Free The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman

swallowed down my worry and headed to dinner. If I got up there in time, at least I’d be able to sit and talk with someone, even if it was just about the basketball team. But my social timing seemed to be perpetually off.
    I saw Sophie and Jack leaving the dining hall just as I was entering. They were flushed with laughter and linked arm in arm. I thought they were going to stop and talk, but they just waved and passed me by. A moment later, Jack turned and grinned at me.
    “I like your shirt,” he called.
    I stared down at my oversized T-shirt with the logo of a Japanese noise band on the front. I wasn’t sure whether he was making fun of me.
    “Thanks. Where are you guys going?”
    “Town,” he said.
    “We can go into town?”
    “Only on open Saturdays.”
    “Oh,” I said, still not entirely sure what an open Saturday was, despite being in the midst of one.
    “We’re gonna be late for first bus,” Sophie said, and pulled him on.
    He blew me a kiss and then they were gone. As usual, I had no idea what was happening. I grabbed a grilled cheese andsome chocolate milk and went to sit with Helen, Pigeon, and Freddy. They seemed to be just finishing up.
    “Hey there.” Helen smiled. “You look cute in that jacket.”
    “Thanks,” I said. I looked at the sleeve of my grungy army jacket I wore pretty much every day.
    They were starting to clear their plates away, and with a sinking feeling, I realized I’d be eating alone again.
    “Sorry we can’t stay and eat with you,” Helen said. “We’re in a hurry.”
    “Where are you guys going?” I asked hopefully.
    “Town,” Helen said, looking around the room. “We have to hurry if we want to get ready and catch the second bus.”
    Plates clattered and Pigeon giggled excitedly as they gathered up their things.
    “Maybe we’ll see you down there.” Helen smiled and then skipped off with her tray.
    I looked down at my sandwich and felt a terrible weight on me. I took a bite and tried to choke down a familiar feeling. It wasn’t exactly like I’d been excluded, but I hadn’t been invited either. Did everyone need an invitation, or was that just me? Was I socially reticent to the point of phobia? Would a different girl simply have invited herself along?
    After dinner, I wandered over to the library and went upstairs to the reading area with the comfy chairs. Carlos was up there reading the
Wall Street Journal
.
    “What’s up, Carlos?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “Just catching up on current events. I hate feeling so isolated here.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Me too.”
    I read for a while and then fell asleep in my chair. Carlos woke me just before the library closed, and groggily, I made my way back down to my room.
    The next day, I was in my room, trying to keep my books from falling over on the shelf, when the door slammed open and Helen came flouncing in. She tossed her copy of
The Complete Works of Shakespeare
onto the bed and smiled triumphantly.
    “Audition go well?”
    “Let’s just say I tore Miranda a new asshole.”
    “And that’s what they’re looking for these days, is it?”
    “The part is mine,” she said, smiling brilliantly. “Cara Svitt was practically crying when I left. Hey, listen,” she went on, placing a hand on her jutted-out hip. “Sorry we kind of ditched you last night. I thought you’d meet us downtown, but you never showed.”
    “Yeah, I went to the library.”
    “Next time just come with us, okay? I felt really bad.”
    A moment or so later, Noel trailed in behind her, a Cheshire grin lighting up her face.
    “I just had a really good talk with Asta,” she said, and sat on my bed, pulling her legs up into the lotus position.
    “God.” Helen rolled her eyes. “You are developing a serious case of hero worship.”
    “I am not. We just have really good talks. She’s wise, you know, and it makes me feel better to know that someone has the world figured out.”
    “I’m sorry,” Helen said, shaking her head.