Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
“Sheely.”
He grunted. “She’s a witch. Her grandson’s in my class. Gonna kick his ass one of these days.”
“What grade are you in, Remington?”
He flicked his ice-blue gaze at me. “Remy. No one calls me Remington except my asshole dad.” He jerked his head toward the lunch line. “And the crusty lunch ladies.”
I snorted and took a bite of my sauce-covered…meat. “Why’s your dad an asshole?”
His icy stare settled on me again. “Why can’t your parents pay your lunch tab?”
That shut me up.
My stomach rumbled, so I held my nose and choked down the gross food while Remy gave me tips about the school and neighborhood. Turned out, we didn’t actually live that far from each other.
After I’d finished my last bite, Remy slapped the table. “Let’s go.”
I glanced at the wide, metal doors that led to the playground. “Outside?”
He followed my gaze with a blank expression. “Later. I want to check on my sister first.”
“You’ve got a sister?”
“Yup. She’s in kindergarten. Downstairs. Come meet her.”
It wasn’t like I had a burning desire to have kick balls thrown at me or slice open my leg on the rusty slide, so I shrugged. “Okay.”
We grabbed our trays and dropped them off at the wide, metal window, then I followed Remy into the hallway.
“No one’s gonna stop us?” I whispered.
He snorted. “No.”
We jogged down the steps, our sneakers slapping against the concrete.
Bright, childish artwork lined the rancid mint-green walls. The window of the first door we encountered was dark. Remy peered in, then kept walking toward the library. I’d only been there once so far.
Loud chatter echoed from inside. Remy grinned and hurried to the open door. He peered inside and waved.
“Remmmieee.” A little tornado dressed in baggy green corduroy overalls and a long-sleeved blue shirt with little cars all over it whirled out of the library and wrapped her arms around Remy’s waist.
“Reading anything good?” he asked, smiling down at her as they moved into the hallway.
“Not yet.”
Remy curled his arm around her shoulders and steered her toward me. “Molly, this is my new friend Griff.”
“Hi, Gwith.” The little girl wiggled her fingers at me and flashed a big, gap-toothed grin.
Tiny, navy blue Converse sneakers peeked out from under the hem of the too-long overalls. She was the cutest little kid I’d ever laid eyes on. So of course, I immediately tugged on the dark green bow someone had carefully stuck in her wild mass of dark brown waves. “Hey, Molly. Who put this dumb bow on your head?” I teased.
Molly pouted. Her big blue eyes filled with tears that made me want to hurl the mystery meat I’d just consumed into the nearest trash can.
Remy smacked my hand away. “Our mom fixed her hair.”
The deathly way he said it made it clear that that topic was off-limits.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, then caught Molly’s eye. “I’m just kidding. It’s cute.”
“Fank you.” She sniffled and touched the bow again.
Man, I felt like shit. I didn’t know what to say to make it better.
She jammed her hands in her pockets and lifted her chin, somehow making her look like a three-foot-tall thirty-year-old. “What you doin’?” she asked her brother.
“Checking on you.” Remy shoved his hands in his pockets, mirroring his sister’s pose. “You eat lunch?”
“Yeff.”
“Anyone bother you on the playground?”
“No.” She turned her big blue eyes my way. “Are you walkin’ home wiff us?”
I glanced at Remy who just drilled me with a hard stare, not giving me any hint of what answer he expected. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go after school. My mom didn’t care if I showed up or not. “Sure.”
She beamed and something about her smile sent warmth and relief tumbling through me.
“Get back in there before someone comes looking for you.” Remy jerked his chin toward the library and ruffled his hand over the top of her head.
She scurried away, throwing us a little wave over her shoulder.
“She’s cute,” I said to Remy as we started toward the stairs.
He chuckled. “Yeah. She’s like the smallest kid in her class, though. The teacher treats her like a baby. And the other kids pick on her when they think no one’s looking.”
Well, at least now I understood why Remy sacrificed his playground time to check on his sister.
Recess was over by the time we returned to the lunchroom.
“Sorry if I cost you time on the monkey bars,” Remy said with a smirk.
“Yeah, I’m not crying about it.”
He slapped my shoulder. “Catch you out front after school?”
I nodded and we went our separate ways, lining up with our individual classes. Remy was in fifth grade. Like me, he was the biggest kid in his class. The other kids seemed to either try to joke around with him or avoid him altogether.
As I returned to my classmates, I realized most of them were now ignoring me too.