“Me, too,” he told her after a brief pause. “Can I walk there with you?” He smiled.
She nodded, and he fell into step beside her. They scuffled along through the dead leaves in awkward silence.
“I-uh, I’m sorry about your friend,” he said.
She shrugged. “A lot of kids are cured,” she said, then felt stupid for saying it.
“Yeah,” he said. “I did some reading about it.” Dawn shivered. “You’re cold!” he added. It was a statement, not a question.
“I forgot my sweater in my locker,” she said.
He stopped, dropped his books to the ground and pulled off his jacket. He draped it over her shoulders. She snuggled against it. It was still warm from his body and smelled faintly of soap and shampoo. He laughed. “It’s about four sizes too big,” he said.
Her cheeks flushed. “Thanks,” she said. “It’s nice and warm.”
Jake bent, scooped up his books and they resumed walking to the Video Shak. “It’s the season,” he said.
“What?” she asked, with a slight gasp.
“The season,” he explained, startled by her response. “You know, the season for Thanksgiving, the season for Christmas, the season for snow.” He laughed slightly and admitted, “I like the snow. I like ice skating and snowball fights, you know, dumb stuff.”
Dawn smiled at him and nodded. “I like snow, too,” she said. “And you’re right. It is the season.”
Jake glanced at her and Dawn smiled shyly into his dark brown eyes. They walked on, alone in their private world as the weak November sun struggled out from behind a cloud bank and cast long shadows on the brown earth.
Its rays felt warm and soft and sweet.
Look for
Lurlene McDaniel’s next book about
Dawn Rochelle,
I Want to Live:
Dawn Rochelle has just turned fourteen years old. Her leukemia has been in remission for almost a year. now it threatens her once again, and she has one more chance to fight for life. Will Dawn live to celebrate her fifteenth birthday?
To learn more about the different types of cancer and the symptoms in children and teenagers, contact your local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
Six Months to Live Page 9