Free Broken by Dean Murray Page A

minutes refining my arguments for the next time we talked, but
the last thing Britney had said finally sunk in.
    His sister. Rachel was Alec's sister, and he
hadn't made a move to save her. He hadn't even been willing to let
his friends step in and stop the fight.
    I drifted off to History thinking that I
would've done almost anything to save my sister. It would take a
real heartless individual to abandon their own family. My anger
buffered me just enough to think about Cindi without the usual
consequences, but I still wasn't really in top form. I was halfway
through my class before I realized Mr. Simms had been shooting me
dark looks for the last twenty minutes. They weren't the obvious
nasty looks that kids shoot each other of course. They were subtle
and infrequent but there was something about the set of his mouth
that made it clear he wasn't pleased I was in his class.
    I shrugged it all off and gutted my way
through class, eagerly planning what I'd say to Alec when I saw him
in physics, only when I finally stalked into Mrs. Alexander's class
Alec wasn't sitting in his corner desk.
    I pulled out my notes and started reviewing
what I'd managed to learn about our project, stalling until he
arrived so I could give him a piece of my mind. Only he never
walked through the door.
    I still had my anger, but it wasn't
cushioning me as well for some reason. It felt like another attack
was on the way. My pulse was skyrocketing and the room seemed to
waver as my vision dimmed. It didn't make sense to be having a
panic attack right now, but images of Cindi swam into view,
alternating with pictures of Alec and Rachel.
    It was like Alec's cruelty to his sister
somehow meant I was failing Cindi. I concentrated all of my energy
on thinking about Alec, about how much I hated him, about what I
was going to say to him next time I saw him.
    Beyond all expectations, it worked. My heart
rate slowed down to something approaching normal, and the room
stopped moving around. By the time Mrs. Alexander finished taking
the roll, and returned her pencil to its customary place behind her
ear, I'd stabilized enough that I could read my notes again.
    The group project was due tomorrow, and since
Alec hadn't bothered to make an appearance in class since my first
day in Sanctuary, it was looking like I'd have to do the whole
thing by myself if I wanted to pass. Yet another reason to hate
him.
    So far I'd had zero luck figuring out why
rain puddles in the parking lot sometimes had colors on them, sort
of like little earthbound rainbows. I turned around and picked a
reference book at random. It was a weighty thing that might or
might not have the answer, but at the very least promised to keep
me occupied for the duration of the class.
    I finally found something promising about
fifteen seconds before the bell rang. I probably would've stayed
there trying to cram information into my head, but Mrs. Alexander
walked by with a smile on her face as the last of the other
students filed out of the room.
    "If you're really that enthralled by a
college physics book, you're more than welcome to take it home with
you tonight. Just promise to bring it back in the same condition.
Remember, I'm less concerned with your answer, and more interested
in the process you take to try and solve the problem. Of course the
right answer never hurts."
    I smiled and hurried out of class with a
'thank you'.
    I shouldn't have bothered rushing. I slipped
into Spanish exactly three seconds before the late bell sounded,
but Mrs. Tiggs wasn't even there. When she finally did show up, we
had a surprise quiz on our vocabulary. Once we finished she turned
on the television and told us to listen for conjugation.
    I almost wished I shared the class with
Britney, her dad seemed like the type to get six kinds of riled up
over something like that. He'd probably go straight to the school
board and demand a new Spanish teacher altogether.
    It was a real relief when I was finally able
to leave the drab