Her Name in the Sky Read Online Free PDF Page B

lounge. Clay and Joanie follow close behind him, Clay clapping his hands together and Joanie whispering “Bitches and hos” with giddy reverence. Baker comes last, her long hair swinging behind her as she closes the door and turns to face the table. She meets Hannah’s eyes and her smile grows even larger than Hannah pictured.
    “You really weren’t kidding,” Baker says.
    “I really wasn’t,” Hannah says.
    The six of them circle around the table and feast together. Clay and Luke end up with powdered sugar on their mouths and chins and Wally loses his coffee cup to the mercy of the group, all of whom drink from it without asking. Wally catches Hannah’s eye and rolls his eyes up into his head, pretending to be annoyed, but Hannah can tell he’s not bothered in the slightest.
    “Y’all hear about Cooper?” Clay asks. “He sent his deposit in to Alabama.”
    “He’s going to Alabama ?” Luke says. “Are you kidding me?”
    “He said LSU losing the championship pushed him over the edge. Said he’d rather root for the Tide for the next four years. Asshole.”
    “I always thought that kid was an idiot,” Joanie says.
    “Okay, to be fair, both his parents went there,” Wally says.
    “Yeah, but he grew up here ,” Clay says. “Anyway, the hell with him. I’m glad I don’t have to spend another four years dealing with his shit. He always challenged just about every decision I made as captain.”
    “God forbid,” Hannah says, smirking.
    Clay crumples up his napkin and tosses it at her. “You know what I mean.”
    “I’m just kidding. You know I don’t like Cooper anyway. Not since that time I saw him lock Marty in a storage closet the first time Marty got drunk.”
    “Or when he kicked that dog at our community service site,” Baker says, her voice bitter.
    “Tell me this, Han,” Clay says. “Have you decided on LSU yet?”
    “I told you, I’m waiting to hear back from the other schools I applied to.”
    “It won’t matter,” Clay says, sprawling back in his chair. “When it comes down to it, you’ll want to go to LSU with Baker and me.”
    “Can we not have this conversation right now?”
    “Don’t pressure her,” Baker says.
    “I’m not pressuring,” Clay grins. “Just predicting.”
    Hannah opens her mouth to retort, but just then, the lounge door opens. The six of them, taken by surprise with their fingers still covered in powdered sugar, swing their heads around to the front of the room. Michele Duquesne stands in the doorway, one hand on the metal door handle and the other hanging limply at her side. “Oh,” she says, her eyes narrowing as she spots the beignets on the table. “Am I interrupting?”
    Clay, his mouth hanging open in uncertainty, rakes his eyes over the group before he shifts in his chair to face Michele. “Not at all,” he says. “We were just having a delayed celebration. You know, for the big win last week.”
    “Are you all on unassigned?” Michele asks.
    “Yep,” Clay says, pulling his lips together.
    She frowns at him. “You don’t have to lie to me, Clay.”
    “Are you on unassigned?” Hannah asks.
    Michele stares at Hannah as if trying to decide whether Hannah is worth her words. “I am , actually,” she says after a moment. “But I think it’s better to spend my unassigned period helping in the front office, rather than leaving campus illegally.” She flits her eyes away from the group and continues, in a lofty voice, “Father Simon asked me to come pick up the rosary bags. We have prayer group after school today. Maybe you all should come.”
    “Mm, maybe not,” Hannah says.
    Michele glares at her before flashing her eyes in Baker’s direction. “I thought you said you had unassigned during fourth block.”
    Baker tightens her mouth and looks into the corner of the room.
    “Isn’t that what you said?” Michele presses. “So you could take care of student council stuff at the end of the day?” 
    Baker raises her eyes.