As I Am Read Online Free PDF Page A

know,” Mia says in defense of my sister.
    “I knew I liked you,” Addy says to her.
    With Addison’s hair pulled up in to a perfect, high ponytail and her lips freshly colored with her favorite Raspberry Lemonade lipstick, we walk downstairs and out onto the path that will lead us back to the dining hall in the center of the camp. We’re the last ones there, making me feel badly because I told Cal I’d save a seat for him.
    Once through the line with two pieces of homemade pizza, we find our friends across the room. I make eye contact with Cal , who smiles at me.
    “I’m really sorry I’m late. Addison took forever,” I tell him apologetically.
    “It’s okay. I had to fight off some newbies for this seat, but I saved it for you,” he says with a cute, crooked smile.
    “Oh … thanks,” I stumble through my words as I sit next to Cal. I take a sip of my bottled water and then a bite of my pizza before I look up at Addy, who is looking at me and then the slice of pizza in my hand. This is the same look I get when I dare to order a loaded baked potato or the eight ounce filet instead of the six ounce when we go out to eat. I’ve forgotten where I am and immediately put my pizza down. Addy and Mia are blotting the top of their pizza with a napkin to get the excess grease off the top. I pick up an extra napkin from the table and follow suit as nonchalantly as I can.
    I look back at Addison and she smiles, giving me a small nod of approval. This is one of the little tips she and our stepmother, Christine, have given me as a way to cut fat and calories out of my diet. “Even the littlest thing will help you, Kinley,” Christine has said on numerous occasions.
    “How are things going with your photography ?” Cal asks. “Did you bring your portfolio? I remember you saying in one of your emails that you had added some industrial shots to it.”
    He remembers that? I told him that before Christmas.
    “It’s going great. I’m hoping to get more nature shots this summer, too. There’s a coffee shop near campus that has offered to put some of my prints up for sale, and they might even buy some for their own décor. So, I’m pretty excited about that,” I tell him. “What about you? How’s it going working to cut down on the world’s energy costs?”
    “We’re decades away from any real change, but at least we’re making some progress. In the meantime I’ll be the pretentious guy driving the Prius and trying to convince my parents to put solar panels on the ir roof,” he chuckles. Just another reason to like him: Cal doesn’t take himself too seriously.
    “Hey , Kinley, do you think you could take some pictures of me this summer? I need knew modeling pictures but I’m too broke. You could put them in your portfolio. Maybe a tradeoff?” Carrie asks.
    “Of course! And we don’t have to do a tradeoff. It’s great experience for me. I haven’t had too many outdoor photo shoots, so it’ll be great. And you’ll be a great model.” Carrie is tall and beautiful like the other girls here, but not obviously beautiful. Her wide eyes and larger nose give her a unique quality that makes her beauty also interesting. And, in my opinion, make her more beautiful than most of the girls I’ve shot.
    We spend the next hour chatting, eating, and reminiscing about last summer’s fun and antics. Bridget promises us a new campfire beer commercial to follow up her Bud Light one from last year’s, and Dave swears he will not break down the bathroom door again no matter how badly he has to go.
    Cal stayed by my side all through dinner. He even put his arm on the back of my chair for a while. It felt nice. It’s not that a guy has never liked me. It’s that none of them – ok ay there are only two that I know of – were remotely anything like Cal Harper. For some reason, there was a time in high school when I attracted these super scrawny guys who were awkwardly maneuvering their way through puberty with