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Ohhhh my wordddd
Ok that actually makes so much sense. I felt like the story was moving too fast and wasn’t exactly sure how to slow it down.
Thanks for pointing that out!! <33
Mmm. If that’s how other books do it, I guess it could work. I looked it up and some people say to extend the vowels and smooth consonants—maybe that could work… like “Jennnnnifer” or “Jennniiiifferr” or something…? Ah, I don’t know…! 🤔
That’s a good idea… We’ll see I guess! I’ll probably pay attention to those things closer in the third draft. Thank you!!
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
In my first draft I actually never wrote a scene of their first study sesh together…do you think I should add that in for the second draft??
WHAT??? I was looking forward to reading that sooo bad!
To err is human; to arr is pirate.
Ohhhh my wordddd
Ok that actually makes so much sense. I felt like the story was moving too fast and wasn’t exactly sure how to slow it down.
Thanks for pointing that out!! <33
Glad I was able to help!!!!!
I do love your dialogue though…you’re so talented in that area!!! Just maybe breaking it up would help A LOT. Because too much of a good thing is almost always a bad thing (if that makes sense lol) XDXD Because if all you have is dialogue, the playful banter between characters starts to get mundane, which makes me so sad since it’s well written!!!
If you need any help or inspiration for breaking that up let me know!!! I tend to add too much “prose” and not enough dialogue so we can bounce ideas off of each other any time!!!!
This lady thrives on the divine grace of Faith and the rich embrace of caffeine.
The chapters are good so far, I like the cozy feel. I agree with @savannah_grace2009 that it’s moving a bit fast, but other than that everything’s good. Nice job!!
“Our house is full of ducks!!!!”
Don’t worry, I added it!!
Thanks so much girl!!
Thank you! I really appreciate it!!
@youthreegirls @keilah-h @grcr @smiley
Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth there for a little bit! I was still editing I just forgot to post, lol! So here’s a chapter dump for y’all!! (I apologize if I’m reposting a chapter I’ve already shared and if I missed italics. XP)
Chapter 4
“I haven’t seen Antonio all day… He must not be a sophomore.” Hallie stood on her tiptoes, peering over the heads to the students who roamed the cafeteria.
“You trippin’? I thought you didn’t care that much.” Jennifer placed herself in front of Hallie to catch her eye.
“What? No. I’m just curious.”
Hallie walked away before Jen could badger her anymore. Jen caught up with her and the two wove through students, passing giggling freshmen and seniors leaving for off-campus lunch. She plopped into a seat at their usual table, careful not to let her loaded tray spill. Although she wouldn’t have minded an excuse not to eat the monstrosity that sat on her plate. “Can you believe what they’re feeding us for the first day of school?”
“We need Mrs. Fernsby back.” Javier poked at his food, a look of disgust on his face.
“Woah, what did I just hear?”
“I would take a grass sandwich over—” He lifted a glop of food up onto his fork and let it plop onto his plate. “—Whatever this is.”
“Grass sandwich?” Someone approaching their table asked.
Hallie’s gaze immediately darted to the source of the Mexican accent. Antonio and Tyler slid into the seats next to Javier.
“‘Sup man?” Javier held out a hand. “The name’s Javier. You the new kid?”
“Yes. I am Antonio.” Antonio shook Javier’s outstretched hand.
“Nice to meet ya Tony. You don’t mind the nickname, do ya? All my friends get nicknames. It means I like you.”
“No, not at all.” Antonio flashed his perfect smile.
“Good. I’m still trying to come up with one for Hallie though. Been trying ever since she moved here. I think Hal works perfectly but she—” He paused and motioned to the face Hallie was making, with her tongue stuck out and her nose scrunched. “—does that every time I mention it.”
Antonio laughed, making Hallie’s cheeks warm. She fumbled with her plastic cup, bringing it to her mouth and taking a longer-than-necessary sip.
“Leave her alone, Jay.” Danielle squeezed in between Hallie and Jennifer. “Unless maybe she’ll stop being your friend.”
“She’d never stop being my friend. I’m how she learns to be cool.”
“As if.” Hallie shot him a friendly smirk.
“Sorry we’re late guys.” Easton pushed Autumn’s wheelchair to the space they always left at their table and slid into the seat on the end. “Dr. Adams wanted to talk to me after class.”
Tyler smirked. “What’d you do this time?”
“Earn a scholarship.”
Their table plunged into silence.
Easton laughed. “I thought you’d be more excited than that.”
“Oh yes, we’re thrilled.” Hallie rolled her eyes, holding back a laugh. “Do, go on.”
Easton made a face at her like a little boy before continuing. “Ok, so I didn’t actually get the scholarship. I have to compete to get it. I have to write an essay on why I should receive the scholarship. And if my essay is the best out of three other participants, then I get a full scholarship to attend the University of Albuquerque for a bachelor’s in pre-med.”
Hallie jumped up. “Are you kidding, that’s awesome!”
“You thrilled now?” Easton grinned.
Hallie erased the smile from her expression, pointing a finger in his face. “Only if you win.”
“I’ll try.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulders in an impulsive hug.
A small smile stayed on her lips the rest of the lunch hour. There was no doubt in her mind that Easton would win that scholarship. She knew that would take a lot of stress off of him and their parents. An unexpected pang of sadness shot through her. He’d be getting a degree in pre-med. That was four years. But after that, he’d have to go on to med school. He’d only be home for the holidays, and hopefully for the summer… She blinked away the tears that sprang to her eyes, forcing herself to focus on what was going on around her. Now was no time to get emotional. Everyone was so happy for Easton—she had no right to ruin this moment for him.
In fact, Antonio proved to be a good distraction. A hoard of butterflies had decided to take up residence in her gut, forcing out all the sad feelings that had started to move in only moments ago. After an internal pep talk, she managed to keep their fluttering down to a minimum. Antonio was just a guy. Nobody different than all the other guys at their table.
But the butterflies decided to get all excited again when Antonio called her name behind her as she, Jen, and Javier walked down the hall to their next class.
“Hey, what’s up.” She gave what she hoped was a friendly smile.
“Do you know where the Spanish class is?”
“You need to take Spanish?”
She suddenly noticed how flippant her comment was and felt her cheeks warm.
Antonio flashed his breathtaking smile. “Not really, but if I want to graduate, then yes.”
Hallie let out a small, relieved laugh. “Um, we’re actually on our way there now. Wanna join us?”
“Yes, gracias.” He fell in step beside the trio as they continued down the hall.
“Did Tyler abandon you?” Javier asked with a smirk.
“No, no. We knew that after lunch our classes wouldn’t be near each other. I said I knew my way around enough to get to class on time, but if I didn’t see you guys, I do not think that would have happened.”
“Oh, so you don’t take the same classes?” Hallie asked.
“No. He is a senior. I am only a sophomore.”
Hallie exchanged a subtle glance with Jen, who flashed her an excited look. Their group arrived just in time to grab their seats before Señor Martinez began his lesson. Hallie found herself going down a mental “Prince Charming” checklist as she stared at the back of Antonio’s head.
But as she went down her list, she noticed she barely knew anything about this guy… and that she should be paying attention to Señor Martinez instead of tending to her daydreams.
She took notes but barely paid any attention to what she was writing down. She found Spanish difficult anyway. New information only meant more studying for her at home.
She left the classroom with a groan, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.
“No, I can’t study with you this afternoon because I’ve got practice,” Jen said, tilting her head with a sympathetic smile.
“How’d you know I was gonna ask that?”
“I could tell.”
“Do you struggle in Spanish class?” Antonio interrupted.
“Oh, um, yeah, a little.” She shrugged one shoulder.
Antonio offered an understanding smile. “I’m always available to help you if you need it.”
