Wings Free with Bonus Material Read Online Free PDF Page B

doctor, not even for antibiotics.
    “It’s just a humongous zit. It will go away on its own,” Laurel told her reflection, her tone sounding exactly like her mother’s.
    She dug into her mother’s drawer and found a tub of the salve her mom made every year. It had rosemary, lavender, tea-tree oil, and who knew what else in it, and her mom put it on everything.
    It couldn’t hurt.
    Laurel scooped up a fingerful of the sweet-smelling salve and began rubbing it on her back. Between the tingle of her hands irritating the bump and the burn of the tea-tree oil, Laurel’s back was on fire as she pulled her nightgown over her head and, with her shoulders pressed to the wall, scooted to her room.
    She chose a loose-fitting baseball-style T-shirt with cap sleeves and a full back for today. Most of her tanks would probably conceal the bump, but Laurel didn’t want to take any chances. This thing couldn’t get much bigger without becoming all gross, and when it did, Laurel would rather have it hidden beneath a shirt. It tingled every time anything brushed against it—her long hair, the T-shirt as she pulled it over her head—and, of course, every time she touched it, trying to remind herself it was real. By the time she headed downstairs, she was convinced every nerve in her body was connected to the bump.
    By the time Thursday rolled around, Laurel could no longer deny that whatever this thing was on her back, it wasn’t a zit. Not only had it continued growing the last two days, it seemed to be growing faster . That morning it was the size of a golf ball.
    Laurel had come down to breakfast determined to tell her parents about the weird bump. She’d even taken a breath and opened her mouth to just blurt it out. But at the last second she’d wimped out and simply asked her dad to pass the cantaloupe.
    Between the T-shirts she’d been wearing the last few days and keeping her long hair loose, no one had noticed the bump yet, but it was only a matter of time—especially if it kept getting bigger. If , Laurel repeated to herself, if it gets bigger. Maybe Mom’s stuff did the trick.
    She’d been putting salve on it for three days straight now, but it didn’t seem to be doing much. But then, something that grew this big and fast couldn’t be something that a littletea-tree oil could fix, could it? Maybe it was a tumor. Laurel was sure she’d read news stories about people having spinal tumors. Laurel took in a sharp breath. A tumor made too much sense.
    “Hello? Are you even listening to me?” Chelsea’s voice cut through Laurel’s thoughts and she turned her face to her friend.
    “What?”
    Chelsea just laughed. “I didn’t think so.” Then quieter, “Are you okay? You were really spaced.”
    Laurel looked up and for a second couldn’t remember which class she was headed to. “I’m fine,” she muttered irritably. “Just thinking.”
    Chelsea scrutinized her face for a few seconds before one skeptical eyebrow poked up. “Okay.”
    David fell into step beside them, and when Chelsea peeled off to head to her own class Laurel tried to get ahead of him. He reached out and pulled her back. “Where’s the fire, Laury? It’s still three minutes to the bell.”
    “Don’t call me that,” she snapped before she could stop herself.
    David’s mouth bounced shut and he didn’t say anything else as the flow of people slid around them.
    Laurel searched for words of apology, but what was she supposed to say? Sorry, David , I’m just on edge because I might have a tumor . Instead she blurted, “I don’t like nicknames.”
    David had already pasted on his brave smile. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Did you…”His voice trailed away and he seemed to change his mind. “Come on. I’ll walk you to class.”
    She felt awkward walking beside him now. She turned to him when they reached her class and waved. “See ya.”
    “Laurel?”
    She turned back around.
    “What are