Reject High (Reject High: A Young Adult Science Fiction Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

she caught me looking, I pretended to study the vase next to her, the one that we were assigned to sketch or paint. The teacher should’ve called names for roll instead of counting bodies. I’d just have to ask the girl for her name after the bell. I could think of worse things, but all of them – including bungee jumping with a long rope – seemed like a better option at the moment.
    When class ended, I packed up my work and hustled out, but got no closer than arm’s length to her because of the crowd. What was I supposed to call out? “Hey, girl who’s way out of my league?” or “Hey, People Magazine’s Most Beautiful Freshman, 2013?”
    “Hey, wait up,” was all I could think to say in the lowest tone of voice I could. She did turn around, but so did Asia, plus two other girls and four guys.
    As I stepped into the hall, I smacked into Selby. Does the dude have a lo-jack on me? Blood rushed to my head, and my mouth went dry. I remembered my promise, as Selby pushed me against the lockers and poked me in the stomach with what felt like his index and middle fingers.
    “Stay away from her.” He gritted his teeth and pushed further into my gut.
    What was he trying to do, some sort of pressure point technique from a Kung-Fu movie? I propped my legs against the lockers for leverage, and pushed him away. He fell back on his butt in the middle of the hallway and stared at me, like I was the one who should be on the ground. He closed his right hand, like something was in it, and fled through the crowd.
    I followed the herd to the lunchroom. Without warning, Rhapsody appeared at my side. “I thought you’d meet me in the bathroom,” she said with a heavy sigh. 
    “We’ve got dungeon duty in a few hours. I thought you’d had enough of me, already.”
    “You didn’t say how your weekend was,” she said. “Discover a new talent?”
    Instead of telling the truth, I wanted to have a little fun first. “Actually,” I whispered in her ear. “I am a little different.”
    Her eyebrows lifted. I had her. “Really? How?”
    I purposely stared at her chest while I talked. “I can see through anything.”
    She gasped. In about five seconds her ears turned red and she froze in place. I had forgotten about Ruby calling her fat. To someone who thinks she’s overweight, having a stranger see her naked is probably the worst possible thing that could happen. I’m sure she wanted to run away, but I must have been totally convincing, like she thought I’d see her butt, too. 
    “L-l-look away!” she shrieked. Her head started to fade. Acting faster than I thought possible, I took off my shirt and put it over her head. That started disappearing, too.
    “Easy,” I said. “It was just a joke! Someone might notice.” 
    Just as quickly as she’d started to vanish, Rhapsody calmed down and reappeared. “So not funny,” she said, handing me my shirt and clutching her red cafeteria tray to her chest.
    “I’m not different, not at all. Sorry.” I put my shirt back on and apologized until she made me stop.
    Rhapsody punched me hard on the arm. “Look, if you could see through my clothes, you’d tell me, right? And not just let me walk naked around you?”
    “Yeah, I promise.” I made a mental note not to pull a trick like that on her again. “So, you get embarrassed and that does it?”
    She finally let the tray down onto the metal railing. “I didn’t know about that. I think of something that makes me angry or upset.” Her voice trailed off. “That’s how it works for me. When I get myself together, that turns it off and I reappear.” 
    “I can’t get mad.” I pointed to the dried-out hamburgers and under-baked French fries. The lunch lady dropped a round aluminum wrapper and a handful of crinkle cuts onto a chipped white plate and handed it to me. “So, sad or afraid it is, I guess.”
    “Can you do that?”
    The first thing to come to mind was Ray, who pulled the trifecta – he made me angry, sad,