Neverland Academy Read Online Free PDF

eyes.
She shot up out of her bed. How could he be here ? How could he possibly know where she lived when he didn’t even know
her name?
    Daphne
turned off the lamp on her bedside table so she could get a better view of the
outside. The darkness that lurked beyond the window was still too dense without
the light of the moon and stars to break it up. Still, she could see more
clearly without the glare projecting her reflection in the window.
    She
brushed her fingertips over the pane of glass and peered out. Huge droplets of
rain splattered against the side of the house in the beginnings of a summer
thunderstorm. Lightning struck again—a long one, followed by a shorter
flash and then a heart-stopping crack of thunder. Long enough for Daphne to see
that there was nobody outside. How could there be? Nobody would be stupid
enough to hang around outside during a thunderstorm. And even if he was,
Daphne’s bedroom was on the second floor. The only way she could have seen him
was if he had climbed the tree. And there’s no way he could’ve climbed down
that fast. No, it was nothing. Daphne laughed at her folly. Why was she even
thinking of this boy? What was it about him that intrigued her so? He was
dirty, obnoxious, and possibly didn’t even exist. Yet the mystery surrounding
him was magnetic.
    A
rap at the door tugged Daphne away from the window with a start. Mrs. Werring
appeared, a silhouette in the sliver of light between the door and the jamb.
    “Daphne?
Why are you standing there in the dark?” Her mother entered and flipped the
light switch on. Daphne squinted as her eyes burned in the incandescent light
from the ceiling fan.
    “I
was just watching the storm.” Her mother’s eyes darted to the window and then
back to Daphne.
    “Oh,”
she said, looking relieved when the lightning flashed again. “We’re heading out
to dinner now. There’s some leftover pizza in the fridge.” Mrs. Werring
hesitated. This was usually the part where she told Daphne that no friends were
allowed to come over, but that wouldn’t be necessary to mention tonight. Daphne
didn’t have any friends here yet. Instead, she’d said, “We won’t be long.”
    Daphne
read between the lines. What Mrs. Werring really said, though in her own words,
was “We don’t know when we’ll return, but I don’t want you to think you have
plenty of time to get into trouble.” Normally she would resent her mother for
thinking she was so stupid to fall for it. But tonight, she simply smiled and
said, “Okay.”
    Tonight
was the night Rocks would be playing with his band in Athens. Mr. and Mrs.
Werring would be downtown near the club, but Daphne was confident she wouldn’t
be caught.   It was Friday night and
the streets would be overflowing with drunk college students looking to party.
    She
sat silently on her bed in the darkness of her room. Waiting. Waiting, until
she heard the growling of the garage door opening and she saw the red
taillights disappear into the black beyond Morton Road.
    She’d
have to be quick if she were to go to the show and be back before her parents
got home. Daphne bolted to the bathroom to fix her hair into a high ponytail
with ribbons of black and burgundy tresses raining down the sides of her face.
She dabbed on some lip-gloss and mascara—all she really had time for. The
closet stared back at Daphne for the few minutes she couldn’t decide what to
wear. Then she realized it wasn’t that important and threw on a black tank,
black jeans, chain link belt and chunky boots.
    Daphne
tromped across the hall to her parents’ bedroom and headed straight for her
father’s armoire, the place where he always kept hidden that which was
forbidden to Daphne and her brothers. In her younger days, she would find
birthday and Christmas presents buried under crisply folded shirts and
underwear. Sometimes she would find receipts for larger gifts that wouldn’t fit
inside the armoire. Tonight, however, what Daphne was searching for