Free Into the Woods by V. C. Andrews

suffered in ways other people didn't. but I didn't feel cheated. I would never feel that way as long as I had my parents and we continued to care more about each other than we did about ourselves.
I did dream that night.
I dreamed of Trent sliding into third only not hurting himself.
He stood up and then turned toward home because I was standing there at the plate, waiting for him.
    4
Men and Their Toys
.
When I went to school the next day I felt more

confident and self-assured than I had ever felt at this school or any other. I couldn't explain why. Trent and I hadn't done much more than a pair of junior high students might do these days, but somehow I could sense a new maturity in me. I felt older, experienced, more invulnerable, especially to whatever Wendi and Penny could throw my way. It was as if I had gained some ancient wisdom or waken it in my sleeping brain and now realized that the Grinchy twins, as I liked to think of them, weren't worth a minute of worry when it came to how they would affect my life and happiness. It was better and far easier to pretend they were invisible.
    I told that to Trent when he and I sat together in the cafeteria while, at the next table down. Wendi and Penny squirmed like two termites into the brains of all their devotees. He laughed and nodded,
    "I do the same thing sometimes, pretend people I don't like or people who just annoy me aren't there. I look right through them, block out whatever they say. My friends think I'm daydreaming, but it's easier that way."
    We talked so much that day, every opportunity we had. He had come to school on his crutch, of course, and all of his buddies and many other girls hovered about him as though he had been wounded in a gallant battle, showing great courage. The crutch was a medal, an honor. Same actually wanted to touch it as if it had a magical quality.
    As quickly and as gracefully as he could, he escaped from them to come to me every chance he had. The result was that more and more of the students who wouldn't give me the time of the day before were now interested in me. I knew a few of the girls had crushes on Trent as heavy as the one Autumn had carried secretly in her heart. I knew they thought that if they found reasons to be with me, they would be with him, and competition for his attention grew more intense. Before long we were struggling for opportunities to be alone, even if it was for a few moments in the hallway or the minutes we had together in the cafeteria before they descended on us like honey bees drawing whatever succor they could from Trent's smile or friendly words.
    First thing in the afternoon after lunch was our history exam. Mr. Caswell offered to give Trent a makeup test if he felt his injury had made it impossible for him to study well. I thought that was generous, but Wendi nudged me to say, "If he wasn't a school sports hero, he'd be left to sink or swim." To her surprise and even a little to mine. Trent refused the offer and said he was better prepared than ever. Of course, he looked my way and smiled, which turned every other girl's spotlight eyes to me for a moment of envy so thick and green it made the air around me hot and hard to breathe.
    Moments later the class was quiet and the test had begun. There was nothing on it that Trent and I had not covered. One of the essay questions looked as if it had been created out of my very notes, in fact. I saw Trent smile with confidence, glance back at me, and then go at it. Afterward he made a paint of telling me how much studying with me had helped him. He said it loudly enough so that anyone who didn't know by now knew we had spent some of the previous evening together at his house.
    Whatever new image I had developed simply because he was showing me attention in the halls and cafeteria of our school exploded into celebrity with this revelation. In an instant I was being thought of as Trent Ralston's new steady girlfriend. It was as if I had won the lottery.
    When he