Hello Stranger

Chapter 31

"I don't know. What history could it really have?" Grayson asks me. Me, Ethan, Ellie and Grayson were all sitting at a library table discussing our project. Ellie and me sat across from Grayson and Ethan. Ellie supported my idea about doing our project on the Light Festival, while Ethan and Grayson didn't think we should. They felt it wasn't interesting enough, even though they knew nothing about the history.

"I love the Light Festival, of course I want to do the project about it," I say.

"What's so special about the Light Festival?" Ethan asks. Me and Ellie look at each other before speaking.

"Well, I use to go all the time when I was younger," I explain. "It was always me, Asher, and Jackson with my parents. Then, they stopped taking us."

"Why'd they stop taking you? And if they stopped taking you, why do you still love it?" Ethan questions.

"They just stopped. I don't know the reason," I answer. "But I hadn't gone for years. But I'd always watch from the distance. And then a friend got me to go again and I loved it. Her name is Alexa. She took me there and we had so much fun. She told me this story about the history of it and I guess now I want to see if its really true."

"Alexa? I feel like I've heard that name before. Does she go to our school?" Ethan asked. Man, I hate how nosy he is sometimes.

"No, she doesn't," Ellie answered for me. It wasn't a lie. She doesn't go to our school. But she used to go to our school. And me saying she was just a friend was an understatement. But he didn't seem to notice.

"Well, how about we make a deal," Grayson proposes.

"You guys and your deals," I scoff. "What's the deal?"

"You guys find research or something to persuade us to do it on the Light Festival, and we will find another town tradition. And we''ll do the same for that one," Grayson suggests.

I look at Ellie to see if she agreed. She nodded. "Fine. We'll do it," I reply.

"By Friday?" Ethan asks us.

"By Friday," Ellie repeats.

The boys stood from the table and headed toward the books leaving me and Ellie at the table. I turn to face Ellie. "So, how should we do this?"

"What do you mean?" She questions.

"Well, I have the book telling the story but it gives no facts. It sounds like a myth. We could go to city archives but I feel like it's too early for that. We should go to the archives once we decide which project to do," I explain.

"Let's looking online. For like news clippings or something from that time," Ellie suggests. We go to the computers and do some digging.

*

I did so good at avoiding Xavier all day. But there's no way I can avoid him at lunch when all of our friends sit together. I suppose I have to face him at some point or another. When I walked outside to the courtyard the smell of grass entered my nose. I looked to my friends' usual table and saw them all sitting there. Xavier sat beside Asher. Joey on his own bench and Ellie on her own as well. I really don't want to do this. I don't want to talk to him.

"Hey Andy," Lizzie said walking toward me. "Why are you just standing there?"

"I don't want to talk to him," I tell Lizzie.

Lizzie followed my eyes to the table. "Oh. You mean Xavier. I don't know what happened between you two. And it's not my place to ask. But talk to him," She said.

"There's nothing for me to say right now. I don't see him how I used to. Something's changed. I just don't know what yet," I explain.

Lizzie stands in front of my cutting off my view of the table, "Look, this is destroying him. You not talking to him, and him not knowing why is destroying him. I don't doubt you have a good reason to be mad at him. But he deserves to know so he's not stuck guessing. He's still my brother, Andy."