“Really?” She heard how eager her voice sounded and inwardly told her butterflies to stop making such a racket.
“Absolutely.”
“Would this afternoon work?”
“Sí. Should we meet in the library?”
“Yeah, that’s perfect. Thank you.” She smiled.
He matched her expression. “Of course. I’ll see you then. Hasta luego, Hallie.”
“See ya, Antonio.”
Ugh, those butterflies seriously needed to chill. They liked Antonio way too much.
***
“So you’re serious about getting a doctorate?” Tyler turned back and forth in Easton’s desk chair, playing with a pencil.
“You heard how happy Mom and Dad were about the scholarship. I think I have a pretty good chance of winning. And imagine all the people I could help if I became a doctor. I’m not sure what field I’d specialize in, but—”
“Easton… I’m asking if you are serious about getting the degree.”
Easton hesitated. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“Ok.” Tyler nodded.
Easton appreciated the trust in Tyler’s response. Despite Easton’s hesitation, he took him at his word. But Tyler’s genuine question made Easton rewind and go over his answer. “At least I think so…”
Tyler raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile on his face.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ty. I can’t just throw it out the window. This is what I’ve been waiting for. I get to make a difference in the world… and for free!” He shrugged one shoulder.
Tyler laughed. “A very good point.”
A knock sounded on the door and Blake slipped in before Easton could answer. “Dinner time. You staying for dinner?” He cast a hopeful look towards Tyler.
“Sorry man. I gotta bounce.”
“Aw, come on. Your mom won’t mind having one less mouth to feed, will she?” Blake smirked. “Wait.” His smirk disappeared. “Do you have a date?”
Tyler stood. “Yep.”
“No way! The hopeless romantic finally gets a girl.”
“That girl happens to be my little sister.”
Blake frowned.
“My parents are the ones who are going out tonight. I have to stay home with Ruby.” Tyler shrugged.
“Oh, boring. I thought you were serious there for a second.”
Easton walked over to his thirteen year-old brother. “Leave the poor guy alone. It’s not his fault no girls are interested in him.”
“Says the kid who gave every girl in his fourth grade class a valentine.”
“I was being friendly.”
“Or the time when—”
“Ok, it’s time for you to head home now,” Eason directed Tyler out of the room, catching Blake’s curious look out of the corner of his eye. “Before I kick you out.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?” Tyler cast a look over his shoulder as they walked down the stairs.
“Hey, you’re right!” Easton opened the door and smirked. “Get out of here you jerk.”
“See ya tomorrow, Easton.”
“See ya.” He shut the door, shaking his head, and joined the rest of his family at the table for dinner. But Tyler’s question still tumbled through his head.
Was he serious about pursuing this doctorate degree?
No, that wasn’t the question. He was certain about that. The question was more, Why? Why was he pursuing this degree?
Now that was one question he couldn’t confidently answer. But one he was determined to find the answer to.
Chapter 5
Hallie walked into the library, her footsteps muffling as her feet hit the wool carpet. The hush of the room and the gentle murmur of whispered conversations and flipping of pages helped her catch her breath and compose herself. Her eyes immediately flew to the wooden tables in search of Antonio. No sign yet.
Instead of awkwardly standing around, she chose a table with three chairs and started removing her Spanish book and notebook from her backpack.
“Are you using these two chairs?” A female voice asked.
Hallie looked up, seeing a girl with the blondest blonde hair she had ever seen. Every strand was perfectly held in place by a bright pink headband. “No, you can have them.”
“Thanks.” The girl and her dark-haired friend reached for the chairs.
“Wait, actually I’m saving one for somebody.”
“Oh ok.” The blonde motioned to her friend to leave the chair there. As she looked back at Hallie, Hallie noticed what a deep blue the girl’s eyes were. In fact, Hallie thought she recognized this girl from the more popular kids at school. The girl offered a small smile. “You’re really pretty by the way. Most girls can’t pull off red, but it looks pretty rad on you.”
“For real,” her friend agreed.
“Is it natural?”
Hallie wasn’t sure whether she had just received a compliment or every other red-head had been offended without their knowing, but she smiled anyway. “Yep, keepin’ it real.” She tugged on the ends for proof.
The blonde looked around, her gaze finally landing back on Hallie. “Need a study partner?”
“I appreciate it but I’m meeting up with a friend.”
“Aight. Just let me know if you ever need someone.” She smiled. “I’m Katrina. And this Renee.” She motioned over to her friend.
“Nice to meet you.” Yep, after hearing their names Hallie was sure these girls were a part of the popular clique. That little bit of knowledge along with the fact that Katrina had complimented her brought a proud smile to her lips. “I’m Hallie.”
Katrina opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut as her gaze landed on someone behind Hallie. Hallie followed her gaze and saw Antonio approaching their table. She flashed him a smile, waving him over. The butterflies came back in full force as soon as he smiled back.
“Is that your study partner?” Katrina raised her eyebrows. Hallie didn’t like her tone of voice.
“Yeah…”
“Well, have fun.” With a wag of her eyebrows, she gave Hallie a little smirk and dragged her chair back to another table where some other students were gathered.
Hallie didn’t have time to think through Katrina’s sudden change in behavior as Antonio slid into the chair across from her. “Did I scare your friends off?”
Hallie knew her laugh was a little overdone and blamed it on the butterflies again. “No. It’s okay. They were just borrowing a chair. It was my first time meeting them.”
Antonio gave Katrina a nod as she glanced over at their table.
Hallie opened her Spanish book to the assigned homework, hoping to get Antonio’s attention back on what they were here for. “Ok. ¿Conjugaciónes?”
Antonio smiled, correcting her pronunciation.
Hallie tried again. “Was that right?”
“Sí, perfecto.”
“Man, if I can’t even get that right, imagine how the rest of the year is gonna go.” She laughed.
“It’s going to go great. Spanish is easy once you understand some basic concepts.”
“Easy for you to say.” She raised her eyebrows playfully.
“You have a point.” Antonio laughed and Hallie decided that was her new favorite sound. “Va… Listo?”
Hallie blinked a few times.
Antonio clearly held back a chuckle. He scooted his chair around the table until he was next to Hallie. “Ok. Are you ready?”
She nodded. But she might not be able to focus when he was sitting this close to her. Her right leg bounced up and down as she nodded along with his explanation of conjugations in the preterite tense.
“The key is memorization.”
“So you had to memorize these growing up?”
He nodded his head back and forth to the side. “Not exactly. Only like you learned the endings to your verbs. Some memorization, some naturally.”
“So you’re basically saying that if I’m going to pass Spanish class I either have to memorize a ton of stuff or go live in Spain.”
He shrugged. “Pretty much.”
The two shared a moment of laughter, which helped Hallie loosen up a little bit. By the time that she managed to focus on her homework, she noticed Katrina glancing back at their table every now and then. Eventually, after Hallie caught her, she stopped, but shortly after, her table grew louder with conversation.
Antonio looked over a few times when they would laugh extra loudly. Katrina was definitely trying to get Antoni’s attention and Hallie wasn’t a fan. She forced her gaze back down to her Spanish textbook as she finished filling out a chart with the preterite tense endings.
“Do they know what a library is?” Antonio asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
“My guess is no.”
The librarian approached Katrina’s table at that moment, asking them to quiet down.
Hallie and Antonio shared another round of silent laughter. When their eyes met again, Hallie got an overwhelming feeling that Antonio was going to be a great friend. And for today, she wasn’t wrong. For the rest of the afternoon, he patiently took time to explain the Spanish grammar concepts once, twice, and even a third time if she needed it. Even though she thought it might be more fun at Katrina’s table, she was grateful for this opportunity to get to know Antonio better and get her homework done at the same time.
