Мэг Кэбот - Avalon High стр 6.

 It was as I was saying this that I noticed a skinny-necked kid in glasses, sitting one desk

over, looking at us very intently. When he saw me glance his way, he went, Sorry but

did I hear you say you guys haveBeowulf ?

 Yeah, I said, glancing over at Lance, who was staring at the kid with narrowed eyes. I

recognized the look. It was the kind of look the popular give to the unpopularlike Lance

couldnt believe Skinny Neck had had the nerve to speak to him. So what?

 Skinny Neck glanced nervously at his partner, an equally nerdy-looking kid.

 We loveBeowulf , he said, his voice going up a few octaves on the last syllable.

 Yeah, his partner agreed. Grendel rules.

 I supposed Grendelwould rule to a couple of guys who, back in the Middle Ages,

probably wouldnt have made it past the age of five on account of inhalers not having

been invented yet, or whatever.

 Whatd you get? I asked Skinny Neck, referring to his assigned poem.

 Tennyson, Skinny Neck said, making no effort to hide his dissatisfaction.

 I recoiled.

 NotThe Lady of Shalott , I said, in horror.

 Yeah, Skinny Neck said. Seeing my expression, he added, Its way shorter

thanBeowulf .

 Sorry, I said, seeing all too clearly where this was headed. No can do.

 Wait a minute. Lance butted in. Whats wrong with the shallot lady? If its short

 My moms writing a book on her, I interrupted, not mentioning the part about having

been named for the main character in the poem.

 Then the paperll be a cinch, Lance said, brightening. Just ask your mom what to say!

 I stared at him. I couldnt believe this was happening. And yet, at the same time, I sort of

could. Which seemed to be how my life was going at Avalon High. Weird and yet

strangely not weird.

 Contrary to how you might do your homework, I said, in a desperate effort to save

myself from what I saw barreling down on me, knowing full well there was no escape, I

do my homework myself, without my parents help.

 This ones shorter, Lance said, taking the piece of paper from Skinny Necks fingers.

Were doing it.

 It was obvious there wasnt going to be any discussion, much less arguing, over the

issue. Lance had spoken. And what Lance saysit was perfectly clear, even to the new

kid, namely megoes.

 Ill admit it. I was peeved. Im sick of the Lady of Shalott. Her and her stupid robes of

snowy white, loosely flying left and right.

 Fine, I said, snatching the topic paper out of his hands. Ill write it. But you have to

stand up in front of the class and read it.

 The smug expression vanished from Lances face. But

 Youre doing it, I said, matching the tone hed used with me exactly. Or we can just

flunk, for all I care.

 He looked stricken. I cant get an F. Coach wont let me play.

 Then give the report, I said.

 Sinking a little deeper beneath his desk, Lance said, Whatever, which Iand the nerds,

who turned in their seats to give each other high fives, triumphant in having secured

Grendeltook to mean he agreed.

 When the bell rang, I waited until Lance had cleared the room before I followed him, so

we wouldnt have to make awkward conversation out into the hallway. I ended up exiting

the classroom right behind the nerds

 So I had a front row seat to what happened next.

 And that was that some of Lances friends from the football team met him outside the

classroom door. Then one of themeither because he was bored, or mean, or possibly a

combination of bothreached out and, as one of the nerds in front of me passed through

the doorway, snatched the kids notebook.

 Rick, Skinny Neck said, in a disgusted voice. Give it back.

 Rick, one of Lances friends echoed in falsetto. Give it back.

 Get a life, Skinny Neck said, making a grab for the notebook.

 But Rick held it high in the air, out of reach of its much shorter owner.

 Get a life, one of the other team members said, in the same falsetto. Christ, look

whos talking.

 The nerdy kid looked like he was about to cry. Until a hand belonging to someone taller

than all the other jocks reached out and plucked the notebook from Ricks fingers.

 Here, Ted, Will said to Skinny Neck, giving him back his notebook. Ted took it with

trembling fingers, his gaze, as he looked up at Will, worshipful.

 Thanks, Will, he said.

 No problem, Will said to the geek. He had not once cracked a smile, and he didnt do

so now, either. To Rick, he said, Apologize.

 Come on, Will, Lance said, in an Aw-Shucks-We-Were-Just-Joshing manner. Rick

was just messing around with the kid. He

 Wills voice was cold. We talked about this, he said. Apologize to Ted, Rick.

 I wasnt a bit surprised when Rick turned to Skinny Neck and said, sounding genuinely

regretful, Sorry.

.

 Because thered been a steely note in Wills voice that made it clear no onenot even a

two-hundred-pound halfbackhad better try to mess with him. Or dare to disobey one of

his commands.

 Maybe it was just a quarterback thing.

 Or maybe it was something else.

 S all right, Ted said. Then he and his friend darted away, disappearing into the throng

jamming the hallway.

 I followed them, more slowly. Will hadnt noticed me in the crowd, and I was glad. I

probably wouldnt have known what to say to him if hed said hi or whatever. The sight

of him telling that enormous jock what to doand the jock actuallydoing ithad kind of

freaked me out.

 If you can call realizing youre head over heels in love with someone being freaked out.

 This was bad.Really bad. I mean, I did not need to be falling in love with some guyeven

a guy who randomly showed up at my house for dinner and was a champion of

geekswho was already taken by one of the prettiest girls in school. This so wasnt going

to end happily for me. Not even Nancy, the romantic optimist, would be able to see any

possible upside to me falling in love with A. William Wagner.

 So I spent the rest of the day resolutely trying not to think about him. Will, I mean.

 It wasnt like I didnt have other things to worry about. There was the report for Mr.

