I try to act very serious when I say this, but the horrified look he gives me when I place the book in his hand is just too funny. It gives me the encouragement I need to continue teasing him.
“What about this one?” I say, handing him When the Crayons Quit. “Crayons get such a bad rap. Everybody is like ‘Oh, crayons are for babies. Colored pencils are for big boys and girls.’”
I keep shoving books at him until he gives in to my silliness and plays along.
“Nope. These books are way too mature for me. Do they have The Hungry Caterpillar or books about the American Girl dolls? The ones about Josephina and Felicity are my favs.” I notice Ryder’s voice is deeper than Jayson’s or Julien’s.
I look at him in shocked horror. “You know the names of American Girl dolls?”
“Yeah. Like I said, they’re my favorites.”
Well, ok then, I think. Who am I to judge? I walk over to the American Girl book section and begin to take a couple off the shelf before Ryder clutches his stomach and bends over laughing hysterically.
“I’m just messin’ with you, Elizabeth.”
I put my hands on my hips and give him a piercing look. He gazes up at me and starts laughing all over again. Wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, he straightens up and grins at me.
“I have two sisters. My little sister, Brea, collects them. Our living room is covered in American Girl dolls. They’re actually very scary,” he explains with a shudder.
“Sounds like your sister and my sister will love each other then. She has these dolls with huge eyes that freak me out.”
Mrs. Heard finds us and looks like she wants to ask us why we are in the little kids’ picture book section. Instead, she hands me a paperback.
“Elizabeth, this finally checked back in and you were next on the waitlist.”
She hands me Where the Red Fern Grows. I do an imaginary fist pump. It’s been checked out of our public library forever, so I asked Mrs. Heard to put me on the waitlist for it here at school.
“Thanks so much, Mrs. Heard!”
Ryder sees what she handed me. “I’ve been wanting to read that one. My older sister said it was really good.”
I hand the book to him. “Here. Take it.”
My offer takes him by surprise. “No. You should keep it. I’ll go find something else to read.”
“Seriously. Take it. I can read it after you’re finished.” I push the book back at him.
“How ‘bout we share. Deal?” He holds out his hand for a shake.
“Deal.” I take his hand and pump it hard once.
“You’re really a nice person, Elizabeth. Thanks for helping me today.”
“No prob.”
“Hey you two. It’s time to head back to your class. I’ll let Ms. Pauling know you’re on your way.”
“See you on Friday, Mrs. Heard!” I grab Ryder’s hand and we make our way back to our classroom.
The rest of the school day goes by quickly. Ryder and I talk a lot. He’s really smart and funny. I tell him all about Jayson and Julien and how he’s going to love them, and we are all going to be best of friends. At recess, I introduce him to most of the third graders I know, and some fourth graders, too. He tells me about his old friends and school in Virginia. His dad opened an auto shop in town. He explains he was helping his dad change the oil for his mom’s minivan in the drivewa this morning and that is how his shirt got stains all over it. I feel bad all over again that Samantha and Jacinda were so mean to him earlier.
Once school is dismissed, I find Hailey at the pickup line to load onto our bus to go home, when Ryder steps next to me.
“Hey.” He gives my shoulder a bump.
“Hey you! You ride this bus too? You must live in our neighborhood. What street?”
“Our new house is on Fallen Brook Drive.”
“That’s where we live,” Hailey pipes up.
“Ryder, this is Hailey. My sister I told you about.”
I turn to Hailey. “Hales, this is Ryder. He’s in my class and I’m his class buddy. He has a little sister Brea that loves American Girl dolls.”
That fact gets her excited, “Really? How many does she have?”
Ryder looks up into the sky to do a mental calculation.
“About fifteen.”
“What! I only have three!”
Hailey must be super impressed because as we load onto the bus, she starts to beg Ryder if she can come over to his house and meet his sister.
“Why don’t you guys walk home with me when we get off? Brea should already be home. She’s in kindergarten so doesn’t go here yet.”
Ryder motions me and Hailey to sit in the seat next to him.
