Meeting by Nina Hoffman

Author:Nina Hoffman
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2011-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

Maya tested Rimi’s alarm clock capabilities the next morning. Rimi shook her awake, not just on the shoulder, but all through her. Maya felt like a bowl of jiggling Jell-O. She snapped her eyes open. “Ow?” she said, experimentally.

Did I hurt you? I was careful!

“It doesn’t hurt, it just feels weird.” Maya sat up and looked at the clock. “It’s fifteen minutes before I wanted to wake up.”

I didn’t want to wait any more, Rimi thought. It always takes you longer than you think.

“Okay,” Maya said. She got up. Rimi had already put her homework and art supplies in her backpack. “Whoa. Thanks, Rimi.” Maya dressed, pulled on her pack, and headed out into the hall. She almost collided with Peter.

“So you were always talking to Rimi,” he whispered.

“My shadow,” she whispered back. “Were you listening at my door?”

“No, just on my way downstairs.” He had his school backpack on, too, and his shoelaces were untied.

“Hey, you could trip—” Maya said, and then Rimi tied Peter’s shoelaces.

“Oh, wow,” he said.

She put extra knots in the laces.

“But I won’t be able to get them off,” he said.

Ask me and I’ll untie them, Rimi thought.

Maya relayed the message.

“Yeah, but you’re not at my school. I’ll need to change for P.E.”

Rimi paused, then undid the outermost layer of knots.

“What are you guys talking about now?” Candra said, breezing past them on her way to the stairs.

“Peter’s shoelaces,” Maya said. “Hey, how’d your walk with Evren go last night?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Candra was gone down the stairs.

“Yes!” Maya yelled, following her. Peter was on her heels. They all headed for the kitchen.

It was Cold Cereal Day. Mom and Dad were already sitting at the table drinking coffee. Candra grabbed a box of cereal from the lineup on the counter and poured some in a bowl, added milk, and started scarfing. Peter poured a pile of ChocoNut Bits into a bowl. Maya got honey-nut cereal for herself.

“What happened last night?” Maya asked Candra again.

Candra just smiled and ate. Then she said, “Live in ignorance, the way you made me live all these weeks.”

“Candra, where did you and Evren go?” Mom asked.

“Just around a few blocks, Mom. There were streetlights all the way.” She hunched her shoulders. “This is our neighborhood now. I don’t want to be scared of it. I don’t have to, do I?”

“No,” said Dad. “As far as we know, this is a safe place to live and wander.”

“Good.” She finished her cereal and rinsed out her bowl, then stuck it in the dishwasher.

“Did you kiss?” Peter asked.

“What? Of course not,” Candra said, blushing. “All we did was talk.”

“What about?” Peter demanded.

“That is seriously none of your business, squirt,” she said, then relented. “We mostly talked about me. I didn’t notice until after we said good night. I had so many questions for him, but somehow, he sidetracked me into talking about me. Next time I’m going to change that.”

“There’s a next time?” Maya asked.

“There will be.” Candra settled her messenger bag over her shoulder.

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