Page 33 of The Next Person You Meet in Heaven
“I didn’t get attacked by a bear.”
“You couldn’t. There’s no bears in Arizona.”
This time Annie did laugh.
“Would you change it back?” Paulo asked.
“You mean back to normal?”
“Yeah. If you could?”
“Are you kidding? Totally.”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It makes you different.”
That’s the problem, Annie thought. Still, she appreciated Paulo’s compassion. As she got to know him, she learned he liked football and outer-space stuff. On a trip to the library, Annie rifled through the astronomy books until she found one with a chapter on the northern lights, something he talked about a lot. The next day, before class began, she put the book down on Paulo’s desk.
“Look what I found,” she said.
His mouth curled into a smile. “What?”
“Just something I’m reading.”
She flipped open to the chapter, and Paulo’s eyes widened and he said, “No way!” Annie felt warm inside, and she pushed the book towards him.
“For you.”
“I thought you were reading it.”
“I can read it when you’re done.”
“Cool,” he said, taking it. Then he added, “Thanks a lot, Annie.”
Not OK Annie. Just Annie.
***
With the two of them now in middle school, Annie hopes she can see Paulo more, but her mother continues to control her every move; she drops Annie off each morning, and every afternoon she is parked in front of the main entrance, beeping her horn. Annie lowers her head and walks rigidly to the car, certain she hears other kids laughing.
One day, with classes finished, Annie is standing in the front vestibule, looking through the glass. A group of pretty girls is just outside, all with purple backpacks slung over their shoulders. Annie hesitates. She doesn’t want her mother to honk while these girls are around.
“Waiting them out?” Paulo says.
Annie looks up, flushed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Come on. I want to talk to your mom.”
Before Annie can react, Paulo is already out the door. He strides confidently as Annie hurries to keep up. She sees the backpack girls staring.
When he reaches the car, Paulo leans towards the window and offers his hand. “Hi, Annie’s mom, I’m Paulo.”
Lorraine hesitates. “Hello, Paulo.”
“Now that we’re in this new school, I can walk home with Annie so you don’t have to drive her every day. I don’t live too far from you.”
Annie’s heart races. Paulo wants to walk home together?
“Thank you, Paulo,” Lorraine says. “But we’re fine. Come on, Annie, we’ve got errands to run.”
