Shock: A Virals Special From G.P. Putnam's Sons by Kathy Reichs & Brendan Reichs

Author:Kathy Reichs & Brendan Reichs [Reichs, Kathy & Reichs, Brendan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Growing Up & Facts of Life, Family Life, New Experiences, Mysteries & Detectives, Children's eBooks
Amazon: B00OZ0TP16
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Published: 2015-02-10T06:00:00+00:00

Um. Hello.”

Best I could manage. I briefly considered fleeing into the ocean, like my turtle friend, but decided that wasn’t very practical.

“How do you know so much about sea turtles?” Shelton was sweeping sand from his polo shirt with distaste. Hi looked curious, while Ben was still as a stone.

“I read a lot.” Then I worried that sounded snotty. “About animals, I mean. For a while I wanted to be a vet.”

Hi nodded sagely. “Cool. I want to be a talk show host. If Andy Cohen had washed up on this beach, I’d have handled it.”

Ben said nothing, but watched me with those intense brown eyes. I fidgeted, pretending to search for something in my pockets. Uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

“Sorry about the yelling,” I mumbled. “I got carried away when I saw the turtle.”

“Pssh.” Hi flapped a hand in dismissal. “I like a woman who takes charge.” Then his face reddened as he processed his own joke. “I mean, I’m not saying that—”

“It’s nothing,” Shelton interrupted smoothly. “I’m just glad we could help. A dead turtle would’ve ruined my weekend.”

“You knew what to do,” Ben said quietly. “We didn’t.” He shrugged as if that explained everything.

“So you’re Kit’s daughter, huh?” Hi yawned, stretching his arms. “How come we haven’t met you before? I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s a pretty small circle out here.”

Here it comes. “I only met Kit this morning.”

Three confused stares.

No escape. “My mother, she recently, um—” My pulse quickened, but this wasn’t the first time I’d had to explain. “She died. In a car accident. I didn’t even know about Kit until after it happened. So here I am,” I finished, shoulders rising and falling.

Hi looked stricken, as if he’d committed a terrible error. Shelton was studying his shoes.

Surprisingly, Ben spoke. “Sorry. That sucks. Will you live here now?”

I was grateful for the change of subject. “Yes. I just moved in today, as a matter of fact. I’ve been a Morris Islander for roughly an hour.”

“Well, nice to meet you,” Shelton said, meeting my eyes again. “It’s not so bad out here, once you get used to it.”

“Consider us your welcoming committee,” Hi added. He nodded toward the remaining backpacks, and we made our way up the beach. “Not that there are other options, since the four of us are the only kids living on this island.”

“Really.” I didn’t know what to make of that. No girls at all?

“What grade are you?” Shelton asked. “Hi and I are freshmen. Ben’s a sophomore.”

“Freshman.” I was hoping they wouldn’t ask my age. I hated being the baby of every circle.

“Then you’ll join us at Bolton,” Hi said brightly. “We can spread the pain.”

The pain?

“That’s the school Kit mentioned on the phone,” I said slowly. We reached the bags and the boys slung them on. “It’s a good one?”

Ben snorted, kicking a pile of shells. Shelton just shook his head, removing his glasses to clean them on his shirt. “What’s Kit told you?” Hi asked.

“Almost nothing. It’s a private school, but that’s all I know.

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.