Putnam Valley High School

Four Rocks

Chip's POV

It's exactly 11:30 PM. I'm just chilling in my sunroom, enjoying the weather before fall slaps the warm nights away. In fact, I think it's already started. At this rate I'll be more freezing than chilling soon enough.

In the middle of switching between checking my phone and watching Superstore—a show my friend Leaf Coneybear introduced to me—I hear something hit the side of my house, making me jump. Did a goddamn bird really hit one of our windows already?! They usually do when it's raining really hard and they don't realize it's a window. But I looked outside a second ago, and all I saw was clouds.

I'm about to carefully go outside to make sure a bird didn't die when another one hits the house. That sends me running.

In a panic, I come around the side praying that two birds didn't just die. And what I find... is Leaf Coneybear.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" I whisper-cry. He has a rock around the size of an orange in either hand, and two more sit by the side of the house, already thrown.

"I wanted to see if you were awake!" he whispers back. "And you are! So I was right!"

"With those?!" I motion toward the four rocks.

"Yeah! People do it all the time."

I raise my voice. "I don't even know why we're whispering—it's not like anyone's gonna hear us. But why my house anyway?"

"I just wanted to see you!" he replies way too loudly.

"Leaf! Leaf." I resist the urge to put a hand over his mouth. "I just—can you—"

He gets the hint, surprisingly, and lowers his voice. "You want me to go?"

I mean, do I? It's kind of nice having someone to talk to late at night. Eleven through probably two or three is when I thrive. Imagine the power I'll have conversing with someone else at this time of day.

I sigh. "You can stay. ...Even though we're not really friends."

"We're not friends?!" Too loud once again.

"Leaf—we met four years ago at a spelling bee where you were just this weird homeschooled kid and I was... interested in your sister. Then you were sent off to public school last year, and we recognized each other. And we hang out sometimes." My point is becoming less compelling. "Does that make us friends?"

"I don't like to think about that first part. But, yeah! We're friends!"

"Yeah... just try not to make any sound when you come in." I pause. "Or... we could just stay out here. I mean, we're both pretty inclined toward nature, right? Well, at least, you were named after nature. You and all your siblings, which I find strange—"

"Not all of us!" he interrupts obliviously. "Paul means 'humble.'"

"Okay. But me, I used to be a Boy Scout, so..."

"You're not still a Boy Scout?" he questions.

"I'm a Venturer."

"...Okay." I don't think he knows what that is. "I love the outdoors! Let's explore!"

"'Kay, let me just get a flashlight."

Leaf grabs my arm (he's not holding his rocks anymore). "Or what if we went in the dark?"

"Sorry, who's the Venturer Scout here? You or me?"

He's quiet.

"You or me, Leaf?"