The two packed up to leave as the time approached four o’clock. Hallie slung her backpack over her shoulder and smiled. “We’ll have to do this again some time.” Her breath hitched. Wait, was that presumptuous? What if he didn’t want to do it again? Did he think she was acting overeager?
“Sí, we will.”
She let out a silent breath. “Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it.”
“Por supuesto! Hasta mañana, Hallie.”
“Hasta mañana.” She waved as he walked away. She ran her fingers through the ends of her hair, taking a deep breath. Why had she been so nervous? Antonio was nice and they were just two friends studying. There had been nothing to get worked up about.
“Well, how’d it go?”
Hallie startled at Katrina’s voice. “Oh, um, fine,” she answered, catching on to what Katrina was referring to.
“That’s all?” Katrina’s blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Hallie shrugged. “He’s just a friend. We only met today.”
“Hallie, those things mean nothing. You know that.”
Katrina’s intense expression was probably meant to be somewhere between encouraging and mischievous, but it only made Hallie feel small under her gaze.
“It’s alright though. You’ll have other chances, and I’ll back off.”
Other chances for what? Hallie tried not to let her displeasure at this girl invading her personal life show on her face. “Well, I had better get home. I said I’d be home before four thirty.”
Katrina glanced at the clock on the wall. “You still have half an hour. Why not go out for a quick snack with us?”
Hallie peered over at Katrina’s rowdy group, biting down on her lip. Mom was a stickler when it came to being home on time. But… these guys seemed nice enough and if she was quick, she’d be home on time. After all, being seen around town with this group, people Hallie had recognized as the popular clique, wouldn’t hurt her reputation any.
She flashed Katrina a confident smile. “Sure, where were you thinking?”
***
Hallie slowly opened the door, hoping she could get upstairs without Mom paying attention to the time she walked in.
“Hallie is that you?”
She didn’t stop on her track to the stairway. “Yeah, Mom.”
“Do you know what time it is?” Mom appeared by the landing, an eyebrow raised, a spatula covered in oil in her hand.
Hallie managed a wobbly half-smile. “I’m late, aren’t I?”
Mom nodded slowly. “What took you so long?”
“I was just studying with a friend.” She almost left out the part about going out with Katrina’s group but immediately shoved that idea out of her head. “And then we went out for a snack down at the gas station.”
Mom’s raised eyebrow hadn’t left yet…that meant Hallie didn’t have a good excuse. “What friend? I thought Jennifer had practice on Monday nights.”
“She does… Um, Antonio was helping me with my Spanish homework.”
Now both eyebrows were raised. “Antonio?”
“He’s a great guy, Mom,” Easton said, coming down the stairs. He stood by Hallie on the landing. “He’s the new kid Tyler was showing around today. He’s cool.”
Mom looked between the both of them, her scrutinizing gaze once again landing on Hallie. “And you went out with him?”
“No, no, no. I went with Katrina and some of her friends.”
“Who’s Katrina?”
Easton took that opportunity to exit, but not before Hallie had shot him a silent look of thanks for vouching for Antonio. “Just another person I met today,” she answered. “I guess I should have called before going. I thought I had enough time.”
A gentle smile crept onto Mom’s face as she nodded. “Yeah… Well, it’s okay. You’re only five minutes late.”
Hallie let a relieved sigh escape her lips. “I thought it was worse than that.”
“It’s alright this time, but next time I’d like to know.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry Mom. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
“Sometimes a cute boy does that to a girl.”
Hallie’s cheeks flamed bright red as Mom walked back to the kitchen, laughing and quite satisfied with herself. Her jaw dropped. Did those words actually just come out of her mother’s mouth?
“I’m just kidding, Hallie,” she called from the kitchen.
Hallie hurried up the stairs, withholding her own laughter as she heard her younger siblings snickering in the family room. She couldn’t help but smile though. How did Mom know Antonio actually was pretty cute?
Chapter 6
Easton wobbled his pencil in between his thumb and first finger. Why should he get this scholarship? He stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. Instead of sitting here thinking forever, he began to write, hoping once he did his ideas would begin to flow.
I want to help people.
Yeah, like that was going to win him a scholarship.
I want to change the world.
Better.
I want to do something meaningful.
Ok… that was an unexpected thought.
I want
“Easton, you can’t stay holed up in your room until you finish that essay,” Tyler called outside his bedroom door.
Easton set down his pencil and opened the door. “Or can I?”
“You can’t because I’m kidnapping you to shred some sand out back.” Tyler grabbed Easton’s wrist before he could protest and dragged him downstairs and to the garage.
“Besides, it’s only Thursday. You learned about this on Monday. You have all school year!” Tyler widened his eyes, then slipped on his helmet.
Easton sighed. Tyler was right. He dragged his sand bike out of the garage and followed Tyler down their street. Yards of pebbles lined the roads and surrounded the tan houses that resembled Mexican pueblos—growing green grass required too much effort to be worth it in a climate like theirs. They rode their bikes across the intersection outside their street, riding a little farther down the street and reaching the river access point they had created over the years.
“I’ll race you!” Tyler revved his engine as soon as they had made it down the sandy decline and onto the dirt road that ran a few hundred feet away from the egde of the Rio Grande.
Easton smiled. “Challenge accepted.” He slipped on his helmet and sped off, dust flying behind him. In under a minute, he had cleared their pre-established finish line, an official river access point farther down.
Tyler followed a few seconds behind, flipping up his visor. “Hey, that’s unfair! You got a head start!”
Easton slowed to let Tyler even up with him. “Fine, fine.”
“Just kidding.” Tyler flipped down his visor sped forward, blowing a cloud of dust into Easton’s face.
He laughed and revved his engine, riding Tyler’s tail. “Hey Tyler!” He opened his visor so Tyler could hear him better.
“Hey what?” He yelled back.
“Is that Miranda standing on your back porch?”
“What?” He turned to look, just as Easton rode by, trying not to burst out laughing. Within a few seconds, he sped past another access point and skid to a stop.
“Ok, that was totally cheating,” Tyler said, getting off his bike and crossing his arms.
“But you can’t deny how well it worked.”
Tyler shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.
“Speaking of Miranda, are you taking her to homecoming?” Tyler had met Miranda on the first day of school in one of his classes and he couldn’t seem to stop talking about her all week. With homecoming week a little over a month away, everyone at the high school had already started talking about it and making plans.
“I hope.”
“When are you going to ask her?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Eventually.”
“You know you can’t wait until the day before, right? You need to give yourselves time to establish plans for pictures and dinner and all that.”
“I said I’ll ask her soon. I have a month, right?”
“Alright.” Easton adjusted his glasses with a flick of his finger.
“I know you’re trying not to laugh at me.”
A smile spread across his face. “What are you talking about?”
Tyler elbowed him playfully and hopped back onto his sand bike. “Come on you jerk. Let’s go get some of your mom’s chocolate chip cookies. I can smell them from here.”
***
Easton brought his sand bike to a halt a few feet from the campfire the rest were beginning to set up. He removed his helmet, shaking out his hair.
“You don’t have to show off, Easton,” Tyler said, walking towards the growing pile of logs, a substantial amount in his own arms. “Autumn’s not here yet.”
Easton pretended to throw his helmet at Tyler, but set it down and joined the rest of the group. “Neither do you.” He motioned at the large number of logs he held in his arms. “Miranda’s not even coming.”
“Smooth,” Javier said, sauntering up to him. “You got him good. See? He’s not even replying.”
“That’s because you filled his head with dreams just at the mention of Miranda’s name,” Hallie added.
“Haha, guys. Very funny.” Tyler dropped his pile of wood and brushed the dirt and chips of bark off himself.