Mortons class, of course. And Id found out from Liz during lunch that there were more

than a few freshman girls who were running the two hundred metermy eventat varsity

times. Unless I could beat them, there was a chance I might not make the Avalon High

track team, should I be considering going out for it.

 I didnt want to go to the trouble of trying out for the team, only not to make it because

some snot-nosed freshman had spent her summer training and not floating in a pool, like

me.

 So when I got home from school that day, I changed into my running clothes. I figured

the run would do double dutyit would help get me back into shape for track try-outs, and

also keep my mind off a certain quarterback.

 But when I went to look for Mom to give me a ride over to the park, she wasnt in her

office. I banged on my dads office door. He grunted, so I went in.

 Oh, Ellie, he said. Hi. I didnt hear you come home. Then he noticed what I was

wearing, and his face kind of fell.

 Oh, he said, in a different voice. Not today, Ellie. Im really swamped here. I think

Ive made a breakthrough. See this filigree, here? Thats

 You dont have to come with me, I interrupted, not wanting another lecture on my

dads crazy sword. I just need a ride to the park. Wheres Mom?

 I dropped her off at the train station. She had some research to do in the city today.

 Fine, I said. Just give me your keys, then, and Ill drive myself over.

 He looked appalled.

 No, Ellie, he said. You only have a learners permit. You need someone with a valid

drivers license with you.

 Dad, I said. Im just going to the park. Its only two miles away. Theres one four-way

stop and a traffic light before I get there. Ill be okay.

 My dad didnt go for it. He let me drive, all right. But with him in the passenger seat.

 When we got there, a T-ball game and a lacrosse game were going on. The parking lot

was crowded with minivans and Volvos. My dad said thats because most of the people in

Annapolis are ex-military, and they all want to drive the safest car they can find.

 I wondered if Wills dad drove a Volvo. You know, since Will had said he was in the

navy.

 Oops. I hadnt meant to think about Will.

 My dad told me to call him from the pay phone over by the restrooms when I got done

with my runGod forbid my parents should get me a cell phoneso he could come back

and get me. I said I would, then gathered up my iPod and water and climbed out of the

car. There were only a few people on the running path, mostly walking their Jack Russell

terriers or Border collies (back home, the most popular dog is the black lab. Here, its

Border collies. My dad says its because ex-military types want the smartest pet they can

find, and thats the Border collie).

 Wills dog, Cavalier, is a Border collie. Im just saying.

 It was late afternoon, and still plenty hot. As I broke into a jog, I was instantly covered in

a thin sheen of sweat.

 But it felt good to work my muscles after a long day of being cramped behind various

desks. I sailed past the dog walkers, careful not to make eye contact (my dad would have

been appalled), intent on the beat of the music I was listening to. I went around the

running path oncedodging a T-ball and nearly running into a kid on a tricycle. It wasnt

until my second and final time around that I remembered to glance down into the

ravineout of habit, really, more than that I expected to see anybody in thereand

practically tripped over my own feet and fell onto my face.

 Because Will was there.

 At least, I thought it was Will. My glimpse of him, as I tore by, was fleeting.

 Still, after I was done with my second lap, I doubled back, just to make sure. Not

because I wanted to go down there and talk to him, or anything. I mean, the guy is clearly

taken. I dont go after other peoples boyfriends. Not that, you know, if I tried, hed go for

it, or anything. The truth is, I dont go after boys at all. Whats the point? Im not the type

of girl they ever think of in that way, anyway.

 But what if he was in trouble, or something? What if the reason he was at the bottom of

the ravine was because hed tripped and fallen down it? Hey, it could happen. And maybe

he was lying down there, bleeding and unconscious, needing the kiss of life?

Administered by me?

 Okay, whatever. So I wanted to talk to him some more. So sue me.

 I found myself on the part of the running path that overlooks the ravine, and there, down

below, was someone who looked a lot like Will. How hed gotten down there without

getting torn up by thorns or tumbling down the steep sides of the ravine, I didnt know.

 But I figured Id give it a try myself. To make sure he was all right, I told myself.

 Yeah. That was it. To make sure he was all right.

 Whatever.

CHAPTER SIX

 It actually wasnt that bad, once I got past the initial wall of brambles. It was even cooler

in the deep part of the woods than it was on the running path.

 And once you were in among the trees and headed down the ravine, you couldnt see the

running path at all, much less hear the cars from the highway. It was like a primeval

forest, where the trees all grew really close together and practically no sunlight at all

reached the forest floor, making it a damp, mulchy mess beneath your feet.

 It was the kind of place youd expect to meet a monster like Grendel.

 Or possibly the Unabomber.

 Itwas Will, I saw, when the trees thinned out enough to allow me to see to the bottom of

the ravine. He wasnt unconscious, though. He was sitting on one of the big boulders that

jutted up from the creek bed below. He didnt appear to be doing anything. He was just

sitting, staring down at the burbling water in the creek.

 Probably someone whod chosen such an out-of-the-way and hard-to-get-toI had

scratches from the brambles all over my anklesplace to sit and think really wanted to be

alone.

 Probably I should have just left him there without disturbing him.

 Probably I should have turned around and gone back the way I came.

 But I didnt. Because I am a total masochist.

 I had to pick my way along the stones that stuck out of the burbling little creek to get to

the boulder he was sitting on. The water wasnt deep, but I didnt want to get my running

shoes wet. I called his name when I was only a few feet away from him and he still didnt

seem to notice me.

 Then I noticed why. He had headphones on. It wasnt until I jostled one of his feet,

dangling above my head, that he started and glanced sharply down at me.

 But when he saw it was me, he smiled and turned off his iPod.

 Oh, he said. Hey, Elle. How was your run?

 Elle. Hed called me Elle. Again.