Authors: Rainbow Rowell
The girl stopped and looked
up at Tina, then looked back at the
empty seat.
‘Sit
down,’
the
driver
bellowed from the front.
‘I have to sit somewhere,’ the
girl said to Tina in a firm, calm
voice.
‘Not
my
problem,’
Tina
snapped. The bus lurched, and the
girl rocked back to keep from
falling. Park tried to turn the
volume up on his Walkman, but it
was already all the way up. He
looked back at the girl; it looked
like she was starting to cry.
Before he’d even decided to
do it, Park scooted toward the
window.
‘Sit down,’ he said. It came
out angrily. The girl turned to him,
like she couldn’t tell whether he
was another jerk or what. ‘Jesus-
fuck,’ Park said softly, nodding to
the space next to him, ‘just
sit
down
.’
The girl sat down. She didn’t
say anything – thank God, she
didn’t thank him – and she left six
inches of space on the seat
between them.
Park
turned
toward
the
Plexiglas window and waited for a
world of suck to hit the fan.
CHAPTER 2
Eleanor
Eleanor considered her
options:
1. She could walk home from
school. Pros: Exercise, color in
her cheeks, time to herself.
Cons: She didn’t know her new
address yet, or even the general
direction to start walking.
2. She could call her mom and ask
for a ride. Pros: Lots. Cons: Her
mom didn’t have a phone. Or a
car.
3. She could call her dad. Ha.
4. She could call her grandma.
Just to say hi.
She was sitting on the concrete
steps at the front of the school,
staring out at the row of yellow
buses. Her bus was right there.
No. 666.
Even if Eleanor could avoid
the bus today, even if her fairy
godmother showed up with a
pumpkin carriage, she’d still have
to find a way to get back to school
tomorrow morning.
And it’s not like the devil-kids
on the bus were going to wake up
on the other side of their beds
tomorrow. Seriously. It wouldn’t
surprise Eleanor if they unhinged
their jaws the next time she saw
them. That girl in the back with
the blond hair and the acid-
washed
jacket?
You
could
practically see the horns hidden in
her bangs. And her boyfriend was
possibly
a
member
of
the
Nephilim.
That girl – all of them – hated
Eleanor before they’d even laid
eyes on her. Like they’d been
hired to kill her in a past life.
Eleanor couldn’t tell if the
Asian kid who finally let her sit
down was one of them, or
whether he was just really stupid.
(But not
stupid
-stupid … He was
in two of Eleanor’s honors
classes.)
Her mom had insisted that the
new school put Eleanor in honors
classes. She’d freaked when she
saw how bad Eleanor’s grades
were from last year in the ninth
grade. ‘This can’t be a surprise to
you, Mrs Douglas,’ the counselor
said.
Ha
, Eleanor thought,
you’d
be surprised what could be a
surprise at this point
.
Whatever. Eleanor could stare
at the clouds just as easily in
honors classes. There were just as
many windows.
If she ever even came back to
this school.
If she ever even got home.
Eleanor couldn’t tell her mom
about the bus situation anyway
because her mom had already said
that Eleanor didn’t have to ride the
bus. Last night, when she was
helping Eleanor unpack …
‘Richie said he’ll take you,’
her mom said. ‘It’s on his way to
work.’
‘Is he going to make me ride
in the back of his truck?’
‘He’s trying to make peace,
Eleanor. You promised that you’d
try, too.’
‘It’s easier for me to make
peace from a distance.’
‘I told him you were ready to
be part of this family.’
‘ I ’ m
already
part of this
family.
I’m
like
a
charter
member.’
‘Eleanor,’ her mom said.
‘Please.’
‘I’ll just ride the bus,’ Eleanor
had said. ‘It’s not a big deal. I’ll
meet people.’
Ha, Eleanor thought now.
Giant, dramatic ha.
Her bus was going to leave
soon. A few of the other buses
were
already
pulling
away.
Somebody ran down the steps
next to Eleanor and accidentally
kicked her bag. She pulled it out
of the way and started to say sorry
– but it was that stupid Asian kid,
and he frowned when he saw that
it was her. She frowned right back
at him, and he ran ahead.
Oh, fine
, Eleanor thought.
The
children of hell shan’t go hungry
on my watch
.
CHAPTER 3
Park
She didn’t talk to him on the ride
home.
Park had spent all day trying to
think of how to get away from the
new girl. He’d have to switch
seats. That was the only answer.
But switch to what seat? He didn’t
want
to
force
himself
on
somebody else. And even the act
of switching seats would catch
Steve’s attention.
Park had expected Steve to
start in on him as soon he let the
girl sit down, but Steve had gone
right back to talking about kung fu
again. Park, by the way, knew
plenty about kung fu. Because his
dad was obsessed with martial
arts, not because his mom was
Korean. Park and his little brother,
Josh, had been taking taekwando
since they could walk.
Switch seats,
how
…?
He could probably find a seat
up front with the freshmen, but
that would be a spectacular show
of weakness. And he almost hated
to think about leaving the weird
new girl at the back of the bus by
herself.
