Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

without a doubt that Skylar and Luke would have already
left without me, so I smiled sweetly and nodded. “That would be wonderful.”
    “Okay, let’s go,” Tierney said easily.
    We followed her down the hallways, which were thinning out
quickly, and out to the student body parking lot. When we reached Tierney’s
car, a black 2002 Sunfire, she unlocked the door and I climbed into the
backseat while the other two got in the front. Tierney’s car was so clean. I
was slightly worried she had an obsession with it. If she were about twenty
years older, I figured she and Mom would’ve been great friends. I could totally
see them sharing tricks for getting stains out of the carpet or discussing the
best way to keep the windows from getting streaks when they washed them.
    I mused over the idea of Tierney as a middle-aged woman as she
drove to my house. We listened to one of the popular radio stations, which only
played a total of twenty songs a day at strategic intervals so as if to cover
the fact that they had nothing new to offer. Tegan told Tierney about all of
her classes, and she had a pretty good grasp on explaining the day, so I only
added my input when I thought of something particularly interesting, and in no
time we were in front of my house.
    Tegan hopped out of the car and pulled the seat forward so I
could get out. I thanked Tierney, and Tegan said she’d call me later as she
climbed back into the car. I walked up the walkway that led to the oak front
door of the two-story off white middle class house that I called home.
    As soon as I stepped inside, I thought I had stepped into a war
zone. I could hear Mom yelling, which was really unusual because she was
normally so quiet. I had no idea who she was yelling at, but I knew it was
either Skylar or Luke because both of their cars were in the driveway. I took
off my shoes by the door walked into the kitchen and saw Mom staring both of my
siblings down.
    I sat my bag down with a frown and asked, “What’s going on?”
    “Cecilia! Oh thank heaven’s you’re all right,” Mom exclaimed
with a look of relief. “How’d you get home?”
    “Tierney drove me.”
    “See, Mom. I knew she was fine,” Luke said and walked off before
she could say another word.
    Mom turned back to Skylar and scowled. “You got lucky this
time,” she said before she marched off. Most likely to go clean something.
    Then Skylar turned to me and glared. “If you want a ride home
with me, be outside by the car by the time I get there. And if you’re getting a
ride from someone else, leave me a note in my locker,” she said before she
stomped off looking pissed.
    I looked around the kitchen and sighed. “My first day of high
school was fine,” I said to no one as I walked over to refrigerator. “I found
all of my classes fine. I really like Journalism. I do have homework, though,”
I said as I grabbed a Coke. “I guess I’ll go get started on that now.”
    Silence answered me as I made my way upstairs to my bedroom.

Chapter Two
    While, on the first day of school, it was obvious
that Miss Barkley was a very strict English Composition teacher and I knew I’d
probably struggle with her class more than any of the others, by the end of the
first month of school, I was convinced that she hated me. Or, at the very
least, disliked me very much.
    “Why would Miss Barkley hate you?” Mom asked when I complained
about the teacher on one occasion.
    I had no answer, but the evidence of Miss Barkley’s hatred
seemed pretty cut and dry to me. I tried to explain to Mom that while I never
talked in class and never wrote notes or zoned out the way I sometimes did in
my other classes (Mom was not enthused by this confession), Miss Barkley always called on me to answer questions when I didn’t know the answer. If I raised my
hand to answer, she’d skip over me. It was as if she waited to see the look of
terror or blankness on my face when she’d ask something I didn’t have the
answer to, and