Friends Forever? Read Online Free PDF

“Maybe if he’s just a really creepy guy who lives in the woods, he could exist. I mean, people are real.”
    â€œI know he’s real,” Marcus said.
    â€œHow?” Zee asked.
    Marcus’s eyes looked serious behind his dark-framed glasses. “Because of what happened to my brother.”
    â€œReally?”
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    Marcus nodded. “A fog had settled on the mountain,” he began. “Jordan and his friends were on the trail, but the fog was so thick, they couldn’t see three feet in front of themselves.”
    Zee leaned closer.
    â€œThen, out of nowhere—” Marcus’s voice suddenly got loud, startling Zee. “He reached out and grabbed Jordan. He screamed, but everybody else just ran. No one stayed to help him. Just as the Mountain Man started to drag Jordan deeper into the woods, the Mountain Man grunted, ‘My leg! Something’s got my leg.’”
    â€œGive me a break,” Ally said under her breath.
    â€œWhat had his leg?” Chloe asked.
    â€œJordan never found out.” Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. “He managed to pull free and ran away as fast as he could.”
    â€œThat’s ridiculous!” Ally said.
    â€œAdam told us the Mountain Man said something about his leg,” Zee reminded Ally.
    â€œSince when do you believe Adam?”
    Chloe wore a terrified expression. Zee was sure she believed the Mountain Man was real.
    As Zee looked around to see if she could tell what the others were thinking, her eyes fell on Landon, who waslooking right back at her. Somehow he made her even more nervous than the Mountain Man. Lately, he always seemed to be watching her.
    Does Landon know I still have a crush on him? She would be humiliated if he did, since she was certain he liked her only as a friend.
    Or maybe, Zee silently continued, Landon actually does have a crush on me, too . She shook the thought out of her head. It was too much to ask for. Zee nervously turned away from Landon.

5
Mountain Manhunt
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    Hi, Diary.
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    Z ee stopped writing and thought. And thought. And thought. Nothing came. Even with everything that had happened that day, her mind was blank. Too exhausted to think anymore, she closed her diary. Whatever she had to say would just have to wait until she’d gotten a good night’s sleep.
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    Walking to the cabin from the bathhouse, Zee dragged her feet. Her body was achy and tired. Even the toothpaste and brush felt heavy. She couldn’t wait to collapse on her bunkand close her eyes.
    â€œHey, Zee!” Jen called behind her.
    Ohmylanta! Zee thought. Talking to anyone—especially Jen—felt like torture at the moment. “What’s up?” she asked.
    Jen hurried to catch up with Zee. “I saw the way Landon was looking at you over the campfire.” She made kissy noises.
    â€œReally? What do you mean?” Zee asked.
    â€œYou two should totally go out!”
    Zee shook her head. “We’re just friends.”
    â€œI don’t know,” Jen said in a singsong voice. “I thought you had a big crush on him.”
    â€œWell,” Zee responded. “Like I said, we’re just friends.”
    â€œMmm-hmm,” Jen said skeptically.
    â€œWhat about Kathi?” Zee asked. In sixth grade, Kathi and Landon had been boyfriend and girlfriend for a while.

    â€œPfffft,” Jen muttered. “She so doesn’t care anymore. Seventh-grade boys do not interest her.” Then she walked off.
    As Jen strode ahead, Zee couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said. Maybe Jen was right. Maybe Landon did feel the same way about her that she felt for him.
    But Zee had told her parents that she wasn’t ready for a boyfriend. How could she go back on her word? Now she was really confused!
    By the time Zee got back to the cabin, thoughts were bouncing all around her head. Thoughts about Landon. The other girls talked in the glow of their