The Complete Burn for Burn Trilogy: Burn for Burn; Fire With Fire; Ashes to Ashes Read Online Free PDF Page B

dwindling space of the closing door.
    My stomach seizes up. I hurry to the last stall and collapse at the bowl, the ends of my hair skimming the water.
    I take a couple of deep breaths. In and out. Maybe it wasn’t any of those things.
    Maybe I wasn’t worth remembering.

CHAPTER FOUR
    LILLIA
     
    W E’RE SITTING AT OUR NEW LUNCH TABLE WITH THE regulars—me and Rennie, Ashlin, Alex, Reeve, PJ, Derek, plus a couple other guys from the football team. We inherited this table from last year’s seniors. It’s a tradition. Star table, center of the so-called action. The last day of school junior year, the coolest seniors call the coolest juniors over and invite you to have lunch with them. It’s like the passing of the popularity torch. Too bad it’s just the same as any other gross table in this cafeteria.
    Ashlin is being annoying, going on and on about the saunaher parents had installed. I finally say, “Ashlin, nobody cares,” and her mouth snaps shut, her brown eyes hurt. I feel kind of bad, so I add, “Just kidding.”
    Rennie snags a powdered sugar doughnut off my tray and pops it into her mouth.
    “I thought you weren’t eating carbs during cheer season,” I say, and I pull my lunch tray closer. I only have three left.
    Rennie makes a face at me. “I deserve some comfort after this morning. I should probably get an AIDS test or something. Who knows what kind of germs that skank is harboring.” She gags, and her tongue is white from powdered sugar.
    I can’t believe Kat DeBrassio spit in Rennie’s face. I mean, that was totally gross. But it’s not like Rennie didn’t have it coming. I just can’t believe someone called her out on it.
    Reeve pulls his chair up closer to us. I scoot away a little. He must have used half a bottle of cologne this morning. It’s giving me a headache. He drawls, “Rennie, honey?”
    “Yes, Reevie baby?” Rennie flips her hair around.
    “You know you’re my wifey, right?”
    Eww.
    “Of course.”
    “And a wifey has to make sure her man is taken care of,” hecontinues. I make a Gag me face at Ashlin, who giggles. Reeve sees me do it, and he waves his hand at me dismissively before turning back to Rennie. “Anyway . . . will you please make sure that I get a cheerleader who knows what she’s doing this year? I’m serious. I can’t have a girl up there representing number sixty-three if she’s just a pretty face. Whoever gets the job, she’s gonna have a lot of airtime, and she’s got to have the entire package.”
    “What’s the entire package?” Rennie purrs.
    Reeve ticks off his fingers. “Rhythm, good hand-eye coordination, flexible enough to do some of the more complicated moves. No cartwheel bullshit. I want back handsprings, pop and lock. Good variety. You know what I’m saying.”
    “I know exactly what you’re saying, Reevie,” Rennie says, her eyes bright. “Consider it taken care of.” Reeve reaches across the table and pinches her cheek.
    Rennie slaps his hand away, laughing. “What about you, Alex? Who do you want?”
    “I don’t care,” he says, and he goes back to talking to Derek.
    Rennie mouths to me, What’s his problem? I shrug back. PMS, she mouths.
    She leans forward and takes another doughnut off my tray. “What do you think about me giving Alex to Nadia? . . . I mean,it’s definitely true that if she nabbed a senior player, she’d be hot shit with her little freshman piggies.”
    I snatch the doughnut right back. “Yeah, whatever.” I still feel bad about what I said to Nadia this morning. Maybe this will make her feel better.
    “So you’re cool with that?”
    “Why wouldn’t I be?” I know what she’s getting at, but I refuse to play along. Like I’ve told her a thousand times, I don’t see him that way.
    “O-kay.”
    I get up from the table and walk over to the soda machine before she can say anything else.
    I’m trying to decide between grape soda and Coke when Alex comes up behind me. “Hey, Lindy,”