Midnight Lily (Signs of Love) Read Online Free PDF Page A

surprised for a second, and then he made his expression go blank again.
    "Story?" he asked.
    "Yeah, like, you know, you gotta be more imaginative." I tilted my head and looked up at the sky, thinking until it came to me. I looked back at the kid. "That creepy janitor who always just happens ," I set my helmet down and used my fingers to make air quotes, "to be walking through the locker room when we're changing tried to abduct you, but you fought him off with the Ninja skills you learned from the old Chinese guy who manages your apartment building when he's not growing bonsai trees."
    The kid looked at me silently for a couple seconds and then said, "I don't live in an apartment building, I think you mean Japanese, and that story is not imaginative at all—it's a clear Karate Kid rip-off. And also, it could get an innocent janitor in a whole lot of trouble—maybe even fired from the job he might need to feed his three foster kids."
    "That guy has three foster kids?" I did a fake shudder.
    He shrugged. "He could."
    "See, that's what's wrong with social services. They give foster kids to guys like him. I hear, like, the whole system is a joke."
    The kid narrowed his eyes—well his one good eye at least—and stared at me for a few moments. Then his lip tipped up slightly and he laughed a short laugh. When he stopped, he looked . . . bewildered. Yeah, bewildered. That was the word. And it'd just been on a vocab test the week before. I took a moment to pat myself on the back for using it.
    "I'm Holden," I said. "Holden Scott."
    He paused for a second before reaching out and gripping the hand I held out to him. "Ryan Ellis."
    Two guys from my team walked by and I heard them snicker under their breath. "Hey, Holden, dude," Vince Milne said, "is it adopt-a-loser day and no one told me?" He ribbed Jeremy Pratt who was walking next to him and Jeremy laughed.
    "Yeah it is, Vince," I called. "Are you already taken?"
    "Eh, fuck off," he muttered under his breath before walking away. I hated that asshole. And he was a suck-ass football player, too.
    I turned back to Ryan who was trying to look like he was busy organizing his backpack and hadn't heard anything Vince and I were saying. I could tell he had though because his face was hot and bright red.
    "Anyway, what way do you walk? I'm headed home if you are, too."
    "Uh, I walk toward Bridgetown Road," he muttered.
    "Me, too. Come on." I stood up, gathering my helmet, and he stood slowly as well. We were about the same height, although Ryan was real skinny. He zipped his backpack and hefted it onto his shoulder.
    "Your backpack looks like it weighs two hundred pounds."
    Ryan smirked. "It does. It's how I got all these muscles."
    "Ha. So what grade are you in?"
    "Seventh, same as you," he said.
    I nodded, feeling bad that he obviously knew who I was, but I'd never noticed him before. I cleared my throat. "So, hey, do you want to stop at Skyline and get a couple Coneys? Are you hungry? I'm starving. I go there after practice a lot. Some of the other guys might be there, too. The cool ones."
    He shook his head. "No, I can't. I have to be home."
    "Oh, okay. Another time then."
    As we started walking, Ryan said, "So you, uh, obviously play football."
    "Yeah, I love it. Man, it's my life. I'm number twenty-two. I'm gonna go pro someday," I said excitedly. "I'm gonna live in a big mansion and date celebrities, and have my own personal chef, and drive the coolest cars." It was all I ever dreamed about. "Do you play at all? Even just for fun?"
    Ryan shook his head, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Nah. I like watching, though. I like the Cowboys."
    I turned to him. "That's my favorite team. Holy shit, they're awesome!"
    Ryan smiled and nodded.
    "If you like football so much, why don't you play?"
    He pressed his lips together and stared down at his shoes as we walked. "My dad . . . the gear and stuff, you know. It's just . . . not in our budget." His face turned kinda red. I nodded so he