He hated himself for thinking
like this.
If his dad knew he was
thinking like this, he’d call Park a
pussy. Out loud, for once. If his
grandma knew, she’d smack him
on the back of the head. ‘Where
are you manners?’ she’d say. ‘Is
that any way to treat somebody
who’s down on her luck?’
But Park didn’t have any luck
– or status – to spare on that dumb
redhead. He had just enough to
keep himself out of trouble. And
he knew it was crappy, but he was
kind of grateful that people like
that girl existed. Because people
like Steve and Mikey and Tina
existed, too, and they needed to be
fed. If it wasn’t that redhead, it
was going to be somebody else.
And if it wasn’t somebody else, it
was going to be Park.
Steve had let it go this
morning, but he wouldn’t keep
letting it go …
Park could hear his grandma
again. ‘Seriously, son, you’re
giving yourself a stomach ache
because you did something nice
while
other
people
were
watching?’
It wasn’t even that nice, Park
thought. He’d let the girl sit down,
but he’d sworn at her. When she
showed up in his English class
that afternoon, it felt like she was
there to haunt him …
‘Eleanor,’ Mr Stessman said.
‘What a powerful name. It’s a
queen’s name, you know.’
‘It’s the name of the fat
Chipette,’ somebody behind Park
whispered.
Somebody
else
laughed.
Mr Stessman gestured to an
empty desk up front.
‘We’re reading poetry today,
Eleanor,’
Mr
Stessman
said.
‘Dickinson. Perhaps you’d like to
get us started.’
Mr Stessman opened her book
to the right page and pointed. ‘Go
ahead,’ he said, ‘clear and loud.
I’ll tell you when to stop.’
The new girl looked at Mr
Stessman like she hoped he was
kidding. When it was clear that he
wasn’t – he almost never was –
she started to read.
‘I had been hungry all the
years,’ she read. A few kids
laughed. Jesus, Park thought, only
Mr Stessman would make a
chubby girl read a poem about
eating on her first day of class.
‘Carry
on,
Eleanor,’
Mr
Stessman said.
She started over, which Park
thought was a terrible idea.
‘I had been hungry all the
years,’ she said, louder this time.
‘My noon had come, to dine,
‘I, trembling, drew the table
near,
‘And touched the curious
wine.
‘T’was this on tables I had
seen,
‘When turning, hungry, lone,
‘I looked in windows, for the
wealth
‘I could not hope to own.’
Mr Stessman didn’t stop her,
so she read the whole poem in that
cool, defiant voice. The same
voice she’d used on Tina.
‘That was wonderful,’ Mr
Stessman said when she was
done. He was beaming. ‘Just
wonderful. I hope you’ll stay with
us, Eleanor, at least until we do
Medea
. That’s a voice that arrives
on a chariot drawn by dragons.’
When the girl showed up in
history, Mr Sanderhoff didn’t
make a scene. But he did say, ‘Ah.
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine,’
when she handed him her
paperwork. She sat down a few
rows ahead of Park and, as far as
he could tell, spent the whole
period staring at the sun.
Park couldn’t think of a way
to get rid of her on the bus. Or a
way to get rid of himself. So he
put his headphones on before the
girl sat down and turned the
volume all the way up.
Thank God she didn’t try to
talk to him.
CHAPTER 4
Eleanor
She got home that afternoon
before all the little kids, which
was good because she wasn’t
ready to see them again. It had
been such a freak show when
she’d walked in last night …
Eleanor had spent so much
time thinking about what it would
be like to finally come home and
how much she missed everybody
– she thought they’d throw her a
ticker-tape parade. She thought it
would be a big hugfest.
But when Eleanor walked in
the house, it was like her siblings
didn’t recognize her.
Ben just glanced at her, and
Maisie – Maisie was sitting on
Richie’s lap. Which would have
made Eleanor throw right up if
she hadn’t just promised her mom
that she’d be on her best behavior
for the rest of her life.
Only Mouse ran to hug
Eleanor. She picked him up
gratefully. He was five now, and
heavy.
‘Hey, Mouse,’ she said. They’d
called him that since he was a
baby, she couldn’t remember why.
He reminded her more of a big,
sloppy puppy – always excited,
always trying to jump into your
lap.
‘Look, Dad, it’s Eleanor,’
Mouse said, jumping down. ‘Do
you know Eleanor?’
Richie pretended not to hear.
Maisie watched and sucked her
thumb. Eleanor hadn’t seen her do
that in years. She was eight now,
but with her thumb in her mouth,
she looked just like a baby.
The baby wouldn’t remember
Eleanor at all. He’d be two …
There he was, sitting on the floor
with Ben. Ben was eleven. He
stared at the wall behind the TV.
Their mom carried the duffel
bag with Eleanor’s stuff into a
bedroom off the living room, and
Eleanor followed her. The room
was tiny, just big enough for a
dresser and some bunk beds.
Mouse ran into the room after