Free Fearless by Francine Pascal Page B

out of control.”
    “You think so?”
    He laughed. “For once, yeah.”
    “She’s such a raving bitch,” Gaia declared.
    Ed shook his head thoughtfully. “There’s actually more to her than that.”
    “You know her well?” Gaia asked, clearly surprised.
    “Sure. I went out with her for a few months.”
    Gaia stopped cold in the middle of Bleecker Street. A truck honked loudly.
    “Gaia, go!” Ed commanded, and she did.
    “No way,” she stated when they were safely on the other side of the street.
    Ed looked at her peevishly. “You say that too much.”
    “Sorry. But I mean it. No way.”
    Ed held up his hands. “It’s true. Heather and I went out for a while before my accident.”
    “Wow.” Gaia was obviously struggling to absorb this. They walked for three blocks in silence.
    “Hey, Gaia?” he asked finally.
    “Yeah?”
    “Are you ever going to ask me why I’m in a wheelchair?”
    “No,” she said.
    “Why not?”
    “Because if I do, you would have the right to ask
    where I lived before, or why I’m a black belt in karate, or what happened to my parents.”
    “Oh,” he said. “Okay.”
    And they kept walking.

That Girl
    SAM WASN’T WALKING THROUGH THE park because he wanted to see that girl. He didn’t want to see that girl. She was trouble.
    And he had a girlfriend That was the more important point. He had a girlfriend, and he was late to meet her, and even though it was almost dark and he knew he shouldn’t be cutting through the park with all of the crap that was going on, he was doing it anyway.
    But not because he wanted to see that girl.
    Although he was running late, he could count on the fact that Heather would be at least twenty minutes later and that she would show up with a noisy entourage. She would be all out of breath and apologize fervently for being late, as though her lateness depended on such a rare and extenuating matrix of once-in-a-lifetime circumstances that it could never possibly happen again. And the next time she would be just as late.
    He should just tell her it bugged him. He was basically a punctual person, and he didn’t appreciate all the dramatic entrances. He didn’t love the entourage, either.
    But if he did tell her, she would probably listen and stop, at least for a while. And then where would he be? What could he complain about? What reason would he have for breaking up with her?
    Ooh. That last bit just slipped out. He hadn’t totally meant to have that thought.
    Heather was gorgeous. Heather was smart. Heather was confident and funny. Heather, though only a senior in high school, was the envy of all his college friends. Heather was even capable, when she let go of her own mythology for a few minutes, of being a decent person.
    But these were not good reasons for going out with a person, and he knew that in his heart. So why did he stay with her?
    That was complicated. It hinged on a lot of stuff about his old life and his old self, and he didn’t feel like thinking about it just now.
    His thoughts wandered back to the girl.
The girl
. He’d certainly never thought so much about a person whose name he didn’t know. His mind slipped back to her every time he gave it a moment’s freedom. He kept picturing her eyes, infinite as the sky. His mind used to be so obedient, so precise. For the last
    twenty-four hours it had behaved more like a badly trained dog on a too long leash.
    Did she live in the neighborhood? Where did she go to school? Would she come back to the chess tables in the park? If she did, would he try to talk to her? Would he ask her to play again?
    His heart rate was rising at the very thought.
    Okay, enough.
    He was so distracted, he veered off the path and nearly crashed into a sign. He looked up at it.
    Curb Your Dog, it said.

A Mistake
    IF SHE SAW HIM, SHE WOULD just change course. Gaia’s eyesight was good. She would spot him before he spotted her, before any interaction needed to take place.
    Strictly speaking, walking