Jesse
TWENTY-THREE YEARS AGO
A hard crack of lightning breaks my concentration, spoiling my shot. On-screen, the rabbit I was hunting hops out of sight, dooming my family to another night without supper. Such is life on the Oregon Trail, I guess.
With a sigh, I click out of the computer game and glance out the library’s rain-splattered windows.
Summer is not off to a great start. It’s been pouring all day and I’m starting to get bored.
Holden’s mom promised to take us bowling after her shift, but the clock on the wall tells me we still have hours to go.
I pivot my attention to Holden, hoping he’ll be down for a game of cards. But based on his look of intense concentration, he’s still trying to figure out where in the world Carmen Sandiego is. Guess I’m on my own.
I stand up and stretch, then walk over to the YA section.
Holden’s mom has been trying to get me to pick up a detective series all summer, but so far, I’ve avoided it.
It’s not that I hate reading. It’s actually one of my favorite subjects at school.
But it’s summer and it feels like a drag to be reading indoors when I could be playing outside.
I’ve just rounded the corner when I hear a girl’s voice through the stacks.
Peeking down the aisle, I spot her pacing back and forth.
She’s got the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen.
Not exactly red or brown, but more like the gleaming copper of a brand-new penny.
The kind that’s perfect for rolling in the souvenir coin machines at Hersheypark.
She’s also deep in conversation with … herself.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” she says, her voice steely and determined. She shakes her head slightly, then says it again, this time putting emphasis on the last word. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
“My mom always says if you see a fire, you should stop, drop, and roll.” The words burst out of me before I can stop them, and I feel my face go hot. God, why am I talking to her?
The girl freezes in place, and her eyes swing to me. Her mouth falls open, and her cheeks turn pink. I immediately feel bad for sneaking up on her. Luckily, she recovers quickly and offers me a shy smile.
“It’s not a real fire. I was just testing out lines from a book.” She waves the paperback in her hand as confirmation. “My agent says it’s a good acting exercise.”
“Your agent?” I’m so shocked that my voice cracks at the end. I cough a few times to cover it. “Are you, like, famous or something?”
She laughs. “No. Not yet at least. But I’ve done a few commercials. Have you seen the new ad for Superstar Barbie?” She sings a few bars of a jingle I don’t recognize, before the words and melody fade away and a smile crosses her face.
Her voice is pretty, and I wish she hadn’t stopped.
“I haven’t seen it.” When her shoulders deflate, I quickly add, “But I’m sure I will soon. My brother and I watch a lot of TV.”
She looks pleased by this answer. There’s a beat of silence as she rocks back on her heels and I realize I either need to say something else or walk away. If only I could think of something else to say. My eyes drop to the book in her hand and inspiration strikes.
“So, uh … you like Nancy Drew?”
Her smile broadens. “She’s my favorite. I read the entire Baby-Sitters Club series, so now I’ve started these books. Do you like mysteries too?”
“Umm … yeah. Definitely. They’re all I read.” My eyes dart quickly to the shelves. Luckily, I catch sight of the book series Holden’s mom keeps pestering me about. I grab one and hold it up triumphantly.
“Here it is. The Encyclopedia Brown book I was looking for.”
“Oh, I haven’t read those yet. But I heard they’re great.” She beams at me. “It’s nice to meet other kids who like reading.”
My heart is thumping in my chest. I take a deep breath, willing myself to be cool.
“Reading is the best. I’m JJ, by the way. Short for Jesse, Jr. My dad is also Jesse.” Ugh, my mouth is like a volcano. I clamp it shut before any more word lava spills out.
“Marissa,” she replies.
“I haven’t seen you around before. Did you just move here?”
She shakes her head.
“My grandma lives in Lake Tranquility. We always visit her during the summer.”
“Oh, cool. Which neighborhood?”
“The Hideaway. Do you know it?”
Holy crap. I cannot believe my luck. But also, how is it possible that I’ve never run into her before?
I drag a hand through my buzz cut as I try my hardest to look cool.
“No way. I live there too.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. When the weather is nice, my friends and I hang out by the lake. You should join us sometime.”
Marissa’s face lights up. “That would be great. Come find me. I live in the blue house at the top of the hill. The one with the dark blue shutters. Do you know it?”
I do. Everyone in the neighborhood knows that house. Mrs. Steiner gives out full-size candy bars on Halloween. Plus, she used to work here at the library.
“Your grandmother is Mrs. Steiner?” I ask.
Marissa nods. “She always brings me here at the beginning of the summer. Not that I mind. I love to read. Just like you, I guess!”
Yep. Just like me.
“Well, I’m going to start my book,” I say. “Those Personal Pan Pizzas won’t earn themselves.” I kick myself internally. I sound like such a dork.
Marissa smiles. “Let me know if it’s any good. Maybe I’ll read it next.”
My heart gallops. Just like that, I’m back in the game.
“Oh, there you are.”
I look over my shoulder to see Holden standing with his arms crossed.
He glances between me and Marissa and his mouth curls into a smirk.
I shoot him a warning look, silently begging him to keep his trap shut.
He holds my gaze for a beat, just long enough for beads of sweat to form on the back of my neck, and then asks, “Want to eat lunch? My mom says we can get a soda from the vending machine in the staff room.”
I nod quickly, desperate to get away before Holden changes his mind about not embarrassing me.
“See you, Marissa,” I say, throwing her a quick wave before following Holden out of the stacks.
“Oooh. JJ’s got a girlfriend,” he croons the moment we’re out of earshot.
I elbow him in the rib cage. “I do not. I don’t even know her.”
But I want to know her. Which is why I read Encyclopedia Brown all through lunch, finishing just as Holden’s mom tells us her shift is ending.
I’m kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
It was much better than the books we normally read at school.
Less depressing too. No one died after eating a poisonous berry or succumbing to a bee sting.
I even figured out a few of the mysteries.
Before we leave, I check out the book and then ask for a sheet of paper and a pencil. I jot down a quick note and slide it inside the jacket.
I think you’ll really like this. You’ll probably even solve some of the mysteries, since you read so many Nancy Drew books. But if you need help, the answers are in the back!
—JJ
On the way home from the bowling alley, I ask Holden’s mom to stop by Mrs. Steiner’s.
“I’m just, um … lending a book to Marissa. Her granddaughter.”
“You read an Encyclopedia Brown!” she says, clearly delighted to see the book in my hand. “What did you think?”
“It was great,” I manage. “That’s why I want someone else to get to enjoy it.”
I refuse to meet Holden’s eyes as I dart out of the car to drop the book in Marissa’s mailbox. But when I get back inside, he’s blowing kisses at me.
JJ’s got a girlfriend, he mouths for the second time that day.
I shoot daggers with my eyes as I mouth back, Do not.
I ignore Holden for the rest of the ride, and by the time I get dropped off, he’s let it go. There’s no reason for him to bring it up again anyway.
Because there’s no world in which Marissa would ever be my girlfriend.