Jumped In Read Online Free PDF

It’s coming.
    Cassidy waits for the answer.
    But Luis isn’t giving her anything.
    He’s looking in the lights, like he’s searching for the answer up there.
    What the hell?
    He’s taking forever. Inside I’m thinking, It’s obvious! It’s “Mary sat musing” and “Waiting for Warren”! It’s right there on the page, you dumbass!
    Everyone’s looking.
    My heart’s pounding. My face is a tomato.
    They’re whispering.
    What are they saying?
    Luis takes in a deep breath and doesn’t let it go. He holds the air in one cheek for a while, then bounces it back and forth from one to the other a few times. Finally, he lets the air out in a long, slow, steady stream.
    Come on!
    My heart’s trying to blast its way out of my chest. My head is scorching, stinging as the whispers shoot past me like machine gun bullets.
    I want it to be over.
    I just want it all to stop.
    I want Cassidy to go away.
    I want the stares to go away.
    Just then, a kid comes into class with a note.
    â€œHold on a sec,” she tells Luis, holding a finger in the air. She examines the note and starts talking to the kid.
    It’s my only chance.
    So I take it.
    I do the worst thing ever.
    I talk to Luis.
    I whisper him the answer.
    â€œIt’s ‘Mary sat musing’ and ‘Waiting for Warren’!”
    You idiot, Sam!
    You dumbass!
    What are you thinking?
    You broke your own goddamn Rules!
    I look straight ahead. Did he hear me?
    I look at the floor. Did Cassidy? Did anyone hear me?
    I breathe in.
    Out.
    I wanna die right here.
    Right now.
    I’ve got the image of Luis’s angry eyes glaring at me when he caught me staring at his scar. Somehow, I know this is worse.
    â€œWell, Mr. Cárdenas, what have you got for us?”
    Luis is not saying anything.
    Cassidy hovers. Looks concerned.
    Folds her arms.
    Unfolds them.
    Loses her smile.
    Finds it again.
    My God, this is taking forever!
    I sneak a peek at him.
    And can’t believe what I see.
    Luis’s face goes plastic—no expression at all—as he slowly shakes his head back and forth at Cassidy.
    Then back and forth some more, even slower.
    No.
    Freaking.
    Way.
    He’s shooting her the blank stare !
    â€œEarth to Luis … you in there?” Cassidy pleads.
    He just gives her more of the stare.
    â€œYou told me what alliteration is, so read the first stanza again and find the example.”
    He just shakes his head no, like he’s an idiot. I gotta respect him because he’s taking a strong stand. He’s not gonna let Cassidy know that he knows.
    She looks completely crushed.
    Then she smiles the way teachers smile when they quit on you. When there’s no hope.
    And she moves on. “All right, class. Who can help us out?”
    Then it hits me: He’s never late. Never talks back. No eye contact. Never raises his hand. Now he’s been caught listening and thinking … and evading the follow-up with a classically executed blank stare !
    Luis is following the Rules.

 
    ONE THING IN COMMON
    I S HE COPYING ME ?
    Did he come up with the Rules on his own?
    It doesn’t matter. I breathe in and let it out, relieved, because maybe, just maybe, that was it for the questions from Cassidy.
    Because both of us are following the Rules.
    Maybe everything’s gonna be okay.
    Maybe my life can go back to normal.
    Just as I think it, Luis leans over to me and says, “Do that again, and I swear I’ll kill you.”

 
    I WON’T DO THAT AGAIN
    W OULD I HAVE BEEN ANGRY if Luis had so blatantly broken a Rule and threatened my peace?
    Yes, I would have.
    Would I have felt like killing him?
    Yes, I would have.
    Would I have killed him?
    No, I wouldn’t have killed him.
    Kids say “I’m gonna kill you” all the time. But when they say “kill,” they don’t really mean kill.
    But Luis isn’t just a kid.
    He’s a gangster.
    And