Justin turned around and whispered a thanks to the guy behind him, but Ms. Chalmers’s monologue suddenly stopped. Justin could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head. He turned around to face her. She gave him an irritated look and continued her boring explanation of grammar.
Justin hadn’t slept at all last night. After talking with Anya yesterday evening, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going crazy. But if his conversation with her wasn’t imagined, he needed to know how he could talk through trees. He had spent the night coming up with questions he wanted to ask her. He also tried to come up with his own answers, but every explanation he came up with seemed just as strange as the next. The only thing that kept him from going out in the middle of the night to call Anya from the tree in his backyard was that she was likely asleep. He figured the same basic rules applied for both phone calling and tree calling—if that’s what they called it. Calling at three in the morning would probably irritate her. Until he knew her better, he thought it best to wait until he was sure she was awake.
By morning, he had decided what he would do. During lunch time, he would find a secluded patch of trees in the forested park across from the school and try to contact Anya. He didn’t want to wait that long, but he figured that was his earliest opportunity. Skipping classes after just starting at a new school would cause more problems with his dad than he cared to face.
The bell rang a couple of minutes later, ending English class. Justin grabbed his backpack and turned to head out the door. The guy who had whispered the answer to him earlier stood nearby. He was tall, with dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. But the rest of his facial features and his skin tone definitely suggested some Asian ancestry. “Hi, I’m Lewis.”
“Hi. Thanks again for the help.” Justin looked toward the door wanting to make his way to the forest beside the school as quickly as possible.
“No problem. Ms. Chalmers can put us all to sleep.” Lewis swung his backpack over his shoulder. “So where are you from?”
Justin began walking to the door hoping to end the conversation without being rude. “Houston.”
“Houston? Bellingham must be quite a change,” Lewis said.
Justin sighed. “Yeah.”
As they entered the hallway, Justin was about to make his getaway when a skinny blond with pink and purple streaks in her hair stopped in front of them. Her clothes were even more colorful than her hair. “Hey, Lewis. Are you going to introduce us?”
Lewis turned to his new classmate. “What’s your name?”
“Justin.”
The girl twirled a strand of pink-streaked hair around her finger. “I’m Amanda. Want to have lunch with us? The weather’s nice, so we’ll be eating outside.” Justin hesitated, trying to think up a good excuse, but Amanda didn’t give him any time. “Good. I’ll introduce you to the group.” She casually placed her hand on the crook of his elbow and led him down the hall. Justin looked back at Lewis, who just shrugged his shoulders as if he understood the difficulty of saying “no” to Amanda. Justin tried to sneak in a few words between Amanda’s energetic tour of the school and overview of social life at Sehome High School, but after a while, he gave up trying to get away. He could contact Anya right after school, instead.
Justin’s desire to socialize had evaporated since Grandpa’s death. For the past week-and-a-half since the accident, Justin had pretty much closed up, simply going through the motions of the funeral, packing up, and saying his goodbyes. But Amanda seemed to do all the work in the conversation, making it easy for Justin to just walk and listen. It kind of felt good to be around someone who didn’t know they should be saying they were sorry for his loss.
After buying lunch, Lewis and Amanda led Justin outside past other groups trying to enjoy the rare spring warmth. They sat down at
Justin hadn’t slept at all last night. After talking with Anya yesterday evening, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going crazy. But if his conversation with her wasn’t imagined, he needed to know how he could talk through trees. He had spent the night coming up with questions he wanted to ask her. He also tried to come up with his own answers, but every explanation he came up with seemed just as strange as the next. The only thing that kept him from going out in the middle of the night to call Anya from the tree in his backyard was that she was likely asleep. He figured the same basic rules applied for both phone calling and tree calling—if that’s what they called it. Calling at three in the morning would probably irritate her. Until he knew her better, he thought it best to wait until he was sure she was awake.
By morning, he had decided what he would do. During lunch time, he would find a secluded patch of trees in the forested park across from the school and try to contact Anya. He didn’t want to wait that long, but he figured that was his earliest opportunity. Skipping classes after just starting at a new school would cause more problems with his dad than he cared to face.
The bell rang a couple of minutes later, ending English class. Justin grabbed his backpack and turned to head out the door. The guy who had whispered the answer to him earlier stood nearby. He was tall, with dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. But the rest of his facial features and his skin tone definitely suggested some Asian ancestry. “Hi, I’m Lewis.”
“Hi. Thanks again for the help.” Justin looked toward the door wanting to make his way to the forest beside the school as quickly as possible.
“No problem. Ms. Chalmers can put us all to sleep.” Lewis swung his backpack over his shoulder. “So where are you from?”
Justin began walking to the door hoping to end the conversation without being rude. “Houston.”
“Houston? Bellingham must be quite a change,” Lewis said.
Justin sighed. “Yeah.”
As they entered the hallway, Justin was about to make his getaway when a skinny blond with pink and purple streaks in her hair stopped in front of them. Her clothes were even more colorful than her hair. “Hey, Lewis. Are you going to introduce us?”
Lewis turned to his new classmate. “What’s your name?”
“Justin.”
The girl twirled a strand of pink-streaked hair around her finger. “I’m Amanda. Want to have lunch with us? The weather’s nice, so we’ll be eating outside.” Justin hesitated, trying to think up a good excuse, but Amanda didn’t give him any time. “Good. I’ll introduce you to the group.” She casually placed her hand on the crook of his elbow and led him down the hall. Justin looked back at Lewis, who just shrugged his shoulders as if he understood the difficulty of saying “no” to Amanda. Justin tried to sneak in a few words between Amanda’s energetic tour of the school and overview of social life at Sehome High School, but after a while, he gave up trying to get away. He could contact Anya right after school, instead.
Justin’s desire to socialize had evaporated since Grandpa’s death. For the past week-and-a-half since the accident, Justin had pretty much closed up, simply going through the motions of the funeral, packing up, and saying his goodbyes. But Amanda seemed to do all the work in the conversation, making it easy for Justin to just walk and listen. It kind of felt good to be around someone who didn’t know they should be saying they were sorry for his loss.
After buying lunch, Lewis and Amanda led Justin outside past other groups trying to enjoy the rare spring warmth. They sat down at
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