The Glass Wall (Return of the Ancients Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

her glasses off and putting them on the desk. Cupping her hands in front of her like paws, she hopped a little and hissed, “ Cat -ions are paws -itive.”
    The students groaned.
    I wasn’t bold enough to smile on the outside though I smiled on the inside. I knew that one day I’d forget what a cation even was, but I’d certainly remember that a cation was positive.
    Ellison picked me up for lunch, herding me into the cafeteria and through the line. As a subject of the foster care system, my lunches were free. It was a relief. I wouldn’t have to risk stealing anything.
    I took my place at the table filled with a mixture of boys and girls that I’d met earlier and had already forgotten.
    “Ah, the cliques,” Ellison said, taking a big bite of his bologna sandwich. “I forgot to tell you about them.”
    I peered around the lunchroom. It was large. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered one wall and a series of vending machines and microwaves covered the other. A myriad of students lounged on large round tables and black plastic chairs.
    Ellison began to rattle off the list of cliques as he pointed to each table with his sandwich. “The Potheads, Preps, Socially-Awkwards, Nerds, World-of-Warcrafters, Lax-Bros, and the Footballers.”
    The World-of-Warcrafters sitting at the table next to us overheard him and smirked. A few stood up and did a little cheer while making signs of the letter W with their fingers.
    “And, of course,” Ellison added with a cheeky grin, “the most epic and elite of all the groups: The Completely Awesomes. But, there’s only one member that qualifies for that one—Me.”
    His friends groaned.
    “Just kidding,” Ellison laughed. “We’re mostly Lax-Bros and a few resident nerds.”
    It was easy to identify the two nerds. They were the only ones who didn’t have some form of a lacrosse symbol on their T-shirts or jackets.
    Ellison was still speaking, “But don’t let us fool you. We’re just like the public schools, only we are sneakier.”
    “Yeah!” One of the Lax-Bros said. “Instead of fighting upfront with our fists, we’ll accidentally whack you with a lacrosse stick on the back and say ‘sorry’.”
    They all started laughing.
    I couldn’t tell if they were joking or not, but decided not to pursue it. The conversation changed to an upcoming soccer game and they all invited me to go with them, several times.
    “She’ll be there,” Ellison finally said. “You know Grace won’t miss it.”
    There was something about the way he said her name that caught my attention. I glanced at him in surprise, but he grabbed his tray and left.
    “Ellison’s in love with Grace,” someone whispered. “She never notices him. He spends all of his time writing poetry and songs—”
    The bell interrupted us and Ellison reappeared to escort me to my next class.
    The rest of the day passed in a blur.
    I was overwhelmed. I was going to have to study until midnight each day to catch up. My head was pounding and finally the last bell rang and the day was over.
    I felt completely drained.
    Grace was waiting for me at the bottom of the bridge, and I was too tired to read the inspirational words in the cement. I made a mental note to read them in the morning as I climbed into Betty’s truck.
    “How was school?” Betty asked as we drove away.
    “It was school,” I said.
    She smiled, but then, it seemed Betty smiled a lot.
    We picked up some groceries and ran a few errands, arriving at home just as Al pulled up into the driveway.
    I grabbed several grocery bags and headed toward the house when the trashcan in the driveway caught my attention.
    My heart stopped.
    Jerry’s cardboard box lay on top, tilted on its side. The old sweater I used for his bed was gone.
    I dropped the groceries and glass shattered as I ran to the trash can.
    “What is it?” I heard Betty ask.
    I shook the box, turning it upside down, and began a frantic search.
    I found the old sweater, but there was no sign of