Invisible Read Online Free PDF Page A

You’ve got to do it.” Her face shrivels in a look of pain and her hands have curled into fists. “God, I wish I could make myself invisible. Do you know what I’d do to those assholes? I’d make their lives so friggin’ miserable, they’d want to go hang themselves, just like they’ve done to us.”
    Her pain is reflected in her pale eyes. Charlie’s had it worse than me. I’m picked on ’cause of my size and although it hurts like hell, I’ve got my dreams to pull me through. One day I’ll be a famous best-selling novelist and maybe one day I won’t be so fat. But everyone sees Charlie like she’s some kind of freak, with her tattoo and purple-streaked hair, and the rumors of her being a lesbian and all. She’s scrappy and tough and has been in more fights than I can count. But it’s taken a toll on her, especially since she’s an only child and her mother’s always working. I’m pretty much all she’s got.
    “ I will, I’ll practice,” I tell her and this brings a smile to her face.
    “ There’s no time like the present.” She nods again at the shitheads behind us.
    “ What exactly do you expect me to do?” Panic edges my voice.
    “ It’s time for revenge.”
    “ No,” I say in a furious whisper and shake my head, my stomach doing flip-flops. “I’m not ready.”
    Charlie reaches out and places her hands on both sides of my head and turns my head-shaking “no” to a furious nodding “yes.”
    I pull away and fix her with a glare.
    “ Look,” she says, leaning closer, “don’t they deserve to be punished for what they did to you? Look at them. They think they’re better than us.”
    Reluctantly, my eyes find them. Other kids are now sitting at their table. To my horror, I spot Jon. Nino’s holding court again, talking to the huddled group. They laugh at something he says and look my way.
    “ I think Nino’s telling everyone about what they did to me at the park.”
    “ See,” Charlie says, “satisfaction reflecting in her eyes. “We’ve got a great opportunity here. School’s almost over, we’ve got to make them pay while we still can. Let’s go to the bathroom. We can practice there.”
    We choose the bathroom at the other end of the hallway, far from the cafeteria. Thankfully, it’s empty and Charlie and I lock ourselves in the handicap stall where we’ll have more room. The stench of disinfectant mingles with other more stomach churning scents. I have a strong urge to pull my T-shirt over my nose to keep from gagging and would if I were alone in the graffiti-riddled stall.
    “ How do you feel right now?” Charlie asks.
    Like puking, I think but I know what she means and I say, “Upset.”
    “ Good.”
    I huff and throw her a look.
    “ I don’t mean that I want you to be upset… well, I do, but not because I’m mean. It’s just that you’ve got to bring up the bad feelings if you’re gonna vanish, like you did in your bedroom last night. That’s the key. But I think, when I reacted, I pulled you out of it. This time, I’ll try to be calm, okay?”
    “ Then what?”
    Even though no one else is in the bathroom, Charlie puts her lips to my ear and whispers her plan, slowly drawing a smile from me. I imagine the scene in my mind and a sense of empowerment and satisfaction washes over me. I only hope I have the courage to do what she wants.
    “ Oh and we’ve got to find out if you’re holding something, if it disappears too. Hold onto your cellphone and I’ll keep a close eye on it.”
    “ Good idea.” I pull my phone from my pocket and hold it in front of my chest.
    My practice session begins in frustration.
    “ This might take a while,” I explain after the first few attempts only result in a split second flicker.
    “ Don’t worry, we’ll do this every day, whenever we can find time,” Charlie explains. “I was hoping we could do a little something to those bastards today but we’ll take it slow until you’re ready. We’ve still got some