Fragmented Read Online Free PDF Page B

that out loud, didn’t I?”
    “Oh my God. Are you crushing on the new girl, Maia?” Lauren teased. “I was starting to think you were asexual.”
    Maia’s head tilted forward and her dark hair fell in front of her face like a mask. “I think she’s pretty, that’s all.”
    “What do you think, Harp?” Lauren turned the question on me.
    I held up my hands in retreat. “I’ve got a girlfriend.”
    “That doesn’t mean you’ve gone blind,” Lauren smirked. “You can still look, can’t you?”
    “She’s pretty, yeah,” I admitted.
    “Prettier than your girlfriend?” Lauren pressed.
    Maia frowned. “When did this become a contest?”
    “I was simply asking a question.” Lauren fiddled with the straw sticking out of her soda can.
    “I see Kelley,” Maia announced. She waved her arms until Kelley’s face brightened in recognition from across the cafeteria.
    “And your girlfriend, Maia,” Lauren murmured mischievously.
    “Behave,” I hissed as Kelley and Raleigh came closer.
    Kelley dumped her tray on the table. “Hey guys, look who I found.”
    Raleigh scooted into the empty space where she’d sat the day before. “I hope you guys don’t mind me crashing your lunch table again,” she said.
    “The more the merrier,” Maia said brightly. “How are you liking Chicago?”
    “I only moved here a few weeks ago, but what I’ve seen, I’ve liked,” Raleigh confirmed. “I grew up in Boston, and I see a lot of similarities between the two cities.”
    “Do you say things like ‘wicked smart’ and ‘How 'bout them apples?’” Kelley asked with an exaggerated East Coast accent.
    “No.” Raleigh shook her head. “And I don’t drink Sam Adams beer and I’m not Irish.”
    Lauren’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You really transferred here because Chicago has better hospitals?”
    “Yep.”
    “Are you sure you’re not hiding from the Mob or you’re an Heiress running from her familial responsibilities?” she pressed.
    “What’s your major again?” Raleigh asked, turning toward Lauren.
    “Graphic design.”
    “Sure it’s not criminal justice or creative writing?” Raleigh chuckled.
    “Please,” Lauren scoffed. “I actually want to get a job after college. What about you? What’s your major? What are your plans for after graduation?”
    “Everyone’s so interested in me.” Raleigh looked overwhelmed by the attention, and I couldn’t blame her. It was only her second lunch with us and Lauren had turned it into the Spanish Inquisition. “Why doesn’t someone else talk for a while?” she suggested, pulling a sandwich out of her lunch bag.
    “Because none of us are as interesting as you,” Lauren explained. “Well, I’m okay,” she amended, “but Kelley’s only interesting when she’s dating a tortured artist, Maia sleeps with her laptop under her pillow, and don’t even get me started on Harper.”
    “What’s wrong with Harper?” Raleigh asked. I looked away from her curious gaze and settled on my lunch tray instead.
    Lauren snorted. “That’s the hundred thousand dollar question.”
    “What I think Lauren is trying to say,” Kelley said, raising her voice above Lauren’s, “is that we’ve all been friends since freshman year, so when someone shiny and new comes along, it’s a nice distraction to our mundane lives.”
    “I’m not very interesting,” Raleigh brushed off. “I mean, besides the wheelchair, I’m pretty ordinary.”
    “Maia doesn’t think so,” Lauren snickered.
    I aimed a boot for my friend’s shin and connected beneath the table. Lauren slumped forward when she felt the contact. “Hey!” she loudly complained.
    “What’s everyone’s schedule like after lunch?” I said, changing the subject. I didn’t have to look in Maia’s direction to know that she was hiding behind her hair.
    “Astronomy,” Kelley said. “Rumor has it the first day we get to make up our own constellation out of stickers.”
    Lauren snorted, having