Deception Read Online Free PDF

on, Grace!  You need to breathe.  Take a seat in the engine with me cuz’ your brain is stuck in the caboose.”  Caylie had a way with words.  I dropped my mouth at the honesty of her horrid analogy.  But I enjoyed my caboose.   Life... meaning.  “And face it, my ideas are spicier than yours.  Let some boy take a bite of hot sauce mama!”
    This was the true Caylie!  I rolled my eyes, again searching the cafeteria for Ian because he said he'd meet me worried he was off bashing Kin's face in for earlier.  Lunch was a whirlwind every day lately.  If there wasn’t a good food fight or seniors picking on freshmen, then there was something just as equally dramatic involving the notorious Kin.  Captain of the soccer team, he was as arrogant as they come.  And determined to make my life as difficult as he can!
    Still no Ian in sight, I heard Caylie telling Pam the details of my one sided stare down with him in the hallway.  I sure didn’t want him to hear it so I stayed quiet willing her to finish faster. “Yeah, Supergirl here was giving him a steamy version of some big bad x-ray vision.  Probably deciding if he is a boxer or briefs kind of guy.”
    One pop on her arm made her briefly stop before she pinched back in retaliation and responded, “Yeah, don’t go all Wonder Woman on me.  You’re as weak to his charms as I am to Mike’s.  Don’t impulse buy until you try it on, girl.”  This...was Caylie.  Everything was a metaphor of life.  A walking proverbial Dear Abby. And I’d become more like her in that than I would ever admit aloud to anyone. 
    “Hey Caylie,” I grabbed her attention and held up one finger, “Wait for it.”  I held my “I have a surprise” face for her, the kind she tells me all the time with stay that way permanantly.  She rolled her eyes at me and turned back to Pam to finish her advice for the Grace column of life screw-ups.
    Pam turned my direction now to egg me on in her way, a ploy to watch the drama not entertain it herself, “Be impulsive girl.  He’s hot.”
    I inadvertently smiled a little at her.   That was funny coming from her, Miss Not Ever Daring At All. One of these days she’ll let it go. “Wishes for a wishing well, girl.”
    “I’m just saying, if the stallion chases the mare, she plays coy for the leading up to and then, BAM!  Give in to him.  It is what it is, sister.”  This was the Caylie coming out in her.  She must be feeling all Newlywed Show like cause she was in “fix them up” mode.  It’s the only thing that Pam thought outside the box on.
    Ian joined us soon after and I thanked my lucky stars he’d not heard the conversation just seconds ago.  Finally enjoying the yogurt the sudden heat rising on the back of my neck trickled through my body to my hands and instantly my left hand slipped upward to my necklace.  As was the routine, my hands burned just as Ian stiffened beside me.  Sure enough, Kin was standing just behind me.  His two cronies, Mike the goalie and Jason the referee were flanking both sides.   Mike started talking to Caylie about going to the Halloween party next week as the stare down began. 
    Why, in a cafeteria the size of half a football stadium, did Kin always have to make his way towards our table?  Yeah, so he’s gorgeous and every girl wanted to go out with him.  He’s pure bad with no room left inside for any good. 
    I rolled my eyes and stared at the Japanese flag above my head.  Then the flag from France, Norway—Ouch!  Someone pinched me.  I looked beside me, but my friends didn’t seem to be fooling around.  I felt compelled to keep my hand on my necklace still.  All this used to be odd to me, but I was accustomed to weird.  It seemed to soothe me despite its appearance. Why did my mom insist on ugly jewelry?  She acted like it was some magic charm to ward evil away and even called it an amulet.  And when and how did I develop this habitual fetish to stroke it, I don’t