Something Like Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

long as Ben could remember. He’d
always looked like he was twenty-five, even in junior high. Next to
him was Darryl Briscott, who was short and bordering on fat, but
came from a very rich family, and that guaranteed his
popularity.
    Ben eyed them warily for a
moment before turning his attention back to Tim, whose Adam’s apple
bobbed in amusement at something Bryce was saying. There had been
days when Ben questioned his recent obsession, dismissing it as
temporary insanity induced by raging hormones. Crazy or not, seeing
Tim again rekindled those stalker’s flames. He was everything,
absolutely everything, that Ben looked for in a guy. From the
outside at least. His choice of company cast doubt on everything
else.
    “ Timmy!” squealed a voice
that would test even the patience of pigs. Krista Norman bounded
directly in front of Ben on her way to ‘Timmy.’ Despite her
unfortunate voice, she was one of the most popular girls and
drop-dead gorgeous. She ran over and took Tim’s hand in her petite
little paws, and beamed up at him. Tim returned the million dollar
smile, much to Ben’s disgust.
    “ Hey, faggot!” These
charming words were spoken by none other than Bryce Hunter himself,
who had noticed Ben standing there and staring.
    Any chance of resisting the
oncoming blush was ruined when Krista added, “He really is, you
know.”
    Ben risked a glare at Bryce
and a sarcastic little wave to Krista as he walked away. Figuring
there was nothing more to lose, he glanced at Tim one last time as
he went. Tim appeared amused, returning Ben’s funny little wave.
The gesture was genuinely cute when he did it, which made Ben twice
as angry.
    Why couldn’t people’s
insides match their outsides? The world would be such a wonderful
place if the nicer someone was, the more beautiful they became.
Jerks like Bryce and Darryl would be disgusting, pus-covered
trolls, and everyone would see them for what they were. Tim, too,
if these were the sort of people he chose to hang out with. Instead
of the princely appearance, he would be ugly, hunched, and so
wretched-looking that Ben never would have noticed him. Or if Ben
had, he would have at least known right away that Tim wasn’t worth
all the emotions and fantasies that he had wasted on
him.
    * * * * *
    Ben was having one of those
days, a parade of unpleasant events that began in the morning. He
was stuffing his backpack into his locker before heading to the gym
when something wet splatted onto his neck. Ben turned around to
find a spit wad almost as big as his fist lying on the ground. The
hallways were still full of kids, but Bryce’s massive form was easy
to pick out of the crowd, a satisfied leer painted across his
face.
    At least Tim wasn’t with
him, which was something of a small miracle. Allison having spotted
him had indeed broken the curse. Over the past two weeks Ben had
run into Tim at least twice a day. Each time Ben hastily averted
his eyes and cursed the flush that came over his face. He hoped his
red cheeks were mistaken as angry instead of bashful. After all, he
had nothing to be embarrassed about, since Tim was clueless as to
Ben’s former crush on him.
    The fun-filled day
continued in gym class. Leon was having his wisdom teeth removed,
which meant at least a week of misery without his company. Worst of
all, they were playing baseball, a sport very difficult to go
unnoticed in. His first time at bat, Ben cussed loudly after his
third strike. This infuriated the coach, the bald one with the
twisted nose, who commanded that Ben run the two-mile trail through
the woods that nestled against the school. At least this was an
escape of sorts. Ben slowed to a walk as soon as he was hidden
behind the trees and wondered if he could get away with
self-inflicting this “punishment” until Leon came back. He would
rather run alone every day than play baseball.
    Then there was a
substitute teacher in Spanish, which of course meant that the
entire class was misbehaving.