Freaks of Greenfield High by Maree Anderson

like he did. And he didn’t move at all, not a muscle, as she rose up on tiptoe to press her lips against his.
     
    The kiss was excruciatingly gentle, a butterfly kiss, the merest brush of her lips against his before she backed off and considered him through narrowed eyes.
     
    “What’s wrong?” he whispered.
     
    “That must be painful.” She pressed the pad of her finger to her lips and then stroked it lightly across the spot on his chin.
     
    She was gone as quickly and noiselessly as she’d come, leaving Tyler’s face glowing from her attentions. And his heart aglow with something else—something he’d never felt for a girl before. Something more than just a little scary.
     

Chapter Four
     
    Jay exited the classroom after last period and allowed herself to be swept up in the rush of kids heading for their lockers to ditch their books.
     
    Her most challenging lesson today had been learning how best to project mediocrity. Unfortunately, nothing in her construction or programming had prepared her for mediocrity, and she’d come perilously close to standing out from the crowd in second period Mathematics. After observing her classmates’ reactions when she’d voiced but a minute portion of her extensive knowledge, she deemed it prudent to pretend she’d merely made a few lucky guesses. The next time she’d been called upon by the teacher, she’d shrugged and appeared confused. The time after that, she asked the teacher to repeat the question, and then gave an incorrect answer.
     
    As the day had progressed, she was satisfied she’d gotten the hang of revealing enough knowledge to convince the teachers she was a good student, while convincing her classmates she was not especially gifted.
     
    An anomaly in the way the crowd was moving demanded her attention, and she spotted a couple of girls standing whispering, forcing students to fan out to avoid them.
     
    The first girl held herself stiffly, muscles tensed and jaw working. Flags of crimson painted her cheekbones. She had auburn hair cut into a sharp chin-length bob. She wore black leggings and a deep purple scoop-neck tunic, belted at the waist with a gold cord. Her lip tint matched the gold cord. So did her low-heeled sandals. Glued to her side was a girl whose t-shirt was very tight, and whose red shorts were shorter than any other shorts Jay had seen on female student. She dismissed them and opened her locker.
     
    Purple Tunic Girl marched up to her and said, “First and last warning, sweetie. Keep your paws off my boyfriend.”
     
    Jay swept her gaze over the girl, analyzing her bone structure, facial features, and mannerisms. “Hello, Caro,” she said, in a pleasant, conversational tone. “I wondered how long it would take you to introduce yourself.”
     
    Caro’s companion took that statement as a signal to take matters into her own hands. Jay noted the indicators and tensed her stomach muscles in preparation. When the blow came, it was hard enough that if Jay had been a fragile human female, it would have caused a substantial bruise.
     
    Amidst gasps of “Omigod, did you see that?” from kids who’d witnessed the gesture, Jay heard her attacker inhaling with a hiss that indicated pain. She didn’t bother to verify how badly the girl might have injured her hand. The girl’s pain was not her concern. She was only interested in gauging Caro’s reaction to her friend’s behavior.
     
    Caro’s jaw sagged. “Vanessa!”
     
    From the strangled tone of Caro’s voice and her horrified expression, Jay guessed Vanessa’s actions had been unexpected and had greatly shocked her. Apparently Tyler’s sister preferred to intimidate with words rather than actions. That was useful to know. She switched her full attention back to the girl who’d hit her.
     
    Vanessa flexed her fingers, and as she blinked back tears, Jay noted her pupils were abnormally dilated. Abuse of pharmaceuticals would certainly explain her misplaced aggression.