“Aisle or window?” he asks me. This boy is just so sweet.
“Aisle, please. Thanks.”
Hailey sits next to the window with Ryder sitting between us. I put my backpack down on the floor. Ryder takes Where the Red Fern Grows out of his and opens it. He bumps my shoulder again and leans over.
“Want to read with me?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
Again, so sweet. And I seem to say thanks to him a lot. Halfway home I remember that I promised Jayson and Julien they could climb across the tree when I got home, and I would meet them in my room.
“Um, Ryder? Do you mind if we drop by my house first before we head to yours?”
“Lizzie,” Hailey whines, “we said we would go to his house so I could meet his sister. American Girl dolls,” she emphasizes gravely like it’s a life or death situation if she doesn’t get to see them.
Ryder suggests, “How about this? We can drop by my house first. I promise we won’t be long. My mom’s home so if your mom is ok with your sister staying there, we can leave her and head back to yours. My mom can call your mom to ask.”
Hailey likes that idea very much and readily agrees. I’m sure Jayson and Julien won’t mind if I’m a little late.
“Where have you been?” Jayson says as soon as I open my window for them to climb in.
“Who’s that?” Julien asks when he climbs in to see Ryder standing behind me.
Ryder gives a head tilt and a “s’up” in greeting. Jayson and Julien look at me, look at Ryder, then me again, and back to Ryder.
“You guys sound so much better and look much better too." I reach my arm back to pull Ryder beside me.
“This is Ryder. He joined our class today. I’m his class buddy. Oh! And he lives right down the street. His dad owns a new auto shop and they have this awesome car in their garage. It’s black with a yellow stripe down the middle. Ryder’s dad let me sit in it. His dad’s car is amazing! It has this really big thingy sticking up from the hood.” I make hand motions trying to express the size and shape of the thingy.
“That’s called a supercharger,” Ryder helpfully interjects.
“His dad let Ryder and I sit in the front and rev the engine. It was so freakin’ loud! Every time I pressed the gas pedal down, the car and windows would shake. It was so awesome! You guys have got to come see it.”
I really want the twins to like Ryder and welcome him into our group. I see Jayson sizing him up as much as a nine-year-old can. Julien does the same, then holds his fist out.
“Any friend of Liz’s is a friend of ours.”
They all fist bump and my insides warm. Our group of three is now a group of four. Me and my three princes.
Chapter 3
Seventh Grade
Elizabeth
I’m standing on the bleachers jumping up and down, screaming my head off like a crazy person. Ryder, Julien, Hailey, Brea, Jamie, and all of our parents are around me doing the same.
“Move Jayson! Go! Go! You can do it!”
I cup my hands around my mouth yelling as loud as I can. Ryder lets out a shrill whistle by holding his fingers between his lips.
Jayson’s legs and arms are pumping rhythmically while his head tilts for a breath after every third stroke. He’s neck-and-neck with one of the swimmers
from the opposing team in the next lane, and it has come down to the final seconds. Jayson seems to get a second burst of strength and plows ahead, touching the side of the pool an arm’s length before his opponent. He rips off his goggles, looks up at the board to see his time, and then scans the stands before his eyes find our group. The smile that lights up his face could power an entire city. I am so freakin’ proud of that boy.
Jayson just demolished the district’s freestyle record for his age group. I grab a hold of Julien’s shoulders and shake him silly while continuing to scream my head off. Our families are cheering as Jayson gets out of the pool and towels off before his coach and teammates swarm him in a group hug.
“I think that calls for a celebration tonight,” Jayson and Julien’s dad, Mitch, says.
“Cookout in the backyard at our house,” Ryder’s dad, Randy, suggests.
Our families usually do cookouts or BBQ’s at each other’s houses. It’s the middle of spring and we’ve been experiencing very warm weather recently, so instead of having the swim meet inside, the principal of our school decided to have it in the outdoor school pool complex. Our middle school is way bigger than the building we were in for elementary, and it has a great athletics department for junior varsity sports.
