COULDNâT STOP THINKING AFTER LAST NIGHT . . .Â
AbbyGirl: ?
Leah601: I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU LIKE JAKE.
AbbyGirl: WHAT ABOUT IT?
Leah601: IT MADE ME THINK ABOUT . . .
Abby frowned at the screen. Whatâs up with Leah? Then she heard a ping ; Leah had sent her a link. Abby clicked on it and waited for the website to load. When she saw what was on the website, her heart sank. She knew exactly why her friend had sent her that link. The ping of a new message rang through Abbyâs room.
Leah601: WELL? DID U CHECK IT OUT?
AbbyGirl: YEAH.
Leah601: AND?
AbbyGirl: I KNOW WHAT U MEAN.
Leah601: ITâS STILL SO SAD.
AbbyGirl: DEFINITELY.
Leah601: ANYWAY, I BETTER GO. HOMEWORK CALLS. SEE YA TOMORROW.
Abby closed the IM window, but she didnât start her report. Instead she found herself clicking back on the website Leah had sent her: the homepage for the Sara James Memorial Scholarship Foundation. As Abby looked at the large picture of Sara on the website, she felt a strong pang of sorrow. She remembered when that picture was takenâalmost one year ago, on last yearâs school picture day. When Sara sat on the metal stool and smiled for the camera, she didnât know that it was the last picture anyone would ever take of her. She didnât know that she had just weeks to live.
Sara and her family had moved to Riverdale two years ago. At a large school like Riverdale Middle, a new student wasnât usually a big deal, but Sara was special. With her long red hair, sparkling green eyes, and mysterious smile, everyone was fascinated by herâespecially the boys. It seemed like everybody wanted toget to know her, but Sara was totally into Jake. They had become a couple almost immediately, and Abby hardly ever saw them apart. Abby could still remember them sitting together at a corner lunch table, Jakeâs head bent low as Sara whispered a secret into his ear, her sleek red hair brushing against his cheek. While most of the other guys in their class were goofing off and acting totally immature, Jake seemed to really be falling in love.
Then everything went terribly wrong one foggy autumn evening as Sara walked home alone after studying at Jakeâs house. A car rounded the corner just a little too fast, lost control, and swerved onto the sidewalk, slamming into Sara and killing her instantly. Abby remembered all too well the awful days that followed: the small groups of students crying quietly at school; the funeral that was unbearably sad; the scholarship foundation that Saraâs grieving parents had started to make sure their beloved daughter would never be forgotten.
And Abby remembered something else, too: the heavy cloud of sadness that seemed to follow Jake everywhere last year. In fact, it was only recently that Jake had started to seem like his old self. It seemed like his summer away at baseball camp had really lifted hisspirits. Abby was so happy to see her old friend smiling again. And she started to realize that she liked him as more than just a friend, and maybe he liked her that way too.
But as she looked at the photo of Sara, Abby felt her hope fade. Even if Jake is ready to go out with someone else, Iâm totally not his type. Iâm nothing like Sara James.
Suddenly the light on Abbyâs desk burned out with a loud pop that made her jump. In the darkness of the bedroom, the computer monitor gave a spooky glow to Saraâs photo on the website. Abby shook her head as she closed the site and went to the basement to find a new lightbulb.
But it was impossible for her to forget those luminous green eyes, gleaming in the darkness.
CHAPTER 4
Arriving at school the next morning, Abby and Leah found a cluster of kids just inside the entrance, blocking the front doors. Abby raised her eyebrows as she looked at Leah. âWhatâs going on?â she asked.
âMust be something important,â Leah said as she craned her neck, trying
David Stuckler Sanjay Basu
Aiden James, Patrick Burdine