The Alliance Read Online Free PDF Page B

Responding would just give him satisfaction but…
    I just couldn’t back down. I couldn’t. I typed:
    @VictorEE Who’s going to stop me? A dickless nobody like you?
    I logged off and the message disappeared. “Wait up!” I called after Ricky. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Probably VictorEE getting back to me. So fast. I must have struck a nerve.
    Screw him. I’d deal with him when I was ready.
    â€“ – – – –
    Norman Bates stared right through me. His face filled the screen, the image of a skull superimposed on him. I shuddered. Creepy.
    The lights came up and the bell rang. “Okay, folks,” Mrs. Carney said. “I want your two-page reflection papers on
Psycho
by Friday. Or
Mother
will be very upset.”
    Everyone laughed as they filed out of the room. Ricky tapped me on the shoulder. “Good luck,” he said, nodding at Carney. We bumped fists and I hung back, waiting to get Carney alone.
    â€œCarmen,” she said once the classroom was empty, “please don’t tell me Norman Bates has been giving you nightmares.”
    â€œNo, Mrs. Carney, I was just…” I stopped. “Do you like me, Mrs. Carney?”
    She sat down on the corner of her desk. “I can’t think of anyone I dislike. Have I done something to make you think …?”
    â€œOh, no,” I said quickly. “No, just the opposite. I think you’re the only teacher at Southside who treats me like a human being.”
    She frowned. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I hope it’s not true, but I’m sure that must be how it seems. Is it something you wanted to talk about?”
    I shook my head. “No, not really. I just…” I got out the petition. “I’m trying to start a GSA. I need to get three faculty members to sign but … well, teachers aren’t exactly beating down my door. Vice Principal Winston says it’s because I don’t follow through.”
    Mrs. Carney looked over the petition. “I haven’t had you in class long enough to know if that’s true. You seem like a great student. You ask good questions, you participate in discussion. But, to be honest, I’ve heard that about you from other teachers.”
    I groaned. “Teachers
talk
about me?” Great. I really was doomed.
    She smiled. “Teachers talk about
all
the students. You’re not being singled out. I don’t get the impression that people dislike you. But they think you’re capable of more than you achieve. Getting this GSA started could show everyone they’re wrong.”
    â€œBut that’s the problem,” I said. “I
could
prove that I can follow through. This GSA means a lot to me. I think it would really help people, and I’d work hard to keep it running. But I need a chance first. Is there any way you’d consider signing this?”
    Mrs. Carney tilted her head as she thought. “You know, you still need to get thirty students to sign this.”
    I waved my hand. “Oh, that’s not a problem.”
    She seemed impressed. “Really?”
    I shrugged. “Not to brag, but I have a lot of friends. I’m not über-popular, like Jessie Reed, but I fit in with lots of different groups. Thirty signatures isn’t a problem. It’s just those three.”
    She pursed her lips and handed the petition back to me. “I’ll tell you what: can you come here tomorrow morning before the first bell rings? I might have a solution to your problem.”
    I tried not to look devastated that she hadn’t signed it. I just took the petition back and signed. “Sure thing,” I said. “I’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
    As I headed for my locker, I wondered what kind of solution Mrs. Carney had in mind. Because if she couldn’t deliver those three faculty signatures, the GSA was over before it had even begun.

M
    y phone started