Chapter Eighteen
Kylen
I’ve got a smile on my face as I enter the dining hall on Friday morning.
My eyes automatically search for my new friend, Raven, and I spot her sitting at her table with her friends.
She looks completely different from how she looked the past week or two.
Gone is that wariness in her eyes, she’s no longer glancing around the place to make sure to avoid me, and her smile is the most illuminating I’ve ever seen.
I’m so glad we were able to talk about what happened and move on. I can’t wait to get to know her again.
As if she feels me watching her, her head lifts, her eyes meeting mine. We stare at each other, and for a second, I worry she’ll tear her gaze away. Or that I’ll realize that everything that happened yesterday was a dream and we didn’t agree to be friends.
But her eyes and body language tell me otherwise. Her shoulders aren’t stiff, eyes aren’t cautious. The wall she built between us has been demolished.
Lifting my hand, I wave at her. A bright smile forms on her face and she waves back. It’s as if she was also worried our conversation yesterday was a dream.
My stomach growls. I’ve been so caught up with Raven that I forgot to grab some food. Jasper and Leo have already gotten their breakfast and are at our table, while Beck is by the pancakes, trying to figure out which one he’s in the mood for.
I walk over to him. “You’re early for once,” I say. “It’s kind of shocking.”
“My stomach woke me up.”
“Tell me about it. I’m so hungry I can eat a lion.”
He tsks. “Poor lion.” He continues to go back and forth between the different kinds of pancakes.
“Hey, did I thank you for yesterday?” I ask him. “You know, for helping me with Raven and everything.”
“Nah. You only thanked me, like, three times and that’s not enough. You’ve got to at least make it to ten, then I’ll appreciate it.” His eyes get serious. “I’m really sorry about everything. I know I’ve apologized a million times, but you have no idea how much I regret what I did.”
I pat his shoulder. “Let’s not talk about the past. It’s all good.”
He puffs up his cheeks, then releases the air. “Okay, Beck. Stop beating yourself up over it. You’ve got a great friend who’s forgiven you. Why can’t you forgive yourself?”
I pat his shoulder again. “You might want to take your own advice and stop being so hard on yourself.”
He nods slowly. “I’ll try. Thanks, bro.” He scans the pancakes again before finally choosing blueberry. We stack our plates with different varieties of food before joining Jasper and Leo.
Beck and I tell them everything that happened yesterday and that Raven was the writer of the song. They’re surprised but glad to learn the info because they’re happy to know that the summer meant everything to her, just as it meant everything to me.
We also tell them Raven doesn’t want us to use her song as of now, and they understand. We’ll go back to covering songs, and that’s okay. Maybe we’ll try writing our own stuff one day, but for now, we’re fine with singing covers.
The bell rings and we go to our classes. Nothing really special happens throughout the morning. I smile and wave to Raven again during lunch, which she returns, and then it’s time for history class.
Raven is already in the classroom, looking over her notes. The desk beside her is empty, just as it always is. There were so many times I wished I could sit next to her and talk. Well, now I don’t need to wish anymore.
“Hey.” I plop down in the seat. “It’s okay that I sit here, right?”
She lifts her eyes from her notebook. “Hi! Of course it’s okay.” She smiles. “How are you?”
“I’m good. A little hungry.”
“We just had lunch.”
I pat my stomach. “Yeah, but I guess I didn’t eat enough.”
She laughs, sounding so cute.
I smile sheepishly. “Sometimes my grandma says I’d eat the entire house if I could.”
“I’ve always wanted to meet your grandparents. Are they coming for Parents’ Day?”
“They hope to. Grandpa hates flying, but I think I’m important enough that he’ll endure it,” I joke. “Are your parents and Robin coming? I can’t wait to meet them, too.”
I didn’t have a chance to tell my grandparents that Raven and I are friends now. I think they’d be stoked to hear this news because they know how much Raven has always meant to me.
“Yeah, they’re coming. Robin is having a hard time with some kids in her class, and I really want to give her a hug.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure she’d love a hug from her awesome big sister.”
“Thanks. She’s tough, so I know she’ll be okay.”
I smile. “If she’s anything like you, she can handle anything.”
Her cheeks are red as she glances away. “Thanks. She’s tougher than me, though. She’s confident in herself and does what makes her happy. I wasn’t as confident at her age.”
“You were pretty confident when we got lost on that boat in the lake. If not for you figuring out how to get back to camp, I bet we’d still be stuck there.”
She laughs again. “I almost forgot that happened! I was so terrified.”
“Nope. You seemed as cool as a cucumber.”
“I was terrified!”
“Heck no. I was such a baby I panicked and started calling for help, but no one was there. You took charge and got us back safely.”
She grins and I grin, and I can’t help but feel like I’m floating. It’s so great to talk about camp without all these negative emotions smacking me from all sides.
Except, we both get quiet. Clearly, we’re still not one hundred percent comfortable around each other. I hope that will change as time passes, though.
Clearing my throat, I say, “I think it might snow again.”
She turns to me. “Really? That’s cool. I love the snow.”
“Me, too.”
Quiet again.
She looks at me and I look at her. We smile, glance away, then look at each other again.
“So,” I say at the same time she says, “Uh…”
We stop and laugh.
“You first,” I say.
She shakes her head. “No, you.”
“Are you sure? Because…” I stop talking when Mr. Lewis walks in. “It wasn’t important.”
“Mine wasn’t, either. I was just going to ask how the guys are doing.”
“They’re great. Happy that we’re friends because now they don’t have to feel like they’re betraying me when they play video games with you.”
“Sorry I put them through that.”
