Cellular (7 page)
Her words come back to me.
It's
about how you want to live, with whatever
time you've got.
How
do
I want to live?
I know what Lark would say. You live like you dance. Like you play basketball. Like you taste butterscotch pudding.
But I can't, I think. Not without her.
Then I hear her voice again.
You take
the next breath, and the next. That's
brave.
I don't feel brave. I don't feel anything except furious and empty.
But what else can I do?
It smells of the lemon tea she always drank. It smells of her peppermint shampoo. I stuff it in my bag. I place Lottie back on the pillow. Tuck her in. Then I pull down one of the purple scarves. Her parents won't mind. It's just one. I crush it to my face.
I close the door behind me.
I turn and go, down the hall, down the elevator. I step outside. Sunshine falls on my face. I pause, letting it soak in. Over my bald head I tug the baseball cap my teammates gave me.
I hear the hum of traffic, the
brrring
of a bicycle bell, a kid's shout of laughter from the park across the street.
I walk toward my parents' waiting car, taking deep breaths, filling my lungs with air.
The author would like to thank Sandra Diersch, James and Lynn Hill, Corinne and Dave Roth, Merri Schwartz, Amy Schwartz, Bill Schwartz and Stephen Capon.
Titles in the Series
o
rca s
o
undings
Back
Norah McClintock
Bang
Norah McClintock
Battle of the Bands
K.L. Denman
Big Guy
Robin Stevenson
Blue Moon
Marilyn Halvorson
Breathless
Pam Withers
Bull Rider
Marilyn Halvorson
Bull's Eye
Sarah N. Harvey
Cellular
Ellen Schwartz
Charmed
Carrie Mac
Chill
Colin Frizzell
Comeback
Vicki Grant
Crush
Carrie Mac
The Darwin Expedition
Diane Tullson
Dead-End Job
Vicki Grant
Death Wind
William Bell
Down
Norah McClintock
Exit Point
Laura Langston
Exposure
Patricia Murdoch
Fastback Beach
Shirlee Smith Matheson
First Time
Meg Tilly
Grind
Eric Walters
Hannah's Touch
Laura Langston
The Hemingway Tradition
Kristin Butcher
Hit Squad
James Heneghan
Home Invasion
Monique Polak
House Party
Eric Walters
I.D.
Vicki Grant
Impact
James C. Dekker
In the Woods
Robin Stevenson
Jacked
Carrie Mac
Juice
Eric Walters
Kicked Out
Beth Goobie
Knifepoint
Alex Van Tol
Learning to Fly
Paul Yee
Lockdown
Diane Tullson
Masked
Norah McClintock
Middle Row
Sylvia Olsen
My Time as Caz Hazard
Tanya Lloyd Kyi
No More Pranks
Monique Polak
No Problem
Dayle Campbell Gaetz
One More Step
Sheree Fitch
Overdrive
Eric Walters
Pain & Wastings
Carrie Mac
Picture This
Norah McClintock
Plastic
Sarah N. Harvey
Reaction
Lesley Choyce
Refuge Cove
Lesley Choyce
Responsible
Darlene Ryan
Riley Park
Diane Tullson
Rock Star
Adrian Chamberlain
Running the Risk
Lesley Choyce
Saving Grace
Darlene Ryan
Scum
James C. Dekker
Sea Change
Diane Tullson
Snitch
Norah McClintock
Something Girl
Beth Goobie
Spiral
K.L. Denman
Sticks and Stones
Beth Goobie
Stuffed
Eric Walters
Tell
Norah McClintock
Thunderbowl
Lesley Choyce
Tough Trails
Irene Morck
The Trouble with Liberty
Kristin Butcher
Truth
Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Wave Warrior
Lesley Choyce
Who Owns Kelly Paddik?
Beth Goobie
Yellow Line
Sylvia Olsen
Zee's Way
Kristin Butcher
o
rca s
o
undings
For more information on all the books
in the Orca Soundings series, please visit
www.orcabook.com
.