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Show Inside Out, 60 Chapter 14: Terra At lunch, Terra headed to the back hallway by the gym to join her new friends. Yes, they were getting to be friends. She liked them, especially Martina. She liked the silences between them, the way people just let each other be. But when she came around the corner, she saw Simon there with them, passing around a bottle. They didn't see her, so she jumped back before they looked up. Why did Simon have to hang with them? There was something evil about that guy. And Terra really didn't want to get involved with the alcohol. Did she have to do that stuff in order to hang with these people? And if they were drinking, did she even want to hang with them? Not today. So she didn't have anywhere else to go. She finally wandered out to the bleachers and ate her tuna sandwich there, even though it was freezing outside. That morning she had poured off the oil from the tuna into a bowl for Atticus. He had licked and licked until he had exhausted himself. She had left him snoozing in a patch of sunlight on the couch. In English, she read her poem about Bear Lake to the class. Her voice shook as she read, and that was embarrassing. But she knew she didn't have to be embarrassed about her poem. It was good. After class, she had Mrs. O sign her application for the Young Writer's Academy. "You're a gifted writer, Terra," she said. "I think you have an excellent chance of getting our school's slot." The words sent a thrill through Terra, and she felt like a can of pop that had been shaken. What would happen if someone opened the can? |