Signs of Love: Stupid Cupid Read Online Free Page B

promotional thing,
so getting a regular gig there is very cool. ‘That’s brilliant! I guess your new set is working.’
    ‘Yeah.’ His fingers fidget on the edge of the desk. ‘It’s sounding pretty good.’ He’s hiding behind his shaggy blond fringe. It’s cute that he’s
self-conscious about his own music when he’s so passionate about other bands.
    ‘I’m really pleased for you,’ I tell him sincerely. ‘You deserve it.’
    ‘Thanks.’
    I glance back at my screen, expecting to see a neat list of Marcus Bainbridges. But there’s no sign of search results; just my profile. And headlining my profile are the words:
‘Marcus Bainbridge’.
    What?
    Horror creeps over me like cold, dead fingers.
    No !
    I’ve typed Marcus’s name into my status box, not the search box.
    Quick! Change it!
    As I grab for the mouse, Cindy swings in. ‘I want a quick word with everyone before the bell goes,’ she announces briskly.
    Will blows in after her. ‘Thanks, Gemma.’ He leans across my desk, steals the mouse from my fingers and clicks my browser window shut. ‘You’ve saved me having to wait for
it to start up.’
    ‘B-but—’ I stare at him, open mouthed.
    ‘Sorry.’ He’s nudging me out of my chair. ‘But you can play on Facebook in the IT suite. I’ve got real work to do.’
    I get to my feet, giving him angry eyes.
    ‘What?’ He looks at me in bewilderment. ‘You know this is my PC.’
    Sam straightens. ‘They belong to everyone, Will.’
    Will shrugs towards the computer on the next desk. ‘Then she can use that one.’
    Cindy butts in. ‘Look, guys,’ she says, using her reasoning-with-toddlers voice, ‘it’s deadline day and I’ve had no submissions. I want them finished before this
afternoon’s deadline meeting. It’s a big job, you know, checking them all over before they go out on Wednesday morning.’
    I’m hardly listening to the Ice Queen’s pity-plea. I’m staring in dismay at Will’s PC. I’ve just published Marcus as my status! Everyone’s going to think
I’m obsessed with him.
    ‘Gemma?’ Cindy taps her foot.
    ‘Yeah?’ I dive for the computer on the next desk and switch it on. Two minutes to the bell. Come on!
    ‘I hope you’ve got some feedback for me on the lip-shimmer.’
    Will’s eyes light up. ‘Haven’t you finished your piece either, Cinders?’
    ‘I’m waiting for Gemma’s input.’ I guess Cindy wants to find out if I’ve finished the horoscopes but, right now, I don’t care. I’m too busy willing the
PC to hurry up.
    ‘Can’t you write the reviews yourself?’ Will asks innocently. ‘I thought if you had a valid opinion on anything , it’d be make up.’
    My fury doubles. Why steal my PC, then spend the last two minutes of break teasing Cindy? The school login screen appears and I type in my username. As the hard drive whirs and clicks, the
lesson bell starts wailing.
    No!
    ‘I’ll see you at the meeting.’ Sam’s leaving. I don’t look up. My eyes are fixed on my screen. The task bar’s hardly appeared.
    Hurry up!
    Will shuts down his PC and heads for the door.
    Cindy evil-eyes him as he passes, then looks at me. ‘Come on.’
    ‘I’ll only be a minute,’ I snap.
    I sense her prickle. ‘ Now !’ She marches past my desk and switches the power off at the wall.
    The screen turns black in front of me.
    ‘Why did you do that?’ I ask through clenched teeth.
    ‘If the webzine starts making us late for lessons, they’ll close us down.’
    I breathe deeply. The Ice Queen has just destroyed my life again but I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset. Instead I grab my bag and slide past her,
replaying her death by LJ’s chopsticks in my head.
    I stomp to Maths, blind with rage and despair. Now I won’t be able to change my Facebook status till school ends. What if someone sees it? Oh, God, I’ll die!
    Shoulders drooping, head down to hide the tears of frustration pricking at my eyes, I join the swarm