Under Different Stars Read Online Free PDF

not real fur ‘cuz did you see what they do to those poor animals?”
    “Enrique, you’re wearing leather boots. That’s cow,” Michael points out with an eye roll.
    “But they’re Gucci!”
    Pulling the braid from my hair, I run my fingers through it to unbraid it. “Your sense of moral outrage is well placed, Enrique, but I’m about to join your furry little friends if you don’t help me,” I cut in, causing them both to look at me in question.
    “What?” Enrique asks, his eyes going wide.
    “Three guys tried to jump me on the train on my way home from work this morning before I ran from them. Now, three different guys tried to take me at the club tonight,” I explain in a stream of words. “I think Luther might have shot one of them before I bailed.” Silence greets my explanation as Michael looks at Enrique. “I need a place to crash for a few days. I need to figure out what I’m going to do.”
    “Luther shot someone?” Enrique asks, his jaw dropping open.
    “Yeah…this big one, Kyon. He’s like a giant and he was trying to make me leave with him,” I say breathlessly, feeling a burst of adrenaline at the memory.
    “What happened? What did they want? Were they DSS?”
    “They’re definitely not social serve-thy-selves and I don’t know what they want exactly—it’s something to do with my family—the ones on the train were—they were like really beautiful—tall, like dark-haired athletes—with these warrior, tribal tats on their necks and eyes the exact shade as mine,” I explain, wrapping my hands around my coffee cup and seeing the ripples in it from my trembling.
    “Your family? But I thought…” Enrique’s question fades.
    “They knew my parents’ names and everything, but they could’ve gotten that out of my file at DSS.” I continue. “The other ones at the club were blond, blue-eyed, but otherwise they could’ve been from the same mold as the guys on the train…except…” I trail off.
    “Except what?” Michael asks.
    “Except, the ones on the train didn’t try to lie to me. They said they were going to take me to my family where I could ‘pay for my crimes,’” I tell them.
    “Pay for your crimes?” Enrique’s voice gets higher with agitation. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “I don’t know, but they were being truthful,” I state, feeling my mouth go dry so I take a sip of my coffee.
    “How do you know they were being truthful?” Michael asks, looking from me to Enrique.
    “Ah, you gotta show him, Kricket. I can’t explain it ‘cuz he won’t believe me,” Enrique says to me before he turns to Michael. “She has like a radar for bullshit. Here—tell her some things about you and she’ll tell you if you’re telling the truth or if you’re lying.”
    “Serious?” Michael asks as his eyebrows go up.
    “As camel toe,” Enrique replies.
    “Um…okay…hmmm…I’m a young republican.” He watches my face.
    “True,” I reply, hearing Enrique choke on his coffee.
    “You’re what!” Enrique scowls at Michael, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “Oh my Gawd, why?”
    “I support the NRA,” Michael continues, ignoring Enrique’s derisive tone.
    “True,” I reply. Enrique’s eyes widen even further.
    “I’m out,” Michael says, looking in my eyes.
    “Lie.”
    “I have a sister named Beth,” he says.
    “Lie,” I reply.
    “I’m for real about Enrique,” Michael says softly, looking down.
    “True,” I reply, watching Enrique’s frown soften.
    “How do you do that?” Michael asks me, sounding awed.
    I shrug. “I could always do it, but it’s not absolute. I can’t tell you why you’re lying…I also have trouble discerning a lie from someone who is drunk because the signals fluctuate…it messes me up. And I only know if you’re lying, not whether it’s the truth. You can believe something to be true, but you could be wrong…you see what I’m saying?”
    “Yes, it’s still a little subjective,” he replies,