* * *
The emails sent, Leslie and Gray had nothing to do but go through every-day life. They went to school the next day, and the way people stared at them made Leslie feel like she was walking on pins and needles. As they walked through the hallways, kids pointed and whispered to their friends. Leslie put her earbuds in her hears and turned on her iPod, covering the wires with her hair. The music washed over her, soothing her. Gray walked silently behind her.
No one mentioned what happened in front of Gray or Leslie until P.E. Leslie exited the girl’s locker room before Gray exited the boy’s locker room. A gaggle of girls stood huddled in the nearest corner of the gym talking in excited voices. Leslie wandered over. In the center of the group was Anne, snapping her bubble gum and enjoying her spotlight of attention.
“I don’t believe a word of Leslie’s story. I’ll bet she fought Gray, not some weird mountain lion,” said Anne, playing with her ponytail. “I mean, this is just like two years ago when their mother died. No one was there to see that either.”
Leslie felt like her entire body had turned to ice. She froze in place, not wanting to listen but unable to stop. Her heart shuddered in her chest.
“Leslie says her mom fell off that cliff by accident, but some people say her mom committed suicide right in front of her. I wouldn’t put it past her to push her mom off the edge. She’s just like the people you hear about on the news—quiet, a loner, couldn’t hurt anyone. Then suddenly, they snap.”
Leslie jerked out of her frozen state. She pushed through the girls until she stood in front of Anne. Anne just smiled and blew a big pink bubble. Leslie jabbed a finger into the bubble. Pink gum splattered all over Anne’s face.
Anne wailed. Before the sound completely left her mouth, Leslie balled her right hand into a fist and punched Anna in the face. It was a weak punch—in retrospect one of the weakest punches ever thrown at a high school—but Anne stumbled backwards and landed right on her rear. She gazed fearfully up at Leslie.
“I wasn’t the only one there,” growled Leslie. “Savannah was there too. And it was an accident.”
The gym coach and several boys pushed through the crowd. “What is going on here?” the coach demanded.
No one answered him. Leslie leaned over Anne and said in a low voice, “Don’t ever—ever—speak about my mom like that again.”
Leslie turned to go. The coach held out a hand, stopping her. “I’m going to have to call your dad.”
Leslie slouched over and put her hands in the pockets of her gym shorts. “I know. But let him know exactly what she said—that either my mom committed suicide or I killed her. Make sure he knows why I hit her.”
The gym coach let her go, and Leslie walked over to the bleachers and sat down. She wished she had her iPod. Gray sat next to her a minute later.
Class started, and the coach split the students up to play basketball. Gray didn’t move. Neither did Leslie. Leslie asked, “Aren’t you going to play?”
Gray shook his head. “Not with my side. Aren’t you?”
“No,” said Leslie, frowning. ‘I don’t think Coach will mind.”
“So you hit that girl?” asked Gray. Leslie didn’t respond. “It didn’t look like a very strong punch.”
“I’m not a very strong person.”
Gray smiled. “Maybe not strong enough to stand up for yourself, but strong enough to stand up for others.”
They sat in silence, watching the other students drill shooting hoops. Anne was gone for a long time. When she reappeared from the girl’s locker room, the skin of her face was bright red.
Finally, Leslie spoke up. “I never want Savannah to see something like that. She’s seen enough death. If—if this gets dangerous, will you help me make her stay home?”
“It won’t get dangerous. It shouldn’t, anyway,” said Gray.
Leslie gave a short laugh. She smiled sarcastically at Gray. “Cougar Girl jumped through a window and tried to kill us, remember?”
Gray pulled from his pocket the small stone panther from his necklace. “I remember,” he said. He turned to Leslie. “I promise we’ll keep Savannah safe.”
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