Freeing Carter Read Online Free PDF Page A

gone by and I ' m no closer than I was last night. Fighting the urge to walk out , I pull some paper from my binder to start the two page essay I have to write. With the lure of practice calling to me , I have to get something done to pacify Mrs. Z. 
    Two and a half hours , two double shots , and a headache later , I shove the one and three quarter pages into my bag and bail. Lunch is almost over and skipping English would be a huge screw up on my part , no matter how much I want to. Remembering I need a note , I forge Mom ' s signature then head to the hell that is known as English.
    Mel ' s standing by my locker when I get there , flicking her hair and giving me the evil eye. " About time you got here. " Her arms are crossed in that pissed-off girl way.
    " Sorry my mom will let me stay home once in a while and yours won ' t. " It ' s times like these I feel bad for the lies because there really isn't a good reason not to tell her what I did. I ' m not doing it to save Mom or to be there for Sara , but how lame is it to be failing English? To be that guy who pulls his hair out while trying to write a stupid paper? Not cool.
    So I lean forward. Exit guilt , hello Melanie ' s lips. " Next time I ' ll bring you with me. " Which we kind of need. She ' s right about the fact we won ' t see each other much once basketball and cheer start. I give her a quick kiss , which ends up being quicker than I planned because she pulls away.
    " Yuck. Coffee breath. "
    My girl totally knows how to make a guy feel good about himself. Not.
    " Take me instead. I don ' t care what your breath smells like. " Travis steps up beside me , pretending to throw his arms around my neck , but stops at the last minute. We bump fists instead.
    " I didn ' t mean ... Whatever ." Mel says and walks away.
    Travis shakes his head. " Ever think life would be so much easier if we were single? "
    I hold out my hand because his words deserve another bump. " For sure. " It sucks , because things used to be so much easier with Mel. I needed that . Now, she spends half her pissed off at me, which means I spend half my time pissed off, too . But the alternative is a whole can of worms I flinch at the thought of opening.
    " I think Mel and Trina get together every morning to decide if they want to be normal or psychotic. Today ' s definitely a psycho day. Thanks for leaving me alone with it. "
    I laugh as we round the corner into English. Mrs. Z ' s eyes are on me , burning a hole into my skull. I give her a quick nod , trying to convey that I got something done , though I ' m not sure it ' s going to be enough for her .
    Sliding my gaze away from her laser-beam glare , I spot Kira at her desk. Her braids are up in a knot- thing on her head , black and purple strands going in every different direction. Surprisingly , it doesn ' t look half bad. Weird, but not bad.
    " I see you made it home safely yesterday , " I say as I take my seat. "Didn ' t get accosted by any strangers? "
    " None except for you. " She's drawing little pictures on her notebook.
    " Hey , you came up to me , not the other way around , remember? "
    " Only because I was worried you were trying to kill yourself out there. I wanted to make sure you hadn ' t passed out. You know , in case I needed to call 911 or something. "
    Travis lingers at my side. He looks at me , then Kira , and at me again. " I ' m feeling left out. Travis doesn ' t like to feel left out. "
    Kira laughs , making my gut tighten.  
    " I went to the court for a while yesterday and saw her ." Thankfully, my excuse for why I was hanging around Kira just so happens to be the truth . Two points for Carter. Wait, why do I need an excuse?
    " That ' s where you were? I was covering for you while Trina texted every five minutes because Mel kept texting her. I got to spend my whole afternoon hearing about how big a jerk you are and you got to play ball? Not cool. "
    " I ' m a jerk? "
    " Oh yeah. What kind of boyfriend doesn ' t text back? Poor