign as the most dangerous band on the planet—back when they still had some credibility. Paul Stanley gazed at the camera with a tight-lipped pout, the black star over his left eye betraying a hint of shine. At his right stood Gene Simmons, the cheesiest rocker on the planet, his extra-long tongue stuck out so far, it touched his chin.
    Ed wasn’t really a member of the Kiss army. He was more like, say, a member of the Kiss National Guard or maybe the Kiss ROTC. Their music was stupid, but something about its kitsch factor made him happy. Plus they made his sister break out in hives at their grossness.