Easton gave him a friendly pat on the back. “Let’s leave the poor guy alone.”
“I’ll never stop joking about his girlfriends—”
“Not yet.”
“—not-yet girlfriends until he actually gets one,” Javier said with a smirk.
“You make it sound like I’ve had many,” Tyler narrowed his eyes.
“And?” Javier raised his eyebrows, and hurriedly walked off to the car to grab more supplies before Tyler could add anything.
Easton shook his head, smiling. It was Friday night, the end of the first week of school, and they were having their annual campfire in the desert. The only difference this time was that Antonio would be there. Within a few days he had joined in seamlessly with their friend group, as if he had been there as long as the rest of them. Easton had a suspicion it had to do with a certain red-headed sister of his, but he decided to give Antonio the benefit of the doubt.
Out of the corner of his eye Easton caught Tyler staring off into the desert, unmoving. “Tyler, are you good?”
“Yeah totally. Just thinking.” He smiled and jogged off to the car to grab more wood.
Although it was unlike Tyler to zone out like that, Easton chose not to push the subject. Tonight was the night they weren’t supposed to worry about anything.
“Hey Easton!”
Chelsea pushed Autumn towards the campfire. Easton didn’t think that after two years his heart would still go zing when he saw her, but it did. They had only officially been a couple for under a year, but she had caught his attention long before then. He flashed her a smile and went over to her to help her out of her wheelchair and onto one of the blankets that had been laid around the campfire.
“Are the s’mores here yet?”
Easton laughed. “Should be soon.”
“Yep!” Danielle, Javier’s younger sister, called out to them. “On their way.” She ran to the campfire and plopped all the s’mores supplies on a blanket. “There we are!”
“Yummy,” Autumn said. “I’m so excited.”
Easton gave her a quick side hug, then hopped up to join Tyler by the car. Again he was standing still, gaze fixed on the smear of colors across the desert sky, this time aimlessly plucking the strings on his guitar.
“Tyler.”
“What? Oh, sorry, man.” He shook his head, a sheepish smile on his lips.
“What’s going on? What are you worried about?”
Tyler half-smiled. “Sometimes I hate it how you can read me so well.”
Easton smiled and patted his back. He grabbed his guitar from the trunk.
“Actually, you can read anyone well,” Tyler continued. “Nobody has to say anything and you know exactly how they’re feeling.”
He shrugged. “It’s a gift I suppose.”
“A blessing and a curse, especially for those who like to keep their emotions to themselves.”
“Come on, let’s go join the rest.” Easton smiled, ignoring Tyler’s joking.
By the time the sun began to disappear behind the horizon, everyone had arrived and was seated around the campfire. Easton smiled to himself as he looked around at all their smiling faces—Tyler, Javier, Antonio, Hallie, Jennifer, Danielle, Chelsea, and Autumn.
This was his gang, his squad. These were the people he could count on when things got tough. These were the people he knew he’d be friends with forever.
“Now that we’re full of s’mores we should sing some songs,” Autumn said, motioning towards the guitars.
Easton exchanged a glance with Tyler and they both grabbed their guitars.
“Oh wait.” Antonio stood and ran to Tyler’s car, grabbing his own guitar from the middle seat. “Almost forgot.”
“Hey, I didn’t know you played,” Easton said, tuning his strings.
“He’s Mexican,” Javier said matter-of-factly. “Isn’t it mandatory?”
“Mandatory? No. Traditional? Yes.” Antonio smiled. “I’ve played since as long as I can remember.”
“Do you know La Cucaracha?” Hallie asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“Do I know La Cucaracha?” Antonio repeated, sounding shocked. He laughed. “Of course!” He started with a few peppy chords on his guitar and continued into singing the upbeat Mexican song. As he finished, they burst into applause and friendly laughter.
“Ooh, what about that one song…” Javier tilted his head. “I can’t remember the name of it. The ay, ay, ay one.”
“Ah, Cielito Lindo. Of course I know that one.” This time he started slower and sang the words with more of a gentle emotion. A few times he looked over at Hallie. Easton thought it might be a good idea to ask Antonio about the translation of the lyrics later.
After a couple more minutes of traditional Mexican songs, they continued with a few hymns and worship songs. The stars shone like pinpricks in the blue velvet blanket of the night sky. Only the dancing orange glow from the fire illuminated the peaceful faces of the group of friends.
Easton plucked away gently on his guitar, Tyler and Antonio harmonizing and filling in the empty spots. “You guys know this one?” He asked as he switched keys.
They both nodded, gentle smiles growing on their faces.
Easton led them in one of his favorite worship choruses.
I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship you
Oh my soul rejoice
Take joy, my king
In what you hear
May it be a sweet sweet sound
In your ear
As they finished, there was no need to say anything. They went through the song a second time, their voices blending in a worshipful chorus. Their harmonies floated and danced through the flames of the dying fire and up towards their King. Without another word, they continued into a third chorus. Easton didn’t mind the repetition. In fact, he focused more on the words this time, making sure every syllable was sung in worship to his Heavenly Father.
They fell into a peaceful silence, the only sounds being the gentle chords the guys continued to play, the chirping of the crickets, and the occasional howl of a coyote. There they sat together, united in their worship.
Autumn began to pray, simply praising their God. As she finished, others picked up where she left off, all of them taking turns and making their gratitude to their Savior known.
Easton had never felt closer to his friends. An invisible bond connected all of them. More than ever, Easton felt God’s presence within their group. It reminded him of the verse that said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And once again, Easton was reassured of this promise of God.
As the fire died down to only a few pulsing embers, Easton didn’t want to leave. But the group slowly dispersed, cleaning up quietly, none of them wanting the reverent silence to end.
Before Easton finally climbed into his car, Autumn caught his eye. There was something sparkling in her bright blue eyes… It was respect. A godly respect for him. And that made Easton’s heart swell with pride. He gave her a gentle smile and slid into his car.
He put his hands on the steering wheel and let out a sigh. He looked over at Hallie in the passenger seat, who sat there with a gentle smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
“That was special…” She met his gaze. “Wasn’t it?”
Easton nodded. “We need to do this more than once a year.”
“I love those guys so much.” She leaned her head back on the headrest.
“Me too,” Easton agreed softly. And he started the engine and drove off into the desert night, his heart full of love for his God and love for His people.
Chapter 7
Hallie mentally buckled up as she physically clicked her buckle into place in the car. The second week of school meant they were finally getting into the thick of it. It meant more homework, more information, and what felt like a longer school day. But the rest of the school year was going to be like this, so all she could do was hold on tight, do her best, and go with the flow.
“I have bad news.” Jennifer stood by Hallie as she exchanged books in her locker and her backpack.
“Let me guess, the coach is trying out a new offense.”
Jen furrowed her brow. “Yes, but that’s not bad news. Actually, that’s the good news. I’m getting more playing time now. You should come to our game tonight.”
“I have work.”
“Ok, anyway.” Jen shook her head, getting herself back on track. “The actual bad news.”
Hallie met her eyes, trying to be serious, but Jen was so serious that Hallie started laughing.
“Hallie! Focus.”
“Ok, ok.” She shook her head like Jen had done, giving her her full attention. “I’m focusing.”
“The bad news is that we have a new science teacher.”
“Oh that is bad news. Why did they get a new one?”
“I have no idea, but some people are saying she got fired because of her beliefs.”
Hallie dropped her volume to match Jen’s. “Her beliefs?” Hallie knew their school didn’t profess to be Christian, but her friends consisted mostly of those who were. There had been instances before where a teacher or student who stood for their beliefs in God and the Bible were ridiculed or spoken to by the principle or faculty, but she had never heard of anyone getting fired for it. In fact, their school was pretty lenient with letting students and teachers believe what they wanted to believe compared to other public schools. But this time, apparently, not so much.
