Strays Read Online Free PDF Page B

eyes down, I surveyed my bike and assessed the damage.
    Handlebars: busted.
    Left leg: bloodied.
    Tire and ego: deflated.
    â€œAre you okay?” asked a boy who might’ve been a freshman.
    Too shaken from the fall to speak, I just nodded my head. My fingers trembled as I picked up my bike.
    There was no way I was getting to school on this mess of metal. After locking the bike to a nearby parking meter, I waited for the bus with the other students, thankful that I’d gotten an early start; I could still make it to my final on time.
    When I finally arrived at school, I still had a few minutes to spare. I had planned on finding a seat in the gymnasium-turned-exam-room, so I could really focus, whip out my grammar studies book, and start cramming.
    But the sight of Ashley and Sierra talking and laughing outside the gym distracted me. Maybe that shopping trip to San Francisco would do me some good. I thought about telling them about my fall; I could probably have used some comforting words before walking into this final. But when I got to them, they stopped laughing and seemed like they were trying to avoid eye contact with each other.
    â€œIs this a bad time?” I asked. Not knowing what else to say and feeling, once again, like the new girl, I reached down to grasp my left knee, which was still throbbing.
    â€œAre you okay?” asked Ashley.
    â€œYeah, what happened to you? You look stressed out,” said Sierra.
    I decided just then that I didn’t want to get into the embarrassing details of my accident. “It’s finals week; I’m sure I’m not the only one,” I said.
    Sierra looked at Ashley and rolled her eyes. Maybe now wasn’t the right time for my sarcasm.
    â€œSo, last day,” I said, trying to feign optimism.
    â€œYup,” said Ashley, unusually quiet.
    We stood there awkwardly. Why did things feel so weird?
    Luckily, buggy-eyed Lydia Cordova sidled up to us. She was always overly enthusiastic about everything, which Ashley and I used to make fun of when we were alone.
    â€œCan you believe it!” she squealed. “It’s the last day of school!” Sierra and Ashley giggled, affirming Lydia’s enthusiasm. I had said the exact same thing not thirty seconds ago and had been met by silence.
    â€œI am so excited you guys conference-called me last night! I can’t wait to go shopping in San Francisco this weekend! It’s gonna be so much fun! Ashley, please thank your mom for me. And I’ve never stayed at a hotel as nice as the Fairmont before!”
    And then it all clicked—I’d been ousted from my spot in the Volvo and replaced by Lydia.
    Even though I knew my own recent isolation was responsible for being left out, it still stung.
    There was nothing I could say, so I walked away, toward my final.
    â€œIris, wait!” shouted Ashley. I thought about turning around and going back to talk with them about the situation, like adults. But then Sierra said, purposely loud enough for me to hear, “It’s not like she even wants to hang out with us anyways.”
    So I kept walking.
    *
    I entered the gym, where all of Mrs. Schneider’s five English classes were taking the same final. I picked a seat in the back and didn’t even bother to open up my book. I was seething. I needed some sort of release. If I didn’t care about what other people thought about my sanity, I’d have let out a guttural scream. I’d give anything to be in my closet, hammer in hand. I looked down at my knee. Still bloody. Students filed in, some with confidence in their eyes that said they had spent the weekend actually studying.
    Hoodie Boy, part of the bad-boy crew who had lobbed a paper bag at Ashley’s head the week before, took a seat next to me. If he was planning on cheating off my exam, he picked the wrong person.
    Then Andy and that soon-to-be sophomore trotted in together, holding hands. What was she even doing in the