Free Rebel by Francine Pascal Page B

all right?"
    "Did you see something, Mary?" he interrupted, skidding to a halt beside them. His icy gasps filled the air.
    Mary and Gaia exchanged a quick glance.
    "What do you mean?" Mary asked. Her forehead wrinkled.
    "A guy," Ed whispered. He glanced back over his shoulder. But the street was deserted. "A guy with a beard. A long beard."
    Mary's face seemed to go blank. She blinked several times.
    "What?" Gaia demanded.
    Ed held his breath, waiting.
    "Uh ... nothing," Mary said. Her voice was subdued. She shook her head and cast a brief glance back at the park. "No. I didn't see a guy with a long beard."
    "Do you
know
a guy with a long beard?" Ed asked.
    Mary didn't say anything. All at once Gaia started laughing.
    Ed grimaced. "You mind telling me what's so funny?"
    "Nothing," she muttered, shaking her head. She pulled her hat down tightly over her tangled mop of blond hair. "I just didn't know that you had such strong feelings against guys with beards."
    "Uh ... we should go," Mary said. She turned back down the block and started walking east again. "It's too cold to be standing still."
    Ed glared at Gaia. Obviously Mary knew this guy--whoever he was. Obviously she was scared of him. So why the hell was Gaia still smiling? Why was she turning this into a joke?
    "What?"
Gaia asked defensively.
    "Excuse me for being uptight, but I just get a little anxious when I know somebody's stalking us," he grumbled.
    Gaia's shoulders slumped. "Give me a break, Ed. Nobody's stalking--"
    "Come
on,
you guys," Mary called impatiently.
    Gaia opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it and turned to follow Mary.
    Ed's lips turned downward. He shook his head. Hanging out with Mary all the time
was
having an effect on Gaia. She never would have acted this careless in the past. The old Gaia would have told everyone to go home. Then she would have sought out the bearded guy and kicked the crap out of him.
    After that, they could have all enjoyed the rest of their winter break in peace.
    But not the new Gaia. No. She opted for being a major pain in the ass. Before she met Mary, she used to listen to Ed. Now she didn't. Like when he'd told her about Charlie Salita. Had she paid any attention? No.
    Now she was doing the same thing all over again. By not listening to Ed, she was walking right into another stupid situation....
    But apparently the new Gaia didn't learn from past mistakes.
    ALL OF CHINATOWN SMELLED LIKE ONE giant fried dumpling. Gaia's mouth couldn't stop watering. Every storefront window on the narrow street was packed with a brightly lit display of food: either a rack of hanging meats or ducklings or doughy pastries. Most of it looked fairly gross, of course, but the smell was incredible. She sucked in deep, huge breaths of the cold night air. She couldn't believe she'd never discovered this neighborhood. Chinatown was tailor-made for somebody like her--somebody who could pretty much live on desserts and fried foods until her heart gave out.
The Freaks Come Out at Night
    "I didn't know it was going to be so crowded," Mary said, raising her voice as she led Gaia and Ed through the throng of pedestrians on the sidewalk. She laughed once and glanced over her shoulder. "This is ridiculous. It's like Mardi Gras or something."
    Gaia nodded, smiling. Coming here
was
like entering a foreign country. All the street and shop signs were in Chinese. The moment they turned off Mott Street onto Canal Street, every last trace of English vanished. And food was hardly the only exotic item being sold: There were all kinds of little trinkets and statues and electronic gadgets....
    "The freaks come out at night," Ed grumbled. "What are we even
doing
right now?"
    Gaia didn't answer. Ed's sour mood was getting more irritating by the second. So he'd seen a guy with a beard in the park. Big deal. Even if the guy
had
been watching them, they were far from Greenwich Village right now. And it was hard to think of any place safer than a