“Yeah.” Jen looked around and leaned in closer. “What I’ve heard is that she was talking about the order in nature and how that only pointed to a Creator. A student started arguing with her, claiming that the universe wasn’t created by anybody. They were defending evolution but she kept refuting the student’s claims. In fact, she refuted every argument for evolution the student and the textbook gave with the Bible and science. That evening a parent filed a complaint to the principal. After she and the principal had a conversation, she was laid off. And only because she refused to teach the origins of the universe as explained in the textbook.”
Hallie blinked a few times, unsure what to say. Why didn’t Mrs. Stanford just agree to not refute the text? She didn’t have to teach it anyway. She just wouldn’t have to argue with the information the textbook gave. Why would she risk her job just to stand up for what she knew to be true?
“Crazy, right?” Jen pulled back, sighing.
“No kidding.”
This new information made Hallie feel weird. Like it was challenging her in some way. Would she have done the same thing? She hated her honest answer, but it was honest nonetheless. No, she wouldn’t have.
She kept thinking about it all day, especially as she sat through science class with a substitute teacher. Hallie had already struggled in science, but at least Mrs. Stanford was fun and made the material easier to understand. This substitute teacher on the other hand didn’t explain things easy enough for Hallie to understand and droned on in a monotone way, boring her to death.
The Woodbury family sat around the dinner table that evening and the topic of the laid off teacher came up shortly after Dad had finished praying over their meal.
“What I don’t understand is why Mrs. Stanford kept arguing with the student.” Hallie said. “If she had stopped, then maybe she wouldn’t have been fired. The parent may have never filed the complaint.”
“She’s set an example though,” Dad said. “This will either encourage more teachers to stand firm on their beliefs, or discourage them. Only time will tell.”
“Who knows,” Mom added, “maybe something good will come out of this.”
“I doubt it,” Hallie said, poking at her mashed potatoes. “Now we’ve got a boring teacher who doesn’t bother to answer my questions thoroughly enough. I’ll never bring up my grade now.”
“I can help you,” Easton offered.
“Thanks, but I still think Mrs. Stanford should have backed down. It would have been easier.”
“But is ‘easier’ always the right option?” Dad questioned.
Hallie felt her cheeks warm and knew everyone was looking at her. She shrugged. “I mean, it would have made things simpler. She could have gotten off the hook.”
“But would she have been representing the Lord well?”
Hallie ran her tongue over the front of her teeth, trying to come up with a suitable answer.
“Hallie, my point is, while there are a few different ways Mrs. Stanford could have handled the situation, she chose to speak the truth. She didn’t compromise on what she believed. Would you—or I—have done something differently if we were in her shoes… yeah, maybe. But she wanted the school to know who she stood for—the Lord. She didn’t want to be known as one who believed what those evolutionary scientists are telling us.”
“Couldn’t she have just taught it, just to make the principal or the parents happy?”
“She could have, but she didn’t. And I think she made the right choice. Instead of choosing to fit in and make life a little easier, she chose to stand out by standing on God’s Word and made her life a little more blessed.”
Hallie furrowed her brow. “More blessed?”
“The Lord blesses obedience. Right now it may look like her stand only brought about bad things for everyone else, even herself, but we’ll just see how God’s going to use this opportunity. Who knows, maybe it will get more students to be bold about their faith.”
That last line made Hallie squirm in her seat, and she wasn’t sure why. That night she fell asleep with a restless mind and a conflicted heart.
***
Easton sat across from Autumn at the diner on Tuesday night, their designated evening for their birthday date.
“I’m proud of you for going after this scholarship,” Autumn said with a smile, eating a spoonful of ice cream.
“I’m excited. You think I could actually win?”
“Of course! I’m sure you can come up with tons of reasons why you should get the scholarship. That’s the essay prompt, right?”
Easton nodded. “But I can’t come up with anything that will really grab the judges attention. All I can think of is that I want to change the world.”
“That’s a pretty good reason.”
“Yeah but I’m not sure how to expound upon it. Dr. Adams suggested including a personal story or experience in my essay that will give another reason why I want the scholarship, but I can’t think of anything.”
Autumn tilted her head. She had her thinking face on—lips pursed, brow furrowed, her sandy blonde hair hanging to one side. Easton could help but let a little half-smile creep onto his face. She must have noticed, because a small smile graced her own lips. “I’m not sure, but I am sure you’ll figure it out. You’re smart and creative. And if all else fails, you’re always welcome at the little community college I’m attending.” She gave him a gentle, closed-mouth smile.
“Is that what you decided on?”
“Yep. I’m planning to knock some general ed courses out of the way for free before I apply at the University of New Mexico for a teaching degree.”
“You’re going to make a great teacher, you know that, right?”
She laughed softly. “Thanks, Easton. It’s always been my dream. I’m still trying to decide what age group though. What do you think?”
“Preschool. Or even up to second grade. Little kids adore you.”
“That’s what I’ve been leaning towards. What about middle school?”
“Have you even been around Blake or Courtney?” Easton raised an eyebrow, referring to his fourteen and twelve year-old siblings.
Autumn laughed. “But that’s why they need a teacher who will shower them with so much love that they no longer have the capacity to be annoying.”
Easton laughed with her. Although he knew she was joking a little, he also knew that that was exactly what Autumn would do. No matter where God called her to serve in life, whoever she came in contact with would be bathed in God’s love overflowing from her heart.
“Easton, did you stop listening to me?”
Easton snapped out of his thoughts. “I’m sorry, were you still talking?”
Autumn shook her head, smiling. “Yes. But I could tell you stopped listening.”
“You could? I was looking right at you.”
“Yeah, and not nodding.”
Easton grinned. “Very true.” He knew he had a habit of nodding when he was listening to someone talk. No nodding meant his mind was elsewhere. “What were you saying?”
“Nothing important. Just dreaming out loud.”
“You sure? Dreams are important.”
“Nothing you haven’t heard though.”
“Alright.” Easton stood. “You ready to go?”
“Sure.”
Easton gathered up their trash and threw it in the trash can by the edge of the small fence that lined the outdoor seating area. He pushed Autumn’s wheelchair to his car—a 1976 mint green Ford Thunderbird, a gift from his grandfather that the both of them had worked to restore back to working condition after it was almost taken to a dump.
After Autumn was situated in the passenger seat, Easton folded up her wheelchair and put it in his truck.
“How does a short walk through the desert sound?” He asked as he passed the entrance to his neighborhood.
“It would be wonderful. But it seems like you already decided,” Autumn replied, cocking her head behind her.
Easton smiled and took his favorite shortcut to the wide open desert. They enjoyed a slow, leisurely walk, talking little, but enjoying each other’s company. A spontaneous idea came into Easton’s head and he crouched down in front of Autumn’s wheelchair.
“One more thing… Do you trust me?”
Her eyes smiled and she nodded. He held out his hand to give her support as she stood. He turned his back towards her and gently scooped his hands behind her knees, hoisting her onto his back. She let out a laugh—a girlish, care-free giggle—wrapping her arms around his neck.
He couldn’t contain his own laughter as they took a jaunt down the empty desert road. Easton could feel the joy radiating from Autumn and it filled his own heart with an undeniable happiness.
“You’re so sweet!” A smile danced in her tone.
He picked up speed and hurried down the road, earning squeals and pleas to slow down from Autumn. He finally did and slowed to a gentle walk. She let out a contented sigh, resting her head on his shoulder. Easton held her tighter, her steady heart beat in time with his steps.