I wave my hand. “It’s cool. I told them not to be weird around you. Just because we weren’t friends, it didn’t mean they couldn’t be your fr—”
“Mr. Barrett and Miss Mitchell.” Mr. Lewis stands before our desks, his eyes flicking between Raven and me. “Have you noticed that class has begun?”
Raven’s cheeks are red as she squishes her hands on her lap. I know she hates bringing attention to herself. The last thing I want to do is get her in trouble.
“It was my fault,” I tell the teacher. “I was asking Raven something about our project and didn’t realize class started. I’m very excited about the topic we chose and got a little carried away.”
He studies me like he’s trying to determine if I’m being genuine. I try to look as innocent as I can. It’s not a total lie—I am excited about our project, especially because Raven and I are friends now and aren’t forced to spend time together.
“That’s all right,” the teacher finally says. “Next time, please pay attention to your surroundings.”
“Yes, sir.”
As he walks away, Raven turns to me with wide eyes. I give her a bright smile. She tries to hide her laugh so Mr. Lewis won’t hear.
Nearly an hour later, the bell rings, the class empties out, and I’m taking my time collecting my things. Raven takes her time, too, but she’s not as slow as me. She stays seated in her desk chair as I finish up, then we leave the classroom together.
“Want to meet up in my room later for the project?” she asks. “We need to start building the Globe Theatre and we still haven’t found a scene to perform.”
“Yeah, sure. It’s a date.” As soon as the words are out, I flinch. “No, not a date. I meant it’s a project date. Like, we’re meeting up at a later date to…” I shut my eyes for a second, mumbling under my breath.
Raven just smiles. “I know what you meant. I’ll see you.”
I wave lamely. “See you.”
Watching her leave, my lips once again lift in a smile. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited to work on a project.
***
Sophie lies on her bed upside down, her head hanging off the side of it as she reads a book. She’s been at it for over an hour, since Raven and I started building the Globe Theatre.
She and I are sitting on the floor, in a pool of Lego. We’ve barely built the foundation of the theater because we want to take our time to get it right.
Bending forward, I whisper, “How does she do that?” I tilt my head toward her friend.
She looks up. “Hmm? Oh, Sophie?” She shrugs. “Even if she was in a cage with a tiger, she’d read without getting distracted.”
I lift both brows. “I don’t think I ever met anyone who loves something as deeply as she does.”
Raven laughs. “Me, either.”
We glance at her to see if she heard us talking about her, and she says, “Yep. I can hear you.”
“Of course I don’t mind that you’re here,” Raven tells her. “But didn’t you say you have plans with Damian all week?”
She flips over to a sitting position. “Well, it seems Principal Harrington felt like we’re too obsessed with each other and kindly asked me to skip dinner with them tonight.”
“That stinks,” Raven says.
Sophie shrugs. “I mean, she’s not wrong. We are obsessed with each other. But it’s okay. I want them to have some mother/son bonding time. It’s good for them.”
“Want to help us build the theater?” I offer.
She takes one look at what we have so far, which isn’t much, frowns and says, “No thanks.” She goes back to reading while we continue building this thing.
We don’t really say much because we’re focused on our task.
After another half an hour passes, my phone beeps with a notification from the school app. I reach for my phone to check what the message is. “The principal wants to see me,” I announce.
Raven lifts a brow. “What for?”
“Are you in trouble?” Sophie asks.
I rack my brain, trying to figure out what I could have possibly done wrong. “I don’t think so.” I get to my feet. “I’d better go.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Raven asks.
“Sure, that would help a lot. I’m a little worried, to be honest.”
She gives me a sweet smile. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
“I didn’t think it was serious. Oh my gosh. Do you think something happened to my grandma or grandpa?” My lungs are about to explode and I can’t breathe. “No. I can’t lose either of them.”
Raven places her hand on my arm. “Kylen, I’m sure everything is okay. Let’s first see what she has to say and then…” Her voice trails off.
I swallow the boulder in my throat and force a nod. “Okay.”
As we head to the exit of the dorm, I say in a low voice, “You have no idea how many times I have dreams of losing my grandparents and being completely alone in the world.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know I’ll never be alone. My parents and grandparents will always be with me in spirit and I have my friends.” I smile at her. “I’m very lucky.”
“I’ve always been amazed at you, Kylen. That no matter what, you always think positively about every situation. You don’t let the negative things hold you back. It’s a great quality to have.”
“Thanks. That means a lot. My grandma always says, ‘If you let the negative or hard things hold you back, are you really living?’ Life is amazing. I mean, it’s tough, too, and sad things happen, but you shouldn’t let them keep you down.”
“She sounds lovely.”
I grin. “She is.”
We’ve reached the office, and I take a deep breath before walking inside. The secretary instructs me to head to Principal Harrington’s office. Raven stays behind and wishes me good luck. I thank her before advancing to the principal’s office.
After I knock on the open door, Harrington looks up and tells me to come in.
“Is it my grandparents?” I blurt before I can stop myself. “Are they okay?”
She smiles as she gestures for me to take a seat. “Your grandparents are well, thank God. I asked you to see me because I’d like to know how you’re adjusting.”
“Oh. I’m adjusting really well, thanks.”
I remain in her office for a few minutes, talking about my classes, my friends, and answering other questions she has. Then I return to Raven and tell her everything is fine and well.
We decide we worked on the Globe Theatre enough and call it quits for today. We’ll pick it up either over the weekend or after.
“Have a good night, Raven, and thanks for accompanying me here. I really appreciate it.” I lift an arm around her shoulder and give her a hug.
It might just be my imagination, but it feels like she melts against my chest, as though she misses our hugs as much as I do. “No problem. I’m glad everyone is okay.”
I smile as we move out of each other’s arms. “Me, too. Have a good night. Wait, I said that already.”
She giggles. “You did, but it’s okay. Good night, Kylen.”