The Princes of Tangleforest Read Online Free PDF Page A

the rest of the healing she needed to do she could handle on her own.
    She wished her father would take another step and go out with some friends or something. Often she felt like she had lost both parents. Her dad had changed so much since then. A year earlier he had seemed so young, strong and handsome; now he was just there. She understood… she missed her mom, too.
    After her dad had gone upstairs, Julia sat in his chair in front of the television. The TV played, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about Tanner and if the Princes had converted him.
    She thought Tanner’s smartness was hidden in kind of the same way hers was: hair, clothes, and not-a-care attitude. However, she feared there was this one big difference: perhaps Tanner hid his smartness to be cool. To fit in. That’s what worried her. At Tangleforest High, the smart kids were the cool ones. The question was—how bad did Tanner want to fit in? Would he want to fit in so much that he would go geek?

Chapter 7
     
    As Tanner rode to school, he had at least one thing to be thankful for… Friday! Finally. Several times during the week he had considered telling his mom about the strange goings on at Tangleforest High. However, he wondered what he would say. No, he decided, at least not yet. He had to deal with everything on his own, because she might not believe him? He didn’t want to move. Not when such a hot girl lived right across the street.
    Julia stepped in front of him as he walked up the stairs to the school entrance.  “So I heard a rumor that the Princes showed up at your house yesterday.”
    “They did. They wanted me to join their Geekdom.”
    “Well?” She clutched her books in front of her and stood firm, not letting his stare wander.
    “I said no! Why would I want to be some sort of geeky prince?”
    She sighed and relaxed her stance.
    “You didn’t actually think I would consider?”
    “No, it’s just that… well… you know. It does have its perks. And Crapola…”
    “What?”
    “Do you see that? Look how Ashley is dressed?”
    “She does look a little different,” Tanner said.
    “And carrying books! She never carries books. They never match her clothes. She borrows. Oh crap! I can’t believe he did that! They changed her.”
    “Do you think it is because of me?”
    “I don’t know.” Julia put her hand on her head. “I wonder if I can change her back.”
    “You can do that?”
    “Phuh. I’m not sure. It’s been like forever.”
    Tanner felt sorry for Julia as Ashley stood with a group of kids—pointing, laughing, and talking loudly about her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you two weren’t actually chummy, but—”
    “What? I…” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not a big deal, really. It’s not like we were really friends. However, and despite knowing I’ll be stuck listening to how great she is again, I guess it won’t hurt to try and change her back to her original snobby self… unlike this new geeky snob. I so can’t win.” She exhaled and checked her faux-hawk for alertness with one hand. “I’ll go to her house after school and see what I can do.”
    “Can I come with?”
    She glanced at him, her eyes a mess of thinking. “Sure, I guess. Why?”
    “I’m kind of curious about it all. You know.” He wiggled his fingers in front of his face. “You are under my power. You will do all of my homework forever. Ha!”
    “It doesn’t work like that, but I guess you can tag along, if you must.”
    He thought he must.
    ***
    “Can you keep up little skater boy?” Julia asked as she hopped on her bike and peddled down the sidewalk.
    The October afternoon’s temperature felt mild, and Tanner examined the Tangleforest neighborhood, thinking how it had been around long enough to allow time for the trees to grow tall and full but new enough that the houses looked modern. Well, except for Poppi’s house. That made him wonder if Julia knew Poppi.
    They rode for about six blocks and turned