He never wanted to let her go…
But the sun was already halfway past the desert horizon and they needed to be getting home. He carefully set her down and helped her back into her wheelchair.
“I guess we’ll have to call it a night,” he said softly as he pushed her towards the car.
She tilted her head back and gave his hand a squeeze. Her face glowed. “But it was a wonderful night. Thank you, Easton.”
He smiled gently, his heart swelling with joy.
Chapter 8
Hallie sat through another boring class with the new science teacher droning on and on and herself attempting to take notes. Not that anything she wrote down would make sense a few hours from now, but it might be worth trying. This new teacher wasn’t any better than the substitute.
The bell finally rang, releasing Hallie from this academic dungeon. She groaned as she fell in step beside Jennifer just outside the classroom. “I’m recruiting study partners.” She held out her notebook that held her homework assignment. “Don’t be the last to sign up.”
Jen laughed. “I wish I could help, but I’ve got practice tonight, then I have to eat dinner, and then I might be able to get to studying. Not sure if your mom wants me over at your house at nine o’clock at night.”
Hallie sighed. “It’s alright. I’ll probably just ask Easton for help anyway.”
“Didn’t he say something about having a meeting with someone from the college the scholarship’s for?”
Hallie shoved her notebook back into her bag. Jen was right. How could she have forgotten that? Easton had been talking about it all week.
“Well, it’s not like I can’t study on my own.”
“Sorry Hallie.” Jen tucked a strand of wispy dark hair behind her ear.
“It’s no biggie.” But if all school year was like this, then maybe it was a biggie.
The rest of the school week sped by with Hallie studying more than she ever had, but studying alone nonetheless. The only study buddy she consistently had was Antonio, but he was only able to help with Spanish. They were both pretty lost in the science realm. Hallie knew her grade was beginning to drop compared to last year’s, but she hadn’t gotten below a B- on a quiz yet.
“Hallie… Hallie. Did you hear me?”
Her eyes snapped open and she squinted in the bright light pouring in through the family room windows. “Sorry,” she mumbled, sitting up and stifling a yawn. “Did I seriously just fall asleep?”
“Yeah, you seriously just fell asleep.” Antonio set a plate of cookies on the coffee table. “I’ve brought us study fuel.”
“Ah, good choice.” Hallie reached for a cookie.
Antonio snatched the plate out of reach. “But not until you finish calculating the velocity of that moving object.” He pointed to the problem Hallie had fallen asleep in the middle of.
She groaned and picked up her pencil. “I need to get a new study partner.”
“You will not regret it once you get an A on our science test.”
“Touché.”
A few minutes later she finished the problem and she and Antonio compared answers. “Hey, we got the same answer! Maybe that means we both got it right this time!”
“Or wrong,” Antonio added with a tilt of his head. Hallie loved it when he did that.
“Let’s just hope it’s right and dig into these cookies. I’ve been drooling over here.” She slid her homework out of the way and grabbed two cookies, immediately biting into one. She melted into the couch with a sigh. “Just what I needed.”
“My abuela used to make cookies like these.”
“Snickerdoodles?”
“Is that what you call these?” Antonio wrinkled his nose.
“Yeah… do you have a problem with that?”
“No, it just sounds funny.”
Hallie’s contained laugh melted into a smirk. “Are you making fun of our American traditions?”
“Of course not!” He laughed. “Ok… maybe a little bit.”
Hallie finally laughed with him. “It doesn’t matter their name. As long as it tastes good, I have no care in the world what it’s called.”
“Snickerdoodles… snickerdoodles… snickerdoodles…” Antonio played with the word before smiling again. “You Americans are silly.”
Hallie couldn’t help but smile too. “So your grandmother made snickerdoodles?”
Antonio swallowed a laugh. “Something like this. I’m not sure what she called them, but she sold them at her panadería.”
“Panadería?”
“Pretty much a Mexican bakery.”
“Yummy. Did you go there a lot?”
“Pretty often. Though I would have gone there more if Mamá would have let me.”
“What was it like living in Mexico?”
Antonio tilted his head. “Different… We have a much nicer house now, but we lived in a small town in Mexico. Very small. My papá… he…” Antonio blinked a few times and his eyes glistened with tears.
“You don’t have to—”
“No, no. I can tell you.” He sucked in a breath and straightened. “He was a pastor. Except in our town, everyone followed Roman Catholicism. He preached according to Christianity, Protestantism. The people… they did not like our family very much. It got so bad that we had to start meeting in secret so our services weren’t interrupted by angry villagers.”
“How long did that last?” Her voice softened. “Did they ever leave you guys alone?”
He shook his head. “No. They did not. It lasted a couple years. It got to the point where they threatened violence. One time, our house caught on fire… We were able to stop it, but we didn’t think it was an accident.”
Hallie felt a choke in her throat. His family must have been really strong in their faith if they kept on holding those services, even while people persecuted them. “What did you do after the fire?”
“We talked about leaving. Going north. But after praying about it, Papá said he knew the Lord wanted us to stay there. He said that there were still so many people who needed to know the God who loved them. So… we stayed. In fact, there was a lot of conversion in the next six months. People started coming to the Lord and we were barely able to fit everyone in our secret meeting place.
“We thought we were safe. The villagers had started to not care as much and they began to leave us alone. But…” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Someone still hated us.”
Hallie scooted closer to him on the couch.
Antonio drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. His eyes filled with tears again. “During one of our services, someone set our house on fire again.” Antonio struggled to get his words out. His voice shook as he continued. “We were in the basement, so we didn’t know until it was almost too late. Not everyone was able to escape.”
Hallie put her hand on top of his, not caring if the gesture seemed awkward.
“Including my father.” A tear slipped down Antonio’s cheek.
“Antonio… I… I’m so sorry. Can I…?” She held out her arms. Antonio nodded and gently folded her into a hug. Hallie’s heart pounded as she rested her chin on his shoulder, but she didn’t know how else to comfort him but through an embrace.
Antonio finally pulled back, sniffling and wiping his eyes.
“How long ago was this?” Hallie asked softly.
“A few months.”
Hallie didn’t know what to say. She just sat there with Antonio, silently grieving with him. She couldn’t imagine how it must have felt to lose a father, much less because he was following the Lord. Uncalled for, her conscious asked if she would have still followed the Lord, even through persecution like that. But she had no idea what to honestly answer.
“It still hurts,” Antonio finally said, his voice raspy. “I thought the pain would go away after a few weeks, even after coming here. That’s the real reason why we moved. But… it doesn’t. It still hurts… so much.”
“I can imagine. I wish I could do something—”
“It was the Lord’s will, Hallie. Somehow He’s going to bring about good from this bad. I just know it.”
Hallie couldn’t understand how Antonio could be so certain, but the confidence in his caramel eyes made her almost believe it too. She was also surprised Antonio was being this vulnerable and transparent with her, even though they had only known each for a few weeks. But after spending time with him, she was learning that Antonio was authentic and honest. He had nothing to hide and if you asked him a question, he would answer honestly. He could be blunt, but he was also very kind.
“I’m sorry for pouring all my griefs on you like that.” Antonio laughed as he sniffled one more time.
Hallie smiled—a wobbly smile.
“I suppose we should get back to our homework.”
She agreed. But suddenly her science troubles didn’t seem so troubling after all.
Chapter 9
Easton slid through the back door and Mrs. Bailey turned to see who had come in. “Oh hello, Easton! Tyler’s up in his room.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Bailey. How are you doing today?” He walked farther into the kitchen, resting his elbows on the counter.
“I’m doing well. Thank you for asking.” She gave him her warm smile and put a doughnut wrapped in a napkin into his hand. “Leftovers from yesterday.”
