Read Chaos (Kardia Chronicles) (Entangled Teen) for Free Online Page B

eat the PB&J soldiers your mom made you, huh?”
    I shoved past him, through the rest of the students milling around the kitchen, and shouldered my way into the sitting area. Was everyone looking at me? Probably not. Most people hadn’t even known I existed until the incident, which was thankfully starting to fall into the “old news” category. Soon, it would go back to the happier days when they probably wouldn’t be able to pick me out of a crowd. I’d be damned if I was going to let Mac ruin it with more negative attention by needling me into some sort of psychotic breakdown.
    “Hey, guys.”
    Bink was standing next to us, gesturing to where his tray sat by the books he hadn’t taken back to his locker.
    I smiled, determined to put on a happy face rather than let him see my misery and take the risk of him punching Mac. Not that I cared if he bruised that pretty Irish face. I just didn’t want Mac to retaliate by exposing my identity. This needed to be handled carefully.
    “How’d the paper go?” I asked as we all sat down.
    He raised his brows, holding up a palm in the universal sign for “fuck if I know.” “I won’t get my grade until next week, but at least I handed it in on time.”
    Libby unwrapped her sandwich and then took a solid bite, a few sprouts sticking out of her mouth until she tugged them inside with the tip of her tongue.
    “Did you actually scrape that off your lawn on your way to school today?” Bink gaped at her, nose wrinkling in disgust.
    She ignored him altogether as she chewed. That happened a lot. Where Bink said something and Libby ignored it. I was sort of the glue of the group, and both had confessed to feeling a little uncomfortable when I wasn’t there. I often wondered if that was because they liked each other too much or not enough.
    “Anything happen with Finnegan?” Bink asked, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Part of me wondered if he wasn’t hoping something else had happened so he had an excuse to whoop his ass.
    “Sort of,” Libby responded before I could fluff him off. She picked at the crust of her multigrain bread. “He’s doing a column for real now, it seems.”
    He frowned and nodded before jamming half a hot dog into his mouth, chewing maybe twice before swallowing. “I heard that earlier today. Ally showed me his reply to that girl whining about her mother and her privacy.” He closed his ham-like fist around the pint of milk in front of him and faced me. “Don’t let it get to you. And don’t forget what I said. I’ll be happy to take care of it for you, if that’s what you want.”
    “I’m starting to wonder if he has a crush and this is his backwards way of showing it.” Libby rolled her eyes and snorted. “You know how little boys do in kindergarten, pulling pigtails and stealing your lunch.”
    Doubtful. I recalled the look in his eyes in the hallway the day before. Disapproval? Dislike? Nothing good, that was for sure. And then it had morphed into more like a satisfied cat toying with a cornered mouse. Nothing good there, either.
    I opened my chips but the greasy smell the second the bag cracked open crawled into my nose and hung there. For the first time ever, I considered Libby’s sandwich with something akin to desire. My stomach was all kinds of screwed up today and maybe I hadn’t made the best lunch choices.
    I set the bag aside and settled on my iced tea. Despite my efforts to play it off like everything was cool, my friends must have been aware of my mood because they changed the subject and spent the rest of the period chatting amongst themselves. It was a relief when the bell rang and I sprang out of my seat.
    As I walked out of the lunchroom, I saw Mac’s retreating back a dozen yards ahead of me. Briefly, I fantasized about launching my uneaten pudding at his head, but I held strong.
    Like my mom always said, time healed most wounds, and soon this would be nothing but a memory. This whole column thing would wear off in no