The Jade Castle by Christa Yelich-Koth

Author:Christa Yelich-Koth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christa Yelich-Koth
Published: 2019-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

After the weekend, Bekk found himself feeling jumpy. He knew he couldn’t have broken Vic’s computer, but he still felt somehow responsible. Maybe because he’d inspired Iyah as a setting in the first place. Or maybe because he thought he’d seen Ryf and that ended up causing a melted computer.

Bekk understood on some level he wasn’t responsible, but why had he seen those images? The golden trees and Ryf? Did he feel guilty for not helping his fairy friend? Was he trying to sabotage his life, too afraid to be happy? And if it turned out the computer issues were somehow his fault, how on Earth could he explain that to Vic?

Bekk dragged his feet toward the cafeteria. He felt completely worn out between his sickness over the weekend and his nerves. He skittered through the lunch line, choosing lasagna, garlic bread, corn, and a piece of chocolate cake for his meal. He glanced over his shoulder at their usual spot, trying to see if he could spot Vic.

“Hey Bekk, your card is in upside down.”

“Huh?” Bekk swiveled his head back around and stared right into Ashlee’s big green eyes.

“Your card,” she said with a smile, gesturing down at the little machine. She tossed her long, blonde curls over a shoulder.

“Oh, sorry.” He flipped around his Cafeteria Card and paid for his meal. “Thanks.”

“No problem... hey Bekk?”

He picked up his tray and paused. “Yeah?”

“Can I catch you after I’m done here? I’ve got a question for you.”

His brow furrowed, and he noticed her shifting in her seat.

“Sure...” he said slowly.

“Great. I’ll meet you by your table.” She grinned wider, then turned her attention to the next student in line.

Bekk made his way to the table, his brain stuck on what had just happened. He took a seat across from Belle.

“What’s up with you?”

Bekk pointed a thumb back over his shoulder. “Ashlee. She said she wanted to ask me a question after lunch.”

Belle’s lips twitched. “Oh really? I wonder what that could be about.”

Bekk narrowed his eyes. “What do you know?”

She shrugged.

“Belle...”

“Nothin’ specific. Just a hunch.”

Bekk’s pulse increased. “Wait, is she going to ask me out?” He hadn’t interacted much about Ashlee since the incident in the classroom the previous year. He’d been pretty embarrassed by the whole experience, but since he really had an interest in her, he found himself even more embarrassed around her after. Because of this, he tried to ignore her when she worked the Cafeteria Card scanner section.

But could it be that she hadn’t ignored him all this time?

Belle shrugged again.

Bekk peeked back over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Ashlee’s leg and arm through the lunch line doorway. His stomach turned, but not in a queasy way. More like a nervous twinge.

“Who’re you gawking at?”

Bekk turned back around and saw Vic take a seat next to Belle. Belle kept her gaze downward on her tray. Vic slapped his books on the table—he hated backpacks—and unrolled his brown bag lunch.

Bekk had been so distracted by Ashlee he completely forgot his nervousness about seeing Vic.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.