Lurker Read Online Free PDF Page B

class.”
    â€œThis isn’t his username.”
    â€œSay hi.”
    Mandy shrugged.
    MC9010025 : Hi
    Kylenevers : Kewl profile.
    MC9010025 : Thnx. Do I know U?
    Kylenevers : Probably not.
    â€œCheck his profile,” Drew said. “He might be hot.”
    â€œHave you ever met anyone who put ‘hideously deformed’ in their profile?” Mandy asked.
    â€œWell, he might have loaded a picture.”
    â€œI’m just not caring right now. He’s probably some looz surfing keywords or something.”
    MC9010025 : This isn’t really a good time.
    Kylenevers : Oh sorry. Take it easy. BFN
    MC9010025 : U 2
    Mandy closed the window.
    â€œI’ll bet he was hot,” Drew said. She stood from the dressing bench and returned to the bed, where she dropped down hard on the covers. When she stopped bouncing on the mattress, she rolled onto her back. “What if he was like this absolutely perfect guy? And it was fate that he messaged you, and now you’ll never know because you deleted him, and he’s gone forever?”
    â€œHappens all the time.” Mandy clicked on her away message so she didn’t have to deal with any more instant messages. “I’ll have to find some way to live with it.”
    Â 
    Mandy’s mother returned home from work an hour early. She didn’t usually get home until six, but Mandy heard the key in the lock, startling Drew into another yelp. Mrs. Collins walked into the den, where the girls were waiting for the news to come on, and put her handbag down on the edge of the glass-topped, lacquered cabinet. The act was unheard of in the Collins household. That glass top was reserved for a family portrait secured in a crystal frame and a large black crystal bear. Nothing else touched its surface. Ever. Her mother had to be really upset. It didn’t show in her face, though.
    â€œHello, Drew,” Mandy’s mother said, running a hand through her blond hair. She crossed the den, threw a glance at the cocktail table—a reflex, Mandy knew, checking to make sure the girls were using coasters for their coffee mugs—and leaned down to kiss Mandy’s cheek. “How are you?”
    â€œFine.”
    Mrs. Collins’s lips twisted into a tight smile and her eyes grew doe soft, like she was looking at Mandy after a successful operation: concern, relief, and pity mingled in her expression. “Are you?” she asked, a bit too seriously.
    â€œYes, Mom,” Mandy said. Normally she would have added a Jeez, chill out , but this wasn’t the time for attitude. Her mom was worried and Mandy got that. “We came back here after school.”
    â€œHas there been any news?” Mrs. Collins asked.
    â€œIt’s just coming on.”
    â€œDrew,” Mandy’s mom said, “does your father know you’re here?”
    â€œYes, Mrs. Collins,” Drew said quietly. “My father knows. He’ll be home at five-thirty.”
    â€œWell, good.”
    Mandy watched her mother’s uncomfortable hovering. Clearly, she didn’t know what else to say and had no fresh excuse to remain with the girls, but she didn’t want to leave. Her worry warmed Mandy; it made her feel a little awkward, but good.
    â€œYou can watch the news with us if you want,” Mandy said, sliding closer to Drew on the sofa to make room for her mother to sit. “It’s coming on now.”
    â€œMaybe I will,” Mrs. Collins said, lowering herself to the cushion.
    The three settled in and Mandy retrieved her mug from the table, holding it to her lips. The flashing graphics of the local news program came on. Drew pushed closer, her leg bouncing nervously against Mandy’s.
    â€œAnother car bomb rocks the Iraqi capital,” the African American anchor with the thick mustache said. “And, is Britney Spears pregnant again? These stories coming up, but first, tragedy strikes a local