Crush Read Online Free PDF

“I’m sure you’re all very upset about Mr. Weaver’s passing, but we’ll try to honor his memory by continuing his work.”
    That’s all she said about his dead teacher. It didn’t really seem like enough, though Jonathan couldn’t say he wanted to hear any more. Checking on Emma, he saw that she was barely keeping it together, and perhaps the less said about Mr. Weaver, the better.
    To add to his unease, Kirsty Sabine looked at him during class. Not once. Not twice. But three times Jonathan glanced toward the window and caught the girl looking his way. She was slightly turned in her chair, peering from the corner of her eye. The moment Jonathan noticed her, she looked down or toward the window. Her attention made him uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a bad kind of uncomfortable exactly. He may not have thought she was an eight like David did, but a girl was looking at him, and she wasn’t pointing or laughing. She was just checking him out.
    SWIM , Jonathan thought. Now she’s swimmin’ with the guppies, boy .
    After class Jonathan stood in the hall by the door, checking up and down the hallway for the Roid Patrol before he attempted to drop off books at his locker. He watched Emma emerge from the class and wander, head down, away from him. Hisheart ached with each step she took. Classmates filed past him, chatting excitedly about Mr. Weaver or their weekends or both. Finding the coast was clear—no Toby or Cade or Ox in sight—he entered the stream of students moving along the halls. He made it to his locker with no bone-jangling collision and shoved his English text inside. Retrieving his geometry book, he felt an odd tingle rise up on the back of his neck, as if someone were dancing their fingers very near the skin there.
    Jonathan closed his locker and was surprised to see Kirsty Sabine. She stood ten lockers down, pushed tight against them as the river of students passed. She looked right at him and, this time, didn’t turn away when he noticed.
    Instead, she smiled. She lifted her hand in a shy wave.
    He nodded his head and quickly looked at the floor, then at his shoes. When he looked up, he turned his head, pretending to watch the herd of students, searching for Kirsty in the corner of his eye.
    But she was already gone.
    Jonathan scanned the wall where Kirsty had stood but didn’t see her. He didn’t even catch aglimpse of her in the crowd.
    Then Toby Skabich came up from behind and rammed Jonathan with his shoulder. Jonathan lifted off the ground and hit the wall of lockers.
    The audience of padlocks applauded.
    Â 
    â€œAre the Roid Patrol still doing that?” David asked. “I thought they stopped.”
    â€œThey never stopped,” Jonathan replied. He adjusted the phone against his ear. “I just stopped talking about it.”
    â€œWell, if it’s any consolation, Toby and his boys are going to grow up to be used-car salesmen. Their greatest achievement will likely be beating a series of date-rape charges.”
    â€œI’m really getting tired of it.”
    â€œI thought your school had a zero-tolerance policy.”
    â€œWhat my school has is a winning football team, the first in like a thousand years. No one is going to do a thing unless there’s actual bloodshed. Besides, if I narc them out, they’ll just hit me harder.”
    â€œI say grab a gun and PAC.”
    â€œKnock it off, David. Those guys are graduatingthis year. As long as I can make it to June without a concussion, I’ll be fine.”
    â€œWell,” David said. “Someone should do something.”
    From The Book of Adrian, Mon. Oct. 10 :
    The notion that man has advanced beyond animal instinct is disproved at every turn. It is never more clear than in their cruelty and posturing. Just as a lion will fight to lead his pride, assuring him of the best mate; just as rams will butt heads to win the favor of does; just as a