Crush Vision

Chapter 3

     I fish around inside my backpack one last time before turning it upside-down and shaking it for good measure. Papers tumble out onto the floor. I recognize a few names among all the colors. Oh, so that's where those went.

     I bend down and pick up all the college brochures. These've probably been in there for what, a month? I'd been the first one to grab them when I went around that fair with Emmy and her parents. The people there must've thought we were siblings or something, so they stopped waving flyers in our faces whenever I got one. A couple of the really aggressive ones tried to pounce on Emmy, but they left us alone when I faked interest. I left the fair with an an armful of ads for colleges I didn't actually care about. As I dump them in the recycling bin, someone calls my name.

     "Henry!"

     I jerk around, slicing my finger on the edge of one of the papers. "Ouch, what-?" Ugh, paper cut.

     "Do you know where the—?" Emmy walks up to me, but stops short. "Henry, you're bleeding!"

     "It's fine; it's just a cut," I tell her.

     She shakes her head. "It looks like it hurts though. Wait a second," she hurries to the girls' bathroom. "Be right back!"

     "Gosh Emmy, you're so motherly," Hannah teases when she passes. I watch Emmy's hair brush her shoulder blades as she leaves.

    I glance over and see Troy at the trash cans, dumping the entire contents of his backpack inside. Empty water bottles, homework assignments, and what's possibly an old pair of socks burst out. Hannah looks at the flood of papers in amazement. "Troy, you're straight-up murdering trees!"

     "It's the last day of school; I don't need these anymore." He shrugs and starts to put his whole backpack in the trash.

     "But the recycling bins are right ther—what're you doing?!" Hannah tries to restrain "Cool your jets! Hey, weren't you going to do some sort of end-of-year bonfire party or something?"

     Troy stops and groans. "I forgot about that! Ugh, I already threw all my stuff away; can I use yours?"

     Hannah shakes her head. "It's already in the trash—ew, don't you dare reach back in there!"

     Troy laughs. "Kidding! I'll just use Delaney's."

     Hannah gives me an exasperated look across the room as Troy walks off. I grin and shrug. Emmy returns from the girls bathroom. The girls share a smile as they pass each other.

     Emmy comes towards me, and I straighten up. "Let's wipe the blood off you first." She presses a wet paper towel to my hand, and I grimace. Argh, it stings!

     "Does it hurt?" She sounds worried.

     My heart skips a beat. I nod and try to ignore it. "This paper cut's a little more on the nastier side."

     She sighs. "I don't have a bandage—"

     "No no; it's fine!"

     "Alright then." Emmy balls up the paper towel and pitches it at the trash, but misses. "Boo." She goes to pick it up, handing me a piece of toilet paper. "Put that on your finger so it won't bleed."

     "'Kay, thanks." I do as she says and resist the urge to peek at my cut every five seconds. She comes back over and slips a hair tie off her wrist, reaching behind her head to braid her hair.

     I can never understand how people do that so quickly. I watch as she finishes the braid, a little mesmerized. Emmy tucks it over her shoulder and looks up at me.