Read Online Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand - Free Book Online Page B

never know the answer to that question.)
    Is it because my Favorite Words list is all taped up in a box?
    That flash of white at one of Hart House’s upstairs windows—is it Grandma, spying on us? What will she do to us? What will she do to me ?
    I cross my arms over my chest and stare at the ground.
    Maybe if I think hard enough, this feeling will go away. I cannot lose myself, not right now, not in front of everyone.
    From what I can tell, no one else I have encountered has ever lost himself or herself. If they have, they certainly have not talked about it.
    My cousins do not seem like the kind of people who lose themselves.
    Go away.
    Go away.
    GO AWAY.
    As we climb up the pit, all I can concentrate on is my sweaty hands, my prickly skin, the rhythm of my breathing. Kennedy might be watching. If she thinks something is wrong with me, she’ll wake up Grandma, and everything will be ruined.
    So I will walk, and keep my fear locked up inside me.
    (Breathe in and out, Finley. In and out.)
    (Just hold on.)
    (Don’t let them see.)
    â€¢Â Â â€¢Â Â â€¢
    By the time we get back inside and upstairs, I am feeling a little better—but only a little.
    I sit against the wall, Dex and Ruth on either side of me. It is my responsibility to make sure they stay quiet while Gretchen hides our stash in Avery’s room, underneath her bed.
    It seems like the safest place. Who would want to sneak into Avery’s room to steal back their dues, and risk awakening what is sure to be a mighty teenage wrath?
    Kennedy, standing watch at the end of the hallway, whispers, “Hurry up, you guys!” She bounces on her toes.
    Gretchen crouches at Avery’s bedroom door, our stash under one arm. “Shut up, Kennedy! Do you want me to do this or not?”
    As soon as Gretchen slips inside Avery’s bedroom, Dex and Ruth start giggling.
    The edges of my body still feel sharp, unsteady. The fear is not far from me; even breathing the wrong way could send it flying back.
    Then I have an idea.
    â€œDo you hear that?” I whisper. It is difficult to speak.
    â€œHear what?” asks Ruth. “I don’t hear anything.”
    â€œThe Everwood. It’s speaking to us.”
    Ruth frowns. “Really?”
    Dex scoots closer to me. “What’s it saying?”
    â€œIt’s saying . . .” I close my eyes.
    (In and out. Just breathe.)
    (Think of the Everwood. Think of the oak trees, the ash trees, the gold-and-green light.)
    â€œIt’s saying it was impressed by the bravery of the two young squires who dared enter the forest so late at night. It senses you have courageous hearts, that you will one day be glorious knights.” I open my eyes and look at each of them. “But if this quest fails tonight, you can never be knighted. The Everwood has strict rules, you see.”
    Ruth immediately clamps her hand over Dex’s mouth. Ipry it loose and pull them close. “Hush, squires. The Everwood is listening.”
    They sit as still as statues beside me. From down the hallway Kennedy gives me a thumbs-up.
    Then a light switches on in Avery’s bedroom. “Gretchen? What are you doing ?”
    Gretchen bolts out of Avery’s room, and we tear down the hallway, sliding across the hardwood floor in our socks, trying not to laugh. Kennedy grabs the twins and pulls them inside their room.
    From behind us I hear movement. Avery stands at her door. Her hair is a mess, like mine in the mornings. It makes her less scary somehow.
    â€œFreaks,” she whispers, and shuts the door behind her.
    The next morning at breakfast, Avery ignores us all, like usual. If she knows Gretchen put the stash under her bed, she doesn’t say anything.
    We pass giggles around the table like a secret code.
    Aunt Dee puts down her toast, smiling at us. “Okay, what’s the story? What happened? What did we miss?”
    But no one says anything. We are bound to secrecy