Easton pretended to smell the doughnut which had long since lost its warmth and tantalizing smell. “Nothing like day-old doughnuts from the bakery. Benefits of having a friend whose dad owns a bake shop.”
“Very true.” Mrs. Bailey gave him a look Tyler always did when he said that—chin tucked, a small smile, and one eyebrow slightly higher than another. The two looked a lot alike with their softly defined jawlines, wide smiles, and the way their eyes crinkled at the corners whenever they were happy. Their similarities in appearance always made Easton smile.
He hurried up the stairs and entered Tyler’s room without knocking. Tyler sat at his desk, his chin in his hand, staring out the window.
“Done with your homework yet?”
Tyler startled and turned around. “Oh, um, almost. But I can finish it later. What’s up?”
Easton tilted his head. In this case, he should be the one asking that question. Tyler was acting odd, again. “Is something going on?”
Tyler’s small smile disappeared. He opened his mouth to speak, but changed his mind, sinking into his chair with a sigh. “You know what… I promise I’ll answer that question. Just not today. Deal?”
“Sounds good.” And the topic was dropped. Though it still nagged at the back of Easton’s mind. “I came over to see if you were interested in going to the mall with me this weekend to see if we can find some tuxes for homecoming.”
“Is homecoming really that soon?”
“A few weeks away. You asked her yet?”
“No…”
“Tyler—”
“I know, I know. I have to give her time and all that. But what if she doesn’t want to go with me?”
Easton laughed. “You’ve been hanging out with her ever since the beginning of school. What’s that been? A month? She clearly loves to be around you and I’d be quite shocked if she turned you down.”
“Really?”
“Trust me. You suddenly lose your self-confidence whenever the situation has to do with a girl.”
“I do not.”
Easton cocked an eyebrow.
“Ok, fine, maybe I do.” Tyler was clearly trying to hide a smile. “They’re just different, you know? I don’t want to make her upset, but what if she is upset? How do I make her feel better?”
Easton shook his head, smiling. “Chillax. First of all, yes, they’re different. That was God’s plan from the start. Two, you’re great at making people feel better, you know that. And three, you’re clearly interested in her if you’re this nervous about just asking her to a dance.”
Tyler pushed a hand through his dark hair. “You’re a terrible friend, you that, right?”
Easton stood and pat Tyler on the back. “Yep. And yet you benefit from it. An odd course of events, don’t you think?”
“Alright, I’ll go to the mall with you this weekend.”
“Great. Hallie and Jennifer are tagging along.”
“Do they have dates to the dance?”
“Jennifer does.”
“No surprise there,” Tyler muttered.
“Hallie… no.”
“But for some reason that surprises me.”
“I don’t mind.” Easton shrugged and started towards the door.
“Of course you don’t, you overprotective brother.” Tyler chucked a pillow at the back of Easton’s head
Easton dodged it just in time, but almost dropped his doughnut. “Overprotective? Of course not! I’m taking Brandon’s place since he’s away at college and I’m helping Dad out since he doesn’t go to school with us.”
Tyler just shook his head, following Easton out of the room.
“Hey, you’re going to feel the same way one day when Ruby’s older.”
“Maybe.”
“If I let you borrow Hallie for a day you’d know what I mean.”
“You’re almost starting to sound like Hallie with your wordy pep talk back there and your defense against your overprotectiveness.”
“Maybe I’m just excited about the dance since I’ve got someone to go with.” Easton flashed Tyler a cheesy grin. “You’d know if you had one.” He ran down the stairs before he had to face any of Tyler’s comebacks.
“Mom! Easton’s not allowed in the house any more. He’s being mean,” Tyler complained as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Oh really?” Mrs. Bailey raised an eyebrow, looking between Easton’s goofy grin and Tyler’s hiding smile. “Maybe I’ll let him in more often.”
But despite Tyler’s laugh, there was something in his eyes that made Easton worry a little bit. His laugh wasn’t as full and his smile didn’t seem as wide. Something was going on, but Easton would just have to be patient if he was to eventually find out.
***
Hallie found herself in the middle of the cafeteria, searching for a place to sit. Everyone else from their regular group was either not there yet, talking with a teacher back in the classroom, part of a mandatory team meeting—seriously Jennifer?—or who knows where. Even their regular table had been taken by a group of people Hallie didn’t recognize.
Her worries about sitting alone immediately evaporated though when she spotted Katarina, her friend Renee, and another girl sitting at a table with a few other empty chairs. “Is anybody sitting here?”
Katrina flashed her a sparkling smile. “Not yet.”
Hallie gratefully slid into the seat. “Thanks. I was afraid I’d have to sit alone.”
“Oh Hallie.” Katrina placed a perfectly manicured hand on Hallie’s arm. “You will never have to worry about that. I don’t let one of my own ever sit alone.” She exchanged smiles with the other two girls to get their agreement.
Hallie nodded and smiled back, still unsure what “one of her own” meant.
“Hallie, this is Lori.” Katrina motioned to the other girl at the table, a dainty girl with wispy hair the color of a latte and a spattering of light freckles across her face. “Lori, this is Hallie, my new friend.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Hallie,” Lori answered with a timid smile.
“Ok.” Katrina pivoted in her seat to give her full attention to Hallie. “Any Antonio updates?”
Hallie felt her cheeks warm, but just shrugged, reverting her gaze to the salad on her tray. “Not really. We just work on homework together.”
“Well I suppose you do have to start somewhere. Hey, Easton’s your older brother, right?”
Hallie nodded.
“You guys close?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
“You’ll have to introduce us sometime.” Katrina shared a little laugh with Renee and Lori.
Hallie caught on to what they were thinking. “He already has a girlfriend.” She didn’t mean for her voice to come out so sharp, but it did nonetheless.
“Oh… but it’s only Autumn, right?”
“Yeah, but they’re perfect for each other.” Hallie made sure her tone was softer this time.
Katrina merely shrugged, exchanging more looks with her friends. Their table fell into an awkward silence and Hallie began to regret sitting here in the first place.
“Hallie!”
Hallie turned around and smiled at Antonio—a smile of relief. “Where have you been?” She lowered her voice. “I couldn’t find any of our normal group to sit with.” She glanced over to make sure the threesome hadn’t heard that part and taken offense. They didn’t seem to care about her conversation until Antonio directly addressed them.
“Can I join you ladies?”
“Oh, yes, of course!” Katrina put on a perfect, welcoming smile that made Hallie’s defenses rise. “You’re the new student, aren’t you? Remind me of your name again?”
“I am Antonio. Who are you all?” He took a bite out of his sandwich.
“I’m Katrina. This is Renee and Lori.”
Hallie’s eyes bounced back and forth between them. Katrina knew exactly who he was. Why was she trying to get his attention.
“Nice to meet you all,” Antonio answered with a smile, always the gentleman.
“Are you from Mexico?”
“Sí.”
“Wow, Mexico seems exotic. Tell me about it.” Katrina put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in both hands.
Antonio gracefully answered all her questions, making Mexico seem like a wonderful place to live. And it wasn’t like he was lying to these girls, but Hallie felt a sense of satisfaction that Antonio had shared more personal things with her than these girls.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and five minutes to get to their next class. Antonio excused himself to grab some things from his locker and Hallie stayed with the trio.
“Antonio seems to really like you,” Katrina said.
“You think so?” Hallie felt her cheeks warm again.
“Totally, girlfriend! Did you see the way he looked at you before he walked away?”
Hallie smiled. “Well… maybe he does… I think he’s just being friendly though.”
“As if! Hallie girl, he’ll be asking you to the homecoming dance in no time.”
“Really?”
“I’m sure of it.” Katrina looped her arm through Hallie’s. “You know what you’re wearing yet?”
“I’m supposed to go to the mall this weekend with—”
“How about you come with the three of us?”
