The Boy from the Treehouse | ✓

Chapter Thirteen

"I will never trust you again when you say you know a shortcut," Angela grumbled, stumbling out next to the road and pulling twigs from her hair.

Noah brushed a leaf from his shoulder. "But we made it!" he reasoned. "This is the road to Sunset."

Angela glared at him. Never mind that he was handsome. He was a terrible navigator. Also, a spooky trip through shadowy forests didn't calm Angela's high-strung nerves. At least, instead of being scared, though, she was annoyed "We're taking the bus to go home," Angela said firmly.

Noah had the good grace to acquiesce without protest. With that matter settled, Angela looked around.

Although it had probably taken them ten minutes longer to crash uncertainly through the woods, Angela had to admit they seemed to have come out pretty close to Sunset. A few cars passed by, probably wondering why the two kids had come out of the forest, but Angela didn't care anymore what people thought. As long as she didn't get in trouble with her parents, she was okay.

"It's this way," Noah said, glancing uneasily toward the road, and started to walk alongside it. Like she had from his house the day before, Angela had the uncomfortable impression that he didn't want to be seen with her. She tried to brush it aside, but couldn't ignore that he kept his face turned away from the road, like he didn't want to be recognized.

The walk wasn't long, and soon they were in Sunset. It was a small town, with tiny buildings scattered around, but Angela would have rather lived here than in Grand Couteau. Maybe then she wouldn't be involved with Scott Hemmis...

"The library is this way," Noah said, and did what could best be described as speed walking down the street.

Angela hurried to catch up. The passed onto side streets, and Angela was getting tired from the long walk. She tried to pay attention to the places around her, in case she wanted to come back to the library and needed to find her way. However, Angela highly doubted being able to make this trip by herself, seeing how many twists and turns were involved.

He led her down Marie Street, and Angela pointed to one of the biggest structures she had seen in Sunset so far: a handsome red brick building half hidden by trees. "Is that it?"

Noah shook his head. "No, that's the high school." His gaze lingered on it for a few moments before hie turned his face away. "I go there."

"In Sunset?" Angela asked.

He nodded. "It's the nearest public school. What? Are you going to that Sacred Heart Catholic school?"

"I think so," Angela admitted.

Noah snorted. "Good luck."

Angela frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

"The library," Noah went on, "is right past the high school."

They walked on the opposite side of the road from the red brick building, and Angela's eyes lingered on it. She missed her old school. Angela hadn't ever been popular there, but she had her group of friends and she easily made good grades, so she never had any problems with her teachers. Noah avoided looking at the handsome structure, but Angela wished summer was over already so she could return to someplace where she had a hope of making friends.

As the two walked past, Angela spotted their destination. It was a small building with a plain white sign denoting its purpose, nothing like the huge library she frequented in Shreveport. She bet that this miniscule place was Sunset's only one, too. Angela didn't know how many libraries Shreveport even had, but there were at least three.

Noah didn't appear to be bothered by how tiny it was. He just walked across the street like this was the standard size for public libraries. Angela shook her head and followed.