Rewind Read Online Free PDF Page A

a laugh. “I say that to all the boys.”
    Adam tried to return her smile confidently, nonchalantly. But he felt like an idiot.
    Lianna’s face grew serious. “I’m sorry about last night. I totally understand how you feel.”
    “Same here,” Adam said. “I couldn’t sleep thinking about this. I don’t know what to do.”
    “Maybe this isn’t the place to talk about it in detail. Come to my house after dinner—like, seven o’clock? We can watch a movie and talk.”
    “Sure,” Adam said.
    Over Lianna’s shoulder, Ripley was approaching. He gave Adam a tight smile and put his arm around Lianna. “My house?”
    Lianna looked at Adam. “We’d love to.”
    “We?” Ripley asked.
    “Should we tell him, Adam?” Lianna asked.
    Adam cringed.
    Wrong, wrong question.
    “Tell me what?” Ripley said.
    “Nothing,” Adam said feebly. “Uh, I have to go home.”
    “It’s Friday. There’s no homework,” Ripley snapped. “What kind of nothing?”
    Lianna shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe it anyway.”
    “Try me.”
    Lianna looked helpless. And Ripley was not going to give up.
    Adam sighed.
    He knows what’s up. I pulled him into this.
    As they walked out to the bike rack, Adam began to explain his plan.
    Ripley laughed at first. On the ride to his house, he fired some suspicious questions. But Adam kept at it. Patiently, matter-of-factly.
    By the time they reached the Wellers’ house, Ripley had fallen silent.
    His sister, Caryn, was eating a snack in the kitchen as they trudged through.
    “Don’t say hi,” she grumbled.
    “Sorry,” Ripley said absently
    An apology. Caryn looked stunned.
    I have him. I think.
    For what it’s worth.
    Ripley led Adam and Lianna up to his room. He shut the door behind them.
    “Adam, this is risky,” he said, pacing the floor.
    “So you believe me?” Adam asked.
    Ripley didn’t answer for a long time. “I still need to see some evidence. More than that tape. What if I come with you Saturday?”
    “What?” Lianna exclaimed. “You just said it was risky.”
    “Risky to do it alone ,” Ripley replied. “ You don’t want to go. I could be there to help, in case something goes wrong.”
    “I am not hearing this,” Lianna said. “I don’t know what’s harder to believe—Adam’s time travel or your conversion into a kind person.”
    Adam watched Ripley’s face. Ripley was lost in thought, growing excited.
    This was not a trick. It couldn’t be.
    “In the meantime,” Ripley announced, “I’ll try to fix the camera.”
    “So that’s it!” Lianna said. “Ripley, the camera only works for Adam.”
    “It’s got to be an eyesight thing,” Ripley said. “You know, like some people can see certain frequencies that others can’t.”
    “Frequencies?” Lianna repeated.
    “Well, why do you think Adam’s the only one? His inner specialness?”
    “Ripley, you are missing the whole point!”
    Ripley wheeled around to her. “But of course you’re not,” he said sardonically. “You never do!”
    Enough.
    Adam should have known Ripley had an ulterior motive.
    He did not want to be in the room another minute. “I’ll…get some snacks.”
    He slipped downstairs to the kitchen.
    Caryn looked up from a magazine. “They fighting again?”
    “I guess.”
    “Might as well go home. You don’t want to be here when the fireworks start. It can get ugly.”
    Adam took a bag of pretzels from the cupboard and joined her at the table. He couldn’t leave without his camera. He’d just have to wait it out.
    Which, fortunately, didn’t take long. When the sounds of arguing stopped, Adam headed back upstairs with the pretzels.
    Ripley’s door was closed. From behind it, Adam could hear low, urgent whispering.
    He knocked.
    Total silence.
    Then Lianna called out, “Adam?”
    Adam pushed the door open. Lianna and Ripley were sitting casually on the floor.
    Too casually.
    Adam looked over to where he’d set down his backpack.
    The pack was there. Open and