At First Touch Read Online Free PDF

bombarded with names, scenes of thwarted crimes, an aborted murder, faces of grateful people, disapproving parents, a lifetime of loneliness and isolation; everything that made Carey who he was.
    After a few seconds, I was released from the usual shock and my eyes cleared. Carey was looking at me with a stunned expression on his face and I wondered what he had seen.
    ‘What the hell was that? It felt like she was inside my mind…her eyes…they’re so strange. Don’t let her see you’re freaked out, don’t let her know…’
    Automatically I closed the connection between our minds, turning off his thoughts and freeing up my own. I stared at Carey, unbelieving, trying to think of a logical explanation for what I had seen in his mind. Unfortunately, I was so distracted by the new bank of information that I failed to see the arm flying toward me as one of the forgotten brawlers missed his mark and an elbow struck the side of my face with enough force to knock me back to the floor.
    Suddenly there was the sound of a grunt and then a collision, followed by a lot of swearing. I put my head between my knees, trying to drown out the yelling and cheering from the crowd and hoping to diminish some of the sick dizziness I felt from the blow to my head. After a moment, things were quieter and I could hear the voices of teachers demanding to know what had happened. I felt a hand on my shoulder and someone was asking me if I was alright. Sighing, I swallowed an urge to hurl and lifted my head.
    For a moment I had eyes for no one but Carey. This was probably due to the fact that he was holding Gorilla Boy up against the wall with one hand and clutching the shirt of the tall, gangly assailant in the other.  Two teachers were standing with him, getting his version of events, apparently unconcerned by the odd fact that he was singlehandedly restraining the two struggling combatants. Shank High was a weird place.
    “Can you understand me? Are you alright?” I finally tuned into reality and looked at the tall, excruciatingly thin man crouched at my side. As my eyes pulled into focus I noted the thick white hair styled carefully close to his head, a strong, determined jaw, and dull brown eyes nearly buried underneath bushy gray eyebrows.
    “Yeah…yeah I think so. I got hit in the head,” I said, my voice registering surprise. I’d had a lot of strange first days at new schools, but this one was definitely topping the list.
    “I think we’d better get you to the nurse and make sure you don’t have a concussion. The other students told me you were just trying to walk by and you were knocked down and then struck by Ed here. Is that right?” he asked, gesturing at the scowling gorilla still mashed up against the wall by Carey’s hand. I nodded and put my hand to my aching head. I was going to have a bruise the next day for sure; my left temple was throbbing and the skin around my eye felt tender.
    “Ok, Carey I think you can let these two go. We’ll be calling the police on this one.” There was a sudden outbreak of protests from the prisoners as the man next to me rose to his feet, practically reeking with authority. “Now, you two be quiet. This is third fight you’ve had this month, and you hit this poor young lady here. She has the right to charge you with assault and battery.” I paled at that. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to the police.
    Seriously, what a red letter day.
    “No, sir, please. I don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine. Maybe just an ice pack.” I pleaded, appalled at the thought that I would be on law enforcement radar my first day.
    Everyone looked at me for a moment and I felt the distinct urge to bury my head between my knees again. Finally the white-haired guy nodded and told the other teachers to escort the culprits to his office. By now I had deduced that this man was the principal. I cursed silently. My hopes of blending in and becoming invisible at Shank High were swiftly going down the