Blackbird Fly Read Online Free PDF Page B

concluded. She stood up and brushed the grass off her bottom. Gretchen and I did the same.
    â€œAre we going to talk to him?” I asked.
    â€œSure, why not?”
    His pants were too long, so the cuffs curled under his dirty sneakers. I noticed he was wearing Vans, which is my second-favorite brand of sneaker after Chuck Taylors. You can tell a lot about someone by their sneakers. Alyssa used to tell me that I needed to wear different shoes, since my black Chucks are all worn down. She suggested I wear sandals like she and Gretchen did, but why would I wear sandals when I can wear comfortable shoes? Then again, maybe if I’d listened, I wouldn’t be one of the ugliest girls in school.
    The new boy’s hair was long, and it hung in his eyes in a way that made me want to brush it away. The book he was reading was thick. He scrunched his eyebrows as he read it, the same way my mom does when she’s playing cards.
    â€œHey,” said Alyssa.
    He didn’t see us—or maybe he didn’t hear us—so he kept right on reading.
    â€œHey,” said Alyssa again, louder. She put her hand on her hip.
    He looked up.
    â€œHey,” he said, glancing quickly at all three of us before going back to his book.
    â€œUh . . . hello?” said Alyssa.
    He looked up again. “Hello.” Then back to reading.
    Alyssa looked at Gretchen and rolled her eyes. “Excuse me,” she said. She put her hand over his book. “Are you new here?”
    Finally he lowered his book. He looked completely irritated. I tried to see what he was reading, but all I could tell was that it was from the school library.
    â€œYeah, I’m new here,” he said. His hair hung all around his face. When he blinked, some of the strands caught on his eyelashes.
    â€œWe wanted to introduce ourselves,” said Alyssa.
    â€œOkay.” He blew his hair out of his eyes.
    The four of us stood there for a while in silence.
    â€œSo go ahead,” he said.
    Alyssa had both hands on her hips now. “Ugh! Never mind.” She turned around and walked off with Gretchen close behind. I introduced myself as Analyn before I followed too, a bit slower.
    â€œIs that one word or two?” he asked. “Like Anna, and then Lynn?”
    I turned around.
    â€œNo. Like A-N-A-L-Y-N.”
    â€œCool,” he said, nodding. “My name’s Evan Temple. I just moved here from California.”
    A lot of really good songwriters live in California, like Matt Costa and Eleisha Eagle, so I thought about asking what music he liked, but instead I asked what book he was reading.
    â€œThe Silmarillion,” he said. He held it up so I could see the cover. It was by J. R. R. Tolkien. “It’s the same guy who wrote The Lord of the Rings .”
    â€œI love that movie,” I said.
    â€œYou should read the book.”
    Alyssa called out, “Apple!” and motioned for me to come over. She glared at me like I was a traitor as I walked back to the oak tree.
    â€œHis name is Evan Temple,” I said. “He’s from California.”
    â€œEvan Temple?” Alyssa crinkled her nose. “What kind of stupid name is that?”
    About as stupid as Apple , I thought.
    The three of us glanced back at the new guy. He was reading again, but just before I looked away, I thought I saw him glance at me. I couldn’t be sure though.
    Alyssa talked about what a jerk the new guy was until the bell rang and Gretchen announced that she couldn’t find her purse. While she and Alyssa looked for it, I turned back to the vending machines, but he’d already disappeared.

6
The Dog Log
2FS4N: “Act Naturally”

    T he Dog Log isn’t actually written down. It’s spread, guy to guy, until any guy who is “in the know” knows. It’s a good thing for me it’s not on paper, I guess, but that doesn’t make it any less of a Dog Log.
    The reason it’s not written