My Year of Epic Rock Read Online Free PDF

in line, waiting for their lunches. It seemed like forever before Brianna and Shelley finally came back with their trays, laughing and giggling as they sat down, Shelley next to me, Brianna directly across from her.
    â€œIt would be awesome, right?” Shelley said. “Right?” she turned to me.
    â€œWhat would?” I looked back and forth at both of them, confused.
    â€œTell Brianna she has to help me throw a big party for Halloween. There’s nothing else to do around here except for that joke of a talent show,” Shelley said. “And hardly anyone goes to that.”
    Brianna didn’t look at me—she was too busy staring at Shelley.
    â€œOh, yeah, a party sounds awesome,” I mumbled, jamming a pretzel into my mouth.
    â€œWe could come up with a funny nickname for us. Sheliana’s Massive Party? Brelley’s Big Bash?” Shelley said. “You’d come, right, Nina?”
    She turned back to Brianna, shrieking excitedly. “We have got to get that mint chip gelato like we had in Italy! I’m so sure my mother can find it for us in the city.” She put her hand under her long hair and flipped it back over her shoulder. A strand got stuck on my lower lip. Ick.
    She turned to face me again, and I tried to lean away from her in a non-obvious way—I didn’t want another mouthful of hair.
    â€œDo you eat gelato, Nina?” She stared at me. “It’s kind of like ice cream. Only way better.”
    â€œI’m not sure. I’ve never had it.” I felt my face get hot and red. “It sounds great though.”
    â€œOh my god, gelato is soooo good. But it probably has eggs, so she couldn’t eat it,” Brianna said, flicking her wrist in my direction.
    I wanted to feel like I was part of the conversation, instead of sitting there dopily, so I said, “Actually, I love smoothies. Brianna and I both do, right?”
    Shelley looked at me kind of confused—she lifted up both her brows super high, like maybe she didn’t understand what I was saying and was waiting for me to clear things up. I felt like the biggest dolt.
    Why had I just said that?
    Yes, Bri and I sometimes get smoothies at Kickin’ Koffee, but it wasn’t, like, our official drink or anything.
    Brianna seemed embarrassed. She made a frustrated “gaaaa” sound with her breath, pushing the air out of her mouth.
    â€œYeah. I mean, they’re fine,” she rushed in, shrugging. “But I’m into macchiatos now. They’re a million times better.”
    There was another awkward pause.
    â€œRemember that hot guy working at the gelato place?” Shelley started laughing and Brianna did too. They tried to tell me their “hilarious” story about the gorgeous Italian guy who was so much older who flirted with them, but they were laughing so hard they could barely get the words out and wound up talking to each other instead of me.
    I mean, I like hot guys too, but how was this so funny to them? They were acting the way Jackson does when he watches that commercial where a baby in diapers throws a baseball and hits his dad in the crotch. Cracks Jackson up every time.
    â€œSorry, you must think we’re so crazy!” Shelley wiped her eyes because she’d cried from laughing so hard. Then she looked down at her tray, which she hadn’t even touched.
    â€œThis food is gross. I have so lost my appetite,” and she shoved the tray to the other side of the table.
    â€œMe too!” Brianna pushed her tray away right in mid-chew. I rolled my eyes. Brianna never loses her appetite. Served her right if she were starving.
    I looked at the wall clock. Maybe the gods of time would smile down on me and the minute hand would hurry up and move so I could be done with sitting there. But no, of course not. Finally I stopped listening to them. I imagined that my face was flushed and blotchy, so I pressed my water bottle against it to