Free EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) by Barbara Cross

hate me,” I moaned.
    “If that happens, it wasn’t your fault.”
    I walked into the living room, sat on the couch and texted Reed. After a few exchanges back and forth, we agreed on meeting at the IMAGINE mosaic. How appropriate! Maybe it would inspire this talk to remain peaceful. I took Amber for moral support and also as an excuse for a getaway.
    We walked over to Strawberry Field and I started thinking about John Lennon’s life and death. This part of the park was named after the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields" and for an orphanage in Liverpool, England. The black and white mosaic, inscribed with “IMAGINE” in the center was the focal point of the Garden of Peace. Whenever I saw the word, I sang the Imagine song in my head.
    I got there before Reed. I took the Lord Byron poetry book out of my bag and tried to read, but it was impossible to concentrate.
    I saw him approaching and he looked just as nervous as I felt. This was going to be bad; I knew it. Putting my book down on the bench, I braced myself.
    We exchanged pleasantries and Reed sat down. I had to get this going before I chickened out. “We really need to talk.” He stopped smiling. “I saw your status and I don’t understand,” I blurted out and waited for his explanation.
    “ I’m sorry. I didn’t do it. Evan did and I really had it out with him. If you go on my wall, it’s gone and I posted that Evan’s a moron.”
    “Oh.” I was stunned . It wasn’t a real posting!
    “ I wanted to get it off before you saw it, but people had already started commenting on it. When you didn’t call back, I thought you saw I deleted it.”
    “No, I haven’t been on Facebook.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
    When I looked over at Reed, he seemed uneasy and asked, “Are you dating anybody?”
    I paused and answered truthfully, “No, I’m not.” Please don’t ask me out!
    He sort of nodded his head and said, “Okay.”
    Before he could say anything else, I quickly asked, “When will you be back from camp?”
    “The last week in August. I’ll call you when I get home. I won’t have a computer there, so I can’t stay in touch and the camp doesn’t allow cell phones.”
    “Wow, you’re going to be really roughing it,” I kidded.
    “Yeah, they want us to focus only on hockey.”
    He wasn’t happy, but I was. I wouldn’t have to deal with him all summer. Perhaps there’d be girl hockey players at the camp and he’d fall in love with one of them.
    “I’ll be in London till Labor Day, either way, I’ll see you in school,” I added.
    “How about a rain check for a dance this year?” he asked.
    I jokingly said, “Maybe.”
    “Maybe?”
    “I’m just kidding,” I answered and didn’t definitively say yes or no.
    “That’s good.” Reed looked at his watch and said, “I have to go and meet my parents. Chad has some gig and I’m being forced to go.” He rolled his eyes. I guess he wasn’t a fan of Chad’s music.
    “Okay, have fun in Canada.”
    As he walked away, I closed my eyes and was thankful that this nightmare was over.
    When I opened my eyes, Daniel was standin g right in front of me. How did he always sneak up on me?
    “ Hey, you okay?” he asked and sat down. Amber scampered right over to him and Daniel scratched her head. She had totally ignored Reed, even though; she had met him numerous times.
    “ Hi! I’m fine, just a little tired.” I was so excited to see him.
    “ You seemed upset talking to that guy.” He had stopped petting Amber and she nudged his hand with her nose until he resumed.
    He’d been watching us? “Oh, no, I wasn’t upset,” I said.
    “ Was that your boyfriend?” he asked.
    “No, he’s a friend.” This couldn’t be happening. My fantasy man was here and he was talking about Reed.
    “What are you reading?” Daniel picked up the poetry book. “Wow. Lord Byron. That’s really amazing.” There was a pause. “Lord Byron went to my school. I know his poetry really