Ryder decides to lift me away from Julien to save him from the spider-monkey grip I have on his upper arms as I continue to excitedly jump up and down. Poor Ryder. I just grab on to him instead to resume my antics. Ryder gets a reprieve from my mania as soon as Jayson comes over. I jump off the bleachers and grab his face in both my hands. He’s still shirtless and dripping water onto my sandals, but I could care less.
“I am so super, duper, awesomely proud of you!”
His hands come up to lay on top of mine that are cupping his face.
“Thanks, Liz.”
His parents pull him away to dispense hugs and congratulations.
Jayson’s opponent, the one he just decimated in freestyle, walks over to where me, Ryder, and Julien are standing. He has short-cropped honey blond hair and goggles hanging around his neck. As boys go, he’s pretty cute.
“Hey,” he lifts his chin at us. “I just wanted to come over and congratulate the winner.”
Jayson hears him and pulls away from his parents.
“Thanks, man.”
“That was pretty epic dude. I thought I had you and then you shot away from me on the last lap. I didn’t stand a chance. I’m Elijah by the way. I go to Highland Middle.” Elijah holds out his fist and Jayson bumps it with his own. What is it with guys and fist bumps?
“You were great too. I had to push myself hard just to stay even with you.”
Elijah looks at me. “This your sister?”
Is he asking about me? Like any teenage girl that gets the attention of a cute teenage boy, my face heats and I blush pink.
“No, I’m not his sister. I’m Elizabeth, the best friend,” I reply, pushing a loose strand of my long pale hair behind my ear.
“My team’s about to head out. Our coach is treating us to pizza.”
Elijah looks like he's starting to get very nervous. I don’t blame him. He has become the sole focus of the three boys standing next to me.
“Um, so yeah. I was wondering if I can get your number or email or something and maybe text you or call you sometime?”
“Yeah, about that. The answer’s no,” Ryder tells him before I can even open my mouth to respond.
“Wait a minute,” I stutter, whacking Ryder’s arm with the back of my hand.
“Oh, well, ok. It’s nice to meet you.”
Elijah turns around looking dejected and walks back toward his teammates.
I turn to face Ryder. “What the heck was that for?”
Ryder forcibly but gently grabs my upper arms and turns me toward the exit doors as our families follow.
“Who’s ready for some burgers?” he asks to no one in particular.
I try to tug myself free of Ryder only to get snatched up by Jayson and pushed into Ryder’s mom’s minivan.
“That was really not nice, you know,” I say out loud.
My words fall on deaf ears.
“Not happening Liz,” Jayson says as he pulls on a hoodie that has our school’s mascot emblazoned across the front, and takes the seat next to me while Ryder and Julien take the back row.
“Ok, kids, buckle up,” Ryder’s mom, Faith, tells us from the front seat while Randy, Ryder’s dad, gets behind the wheel to drive us back to their house.
We all automatically do as she says but I’m not done with our conversation.
“He was really nice. He even came over to congratulate you, Jayson. Maybe I wanted him to call me.” I huff out and cross my arms over my chest to show my displeasure.
Apparently, I’m invisible now because the boys start talking about the swim meet and about the new dirt bike Ryder got. I take out my phone to text my friend, Maria. She’ll listen to me.
Me: Ugh! Boys!
It doesn’t take long for Maria to reply back.
Maria: Who?
Me: Who do you think? The three idiots I’m being forced to share a car ride with right now.
Maria: What they’d do?
Me: What is it Jamie’s boyfriend says all the time when Brea hangs around and won’t leave them alone? Cockblock? That’s me. I was cockblocked, whatever that means, but I’m using it.
Maria: LOL!
Maria: Wait. One of them ask you out?!!!!
Me: NO! This cute boy from another school who was swimming against Jayson kind of did.
Maria: OMG!!! Tell me!!
Me: Nothing to tell. Like I said. Cockblocked!
Maria: They like you.
Me: Of course they like me. We’re best friends.
Maria: Nooooooo. They LIKE U, like u.
Me: ?? Are you high?
