Twice Shy Read Online Free Page B

see Mike or Devon anywhere, though Devon's cronies sweated it up under the strobe lights while trying to ignore the underclassmen at their heels.
    Dylan made a beeline for the speakers. Subtle. Ani followed a few steps behind. Fey's step-dad wore giant earphones and bobbed his head to the beat, his eyes closed. Fey sat against a subwoofer, knees to her chin, and rubbed her back in slow circles across the vibrating fabric. She had a sucker in her mouth, and red drool had puddled on her leg.
    Dylan elbowed Ani and jerked his head at Fey.
    Ani stepped between Fey and the lights and yelled. "Hey!"
    Fey opened her eyes and smiled, her teeth red. She slurped the sticky juice off her lips, then pulled the sucker out of her mouth. "Hey, Ani." She reached out and touched Ani's leg, staring wide-eyed as her hand rubbed the black fabric. "That feels amazing."
    "It's called denim," Dylan said. Fey smiled at him and he smiled back. It's called ecstasy. Fey closed her eyes and dropped her hand, brushing her fingertips across the floor. "When are you done here?" Fey didn't respond. He scowled at Ani, then looked back at Fey. "Fey?"
    Without opening her eyes, she swatted in his direction. He stepped back, then tried again a few minutes later. And again the song after that, to the same result.
    He stormed over to the corner and crossed his arms, glaring at the floor. Ani followed and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll kill that stupid bitch," Dylan said through clenched teeth. "Nobody ignores me. Not me. Nobody."
    Ani widened her eyes and took a step back. "Whoa, Dylan. You need to chill. She's just rolling."
    He sat, arms folded, and ground his teeth through song after song, eyes locked on Fey. He seemed oblivious to the stares and ignored Mr. Betrus when he tried to engage him in conversation. With nothing else to do, Ani sat on an amp while Fey pet her leg. Awesome.
    As the dance wore on, Fey became less and less squirmy, and by eight forty-five, she was asleep. At nine-fifteen, her eyes snapped open and she sprang to her feet.
    "Ani, hey. I'm starving, you want something?" Without another word she walked out of the gym.
    Ani looked at Dylan, but the corner was empty. She followed Fey out to the concession stand.
    The dance ended with no sign of Dylan, so Ani hitched a ride home with Fey.
    The next day, Travis got his apology, so the night wasn't a complete loss.
     
    *  *  *
     
    Thursday was a half-day, and they had Friday off for parent-teacher conferences. English was up to a B+, but math had slipped to a B-. AP US History held strong at an A-. Music and Art were, of course, A's, and Gym was a D. There was no pleasing Mom with less than academic perfection, so she sat through a tag-team lecture from Mr. Gursslin and her mother.
    Saturday and Sunday were the Fall Foliage Festival, where tens of thousands of people who lived with trees all around them for some reason converged on Ohneka Falls to gape at the foliage, eat greasy food, and play overpriced games with lame prizes. Everyone who lived in the village proper either cashed in on the festivities or got the heck out of town for two days. Her mom, unfortunately, was the former type.
    If anyone else saw the irony of an independently wealthy cardiologist-turned-ZV-researcher-turned-school-nurse running a funnel cake stand, they never mentioned it. For as long as she could remember, Ani spent the weekend in her front yard as a Fall Foliage Traditional Kettle-Fried Funnel Cake slave, selling sugar-coated deep-fried batter at a six-thousand-percent markup. Only now it was Mom who ran the register and passed out the food, and Ani who did the frying.
    The heat didn't bother her. She didn't sweat, and if the awning sheltered her from the sunlight, at least it was nearby. The tent kept the sea of humanity at bay, and if now and then she dragged a razor across her arm to release the tension, it was a small price to pay for spending two normal days with her mom.
    The SATs were that Saturday,