Here With You Read Online Free PDF Page A

she wanted to check
     her email anyway. This was she could do it and still be around people, even if they were strangers.
     Someone was better than no one.
    Sighing, she pushed open the door.
    The aroma of coffee hit her as soon as she stepped inside. Just like her mom's office.
     She closed her eyes and breathed it in. She pictured playing on the floor between
     the reams of manuscripts while her mom sipped from her "Best Mom in the World" cup
     and edited one of her author's works. When she opened her eyes again, she almost expected
     to be transported back.
    The blonde smiled. "I t smells delicious in here, doesn't it? Are you looking for anything in particular?"
    "Um, no." She checked out the glass case of pastries and pulled out her wallet. "Maybe just a hot chocolate and a Madeleine ."
    "Got it." After the quick transaction, the woman smiled again. "Want to sit down?
     I'll bring it over to you."
    "Okay. Thank you." Rachel picked a table in the back corner and dragged her laptop
     out of her bag. While she waited for it to boot up, she flipped open her phone and
     checked for texts.
    Nothing. She frowned at her cell. She'd only been gone a month but it was like her friends had forgotten her already. She couldn't remember
     the last time they'd texted.
    "Nice," she muttered darkly. "Well , screw them."
    She closed her phone and shoved it back in her bag's pouch. She glared at the pouch.
     If she let them go, she wouldn't have anyone left. So she took the phone back out, sent a quick text to her closest friend, Diana,
     and tucked it away again.
    "Here you go, honey." The woman from the counter set a large cup topped with fluffy
     mounds of cream. "I hope you like whipped cream."
    "I do. Thank you," she added politely.
    The woman looked like she wanted to say something, but Rachel looked down and willed
     her to go.
    It worked. She felt a shift of air as the woman went back to work. Rachel waited another
     minute to make sure and then opened her Gmail account.
    No emails except for spam. Not shocking—her old friends always preferred texting.
     She liked email more. Texting was such an imprecise method of communication. Her mom
     and dad used to email her—all the time, even if they were in the other room and wanted
     her get ready for bed.
    Rachel hit "Compose Mail" and began typing.
     
    ———————————————————
    To: [email protected]
    From: [email protected]
    Subject: New School
     
    Hi Mom.
    I have this stupid homework assignment where I have to write a letter to someone.
     You're it.
    Okay—it's not stupid. I know you're thinking how much I love writing letters. Remember
     when you helped me find that penpal in Switzerland when I was nine? I picked her because
     her name was Rachel too. She loved to ski, and her handwriting was as foreign as the
     way she wrote.
    I'm at another new school. In San Francisco, but it might as well be Timbuktu . It was Dad's brilliant idea. I've been wondering if he's in league with Satan.
    I hate it here. I hate this new school. I hate the people who giggle and run around like the world
     is perfect and sunny when it's dark and lonely and sad .
    I hate that you won't be answering this email.
    ———————————————————
     
    "Hey."
    Rachel slammed the laptop shut, her head jerking up.
    A boy stood over her. He was in a couple of her classes—she'd noticed him the first day, when he walked in to English , surrounded by a bunch of his friends—so she guessed he was a sophomore too, even
     though he was so tall. His brown hair dipped into his blue eyes, and he pushed it
     back before sticking his hand in a jean pocket.
    His mouth quirked. "Are you plotting some kind of crime? Going to rob this café of
     its croissants?"
    She wanted to say something clever, something like what she'd write, but her tongue
     went all paralyzed in her mouth and it was all she could do just to mumble "No."
    He stared at her,