Some Quiet Place Read Online Free PDF Page B

in front of my nose again, prepared to snatch it away. I don’t move as I calculate. Mrs. Farmer hasn’t noticed us yet, but if I defend myself it could get me in trouble with the office, and thus in trouble with Tim. Sophia laughs at me, and a couple other kids do too, thinking I’m frozen because of Fear. But for once, he’s far from here.
    “ I’ll take it from you.” Joshua moves so quickly that Sophia doesn’t realize that the paper has slipped from her fingers until it’s too late. She glares up at Joshua.
    “N-nobody asked you to get involved,” she says to him, her narrow face pinched with fury. She wants him to like her so badly, but she can’t bring herself to be kind to me.
    Joshua grins, a lazy, insolent curve of the lips. “’Course nobody asked. That’s what makes it fun.” He gives me the assignment, his eyes saying more than his words ever could. Joy and Courage stand by him, both touching his shoulders. Joshua’s face is a mask of mischief, but the presence of the Emotions shows me the truth.
    “Thank you,” I tell him.
    Sophia has turned around in her seat, but her stiff shoulders and Anger beside her are hints of future pain I can look forward to. Anger ignores my presence—he’s never liked me, for some reason.
    Mrs. Farmer has begun to talk again, so I pretend to pay attention to her.
    “You’re welcome,” I hear Joshua say, which pulls my eyes back to him. Playing the part of the casual troublemaker, he grins at me, touches his temple as if to tip an invisible hat, and goes back to his desk. Joy has gone, but I know she’s still with him from the spring in his step. Courage stays by me—one of the few Emotions I haven’t met. I don’t know how I recognize him, but I do.
    The bell rings and suddenly the classroom is alive. Kids shoot to their feet and speed-walk to the door like their lives depend on it. Joshua gives me a last, lingering look as he leaves. “Make sure to pick your partners by tomorrow!” Mrs. Farmer raises her voice to be heard. She’s following the throng into the hallway. Pretty soon I’m alone with Courage, who remains even though everyone is gone.
    I stand and gather my books. “You’re not as beautiful as your opposite,” I inform him. “But you’re not so restless.”
    Courage—brother and eternal enemy of Fear—looks down at me. He has a long nose, noble-looking, and his hair lodges against the back of his neck in tight black curls. “Of course not. I’m everything he isn’t.”
    It’s true. As dark as his brother is pale, Courage studies me. He’s a formidable presence in the small, insignificant classroom. “You’re an interesting one,” he states, and there is a note of curiosity in his voice. “I had heard the stories of a mortal that we’re unable to touch, but I hadn’t given them much thought. Truly interesting. I can see why Fear is so captivated.”
    “He hates what he can’t understand,” I say.
    Courage takes this in with a thoughtful expression. “You are very young to know so much. And knowledge in our world is dangerous. Remember that.”
    “You would encourage ignorance, then?” My tone is polite. His answer could be beneficial; it may aid in my survival.
    The Emotion tilts his head, obviously distracted. Someone in the world is in need of a touch of bravery, no doubt. His body twitches and shimmers just the tiniest bit, an indication that he’s answering the summons by sending another copy of himself to the source. “What is that phrase you humans use?” he murmurs after a moment, focusing on me again. “Ah. Ignorance is bliss. Yes?”
    Any second now he’ll vanish. I release him from the discussion by saying, “I’ll keep that in mind.” When Courage doesn’t move, I add, “Was there something else?”
    He stands so close to me that I feel his heat, and it’s an unusual sensation because Fear is so cold. Courage’s voice is the slow smolder of lava as he tells me, “You should be kind to the boy