IN THE FULL MOON

chapter 12

When I arrived in English class I spotted a

shiny object lying on my desk. As I drew closer, I

realized it was my cell phone.

"Someone found it!" Ivy said, discovering it,

too.

Brandon wasn't in class, but his backpack

was leaning against his desk.

Just then Brandon sauntered into class. He

was wearing an NHL jersey over an oatmeal-

colored thermal and black fingerless gloves. I

thought it was quite a cool look, but I knew the

gloves were to cover up the horrible mauling he'd

received a few days before. I felt such sympathy

for him and the wound he'd incurred, but I also

felt electrified by his presence. An immediate

buzzing tingled all over my skin. Before I knew it,

I was oversmiling and hypertalking to Ivy as if I

were onstage performing for an audience. I didn't

even know why I was doing it, but I couldn't help

myself.

I didn't dare make contact - eye, verbal, or

any other kind. Brandon must have felt the same.

In my peripheral vision, I saw him take his seat. I

was dying to see if he noticed me.

Instead, I held the cell phone in my hand. I

imagined where it had been. In his coat pocket?

Maybe at his home by his bed. At some point, he

had held it in his hand, as I was doing now.

I was such a love-struck girl and yet I

couldn't control my ridiculous feelings.

Finally, I put the phone in my back pocket.

"Not so fast," Mrs. Clark said. It was

against school rules to have a cell phone in class.

And though I was a good student, Mrs. Clark

wasn't about to bend the rules for me. "I'll return

it to you after class."

Abby whispered to Ivy. Then Ivy whispered

to me. "Brandon is wearing fingerless gloves."

"So?" I said.

"Don't you think it's odd?"

"No. It is cold out," I defended.

"Maybe he got a tat," Abby said.

"On his hand?" I asked.

"On his knuckles," Abby corrected.

"Yes, that's big with the juvies," Ivy said.

"There is no evidence he's a juvie," I said.

"You both watch too much TV."

"He's just not like us," Abby said. "It's like

he doesn't want to fit in with the rest of us - or