Fire With Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

so. “That’s the thing,” I say. “I
shouldn’t have to.”
CHAP
TER THREE
    It’s the end of the week, thank goodness, and
I’m on my way out of school, totally and completely exhausted
from playing catch-up with all my classes. When I hear Kat
scream from the parking lot. It’s a playful scream, not a scared
one or anything. I glance around and spot her a few feet away,
cigarette clenched between her teeth, trying to pull a flannel
shirt off some guy.
    I recognize the guy, sort of. I don’t know his name, but
I always see him wandering aimlessly around the school
grounds. I don’t think he has any classes. Or if he does, his
teachers must be pretty liberal with their attendance sheets.
    Kat could be on the Jar Island wrestling team, she’s so light
on her feet. She keeps moving, bouncing on her toes, twisting
left and right as she works the back of the flannel up over the
boy’s head. I bet her brother, Pat, taught her how to do that.
    The guy is unsteady, and also it seems like he doesn’t exactly
know how to fight back against a girl. Kat definitely takes
advantage of it. She stays aggressive, tugging and pulling until
she has most of the flannel free, distracting him by poking him
in the ribs or pulling out the rubber band that’s holding back
his shoulder-length hair. It doesn’t take long before all he’s left
clinging to is one tiny bit of sleeve.
    Kat plants her feet like she’s preparing for a serious game of tugof-war. She warns him, “It’s gonna rip if you don’t let go, Dan.”
“All right, all right,” the guy—Dan, I guess—finally concedes.
Kat lets out a howl of victory and does a spin, whipping the
flannel around over her head like a lasso. “This is a teachable
moment, Dan. When I want something, I take it. Boom. End of
story.” Dan’s face turns bright pink. I bust up laughing because
she’s so crazy.
Kat must hear me, because immediately she looks over to
where I’m standing. She nudges her chin my way the slightest
bit. I smile back, quick, and am about to climb on my bike and
ride away, when Kat does something surprising.
She holds up a finger, like I should wait up for her.
It happens so fast I wonder if maybe I imagined it. We haven’t
really ever done this before. Acknowledge each other in public,
out in the open. I guess we can now, since our whole revenge
plan is over. But I take out the book I need to read for English
class and flip through it, so I don’t look obvious. I watch as she
grinds out her cigarette.
“Come on, Kat. Give it back.”
Kat puts it on over her sweatshirt. “But I want to wear it.
I promise to bring it back on Monday. And then it will smell
like me.”
He pretends to be annoyed, but I can tell he likes her by the
way he gives in so quick. “You want a ride home?”
“Nah. I’m gonna walk. But can I bum one more smoke?”
She doesn’t wait for him to give her a cigarette. She takes it and
tucks it behind her ear.
Then she heads over toward the bike path.
I put my book away and start walking slow, pushing my bike
along, waiting for her to catch up. We probably should still be
careful.
“You hanging in there, Mary?” she asks when she gets close.
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “Pretty much.”
“Did you see Reeve much this week?”
“I tried not to, actually.” I tuck my hair behind my ears and
keep my eyes on the ground. “Hey. Um, I heard some people
talking, and they said Reeve might lose all his football scholarships because of his injury.” I feel my lip quiver as soon as the
words are out. “Is it true?”
Kat shrugs. “Maybe. But maybe not, you know? It’s not
like he lost a leg. It’s a break. And not even a bad one at that.
My brother broke his femur once during a dirt-bike race. Now
his left leg is half an inch shorter than his right.” Her voice is
strangely sober. I feel her eyes linger on me; it’s like she’s waiting
to see if I’m going to break down again. I lift my chin and