Young Annabelle Read Online Free PDF

such close proximity to
him.
    And I rejected him.
Fuck! I realized and hit
my forehead with my palm. Guys never took rejection
well.
    Shit, shit, shit!
    And I wasn’t one of those super pretty girls.
What if he wasn’t going to be nice about the whole thing? What if
he decided to make me feel like a loser for turning him down? Like
how dare I? I should be so lucky that he’d even want to kiss me,
even touch me!
    I gulped down the last bite of my
sandwich; it went down like a rock. I glanced at my watch; I had
two minutes until my break was over. I had to get a move on or else
I’d have to face the wrath of Shelby for the third time. I downed my water bottle and threw it in the
recycle bin outside the change room. The nervous butterflies
returned with full force. All of a sudden it was difficult to
breathe; the anticipation was killing me.
    How am I going to get through
this? I worried as I
pushed through the doors that led out to the stand.
     

Chapter 3

    “Where’s James?” I asked when I noticed
Shelby alone inside the lemonade stand, counting change from the
till.
    She grunted loudly as if I annoyed her then
dropped the rest of the coins into the till and closed it. “He’s
been assigned to a different sector of the club. Are you going to
be okay working alone?”
    I nodded.
    Shelby narrowed her eyes and gave me a
peculiar look. “I hope you’re not sick?”
    I shook my head slowly. “I’m not sick.”
    Liar! Love sick? It doesn’t make any
sense.
    Shelby rolled her eyes. “Yeah, then why do
you look like you’re about to throw up?” she demanded,
unconvinced.
    I looked away and cleared my throat.
    Suddenly, I blurted out the first thing that
came to mind: “My lunch’s making me feel a little funny, but I’ll
be okay, it’s going away.”
    Shelby let out a sigh of relief. “Good.” She
didn’t want to be stuck closing up the lemonade stand if I had to
go home sick. She left in haste, probably still fearful of any
germs I might have been harboring.
    I sat on the counter in front of the
register; fifteen minutes ticked by, nobody came. My shift was
getting boring, despite the brief excitement I’d experienced
earlier.
    Really fun, but now that’s over. No second
chance, no kiss with a cute guy… Why does the world hate me?
    I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my
hands, resting my elbows on my thighs.
    Why do I always ruin shit? Can’t I, for
once, let things happen? It could have been the best damn thing
that ever happened to me!
    And now, he’s gone. The thought ricocheted off the
walls of my skull, over and over again, mentally bruising me. I
inhaled slowly, hoping it would somehow induce the clarity I needed
to move past the awkward moment. I needed a pick-me-up.
    I needed a candy bar.
    I imagined going home with the feeling that
I’d self-sabotaged again. The cherry on the shit-sundae would be
the chat with Mom, Dad, Charles, and Katherine. They’d notice my
funk, begin questioning me, and then declare I was selfish for not
getting over whatever was bothering me. Then they’d all gang up on
me and the fight about food would ensue. ‘Looking a little pudgy in
the belly, Anna.’ ‘How many calories did you burn, Anna?’ God, I
hated it.
    No. I needed to change my brain waves. So
what if I lost my chance, life goes on. I breathed deeply, allowing
the afternoon air to enter every passage I had. Soon, I felt
refreshed and slowly raised my head from my hands, blinking away my
blurry vision.
    Okay! Yeah! I feel great! Ready
to take on the world !…What just happened?
    My brave new
state of mind faltered almost as soon as I completed the thought.
So much for the power of positive thinking. I’d expected a warm hug
around my heart – I felt empty.
    I moped for a while longer until I finally
got my first customer: an elderly couple. I pasted on a smile and
made their drinks. I heard the clink of coins hitting the side of
the tip jar. Despite the fake smile, the couple had given me