Page 56 of Wonderstruck

“If you wait,” I cut in, smirking, “you’lljust talk yourself out of it.”

Her brows pulled together.“You know me way too well for someone I actively tried to avoid.”

I laughed softly, shaking my head. “I think I just see myself in you, that’s all.”

Thelook she gave me was enough to knock the air right out of my chest. Itwasn’t just understanding—it was something softer, warmer. Something I wasn’t ready to name.

She stood, her phone clutched in her hand, passing me a tiny, true smile beforeshe headed toward the bookshelves.

Pride swelled in my chest as I faced out towards the library, but it was quicklyreplaced by that gnawing fear that kept me up at night.

I was allowed to be proud of her without thinking that meant something else–something deeper. But maybe the reason why I was feeling like this was because that line into something deeperhad already been crossed.

Who was I kidding? I crossed it the dayI met her and she told me her name.

When she came back, her cheeks wereflushed, her eyes brighter than they’dbeen in weeks.

“Well?” I asked, spinning back around toface her.

“She’s put me with the novice class. Therecital is in two weeks,” she said, sitting down across from me.

And yet, with every thought thatwas screaming at me to run, I couldn’t help the grin curling up my face. “Are tickets on sale yet?”

1.Being here with you makes me the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

chapter fifteen

my knight in a shining jersey

When my lecture began, I thought that picking a seat in the centre, directly at eye level with the big clock on the wall would be smart. I could count the minutes until I could get out of here and head to the rink to start rehearsing for the recital next Saturday.

But counting down the seconds wasonly making them drag longer. So instead, I let my eyes go vacant, and began running over the choreo I’d learned on the weekend in my head.

I was still unsure about the whole thing iftruth be told. I felt out of my depths,like I’d only just learned how to swim and had suddenly been dropped in the middle of the Pacific with no life vest. But when I looked back at the clock and saw I still had fifty-six minutes of sitting here, not listening and not caring about a single thing that was being discussed, I'd compete now if I meant I was anywhere but here.

I could have easily skipped class, but I didn’t. I thought that maybe showing up to this one would make up for the times I hadn’t. Righting the wrongs in my head. I just felt bad that time and effort had been put into organising this class, that I was being ungrateful for the opportunity to even come, when there were probably so many other people who didn’t get in whoactuallywanted to be here.

The buzzing of my phone paused mythoughts, and my attention drifted to mylap as I pulled the thing out of my jeans.

finn

today at 15:06pm

knock knock.

Two words. Two words were apparentlyall it took for me to forget that I wasn’t happy.

I sighed before answering him, thoughnot one part of it was filled with anythingbut relief.

… who’s there?

ice.

ice who?

ice been worried about you. how’s class?

wow. just wow

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