Politically Incorrect Read Online Free

other day.
    “Shouldn’t you be dog-paddling with the rest of us?” the boy asked with an adorable smile.
    Sloan blinked twice in disbelief. Is he actually talking to me?
    “I’m just squeezing in a little study time between relays,” she replied.
    The boy chuckled a bit. “It’s summer. Shouldn’t study time be over?”
    Great move,Sloan . Now he thinks you’re a big freak!
    “I’m just working on that essay—”
    “For the Green Festival.” The boy finished Sloan’s sentence and sat down next to her. “We had an event like that at my old school in Alaska.”
    “Whoa—you’re from Alaska?” Sloan said with surprise. She’d never met anyone from that far away before.
    “I’m part Inuit, actually,” he said, pointing to his slightly almond-shaped eyes.
    Sloan blushed when she stared into them deeply. “That’s really cool.”
    “So, can I take a peek at your essay?” he asked.
    Sloan’s heart filled with both excitement and dread. She was thrilled the adorable Alaskan boy was interested in her at all, but the thought of him going through her notebook made her uneasy. She also wasn’t used to boys being this forward, but who really cared? He was SO cute!
    “Um, I feel kind of funny about showing my writing to you when I don’t even know your name.”
    “I’m Miles,” the boy said. “It’s nice to meet you, Sloan.”
    Sloan’s breath caught in her throat. “Wait, how did you—”
    “I saw you during orientation and I asked David who you were.” Miles grinned. “Does that make me a creep?”
    “No, it’s cute,” Sloan said, laughing.
    Miles’s cheeks flushed a little. “So now can I look at your essay? I promise I won’t tell anyone what it says.”
    Sloan giggled. She liked how inquisitive and assertive Miles was.
    “Sure,” Sloan said as she handed Miles her notebook. “It’s not finished, though. I still have to write a snappy closing line.”
    Miles nodded his head and began reading right away. Sloan could feel her stomach churning with anxiety. She thought her essay was great, but she’d never intended to have anyone read it but Dr. Steve, and maybe Jasmine.
    Miles closed Sloan’s notebook when he was finished reading and handed it back to her. “So, where are you from?”
    Sloan gave Miles a bewildered look. Didn’t he have anything to say about her essay? “Um . . . Arizona.”
    “Cool. I’ve been there. I really like it,” Miles said.
    “Uh . . . that’s nice,” Sloan replied. “What did you think of my essay?”
    Miles pulled up some grass from the roots and sprinkled it in front of his feet. “It was . . . okay.”
    Okay?! Sloan thought. It was better than okay, wasn’t it?!
    “Don’t you think that’s a little vague?” Sloan asked.
    “I’m sorry,” Miles muttered. “Never mind. It was good.”
    “No, tell me what you were going to say,” Sloan insisted. “I can take it.”
    “Well . . . um . . . I just thought that it was a little . . .”
    “What?”
    “Um . . . you just don’t seem so excited is all,” Miles said through a cough. “I’m sorry, Sloan. All your facts are great, but I don’t get the feeling from reading the essay that you’re so into it.”
    Sloan’s face went speeding-comet hot.
    Adorable or not, Sloan was no longer happy about sharing Miles’s company.
    “I think I hear my counselor Ellie calling me, so I’d better go.” Sloan got up abruptly and tucked her notebook under her arm.
    The smile on Miles’s face vanished as he stood up and shoved his hands into the pockets of his swim trunks. Obviously he knew that his remarks had hurt Sloan’s feelings.
    “Okay,” he murmured, his eyes cast down at the ground.
    “See ya,” Sloan mumbled, trying hard not to cry as she made her way back to her friends.

    The next day, Sloan and the rest of Camp Walla Walla gathered together for a picnic lunch at the main promenade, where Dr. Steve was going to announce the Green Festival committee chairperson. Sloan solemnly