Hallie hesitated, knowing how resistant Jen was to meeting new people. “Well, my friend Jennifer and I were going to go together.”
“Then she can come too! I have my license, so I can drive all of us there! How does that sound? A girls’ day?”
Hallie bit her lip, unsure. She let her gaze roam for a few seconds to avoid answering. As they walked down the hall, Hallie couldn’t help but notice how many more people looked her direction. Had she never noticed it before? Or was it Katrina that was drawing their attention. Before the pause in conversation became too awkward, Hallie flashed a smile. “Sure! It sounds fun.”
“Perfect. We’ll pick you up at eleven.”
“Okay.”
“See you then!” She waved as she directed her loyal duo towards a classroom. “Oh,” she quickly turned around, “love the kicks by the way!”
Hallie looked down at her Nikes and smiled. “Thanks.” But when she looked up, the three were gone. Besides Katrina’s interest in Easton and Antonio, Hallie saw nothing bad about her. She seemed pretty friendly, a little boy crazy, but Hallie could combat that. No harm in getting to know them a little more, right?
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Wowwww that is a humungous post 👀
guys how do you spell humungous?????Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Excuse me while I go DIE OF CUTENESS. I was literally hopping around squealing, and then ranted about it for five minutes to one of my sisters. Your couples are ADORABLE. I LOVE THEM.
“You’re really pretty by the way. Most girls can’t pull off red, but it looks pretty rad on you.”
“For real,” her friend agreed.
“Is it natural?”
Hallie wasn’t sure whether she had just received a compliment or every other red-head had been offended without their knowing, but she smiled anyway. “Yep, keepin’ it real.” She tugged on the ends for proof.
😂😂😂
“Antonio… I… I’m so sorry. Can I…?” She held out her arms. Antonio nodded and gently folded her into a hug. Hallie’s heart pounded as she rested her chin on his shoulder, but she didn’t know how else to comfort him but through an embrace.
*screaming* COMFORTING HUGSSSSS! AAAAAAHHHH!
He picked up speed and hurried down the road, earning squeals and pleas to slow down from Autumn. He finally did and slowed to a gentle walk. She let out a contented sigh, resting her head on his shoulder. Easton held her tighter, her steady heart beat in time with his steps.
THEY’RE SOOOO CUTE!!
They were both pretty lost in the science realm. Hallie knew her grade was beginning to drop compared to last year’s, but she hadn’t gotten below a B- on a quiz yet.
I’m bad at science too. But I don’t have a cute guy to study with.
some people are saying she got fired because of her beliefs.
*gasp* Oh no.
I can’t decide whether I like Katrina. I feel like she’s going to get worse, but right now she just seems annoying and shallow, but still friendable.
You did a better job describing characters in these chapters. I don’t remember who mentioned that, but I know what more of them look like now.
Antonio, I will clobber you if you don’t ask Hallie to the dance!
To err is human; to arr is pirate.
I’m loving this story! It has a warm and cozy feel but also real challenges high schoolers face.
Easton brought his sand bike to a halt a few feet from the campfire the rest were beginning to set up. He removed his helmet, shaking out his hair.
OK I was majorly confused here at first- I didn’t know who “the rest” was referring to until I read farther down and realized it was the friend group, because the previous section was a different setting. Might be good to clarify that, lol.
Also I think someone mentioned adding more descriptions of your characters? I think more descriptions of the settings too would be helpful- and not just descriptions like “the desert stretched on into the distance”, but words that engage the five senses (“warm breeze”, “sand under the feet”, “sand particles rubbing inside the shoe”, “the desperate cry of a hungry vulture”, “popping and crackling of the campfire”, etc.).
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Excuse me while I go DIE OF CUTENESS. I was literally hopping around squealing, and then ranted about it for five minutes to one of my sisters. Your couples are ADORABLE. I LOVE THEM.
Ahhhh, I’m so glad you love themmm!!! 🥰🥰
(it’s actually kinda funny, my Mom and I recently had a conversation about why me and my siblings aren’t allowed to date in high school and all that, while I’m literally in the middle of writing a book with high school romance 🤣 I told myself it’s fine because it’s 100% clean and their family just has different rules! 😂😂)
*screaming* COMFORTING HUGSSSSS! AAAAAAHHHH!
I literally felt Hallie’s awkwardness while writing this scene, but also felt the sweetness of it and was like, “ok yes, um, we’re keeping this!!!”
THEY’RE SOOOO CUTE!!
Believe it or not, this scene was one of the first I ever wrote for this WIP. It was while the book was still a flicker of an idea, but I saw a pic on Pinterest of a girl riding on a guy’s back and knew I needed to write a scene like this!
I’m bad at science too. But I don’t have a cute guy to study with.
One day… One day. 🥲 (except you might be out of school by then sooooo 👀😂)
I can’t decide whether I like Katrina. I feel like she’s going to get worse, but right now she just seems annoying and shallow, but still friendable.
*dramatically wiggles eyebrows* She’s been a hard character to figure out how to write. In the first draft she was even shallower and even more annoying, so we’ll see how she turns out in this draft. She has a backstory now though, so that should help, lol. (Aka: she’s actually human now)
You did a better job describing characters in these chapters. I don’t remember who mentioned that, but I know what more of them look like now.
Ok awesome!! That’s really good to hear!!
Antonio, I will clobber you if you don’t ask Hallie to the dance!
………………………………………👀
I’m loving this story! It has a warm and cozy feel but also real challenges high schoolers face.
Thank you thank you! <33 I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!!
OK I was majorly confused here at first- I didn’t know who “the rest” was referring to until I read farther down and realized it was the friend group, because the previous section was a different setting. Might be good to clarify that, lol.
Oops.
That’s a very good point. 🤣
Thanks for pointing that out!
Also I think someone mentioned adding more descriptions of your characters? I think more descriptions of the settings too would be helpful- and not just descriptions like “the desert stretched on into the distance”, but words that engage the five senses (“warm breeze”, “sand under the feet”, “sand particles rubbing inside the shoe”, “the desperate cry of a hungry vulture”, “popping and crackling of the campfire”, etc.).
Ah yes!! Description/prose is definitely not my strong points, as this WIP is proving, but I’m glad y’all are pointing that out because it’s given me a chance to really hone in and focus on that.
thank you!!
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Sorry it took me so long to get to this!!!
I like it a lot!!!! <3 keep it up!!!!This lady thrives on the divine grace of Faith and the rich embrace of caffeine.
one thing I’ll suggest, is that I feel like you don’t really introduce the family to us in the first few chapters. At first I wasn’t even sure if Blake was their sibling or not XDXD
They do have a HUGE family, so setting a solid foundation and making all the siblings and the parents unique and established in our minds would be a big thing you could work on that would be helpful!!! I could see people getting confused and overwhelmed since there’s so many of them hahaha
This lady thrives on the divine grace of Faith and the rich embrace of caffeine.
I could see people getting confused and overwhelmed since there’s so many of them hahaha
This reminded me of a time a visitor to our church told my dad that the number of kids he had intimidated her. She was completely serious and never came back. There were only four of us at the time too. XD
To err is human; to arr is pirate.
Whattttt
That’s crazyyyy!
This lady thrives on the divine grace of Faith and the rich embrace of caffeine.
This reminded me of a time a visitor to our church told my dad that the number of kids he had intimidated her. She was completely serious and never came back. There were only four of us at the time too. XD
Lol that lady would never survive where I live… I think the majority of families I know in church and outside of church have at least four kids! Big families are very common in this area.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Liking the story so far, it’s good. I second Trailblazer’s suggestions though, as more description would draw the reader in more.
“Our house is full of ducks!!!!”
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