The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

appeared out of thin air? Heck, even my clothes—that should have been ripped up, at least—were in perfect condition.
    The Nurse—who I learned was nicknamed “Miss A” short for Nurse Alexandra—had said I had probably passed out from anemia or stress—but I wasn’t anemic, but even though  a part of me wa s excited to be in St. Mary’s. T he other part was insanely nervous , and, I guess you could say, stressed out. She said there were many situations like this for new students, so she really didn’t seem overly concerned about my well being, just as long as I was alright. She wasn’t even that pushy about me being in the woods all alone the day of student orientation .
    Speaking of orientation…I hadn’t just missed it, but I had been asleep the entire day because of…whatever the heck had happened!
    What a great start to a new life, huh?
    “Hey, I can carry that for you…” Jack started again and reaching for my bag, but I cut him off.
    “It’s fine . Really. You’ve already done enough. Too much, in fact.”
    His hand brushed against mine , and I flushed. I pretended to fidget with the buttons of my jacket so it didn’t happen again. I glanced over at Jack, seeing his blonde hair shine like gold in the afternoon rays. His eyes caught mine , and I looked away, embarrassed at being caught staring.
    “You sure y ou’re okay? You look kinda flushed . We can go sit down if you want…”
    I shook my head. My bangs shifted down to hide my eyes (and hopefully the red glows that decided to flourish on my cheeks). Jack chuckled before reaching out and brushing my hair back . “You’ve got no reason to hide from the world, Em . I’m not that bad of company, am I?”
    I giggled (and Emery Miller does not giggle), “Well, m aybe you’re not as bad of company as I thought.”
    He laughed. It was a warm, silky kind of laugh that made my toes curl, like being wrapped up in a warm blanket, while cradling a cup of hot apple cider as you watching the snow drift outside the window. It was that kind of warmth that continued to show whenever Jack looked, talked, walked…well, whatever he did, it made my insides turn into warm mush. “It’s nice to see you aren’t too upset about…you know, what had happened earlier. Geez, I really should have done more, but you know how the Headmistress is. Rules with an iron fist and an iron rod stuck up her—”
    “Aha, yeah, I get it,” I waved it off, “It does bother me, but there wasn’t anything you can do about it.” Actually, I was pissed. I was really pissed just thinking about the unfairness of it all. She didn’t even give me a chance to defend myself—but what was there to defend, besides a girl just taking a walk through the woods and getting sidetracked by discovering two strange people fighting with weapons? Anyone would have believed that, given the chance!
    Yeah…no. Even I couldn’t believe it.
    Jack paused in front of a lamppost and leaned against it, hands in pocket. I noticed that there was a silver chain around his neck that flashed in the light, the end of it hidden under his shirt. It reminded me of the dog tags that my Granddaddy wore in the old pictures that Grandma would show me. “Let’s start over then. I’m Jackson Alexander; Jack for short. 17. A junior. Also on cross country and track team. I plan to study government when I graduate. You?”
    Wow. That was a lot. I coughed before starting, “I’m Emery Miller. Well, you already know that. You can just call me Em if you want, yeah, everyone kind of calls me that, although it’s hard not to get in confused with Emily or something.” I coughed again. “16. A sophomore. Haven’t joined any sports or clubs yet. I don’t know what I’m going to be when I graduate yet, but it might have something to do with historical preservation…or s-something like that…”
    Shoot, Em . You’re babbling again! Shut up! I shuffled my feet, kicking a loose stone onto the grass. A small