Free Somewhere In-Between by Donna Milner

Dude,” to Levi as they passed, but no one hung with him except Kajul and me. I’m pretty certain it was for no other reason than they were in awe of him. He was something of a hero, a local celebrity in our town, after all. He could have been playing for one of the Canadian Junior teams already, but wanted to finish high school in Waverley Creek. He was that good. Although you would never know it from the way he acts. Anyone who doesn’t know him might take it from his expressions that he’s an angry guy, but nothing could be further from the truth. He’s a little bit shy, yeah, but mostly, Levi never says much. Yet when he does speak it’s usually worth hearing. My mother told me there is something to be said for a quiet man and repeated another of her old-school sayings that she was so fond of, but I had to admit this one fit, ‘Still waters run deep.’
    It is true though, that sometimes the way Levi looks at, or more likely beyond, someone, it would be easy to think he’s judging them, but those of us who know him, know that isn’t true. His mind is just on other things: school, his hockey, his mom out at NaNeetza Reserve. And lately, I believed, maybe even me. I have reason to think that because when we left the party before midnight—just as he promised Mom—he took Kajul to her house first, even though it meant he had to double back to my place. Before I climbed out of the car I pulled his pendant from where it hung beneath my blouse, lifted it over my head, and gave it back to him. He put it back on, and then without a word, he leaned over and placed his left hand on my cheek, tilted my face up, and kissed me, kissed me so lightly that my lips tingled. He leaned back and the dimples that I am so crazy about showed up for a brief moment. Then he said, “You make my heart come glad.”
    Wow, Dude, I thought, that’s just about the best thing a guy could ever say. But I didn’t tell him. I kept silent, knowing that with him that was the best thing a girl could do. So I just smiled back at him as I jumped out of the car. He waited while I ran across our driveway to the front door. He always stayed until he saw that I was safely inside. By the time I reached the porch though, I remembered that I had left my backpack—with my house key and cell phone—backstage at the school. I looked under the rock beneath the juniper bush, but the extra key wasn’t there. Waving back at Levi, I gave the doorbell a few quick jabs. Even after I hammered on the door, the house remained dark and silent. I shrugged and walked back to the car.
    â€œI’m locked out,” I said, leaning into his window. “Do you have a cell phone?”
    Levi’s expression said it all. Of course he didn’t carry a cell phone. I knew that.
    â€œMy folks must either be asleep or still out,” I said. “Could you take me back to the party? I can use the phone there.”
    It was almost midnight and Levi still had hockey practice in the morning, yet he didn’t hesitate. We drove back up Cottonwood Drive. The party was still happening. More people had shown up, and more beer. The house was crowded. That’s how it is in a small town. Word spreads. I wondered if it’s the same in a big city. I thought that someday I would find out. Not too long from now, two more years of high school and I was off to UBC. Anything less would make both my parents freak.
    I used Wade’s phone and called home. Pressing my finger to my ear to block out the party noise, I left a message telling Mom to mark down the time because I deserved brownie points for keeping my promise to be home by midnight, but that I was locked out. “I guess you guys are out since you’re not picking up,” I added, and left Wade’s number for them to call when they got home.
    â€œSorry, Levi,” I said turning back to him in the hall. “Hey, I can get a ride home from