Free Sia by Josh Grayson Page B

my burger and fries. Her face twists up, as if the sight of it is revolting to her. “That. What is that? ”
    “ My burger, you mean?”
    Amber puffs out her breath with disgust. “ We don’t eat that garbage, Sia. No fried food, no carbs. We take care of our bodies. We eat salads.”
    Stacy seems to think this is obvious. She nods earnestly and pops a slice of radish into her mouth.
    I frown. “But I don’t want a salad.”
    “ You do,” Amber informs me. “You just don’t realize it. Take that back.”
    “ I don’t want a salad,” I repeat, annoyed. “I want this.”
    Amber blinks, taken aback, then does a little sniff through her nose. “Whatever,” she snaps. “Poison your body if you want to.”
    “ God, Amber, lay off,” Duke chips in. “Sia can eat whatever she wants.”
    Amber’s eyes turn instantly to blue ice, and her smile is just as hard. She isn’t used to being contradicted. She sits a little taller and stabs a fork into her salad. “Of course she can. Whatever. It’s just that fat cheerleaders are harder to throw—and we do have practice this afternoon.”
    Stacy glances between Amber and me, her eyes huge. Now I see her more as she really is. Sweet and bubbly, sure, but also meek and clearly Amber’s sidekick. From the startled look in her eyes, I can tell she’s afraid of Amber.
    The rest of the cafeteria is suddenly hushed as well. People are either staring at me or keeping their eyes glued to their trays of food. That’s when I realize it's not just Stacy. Everyone’s afraid of Amber.
    “ I’m taking a break from cheerleading,” I decide in that moment. “At least until I can remember better.”
    Amber frowns, but her eyes are smiling. “Are you sure? If you give it up now, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get it back later.”
    I shrug. “Doesn’t matter.”
    We both jerk around at a sudden crash behind us. A scrawny boy with tousled black hair is sprawling on the floor, face-first in his lunch.
    Duke grins, and our table erupts in laughter. Before long, the entire cafeteria is roaring.
    I stare in horror, realizing Duke deliberately stuck his foot in the boy’s path. I want to get to my feet, help the kid up, and tell Duke to apologize. But I’m paralyzed.
    “ Jeez, loser. First day on the new legs?” Duke sneers.
    Kyle, the boy from my class, comes to the kid’s rescue. “Hey, Ben,” he says, narrowing his eyes at Duke and me. He reaches under a nearby chair to retrieve Ben’s carton of milk. “C’mon, man. Our table’s over this way.”
    Ben gets to his knees and scrambles to his feet. He glances at us, his eyes dark with misery. He’s completely humiliated.
    As I watch the boys walk away, I turn on Duke. “What was that? ”
    Duke wipes tears from his eyes. “Ooh, man. Works every time.”
    “ Why would you do that?”
    “ Don’t worry about that kid, Sia. He’s nobody,” Amber says. She grins at Stacy, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “Like that guy, remember, Stace?”
    “ Oh my God,” Stacy says, her smile wicked. “You mean that band geek with the moon craters on his face? Ew!”
    “ I know, right? And what about her ?” Amber says, pointing deliberately at a dark-haired girl sitting quietly by herself in a corner, reading a book and nibbling on something from a packed lunch.
    The girl’s eyes light up with a kind of panic when she spots Amber’s gaze on her, and she looks away.
    “ Total goth. She probably carves bats into her arm for fun.”
    Stacy hoots with laughter. “I can’t even! You’re so right . . . and so, so funny!”
    “ I know,” Amber assures her. “I really am.”
    I feel increasingly sick listening to my so-called friends talk, their eyes dancing with malicious laughter. Was I really one of these people? Was I ever such a selfish, cruel person? I get to my feet and carry my tray to a garbage can.
    Oblivious to my mood, Amber is already at my side, peeking critically at my meal tray. “See? I knew