Three Wishes Read Online Free PDF Page A

bumps my shoulder with his. “I’ve always said all you needed was to come out of your shell. You’re like the ugly duckling, baby.” We start walking again.
    â€œUm, thanks?”
    â€œYou know what I mean. You were never ugly . But now you’re a real swan.”
    â€œYou’re sweet. I think.” Marc knows how to spread gossip in just the right way, so I explain to him my new body is courtesy of my mother’s French genes. His eyes widen, and he seems a little doubtful, raising an eyebrow again as I speak, but he nods anyway and seems willing to drop the hints to the rest of the school. I’m hopeful this strategic gossip will avoid anyone else’s nosy questions and squelch the nasty comments.
    Out of nowhere, Marc says, “Hmm. I wish I could get a makeover, too.”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œI’m jealous,” he pouts, arms folded over his chest. “Isn’t it every boy’s dream to get a makeover?”
    I laugh, but I file away his comment to contemplate later. At this point we’ve reached the doorway for bio, so we promise to talk more later and then take our assigned seats at opposite sides of the room.
    Throughout the day, boys hold doors for me as I walk into my classrooms. At lunch, Rob Jenks, the captain of the football team, waves me over to his table, while Kaydee, who happens to be his ex-girlfriend, scowls at me from the next seat over. I pretend I don’t see either of them and instead search for Leia.
    Even as I’m enjoying the attention, it grates on me it wasn’t until I started looking like this that anyone took any interest in me. I so want to talk to Leia about the boy situation. But how can I avoid mentioning my thoughtless wish earlier? I am going to have to play it by ear.
    I search the drab, gray-walled cafeteria, the modular seats and tables at the center of the room filled with juniors and seniors, while the ring of long tables and benches around the perimeter are occupied by the younger students. A wall of windows brightens up the cafeteria; I’m in one of the darker corners, and the sun backlights the room and makes it harder to find Leia. I realize she isn’t there yet and decide to take a seat at our regular table. Before she arrives, Joel taps me on the shoulder and sits down next to me.
    â€œThere you are,” he says. “I haven’t seen you alone all day.” He sounds petulant.
    â€œOh, sorry about the phone last night! I meant to catch up with you earlier. I, um, needed to talk to my grandmother. So, what’s up?”
    â€œYeah, well, uh. I… wanted to see how swimming is going for you so far this season.”
    â€œOkay, it’s fine. Though I felt kind of slow yesterday. It was… different. You know.” Oh, I can’t believe I just said that.
    â€œSure,” he says, though he sounds distracted and is staring at something outside the cafeteria windows.
    â€œSo, was there anything else?” I hint. “I think Leia’s heading over.”
    He lets out a deep breath. “Nope, nothing at all. Let’s make sure we have a great swim season.”
    â€œRah, rah! Oh-kay!” I joke. I almost roll my eyes, but he seems a little down. Maybe he’s nervous about our first meet, coming up in a few weeks. “I’m sure it’ll be awesome. This is our senior year, after all. If you want, we could talk strategy with Coach Terri after our next practice.”
    â€œYes, good idea,” he enthuses. “I’ll text her later to let her know.”
    Joel leaves and Leia arrives. Before she even sits down, she lectures, “Listen — I’m not going to let it go, whatever happened in French earlier, and I want to hear an explanation.” She pauses. “But what was happening there with Joel?”
    â€œNothing. He just asked me about how swimming is going so far.”
    â€œIt looked pretty serious. Are you sure that’s