Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Author:Leah Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2015-06-01T16:00:00+00:00

Not far beyond the fence, the forest switched from new growth to old growth. Suddenly the trees were towering beasts, century-old pines and beeches that loomed overhead like dinosaurs. The forest paths below became clearer but darker; the foliage overhead was thick enough to block the light and discourage even ferns from growing at the foot of the trees.

“I can’t believe I’ve never seen this before.” I was leaning back so far that I thought my head would scrape the ground. Joe was leading the way. Liz lagged behind us. I could feel her eyes on my back.

“Well, now you have. And wait till we get to the lake. You almost always see deer drinking along the east side, so long as fudgies haven’t spooked them all.”

“Fudgies?”

“Tourists. Flatlanders. They come north for the trees and the chocolate fudge.”

I leapt a puddle in his wake. The ground was moister here, a bit colder.

“I’ve never had fudge.”

“How on earth d’you live?”

“I wonder about that, too,” said Liz quietly.

This wasn’t nearly as fun as my last birthday, Mo.

Joe scratched his chin. “Well, it’s October, so there shouldn’t be too many tourists around, apart from a few prospective game hunters like meself. But they tend to stay near the plains on the east banks. Just how sensitive are you, Ollie? Will you start twitchin’ and biting your toes if they’ve got their RVs parked along the opposite side of the lake?”

“Um, no. I don’t think so. I’ll be able to see the electricity from pretty far away, and I should be able to tell how strong it is. Whether it’s just a phone, or a mini-fridge or a car or whatever. Don’t worry about me.”

“So—you’re almost psychic? You can tell what sort of electrical object it is from far away? Get outta town!”

“I’ve never been to town. And I never … I mean, no. I don’t think of it that way. It’s really mostly useless.”

“Stop stuttering, you idiot. Nobody thinks you’re weird anymore. You’re old news.” I did not know whether Liz was joking with this little outburst, but at least she was talking, walking abreast with us.

“I’m old hat, huh?”

“The oldest hat.”

“Like bowler hats, Dickens.”

“Like Grecian diadems, Homer.”

“Like Egyptian headdresses … erm, Ra?”

“Whatever, dork.” But her lips curled upward, and before long she was far ahead of us, hopping over puddles, cheeks flushed pink.

When she was very nearly out of sight, Joe inched closer.

“Hey, I think this weekend’s your shot, buddy. Go for it! I give you permission. Heh.”

I felt the blood rush to my face. “I don’t know what you—”

“Oh, come on. You’re a hermit, yes, but you’re also a teenage boy and she’s a beautiful girl, my niece. Some people don’t ’preciate that, maybe. But don’t tell me you ain’t got your hopes up.”

“I wouldn’t even—I don’t even know—”

“You’ll get your chance, Ollie. I’ll be sure to wander off at the perfect moment. Probably sometime this evening, after we set up camp. I’ll give you a signal, right? You’ll know it when you see it!”

I waved my hands.

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