Last Train Home Read Online Free PDF Page A

hear you’re joining us from Boston.”
    “ I just moved here a few days ago.”
    “Welcome to Carver.  I’m sure you’ll find it much more exciting than Boston.”
    She winked at me and I smiled at her sarcasm as she handed me a worn copy of The Scarlet Letter . 
    “We just started reading this a few days ago. It shouldn’t be to o difficult for you to catch up.” I just nodded and didn’t bother telling her I’d read it the year before. “There’s an open seat behind Karen,” Mrs. Davenport said, pointing to a girl with dishwater blonde hair and a purple shirt. 
    “Thanks,” I told her and then walked to my seat.  I smiled at Karen as I walked past her and she smiled back.  I sat down and began thumbing throu gh the tattered book in my hand, trying to refresh my memory.
    “We’re on chapter s ix,” a voice said.  I turned around to see a boy I recognized from Adrienne’s lunch table sitting two seats behind me.  He was leaning forward and smiling and I immediately noticed his dark brown eyes.  Not surprisingly, he was blonde, but a dark blonde, and the color reminded me of the wheat stalks that dominated the landscape in Kansas. As I looked closer, I noticed natural copper highlights in his hair as it hung in his face.  He stood up and moved to the seat behind me.
    “Thanks, but to be honest, I read this last year,” I said , closing the book and setting it on my desk.
    “Maybe you could do both of our homework then,” he said and we both laughed. “I’m Alex.”
    “Riley.”
    “You’re from Boston, right?”
    “Yeah, how’d you know?”
    “Everyone knows.”
    “Why am I not surprised?”
    “It’s kind of a small school, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
    “Yeah…I definitely noticed.  I think this whole place would fit in the gym of my school back home.”
    “It’s not as bad as you think.  It can be alright.”
    “We’ll see,” I said, but knew deep down this town sucked and was nothing but a hole.  I’d be back in Boston soon enough.
    “The bell’s about to ring, so I gotta get back to my seat, but wait for me after class?”
    “Yeah…maybe,” I told him a nd he moved back to his seat.  I faced the front of the room again and watched as everyone walked inside.  Blonde, blonde, another blonde and then I saw a familiar head of dark hair.
    “Hey, Boston!   We meet again,” Jesse said as he walked over and sat down in the seat diagonal from me. “Who knew you’d be fortunate enough to have two classes with me?”
    “I know!  I get to start and end my day with you.  How’d I ever get so lucky?” I exclaimed playfully.
    Jesse just smiled and began digging through his backpack and pulled out his notebook. The bell rang and Mrs. Davenport stood up and I readied myself for my sixth and final introduction of the day.
    Class went by quickly as we worked in groups to discuss the chapters that everyone, besides me, had read the night before.  I’d hoped I’d at least get to work with Jesse or Alex, but unfortunately I got stuck with Karen, who turned out to be an overly talkative know-it-all, who completely dominated the conversation, and two boys whose names I didn’t even catch because they were so quiet and could obviously care less about The Scarlet Letter . 
    The bell finally rang and I packed up my stuff and looked back at A lex.  He was gathering his things too and I decided I would wait for him like he asked.  I leaned up against the old maroon lockers, trying to avoid the crowds in the hallway as I waited.  I was looking down at my fingernails, staring at the flaking red paint and deciding I needed a manicure ASAP, when he walked out.  I looked up and he smiled. He seemed cool and maybe we could have fun together.  He was cute anyway, so that was a plus.
    “I thought you’d taken off,” he said as he adjuste d the backpack on his shoulder.
    “I thought about it.”
    “Ouch.  That hurts,” he said as we joined the crowd.  I shrugged my