The Accident: A Josh Hutcherson Story

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"I will pay for that window," Ella quickly said.

Josh looked from her, to the broken window in his bedroom, back to her, to the book that now lay on his front lawn surrounded by broken glass. His cast had been on a week now and Claudia had been milking the injury for all it was worth. She'd say things like, 'You know, I'd help you but you never seem to listen to me anyway,' and 'Oh does it hurt? I guess we'll know who knows best next time then.'

Was it bad that Ella wanted to punch her in the mouth?

"Why did you put the book through the window?" Josh asked slowly.

"Erm, Rue just died?" Ella said, wincing. It was her first time reading the series and she had to say she was engrossed. She hadn't put the book down until the little girl from 11 had been killed and she lost it. "I guess I kind of lost my nut."

"Surely you saw it coming?" Josh inquired.

Ella grimaced. "I thought there would be a way out," she muttered. 

"Didn't you watch the movies yet? I thought you were working your way through the movies on my shelf or something?" 

"I got to Detention and kind of went on pause," Ella admitted. "Plus Journey 2 kind of pissed me off. Why did Sean turn into an a-hole? You know what, don't answer that. Sequels are always crappy, I'm not going to persue it."

Josh held his cast hand and stretched out his fingers to keep them moving. "They're making a third one you know," he said.

Ella's mouth fell open in horror. "Oh god, they don't know when to let go! They're going to wreck it like Shrek!" She slapped her forehead with her palm and fake swooned onto the couch. She stared at the ceiling, only blinking occasionally. "Why did you sign for a third? Brendan Fraser didn't for the second. And neither did the woman who played your mother. You were literally the only original cast member there."

"I don't know, nostalgia?" Josh answered, going to his shelf and sorting out his DVDs.

Ella snorted. "Nostalgia. You'd have been better off leaving Sean alone," she said. "He was a sweet kid in the first film. Now all I can think of is how much of a douche he was in Journey 2."

"He'd grown up, teenage hormones and stuff. Plus, he was spending a lot of time around a very attractive girl," Josh pointed out.

Ella scowled, her fingers curling into the couch cushions in anger. "She was not attractive," she muttered. "Have you heard her laugh?"

Josh glared at her over his shoulder. "Hey, that's my ex you're talking about. And she's a good friend."

"Okay then, why don't we discuss how Disney made Anna-Sophia look like a barbie doll in Bridge to Terabithia then?" Ella asked.

"You got that from Nostalgia Critic," Josh said.

"But it's true, isn't it?" Ella countered.

"Stop criticizing my friends," Josh re-arranged the order of his DVDs and turned around looking genuinely annoyed. Ella raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"Whoa, heated much?" she questioned. "Been under stress?"

Josh shook his head slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Claudia won't shut up," he whined pathetically. "I get that it's my fault my arm's broken but she seems incapable of shutting her trap."

Ella chuckled. "Well, you know, all traps have to close at some point. Silence is golden."

"Yeah and duct tape is silver," Josh muttered.