Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure Read Online Free PDF Page A

my knee with his. “You think I’m God’s gift?” He sounded horribly pleased, and I wanted to smack myself.
    “No, but at least you do.” I smiled and took a sip of juice. Dylan smiled wider and I felt a tiny thrill run down my spine. I knew I was courting danger, but this kind of easy almost flirtation was rapidly becoming addictive.
    “I couldn’t believe it when Terry said that orange was the new black,” Nudge chattered on next to me.
    “I know!” said maybe-Melinda. “I mean, black is the new black, you know?”
    Nudge stabbed the air with a french fry. “Exactly! Nothing needs to be the new black, because black will always, always be the new black!”
    There was fervent agreement around the table. I had no idea what they were talking about. Black what ?
    “Actually, it seems to me that blind is the new black,” Iggy said, apparently deciding to shake things up.
    “What?” a girl named Madison said.
    “I mean, I can’t believe there are so many blind students! A whole school of them!”
    Silence. Nudge pressed her lips together; it had been going so well.
    I started working intently on my square of spice cake.
    “Um…” said Bethany.
    “I know why I’m blind. Let’s hear your stories!” Iggy waved his hand, “accidentally” flinging peas all over the people sitting closest to him. Nudge’s cheeks flushed, and she stared at me, like, Stop him.
    Oh, yeah, that could happen. No prob.
    He turned to Madison. “What about you? Were you born this way, or did something happen to you?”
    The people around the table looked at one another in uncomfortable silence.
    “I’m not blind,” said Madison.
    Iggy pretended to look confused, then shook his head,the soul of compassionate understanding. “You’ve got to face up to it. You can’t let it hold you back,” he said gently. “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.”
    “I’m really not blind,” Madison said, looking confused.
    Nudge gritted her teeth and stared down at her food, mortified.
    Yep, we spread joy and sunshine wherever we go.

9
    I TICKED OFF bird kids on my fingers. “Gazzy has Science Club today. If he blows something up, I will personally take a belt to him. Nudge is walking home, unwilling to be seen with any of us. And Iggy has soccer.”
    “I saw him on the field yesterday,” said Dylan. “He looked great.”
    “He’s always been good at it,” I said. Somehow, Iggy’s blindness had forced all of his other senses to overcompensate. His navigational skills and coordination were sometimes even superior to the rest of the flock’s. “So can we fly home, or do we have to be normal some more?”
    “Oh, I have something better planned, sugar drop,” Dylan said with a twinkle in his eye as he led me to the school’s parking lot.
    “Call me that again and I will flay you alive,” I promised, but I followed him to a large red motorcycle. “What’s this?”
    “I’m borrowing it,” Dylan said, swinging one leg over the saddle. He patted the seat behind him. “Hop on.”
    I had been raised unburdened by the concept of “other people’s property,” so I hopped on. Dylan kicked the motorcycle into gear, and off we went.
    I don’t know if you have ever been on a motorcycle (if your parents don’t know, please do not nod now), but I must say: If I didn’t have wings, and if motorcycles weren’t, essentially, extremely cool death traps, I would want to ride on one all the time. It’s about the closest approximation to flying there is. The wind whipping through your hair, the sense of freedom, the bugs slamming into your face—it’s flying, but on the ground, burning gasoline and making a lot of noise. What’s not to love?
    We didn’t go straight home. I put my arms around Dylan’s waist, leaned my head against his back, and closed my eyes. He felt warm and solid. I didn’t have to do anything, for once —I just sat there. It was almost scary. Because I wasn’t totally in control of the situation.
    I felt