The Opposite of Hallelujah by Jarzab Anna

Author:Jarzab, Anna [Jarzab, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780375894084
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2012-10-09T05:00:00+00:00

The day passed slowly. I watched the clock with the vigilance of a bird-watcher waiting for a yellow-bellied sapsucker to emerge from behind a canopy of leaves. All I wanted was for school to be over so I could rush home and bury myself beneath the covers and never emerge. I couldn’t believe that I’d been dumped for the second time in a semester; that had to be some kind of record. I was such a loser. Breaking up with Derek was one thing; after it happened, I realized how little I’d really liked him. But losing Pawel was different.

I missed him, already, so much that it hurt. It was amazing the way you could feel the absence of someone you cared about. As we walked to lunch, Reb reminded me that I hadn’t known Pawel for very long, and there was no telling how I would’ve felt about him in a few days, much less months, but I couldn’t be convinced. I liked him—really liked him—and I couldn’t bear the idea that he was walking around thinking I was a crazy person.

But that wasn’t the only thing. It was my fault, and I hated myself for that. I wanted time travel to be possible, so that I could go back to when I told Pawel that lie about Hannah, and not do it. I couldn’t believe how one small choice could affect something so big, but if there was anything we were learning in physics, it was that the universe was causal. If the flutter of a butterfly’s wings could cause a hurricane halfway around the world, my one stupid lie could take down my fledgling relationship like a sumo wrestler, no questions asked.

When we got to the cafeteria, Reb headed off to the lunch line and I slumped down into a chair next to Erin at our usual table.

“What’s going on?” she asked, popping a baby carrot into her mouth. “You look glum.”

“Glummer than glum,” I muttered, laying my head down on the table.

“Why? Trouble in paradise with Polish Boy?”

“You might say that.” I groaned. “I totally screwed up. He hates me.”

“Caro, what did you do?” Erin asked, gripping my arm and pulling until I looked up. “Did you … cheat?”

“God, no,” I cried. Leave it to Erin to jump to the most dramatic scenario possible.

“Then what?”

“I lied,” I said, biting the inside of my mouth nervously.

“About what?” she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“My sister.”

“He’s mad at you because of your sister?” She looked disappointed. Nothing juicy about that.

“I think he’s madder about the lie.”

“Well, what did you say? Does it have something to do with the party?” Erin guessed.

“No.”

“Okay, the twenty questions thing is getting old. Spill.”

“I told him that my sister just got back from the Peace Corps,” I said, bracing myself.

“Wait—you told us that. At Reb’s.”

“I know,” I said. I was hoping she’d been too drunk to remember, but apparently not.

“You lied to me?” I nodded. “What was she really doing before she came home?”

I took a deep breath.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.