The Guardian of Threshold Read Online Free PDF Page B

the bus again. Somehow, I missed it most days of the week.
    Overcome with boredom, I walked with my head down, looking at the asphalt as though I was searching for something. Then suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Jonas and Carla Weber’s matching sneakers as they quickly caught up to me.
    The twins were not only my childhood friends, but also my only friends. They seemed cold, given the shivering noises that Carla made while she adjusted her earmuffs and the frantic motion Jonas did with his hands, rubbing them together trying to warm up.
    They carried overstuffed backpacks and seemed to suffer the same pain as I did, yet they didn’t seem to care, as though the pain was normal. Perhaps the cold was more of a pressing matter.
    “Did you guys miss the bus too?” I asked, surprised.
    “No, when I didn’t see you in the bus, I decided to wait for you, and Jonas followed.”
    “Hey!” Jonas said. “I was planning on waiting anyway.”
    Jonas had barely finished speaking when a rolling thunder announced the imminent arrival of either heavy rain or an ice storm. Overstuffed clouds seemed to cover Stoneham, promising to burst over the small New England town like a water balloon.
    When we were about a block away from our street, huge raindrops started to fall, hitting first my backpack and then my face.
    As the rain increased, so did our steps. Soon our careless steps turned into an all-out race to see who would be the first to find shelter from the freezing rain—the finish line was the poorly maintained porch of 12 Hersam Street, my Victorian style house.
    I was the first to arrive, probably because I was part of the school track team and in fairly good physical shape; Jonas was second. He crashed onto me, using me as a human emergency break and panting like a wild animal. He was chubby and not a very good runner; he had barely managed to arrive before Carla, who didn’t seem to be trying very hard.
    Much to my disappointment, Carla didn’t use me as a human break, choosing the cold, hard wall instead.
    We stood still for a few seconds to catch our breath. I was amazed by the power of nature as torrents of rain fell with a mysterious, raw energy that charged every drop.
    “Are we doing anything later on?” I asked, wanting to see Carla again.
    “Sure, how does dinner sound?” Carla said, smiling. She had the kind of smile that gave life meaning.
    “Where?” asked Jonas before I even had the chance to reply to Carla’s question. Jonas always jumped at the opportunity to go out whenever I went—it had something to do with the fact that his parents only allowed him to go out if I went. I kept hoping that one of these days Jonas wouldn’t want to go out to dinner so I could tell Carla how I really felt about her. I should have told her during our walk in school, but it didn’t seem like the right time or place.
    One of these days, I’ll have my chance,
I thought.
But how is Jonas going to feel about it? He’s my best friend. I’m not really sure how he would take it if I got involved with his sister. That’s if she even likes me
.
    Although the twins were fifteen years old, their parents felt it was safer for them go out with me because I seemed capable of defending myself should the need arise. I guess being over six feet tall had its advantages.
    “So where do you guys feel like going?” I asked, only to regret it a split second later.
    “Uh, let me think,” Jonas said without really meaning it because he immediately added, “what about La Luna’s? We always eat there on Fridays.”
    “That’s because you only want to eat there,” Carla objected, rolling her beautiful Caribbean blue eyes. “For once, can we please go somewhere else?”
    I almost instinctively replied with a resounding, “Yes!” There was something in the way she spoke that drew me closer, something that made me want to agree with her and fulfill her every wish and desire.
    “No, we can’t! I have a