Strings Read Online Free PDF Page B

glaring in their direction. ‘What's her problem?’ she whispered. ‘Are they the girlfriends?’
                  Melissa answered with a shrug, feeling slightly disappointed because despite what she had been saying to Beth, she really hoped he wasn’t spoken for. But one of them was glaring at her as though she was about to charge over and punch her. Melissa had no idea why, so she tried to ignore the stare.
                  Luke jumped up the step at that moment and walked into the room. He glanced at the two mystery girls and his shoulders dropped a little. Melissa thought he sighed. If either of them were with him, he didn't seem pleased about it.
                  ‘You two still here?’ he said in their direction, with more than a hint of irritation in his voice.
                  ‘Yes, waiting for you to buy us a drink,’ one of them replied. But her expression changed and she looked ready to kill him as he turned, walked straight over to Melissa and Beth, and sat on the floor in front of them.
                  ‘Hi, I’m Luke.’ He decided to start again and introduce himself properly. He apologised again for pushing Melissa over, an apology which she happily accepted. She then introduced herself and then Beth, but before they had a chance to say anything else, one of the other girls stood up and headed for them. Her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail and her ‘little black dress’ was way too little for her. It was impossible to walk gracefully in the black heels she was wearing, and she looked like she was walking on hot coals as she stumbled over. Her steely eyes glared down at Luke, and Melissa half expected lasers to shoot out from them.
                  ‘What do you want?’
                  ‘Are you going to ignore me all night?’ she pouted.
                  ‘Looks like it. Amber, please give me a break.’ Then he turned back to Melissa. The scowls went from Luke to Melissa and then back to Luke, and it seemed pretty clear that she must be his girlfriend. Melissa leaned forward, which with hindsight wasn’t the best idea. ‘I don't think your girlfriend’s very happy with you. Perhaps we should go.’              
                  Luke shook his head, saying that she definitely wasn’t his girlfriend. ‘She just won’t take the hint,’ he whispered. Meanwhile, the girl’s friend now also glared in their direction.
                  ‘What?’ Luke snapped at the second girl, who was sitting on a beanbag, still on the other side of the room. She jumped up and stormed over.
                  ‘You’ve said barely two words to her all night!’ she said as the rest of the band piled into the room and began opening more beers. Melissa could see they were trying not to laugh at Luke’s predicament, but clearly finding it all very amusing. She really didn’t understand what was going on, but she had a feeling she was about to find out.
                  Luke didn't look up as he answered through gritted teeth, ‘Jenny, I didn't ask her to come. Amber, you should go home.’ 
                  ‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Just give me five minutes alone to talk.’
                  He sighed before getting up and pulling her by the arm to a far corner of the room, where they had a hushed conversation. Melissa could only pick up snippets of what they were saying, but Amber was very animated, and she didn’t look happy at whatever he was saying. Then she heard him say, ‘You have to stop this. There is no us, and there never was. Why would you lie about me wanting to see you? I never said that.’
                  ‘Yes, you did!’ she screamed, and grabbed his arm. ‘Last night when I called you, I said I was coming tonight and you said you couldn't wait to see me!’
                  ‘Are