Jumping Puddles Read Online Free PDF

surprises.
    I take his hand as he helps me out of the car and onto the sidewalk. Hopeful that he won’t let go, I’m disappointed when he begins walking and allows my hand to slip out of his. Shaking it off, I fall in step with him and pick up my pace to keep up with him.
    “Blake, slow down. My legs aren’t as long as yours,” I say, practically jogging next to him.
    “You’re not much shorter than I am, Charlie. What are you, 5’9?”
    “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can keep up with you when you’re practically running.”
    He comes to an abrupt halt and turns toward me. “You don’t have to. We’re here.”
    Looking over his shoulder, I see we’re standing outside a travel agency. “We are?”
    “Yep. Are you ready for your surprise?”
    “Um, okay.”
    “I need for you to sound a little more excited.” Blake gives me an overly-enthusiastic smile to emphasize his words.
    “I’m sorry. I’m just a little confused. Are you buying me a trip somewhere?”
    “Sort of. Come on,” he replies, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the door as he pushes it open.
    An hour later, Blake and I are on our way back home. My ticket is sitting in my lap, staring at me. There’s a smile on my face I can’t hide, and Blake’s not trying to hide his smile, either. He bought me a ticket to come visit him for spring break. Apparently, he got permission from Alice and Scott while I was at school yesterday. That’s the real reason he was late picking me up. He was waiting for Scott to call him back, and Scott was stuck with a patient.
    I can’t help but wonder what this all means. I’m trying really hard to stay out of my head right now and enjoy this moment. I get to take a trip to see Blake while I’m on break from school. I won’t have to wait until summer to see him. He’ll show me his school and introduce me to his friends.
    The big question that keeps going through my mind, the only one I’m allowing to creep in right now, is the one I’m afraid to ask him. It’s a question I’d like an answer to myself. Who am I to Blake? How is he going to introduce me to his friends?
    “This is Charlie, my friend.”
    “This is Charlie, my best friend.”
    “This is my neighbor, Charlie.”
    Or better yet, will he even explain who I am. Am I just Charlie? Will they already know about me and who I am to him? If so, I’d like to know where we stand. I’d like to know why he’s changed and why he’s been acting so weird. Most of all, I’d like to know why he stopped telling me he loves me. I’m finally ready to say it back, but the opportunity hasn’t come.
    I guess we’ll find out in a few short months.

 
     
    SO FAR, SEVENTEEN HAS been better than sixteen. I spent my birthday with Alice and Scott. They made sure to make it extra special for me. Alice let me stay home from school, and we went shopping for new clothes. Scott brought home dinner, and the two of them sang happy birthday to me. I didn’t even know Alice had baked me a cake until they started singing.
    They bought me the cell phone I had been asking for, but I’m only allowed to use it sparingly. Scott was pretty serious about it. I promised to only use it if I left the house or needed to call Blake. Since I don’t go out, I’m pretty sure it’s calling Blake too much that’s making him concerned.
    The rest of the evening was spent together watching Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead , one of my favorite movies of all time. Scott fell asleep halfway through and started snoring, so Alice and I kept poking him until he decided to go to bed, claiming he was sick of the way we were ganging up on him.
    Blake calls just as the movie is ending. Wanting to call him back from my new phone, I “accidentally” hang up. He notices I’m on a cell phone right away.
    “Did you get my present?” he asks excitedly.
    “No,” I reply as I climb the stairs to my room. “What present?”
    “I asked Scott to give it to you today. He didn’t