Don't Die Dragonfly Read Online Free PDF

the word that I was a freak. Everyone laughed at me. But when he drank too much on prom night and died in a head-on collision with a truck, nobody laughed anymore. They were afraid. Of me.
    “Tell me about your dream while I fix my hair,” Danielle said. “But make it quick. Evan gets in a bad mood if I make him wait.”
    “Dreams aren’t important. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”
    “But it’s an amazing coincidence you dreamed about me before we even met.”
    “Nothing amazing about it. I’ve probably seen you around school. And I knew I’d be meeting you tonight.”
    “I help out in the school office, so you could have seen me there. ”
    “Yeah, that must be it. We better hurry or you won’t have any popcorn left.” I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, not sure I liked what I saw, then quickly turned away and followed Danielle.
    The movie must have been hilarious because the audience roared with laughter, but it was impossible to notice anything other than Josh’s hand holding mine.
    Josh drove Evan and Danielle to Evan’s house. Then we were alone.
    Parking in front of Nona’s driveway, Josh turned off the engine but made no move to get out of the car. Instead, we sat silently for a moment in the darkness. Moonlight shifted through nearby trees and shone golden on Josh’s face. I found myself thinking about kissing, hoping Josh wanted to. I held my breath as I unsnapped my seat belt. It slid off my shoulders with a metallic click.
    “Sabine—” He cleared his throat.
    “Yes?” I said too quickly
    He smiled. “I had a great time.” He held out his hand.
    “Me, too.” I clasped his gentle fingers.
    “I don’t want you to go in.”
    “All right.” My mouth was moving but my brain had thrown in the towel. I was numb.
    He grinned. “Your parents wouldn’t like that.”
    “My parents live in San Jose. I stay here with my grandmother.”
    “Really? But don’t your parents miss you?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “It’s their loss.” Then he leaned forward, pulled me close, and kissed me.

Saturday morning, I awoke to a crowing rooster. It was tempting to lie in bed a little longer, thinking of Josh, reliving his kiss, but I had chores to do. So I slipped into my grubbiest clothes and went on a treasure hunt.
    Inhaling the crisp air, I picked a trail through dewy grass. Nona’s cow, Daphne, mooed from the pasture and a meadowlark chimed in with a cheerful song. Even though I’d been living with Nona for nearly four months, I had one of those “Ohmygod, I can’t believe I’m here,” culture-shock moments. I expected to hear arguing neighbors or traffic whizzing by with honking horns. But at Nona’s farm, the only honking came from flocks of geese. No noisy little sisters bugging me, hammering on their many musical instruments, showing off their talents. And I didn’t have to face the condemning stares from classmates, teachers—even my own mother. Living with Nona was a new start.
    Entering the chicken coop, I made my way through dirt, feathers, and chicken poop. The first eight eggs were easy to find lying on the ground. One, two, three more tucked in a nest of weeds. But some hens hid their eggs carefully, and it took at least ten minutes before I finally spotted a speckled green egg tucked under a dark corner of the coop. Crawling on my knees, I reached out for the still-warm egg. A gentle nudge and my prize rolled close.
    “An even dozen,” I murmured triumphantly, adding the egg to my basket.
    “Why not go for a baker’s dozen?”
    Dominic stood outside the chicken coop with his arms folded across his chest. His falcon wasn’t around, probably soaring over the woods in search of breakfast. “You missed one,” he said in a mocking tone.
    “Oh yeah?”
    “Look under that bush.” He pointed to a prickly berry bush with tangled and barbed vines twining through the fence.
    “Forget it.” I shook my head. “That’s too thorny even for the