Free Kasey Screws Up the World by Rachel Shane

take this outside. This is inappropriate.” He pointed at the 17 and under sign emblazoned on the wall.
    My cheeks flamed, but Finn nodded and grabbed my hand. As we walked out of the room, I kept my head down.
    Once outside, the door safely shut behind us, Finn burst out laughing. “We got kicked out of the teen disco!” He leaned his head against the wood panel wall and pulled me next to him.
    All the embarrassment I’d been feeling evaporated with his raspy laugh. If my cell phone worked overseas, I would text Denise right then. I couldn’t tell her about the talent show or the mini-waltz, she’d be disappointed in me that I didn’t try; that I gave up too soon, but she would appreciate the banned-kissing was a story. “What are we going to do now?” Translation: more kissing please?
    “Hmm,” he said, studying me. I could tell by his amused expression he was thinking the same thing. “How could we possibly kill some time?” He pointed to the auditorium. Muffled through the wooden doors, I could hear the sounds of cheesy, Broadway music with lots of vibrato and sweeping trails. “Hang out with our parents?”
    “Tempting, but—”
    “Hey, what’s that?” Finn peeled himself away from the door and headed toward a sign posted next to the auditorium. My lips tingled from the cold air. “Nice! Newlywed show tomorrow. We should totally pretend to be newlyweds, Mrs. Cruise.”
    “If we can’t pass for eighteen, how can we possibly fake being married?”
    “That’s all part of the fun, cutie.” He kissed me on the cheek. “It’ll be hilarious.”
    And that was the magic word, the one thing I was better than Lara at.

    Displaying 3 out of 10 comments
    Ali said…
    The one thing you’re better than Lara at is FAILING.
    Crista said…
    And betraying people.
    Lonnie said…
    Good one, Ali! Too bad you can’t make a career out of kicking people when they’re done, because you’re excellent at it!

WHEN I ARRIVED AT my locker on Friday morning, a crowd greeted me. I knew my classmates enjoyed gawking at me, but ogling a slab of red metal seemed to be taking things to extremes.
    “Excuse me,” I said, sticking an arm out to separate two people so I could slip between them. Once I weaved my way through the inner layer of onlookers, I found Lonnie at the center of it all. He wore ivory plastic gloves like the kind the school nurse used, making him look a little too domestic for seven A.M. A bucket of soapy water rested at his feet and a sponge dripped from his fingers.
    “Move along.” He flicked water at the crowd. “Nothing to see here.”
    No one budged, they only whispered.
    He pointed the sponge at me. “That means you, Kasey.”
    “That’s my locker.” I tried to dodge around him, but he had his back pressed against the door.
    “Seriously.” He leaned down, speaking in a low voice. “Come back after first period. You don’t want to see this.”
    A lead quarry settled into my stomach. “What happened to my locker?”
    “It got a little makeover. But don’t worry. I’m restoring it to its original glory.” He patted the locker behind his back.
    I shoved him gently aside and he obliged, stepping out of the way so I could see the damage. The gasp that escaped my lips echoed the ones coming from the crowd.
    Written in loopy girl handwriting in black Sharpie marker: SAT word of the day: Finn. Definition: Figment of Kasey’s imagination, loser, stalling tactic.
    I snatched the sponge from Lonnie and put all my muscle power into scrubbing the black letters.
    Lonnie grabbed my shoulder. “Kasey, it’s okay. Let me do that.”
    I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “No, you don’t have to, really.” The more he hung out with me, the more I suspected he would become a target as well. Plus, scrubbing Finn’s name off my locker couldn’t be fun for him either.
    “Break it up! Break it up!” a teacher yelled, clapping his hands until the crowd dispersed, leaving only one person leaning