Future Shock Read Online Free PDF Page A

thanks. Chris and Trent take a different table and I sit at another one, by myself. If I’m lucky it’ll stay that way.
    The blue-haired girl, whose badge I finally see—Zoe Chang—hovers between our tables with her tray. She’s tiny, probably not even five foot tall, and with her bright bob, she looks like a pixie or something. She studies Chris and Trent, who eat in silence, hostility rising off them in invisible waves. She must figure I’m a safer bet because she finally joins me. Of course.
    “Thanks for your help earlier,” Adam says, as his tray hits the table. He sits across from us. There go my plans for a quiet lunch.
    I give a curt nod and avoid making eye contact. Maybe if I don’t answer he’ll leave me alone.
    “This is unbelievable, right? This time travel stuff?” He doesn’t touch his food, and instead folds and unfolds his napkin over and over. Must be a nervous tick.
    I ignore him and shove food in my mouth. After living with many other kids for years, I’m in the habit of eating quickly, and I don’t want to talk to this guy anyway. I’ll be spending the next twenty-four hours with him, which is more than enough time already. I’m not here to make friends. I just need to make it through this day so I can get on with my life.
    “Here.” Adam shoves something across the table toward me. His napkin, folded in the shape of a dog or something. No, a horse. With a horn.
    An origami unicorn.
    “You made this?” It’s a dumb question since I just saw him make it, but I’m so thrown off by his gift that I don’t know what to say.
    “Yeah.” He shrugs and pokes at his food with his fork. “Sorry it’s not very good. It would be better with the right kind of paper, but all I had were these flimsy napkins.”
    I slide the origami unicorn closer to me, rubbing my fingers over the precise folds of the napkin. People don’t make things for me. Not like this anyway.
    “Thanks.” I meet Adam’s eyes for the first time. Bright blue and intelligent, shining out from behind his black-rimmed glasses. The kind of eyes that never miss a thing. He smiles and I quickly look down at my food.
    “No, thank you for earlier,” he says, lowering his voice. “What was that all about anyway? Did I say something wrong back there?
    He must be talking about the fight. I don’t want to answer him, but he should probably know. “Your question pissed them off. They’ve probably spent time in juvie.”
    “Juvie? I had no idea.”
    “You’re not a foster kid, are you?”
    “No…” His voice trails off. “Are you?”
    “Yeah. And my guess is the other three are too.” I look to Zoe for confirmation and she nods, her eyes locked on her plate.
    “Oh. I didn’t realize…” Adam adjusts his glasses and studies me. “What did Trent mean by Bright Haven?”
    I stab my food with my fork. “It’s a group home.”
    He probably wants more from me, to hear what happened there, but he won’t get it. I don’t talk about the past. Especially not that day.
    We eat in silence for a few minutes, and when he’s distracted I steal another glance at his face. There’s something about his strong jaw, dark eyebrows, and perfectly messy hair that make my eyes want to linger on him. He’s better looking than I originally thought, in that geeky cute way a lot of girls find attractive. I’m not one of them. Guys like Chris are more my type.
    But I can see the appeal.
    “Cool hair,” Adam says to Zoe.
    “Thanks,” she says, keeping her eyes down. “I, um, I like your unicorn.”
    These are the first words I’ve heard from her. I was beginning to wonder if she spoke at all.
    “Thanks. It’s something I picked up when I was bored.” He’s so friendly, and a part of me wants to smack that smile off his face. A guy who has time to learn origami has no idea how cruel the real world can be.
    “Is that your, um, talent?” she asks. I can’t tell if she’s serious or not.
    “Origami? No.” He laughs—an easy