Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook Page A

was hanging off him like a parasite. He was most likely grateful I hadn’t thrown myself at his face for a tongue kiss.
    I looked around desperately for something to change the subject. Then I saw it, a giant brass telescope facing out the window. “A telescope! I love these things,” I yelled out. I ran over to it and peered through the eyepiece, gasping in surprise as the ocean jumped into perfect view. There was a ferry coming aroundthe island and I could pick out individual people standing on the deck. “Wow. This is like being a pirate. I feel like Captain Hook.”
    â€œYou should keep an eye out for humpback whales. They travel through here this time of year on their way from Alaska. Sometimes you can see them.”
    â€œReally? That’s pretty cool. Sort of rude to spy on them, though, don’t you think?” I raised an eyebrow. “Admit it, do you have a thing for whales?”
    â€œI guess I never worried about being a whale stalker before. I promise to leave them unmolested from now on. But not the honeybees.” Nathaniel flopped back down in his chair and flipped his book open. “Feel free to grab a book and cookie.”
    I saw a copy of the novel Vanity Fair on a shelf and pulled it out. Nathaniel passed me the cookie bag and I picked out a few. He draped his legs over the arm of the chair and started reading. I did the same, trying to look casual, but I couldn’t forget how it had felt to touch his hand.
    I peeked up from Vanity Fair . There was no doubt about it. I was falling for my stepbrother. Long term this would likely result in my ending up on a tacky daytime talk show with other people who had an unnatural love for their relatives, but for now, it felt good. We sat eating cookies and reading for the whole afternoon. Having someone you can talk to is cool, but it’s been my experience that it is a lot harder to find someone you can be quiet with. Maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter 8
    I had assumed it would be hard to start at a new school for my senior year. However, I had completely underestimated just how craptastic it really would be.
    Within twenty minutes of walking through the door, it was clear to me that everyone there had known each other since birth. Most likely their great-grandparents had gone to school together a zillion years ago, shortly after having enjoyed their trip on the Mayflower . I had the feeling that the terms “new kid” and “welcome wagon” weren’t used very often around here.
    When I walked into my first class, everyone turned around to stare at me and then began whispering to each other like crazy. Then they turned back around and looked at me again as if they were waiting for me to display some type of deformity or outrageous behavior. I went to the bathroom twice to make sureI hadn’t accidently written on my face with my ballpoint pen. I felt like a transfer student from Leper High with an uncontrolled case of Ebola. I had to fight the urge to run down the hallway yelling “BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA!!!” and waving my hands madly above my head just to give them a reason for all the strange looks.
    I called Anita on my cell as I walked to lunch.
    â€œIt’s worse than I imagined,” I said before she even said hi.
    â€œIt’s just first-day jitters.”
    â€œI’m not jittery. I’m miserable.”
    â€œYou were always my glass-half-full kind of girl,” Anita said. “A ray of sunshine.”
    â€œEasy for you to say, you’re not here. You wouldn’t believe some of these people. In my calculus class there’s this guy …” I started to say before I realized that Anita was talking to someone else in the background.
    â€œSorry, what did you say?” she asked, tuning back in to me.
    â€œI was telling you about this guy—”
    â€œCut it out!” Anita yelled, but she was giggling. Someone else was laughing