On the Fringe Read Online Free PDF

felt like I’d just discovered a massive iceberg beneath the tip of Daniel Holland, yet, I hadn’t even come close to knowing who he was. Now I would never have the chance.
    When I felt the sob making its way out, I tried holding it in, but every bit of strength I’d counted on had evaporated. Addie somehow found the frame of mind to hug me. I hugged her back, not caring about all the people who were staring at us. By then, we were just trying to hold each other up. And failing miserably.

Daniel
    After wandering around for days, or maybe it was weeks, trying to figure out why I was still here, I finally found my way back to Hidden Lake and stretched out inside a canoe. Drifting around beneath the black sky, counting each star over and over again, I wondered about the whys that wouldn’t leave me alone.
    I should’ve been somewhere else by now—in some quiet, perfect place, relaxed and forgetting all my problems. I certainly hadn’t done anything in my life that would banish me to that other place. I was a standup kid, and rightfully had high expectations.
    It seemed like I had insomnia, like hordes of ants were tunneling through my head, making it impossible for my mind to be still. Where was the dark tunnel or bright light? That’s what they teach you to expect when you die, right? Instead, I found myself back at Hidden Lake, like it was my own personal waiting room.
    Problem was, I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to get away from here and move on to someplace else. Especially since I couldn’t shake the notion I had left something behind and couldn’t go any further without it.
    Whatever it was.
    Cue the ants.
    At around star number 2,002, I began to have an idea of what it was, despite trying to shake the feeling it had something to do with Claire.
    What was that about?
    No matter what I did, her image, voice and scent seemed to attach themselves to me. She crept up around me, swirling and floating her way into every inch of me until nothing remained untouched. I even attempted fighting thoughts of her with logic. I mean, it wasn’t like I was in love with the girl. Can someone really be in love at seventeen anyway?
    I vowed to stay put in the canoe until all thoughts of Claire vanished, hoping by then to have found the dark tunnel and bright light, or at least some place with an ‘up’ button. My plan failed almost immediately, though, because the more I tried pushing the vision of her away, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was a vicious cycle.
    Maybe Claire had a message for me. Something to give me closure so I could move on. Time to find out. I got my sorry butt out of the canoe, and went to look for her. But when I saw the date on a newspaper and realized I’d been dead for two weeks, I wanted to cry. Seriously. I can admit that now, I’m man enough. Two weeks had felt like only hours to me. Next week was graduation! It was terrifying to realize life goes on without you.
    As I drifted unnoticed through the crowded halls of my school, everything looked just like I remembered. Rows of dented, metal lockers faced each other, lining the narrow hallways as all the kids, some my friends and some not, pushed through each other to make it to their next class. They all passed through me while I stood in the center of the commotion, staring out at everyone, trying not to care.
    It was strange how all the noise seemed so much more distracting now that I wasn’t part of it—the clanging locker doors, the shuffling of feet, the ringing bells, the buzz of conversations all trying to be heard; it was jarring. I had to remind myself that none of it mattered anymore because as soon as I found Claire, I was never coming back here. Ever .
    The first bell rang and all the kids filed into class. I looked for Claire by poking my head through the classroom walls. At first it felt weird, a little bit like losing your breath when someone socks you in the gut…but after twenty or so times, I finally got used