“I’m a mutt too,” he said. “Dad’s Dominican, Mom’s Mexican.”
“Nice mix.”
“They didn’t think so. They got divorced.”
That could be a conversation killer if I didn’t keep the ball rolling. “I never heard how you ended up in Brooklyn.”
“Got into some trouble in Detroit. Nothing big, but my mom thought I should come here for a fresh start. So I’m living with my dad now. How’s that for an answer?”
“Okay, except you didn’t say what the trouble was.”
“Right, I didn’t.” He winked, then turned his attention to the dance floor.
Shit. Had I said the wrong thing? Did he think I wasn’t good-looking from up close? My dad hadn’t thought one crooked eyetooth justified the cost of braces. Probably true, but I cursed him for it anyway. Plus, my skin was giving me problems. I’d dropped ten bucks on oil-free cover-up, and I hoped it was working.
“Are all the teachers here crazy like that one?” he asked.
I spotted Ms. Carter doing some disco moves in the middle of a group of kids. The moves actually went well with the Usher song playing. “Ah, she’s just having fun. She’s the least crazy teacher you’ll find here.”
“You playing?”
“I don’t play.”
He smiled. Yeah, we were feeling each other. I wondered what he’d do if I leaned over and kissed him. Of course, I wouldn’t do that. Not unless I were drunk, which I wasn’t, unfortunately.
Then somebody grabbed my sleeve.
“Who is he?” It was my friend Melisha, her eyelids sparkling with silver glitter.
“I’ll tell you later. Now bounce, okay?”
“Fine, but I hope he got friends for the rest of us!”
I turned back to Eric. He was scanning the room. “Lot of people rocking colors,” he said.
I sighed. “Yeah. It’s mostly a Blood school, but we’ve got more and more Crips here now. When they closed down Tilson, lots of them came here.”
He nudged his chin toward the Crips. “You see what they’re doing?”
I saw. There was a group of Crips by the speakers. Two of them were doing the CripWalk—a little dance meant to piss off the Bloods.
“Can’t they keep that shit out of here?” I looked around, spotting the security guards. They weren’t paying any attention. They were flirting with some girls.
“I think something’s gonna start,” he said. “We better—”
I stopped listening. I watched a guy in a red do-rag walk up to one of the Crip dancers and snuff him right in the face.
Chaos broke out.
I felt Eric grab my arm and drag me through the crowd. Half the people in the gym were running toward the fight, half were running away from it to the main doors. I covered my face against the long nails and elbows as Eric yanked me through the mess of people.
I felt him push me against the wall. But it wasn’t a wall, it was a door. It must’ve been a fire exit. I found myself in the parking lot behind the school. A bunch of kids rushed out after us.
“What the hell is happening?” I tried to catch my breath.
“They’re trying to kill each other,” he said. “Nothing new. I gotta go.”
“Don’t!” I grabbed his arm, but he pulled away and disappeared back inside.
Why the hell did he go back in? What was he thinking?
“God, Julia!” Q threw her arms around me. “I was worried you were caught in the middle of that! Somebody got stabbed. Did you see what happened?”
“Bloods and Crips,” I said. “That’s what happened.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison van Diepen is also the author of Street Pharm and Snitch. She teaches at an alternative high school in Ottawa, Canada. Visit her on the Web at AllisonvanDiepen.com or at MySpace.com/allisonvandiepen.
ALSO BY ALLISON VAN DIEPEN
Street Pharm
Snitch
* * *
Thank you for reading this eBook.
Find out about free book giveaways, exclusive content, and amazing sweepstakes! Plus get updates on your favorite books, authors, and more when you join the Simon & Schuster Teen mailing list.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com/teen
* * *
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Simon Pulse paperback edition February 2010
Copyright © 2009 by Allison van Diepen
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Also available in a Simon Pulse hardcover edition.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Paul Weil
The text of this book was set in Garamond.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Van Diepen, Allison.
Raven / Allison van Diepen. — 1st Simon Pulse ed.
p. cm.
Summary: New York City breakdancer Nicole loves fellow dancer Zin,
who harbors a dark secret.
ISBN 978-1-4169-7899-2 (hc)
[1. Friendship—Fiction. 2. Love—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Immortality—Fiction. 5. Break dancing—Fiction. 6. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.V28526Rav 2009
[Fic]—dc22
2008025269
ISBN 978-1-4169-7468-0 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4391-5657-5 (eBook)
Raven Page 19
