Fade Read Online Free PDF Page B

smile was weak. “Quit groveling, it doesn’t become you.” Her eyes cut to Cynthia. “Are you okay?”
    Cynthia tried on a similar smile and picked up Jan’s books. “Guy really freaked me out, sweety. I never get that messed up.”
    They both stared into the parking lot, trying to get over the hill of the moment. Cynthia started to speak, but something caught her eye and she turned.
    “What?”
    “Don’t know. That was weird. Looked like something flew by.”
    “Birds fly by.”
    “Nah, bigger.”
    “Drugs make you see things fly by.”
    “Hush. I’m just crazy ,” Cynthia said.
    “Strong possibility.”
    “True.”
    All at once, Jan frowned. “Listen, this isn’t revenge or anything, but,” Jan hesitated, “Dalen Young.”
    Cynthia sighed in the most dramatic way she could muster, and smiled, bigger this time. “Are you finally going to tell me what you have against him?”
    “I don’t want to— wasn’t going to —but I’d want you to tell me .”
    “Okay.” Cynthia flushed.
    “Because you’re like my sister,” Jan said.
    “Absolutely.”
    “I just feel so selfish telling you this.”
    “Just do it. I trust you.” Her stomach tightened.
    Jan let out a long breath, eyes on the ground. “The day before he asked you out, I heard him… damn ,” she looked over her shoulder at nothing, rolling a pebble with her shoe. “I heard him asking about you.” She turned, looking at Cynthia, eyebrows pushed together.
    Cynthia nodded.
    “He said,” her voice took on a goofy, male-like timbre, “ Hey, man, what’s that girl’s name? You know, the one that’s always hanging out with that fat Goth whore. ”
    Cynthia reached out a hand and Jan frowned, her face pale again, eyes empty. She rested the hand on Jan’s shoulder, dropping her book bag, and said, “You’re not fat.” With that, she turned toward the flock of students nearer the school.
    Her head was a metronome, searching for him. She picked him out, standing next to the cafeteria entrance, talking to a group of friends. Dalen saw her as she approached and he smiled. His smile faded at her demeanor. He was just starting to ask her if anything were wrong when she latched onto his shoulders and kneed him between the legs. He bowed forward. Everyone turned at his loud groan. “Bitc—” She interrupted him, pulling his head into the other knee, feeling the inside thigh of her stockings rip and his front teeth dig into the flesh. She groaned and he promptly hit the ground. “My friend is not a fat whore, you prick!”
    Finished, she began to limp away, shrugging off the hands of his friends who had been trying to pull her away from him. She was through. She had avenged Jan. She owed her that. Jan jogged up, several feet away now, hands out, fingers splayed, a huge smile on her face. Cynthia approached her, gritting her teeth. “You are not fat.”
    “Damn straight, sis!” She clapped a hand onto Cynthia’s shoulder and flipped the group off who were still calling out names at Cynthia and helping Dalen up.
    Then came the inevitable consequences. An adult voice rang loud over the murmuring and laughing of the crowd. “Cynthia Cole!”
    Cynthia sighed, held out her wrists to the teacher like he meant to arrest her. He pushed her arms down and roared at her, “What was that about?”
    “He called my friend a name.”
    The teacher looked at Dalen Young, whose white shirt had a bib of deep red now, and then at Cynthia again, pointing her toward the office. “Principal!” He yelled, so angry that his mustache seemed to tremble.
    Cynthia dropped her shoulders and started to the front door of the school. One of the girls, she thought it was that cheer-bitch, Angela, called her a stupid whore-face as she walked by. Cynthia thought about making today a two-for, but her knee hurt like hell.
    “Mr. Young! Clean yourself up and see me,” the teacher said. Cynthia looked over her shoulder at Dalen, who seemed dazed but managed to be