Maple Park
Tears pour out of the quiet boy's eyes as he sits on the bench, staring into space, lost in his memory. Mackenzie turns to the one thing she knows will be awkward, but at the same time, hopes will work.
Stephen jerks back into reality over her one-armed hug.
"It's okay, Stephen," Mackenzie says, stroking his arm.
...Why? Why can't she leave me alone? She's—
Being a friend?
"...I should go," I mutter, drying my stupid eyes off. "TV night."
Why is she hugging me? It feels itchy.
"Oh. ...Can I join?"
I shake my head and shake her off. "No. It's..."
Don't you mean calming? Stephen, she—
You heard her. She hates anime. And if she watches, all the questions she'll interrupt with while I'm trying to listen...and text...
I know she's not them, Stephen, but she's willing to give this a try. She wants to do it for you, because...oh, I don't know...maybe a little something called friendship? You can text Peter and Jack all you want, but I think you'd love to have someone there with you.
...Friend. Mackenzie.
"Give me a minute," I garble. "I...don't want my parentals to know I've been crying. ...You get it. ...I think."
The Noonan in me smirks at Earhart, who laughs. When I feel ready, I chart my course for home, my...new friend...right behind me.
***
The Next Day
When you think about it, Sunday's not the worst day.
I spent a lot of Sundays in my old room at my old home after church (my new one's tolerable since Mackenzie's there, but I still hate going), sketching to TV white noise and dreading the school week to come.
I like my first official Sunday in Portersburgh.
My first Sunday started last night when Mackenzie got to sleep over. Yeah. Alone with a girl in my room? There was only one thing to do.
"Oh wow!"
When Mackenzie walked into my room, she saw my book collection and almost fainted. She said she borrows her books from a local library. I do that, too. Books. DVDs. Dad only lets me buy series I totally love (he's the judge). Naruto. Fairy Tail. They take up most of the space on my shelves that consist of five others and...yeah.
YOU ARE READING
Earhart & Noonan: An "Us Club" Novel (#1)(NaNoWriMo15)
Teen FictionFor the first twelve years of Stephen Vaughn's life, just trying to get others around him to pronounce his first name the right way ("Stee-vehn Vawn") has felt like the hardest task he's had to try and cope with. That is, until his perfect life with...