Maria: Trust me.
Me: Who likes me? Jayson? Julien? Ryder?
Maria: All 3! Duh!
Yeah, right. No. Just no. Well, maybe. Ugh! Now I'm blushing for a whole different reason. Do they? I look around the car at each of them. Jayson is turned around in his seat so he can talk with Ryder and Julien, but his right hand is resting above my knee. How did that get there? Julien is sitting right behind me but is leaning forward so that both his hands are hanging over my seat and on top of my shoulders. And Ryder. Well, Ryder is talking to Jay and Julien but he’s looking right at me.
I snap back to face forward. My cell phone has been pinging, so I know Maria is still texting me.
Maria: Where’d u go?
Maria: Hellooooooo
Maria: Yo, bitch. Answer your texts!
Me: I’ll talk to you later.
Maria: Don’t u dare leave me hanging.
Maria: Fine! But we’re talking later.
Me: Parents having a cookout to celebrate Jay’s win. He was awesome BTW. Sigh. I’ll call u 2nite.
I push my phone back into my short’s pocket. Now I feel weird. I’m a teenage girl for Pete’s sake. Yes, I notice boys. Yes, I have noticed a certain three boys in particular for a while. But we’re friends. Just friends. Right? What happens if I decide to like one more than the other two? I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. We’re a unit, a team, inseparable. Life sucks, I decide. I sit quietly the rest of the car ride to Ryder’s house. My parents and sister, and Freda, Mitch, and Brea, all pull in behind us. Ryder’s older sister, Jamie, left the swim meet with her boyfriend and they’ll arrive later.
Hopping out of the minivan, Jayson announces he’s going to take a quick shower to rinse off the chlorine. Hailey and Brea run off together, while Ryder, Julien, and I head into the backyard. Ryder’s dad built a huge firepit out there and placed Adirondack chairs all around it. It’s one of our favorite places to hang out at night. We light a fire, roast some marshmallows, and watch the night sky. Tonight, there’s supposed to be a meteor shower that starts around midnight. Mom said I could stay up for it. I’m hoping that the boys will be able to stay up w
ith me.
The sun is hanging low on the horizon, casting pink hues mixed with orange against the puffy cumulus clouds. The sun won’t set until around half past seven, so we have about an hour before it gets dark. We decide to go ahead and light the fire in the pit even though it’s warm out because it helps keep the mosquitoes away. The back screened door bangs open and then closes as Jayson strolls out and drops into one of the seats next to Julien. I can hear Randy getting the grill ready on the back patio, and the rest of the adults’ voices carry out of the kitchen through the open window.
“Coach told me before I left that they would do an assembly on Friday to celebrate my record-beating time.”
“That’s awesome, Jay. You really did good today,” Ryder says.
Julien plays soccer and that’s an autumn sport, so his season has already ended. His team made it to the state semis but lost. They held the tournament in Charlotte. Our families pulled us out of school for a half week so we could attend his games. Ryder’s dad, being a car enthusiast who owns his own custom car garage and auto shop, took us all to the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the one day there were no games. It was a total blast and we got to meet some drivers from different racing teams. Needless to say, Ryder was in heaven. Ryder’s dad had competed in the Outlaw Drag Wars the previous summer and plans to go back again this year. He’s been teaching Ryder how to drive and drift in the Fields, which is a private dirt track built in an abandoned field outside the town limits. Even though Ryder has three more years before he gets his license, he drives like a pro already. Yes, he’s that good. Jayson, Julien, and I go out to watch him and his dad lets us sit in the back seat sometimes. Having me and the twins all packed tight together in the back of his dad’s Camaro while Ryder drifts the car around and around feels like being stuck on the Tilt-a-Whirl ride at the amusement park. Maybe he’ll teach me one day if I get up enough nerve to do something that crazy.
“So, are we going to talk about what happened earlier?” I blurt out.
“Nope,” is what I hear from three male voices.
“Seriously? Because that was not cool,” I mumble.
All Our Next Times: Fallen Brook Series: Book 1 Page 4