Of course, I'm hanging out today on Katie Carroll's blog! She's one of my best writing buddies and I highly, highly recommend you check out her book, Elixir Bound! It's awesome!
And today, we're on to a bit more of Sandra and James. I hope you're enjoying their antics as much as I am :)
Entry #7
~James was good to his word. He didn’t speak to me for the
rest of the week. Mary and I got over our argument about the Steven issue.
Things went back to as normal as they could be when I still found myself spying
on James.
It was impossible not to notice more of Richie while I was
at it. They were so different I couldn’t understand what drew them together.
But it was impossible to miss the sadness in Richie’s eyes. The way he blended
into the back of every classroom. Whatever the reasoning behind James’ actions,
I was grateful for it.
That Saturday, there was a baseball game. It was still
pre-season, but we were playing the team from
I didn’t pay much attention to the game itself. Not when I
saw that James was there, Richie in tow, sitting in the shadows on one side of
the bleachers.
Afterward, I wandered to the small park near the school.
Several mothers had their kids out to laugh and run in the sunshine. I took a
seat on one of the benches, leaning back to let the sun touch my face. After a
while, I pulled a novel from my bag.
Somehow, he snuck up on me. I felt his weight settle onto
the bench next to me but didn’t look over. Even though all I wanted to do was
lean closer and breathe in whatever made him smell so good.
“I imagine you’re here to say something?” I finally spoke
after it became obvious he wasn’t going anywhere.
His blue eyes met mine and a small smirk of a smile made my
heart beat faster. “I was wondering why it would be better for both of us if I
were to leave you alone?”
I carefully closed my book, taking the extra seconds to
think about how to answer. “Because my friends are mean sometimes. I don’t want
them picking on you. Again.”
He frowned. “I’m certain I can handle that myself.”
“Well, I’m not sure I can,” I snapped. It was true. I wished
I was better at handling them, but I wasn’t.
“So you’d rather give in to them and pretend I don’t exist?”
I laughed softly. It wasn’t as though I could tell him I
couldn’t ignore his existence. I thought about him more than I should, always
scanned the halls for him, but I didn’t want him knowing that. It would only go
to his head. “They’re my friends. I’d rather not lose them.”
James nodded slowly, like he wasn’t completely convinced.
“Seems like they are really good friends then.”
I didn’t miss the sarcasm in his tone. Huffing out a deep
breath, I shrugged. “They are what they are.” I started to gather up my things,
annoyed and suddenly cold.
James didn’t say a word, just watched me with a frown. Once
I stood, my bag over my shoulder, I looked at him sitting there. The inner
wiggly feeling was back in force. Did I really want to go through the rest of
the school year pretending I wasn’t interested in him? Did I want to let Mary, Steven,
and the others play that role?
The answer was simple. “You can pick me up tonight at seven.
I expect you to answer a few questions.”
James’ grin made my knees a little wobbly as I walked away.
Sandra and James sounds like they have an interesting relationship. I'm curious about what happens next! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!! :)
DeleteAwesome! Loved the ending because it made me even more curious. Great pictures to go with it! :)
ReplyDeleteOh- and garage sales can be so fascinating. Hope you find some treasures (or found some(.
I did find some treasures :) Glad you liked the excerpt!
DeleteJust the right place to leave off! Keep the reader wanting more...
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
Delete