Free The Understorey, Book One of The Leaving Series by Fisher Amelie Page A

okay?” I asked.
    “Yes, thank you,” she said, breathing heavily
from the realization rather than the laceration.
    She turned back to her task. Jules was the
only one who wrapped her book inside out so the paper would be
blank and she could draw on it later. When she was done, I threw a
dorky smile her way, and copied her, but for a very different
reason. I took out my pen and wrote on the top of the cover in very
small letters, bracing myself for the long fight it was going to
take to erase whatever idea she had of who I was and what I wanted
her to be to me.
     
    Hi.
What do you want Elliott?
Can we talk? About what? You know
what. About your following me to Koan’s? I
DID NOT follow you to
Koan’s. Right. Exactly. I am right. It was
a coincidence. Boy, you must think the world revolves around
you. I do not! Don’t try to make me appear as if I’m
imagining things. I’ve noticed you watching
me. How would you even know that Jules? If you weren’t watching me as well? It’s Julia, Elliott.
Class is about to start. I don’t have time for your games. She turned to her own notebook. I wrote and
shoved the cover into her face.
Are we ever going to talk about what happened the first
day of school? She hesitated, but at last answered
me.
I have no idea what you’re talking about. Jules. My name is Julia, not Jules, Elliott. How
many times do I have to tell you? I know that
but I like Jules. I’ve noticed I’m the only one who calls
you that. It makes me a part of you that only we
share. She wasn’t expecting that answer and I could see
when her eyes widened then quickly narrowed that she wasn’t exactly
adverse to the idea. Whew.
What’s your motivation? I have to have a motivation
to talk to you? Boys like you always have a motivation. Boys like me,
huh? You’ve never struck me as the type who read into
stereotypes Jules. I didn’t know you were such a
snob. I’m the snob? Spare me. What about
the first day of school, huh? Did I act like a snob then? It
seems to me that you’re the one who’s the snob. You’ve
avoided me like the plague. You see me coming and you run
the other direction. I’ve gotten the cold shoulder from you
for the past three weeks.
    She reached out her hand to yank the pen from
mine in retaliation. Her finger grazed mine and the contact struck
a sparkled heat between us. We pulled away as if they were hands
held to a stove. Everyone around us were completely unaware of the
netted lightning bolt that stuck us stiff to our seats and quieted
us from its silently deafening effects. With trembling hands I
wrote,
    There’s no denying that baby
girl. You’re right. I cannot deny that, even if I
wanted to. I looked at her, confused.
Do you? What? Want to deny
it? Kind of. You’re literally breaking my
heart Jules. Am I really that bad? It’s not
that. It’s just, I don’t trust you. Why? How do I know you’re the same Elliott Gray who would play
with me on the rock bridge as kids? You seemed to have
changed when we entered eighth grade. It seemed as if
overnight we just stopped being friends. Maybe I
was the snob.
Oh, Jules. I’m sorry, really. I was an idiot and afraid
of girls. Honestly, it seemed like you wanted nothing to do
with me so I stopped talking to you. I wasn’t some girl
Elliott. I was your friend. It was all so awkward that first
day and I didn’t know what I had done. Only one day had
passed since last we saw one another, but you ignored me as
if we hardly knew each other at all. I admit, I did act as if I wanted nothing to do with you, but I was only doing that to protect myself from the way you were acting. I’m sorry too.
I should have just come out and asked you. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Again, I’m sorry. But, I have to admit, I’m kind of glad
we ignored each other.   That was mean. Ask me why Jules. Okay, why? Because, if
we hadn’t grown apart maybe we never would have found our
‘thing’ and I kind of like our ‘thing’. Growing