When I started the eleventh grade in August 2016, I was still grieving over Millie. One day, I had a talk with the guidance counselor at my school. I told her, "If I had known Millie was going to die, I would have been thêm patient with her. There were times I Mất tích my temper with her and just lashed out at her." The guidance counselor put her hand on my shoulder. She said, "Autumn, that's not what Millie remembers. In fact, she told me about all the times bạn and Glenn stood up to bullies for her." I felt better after that talk. I later met Glenn in the hall, and we walked to the lunchroom together. He asked, "How did your talk with the guidance counselor go?" I said, "It went very well." Glenn thought for a moment. Because I was so upset over Millie's death, I almost picked the habit of self-harm back up. Glenn said, "Let me ask bạn something. When bạn cut yourself, did it hurt?" I said, "Of course it hurt. Why do bạn ask?" He said, "I haven't made my point yet. Did your talk with the guidance counselor hurt?" I said, "No." He asked, "Does talking to me hurt?" I said, "No." He said, "Okay, my point is that bạn don't have to hurt yourself. bạn can talk to someone. bạn can always talk to me." I said, "Thanks, Glenn." Most of the school năm was good. I had an awesome US History teacher. She was a Beatles fan, and she made history fun. Unfortunately, there were some other bad points. Right before we went on Fall Break, a bully punched Glenn in the face. I was angry. The bully said, "I don't want to hear the bullshit of how I just hurt your best friend!" I said, "Okay, bạn son of a bitch! Why don't bạn come over here and let me hiển thị bạn what bullshit this is?!" A teacher heard me, and I was sent to the principal's office. I tried to explain the situation to the principal. The principal said, "Just go home." I did. Later, Glenn came bởi my house. He asked, "Are bạn okay?" I said, "I'm fine. Are bạn okay?" He said, "I'm fine." He had a black eye, but it got better. November, I was driving trang chủ from a friend's house, and I had a run-in with a ginormous deer. The car was totaled. Luckily, I just had a few bruises, nothing more. Plus, we had deer meat for Thanksgiving dinner. As an early giáng sinh present, my paternal grandfather gave me his old car. It didn't have very many miles on it, since he and my grandmother never went far from home. Plus, it was thêm convenient for him to get rid of it and keep the smaller car. It was usually just him and my grandmother. I also got a Les Paul for Christmas. I tình yêu playing it. Unfortunately, my paternal grandmother had been sick for a long time. I couldn't tell it at Thanksgiving, but I could really tell it at Christmas. My aunt had to do most, if not all, of the cooking. In January, shortly after her seventy-fifth birthday, my grandmother was put in the hospital, and she passed away the tiếp theo morning. I was told she went peacefully, which is what I had hoped. Shortly after that, some bullies beat me up. They beat on me and while, but they soon got bored and left. I got up and limped away. Glenn, Joann, and Leroy saw me limping down the hall, and they ran to me. "Are bạn okay?!" Joann cried. I said, "I got beat up." Leroy asked, "Who did this to you?" I told him. Glenn said, "We'll deal with the bullies later, but we'll take care of bạn first. You're hurt." My loyal Những người bạn took me to the school nurse. She đã đưa ý kiến that I was okay, but there was a possibility that my shin was broken. I was taken to the hospital for an x-ray, and nothing was broken, except my glasses. I did have a spare, though. Leroy later beat the bullies up. He was going to be expelled, along with the bullies, but our history teacher stepped in and said, "Leroy was defending his friend." He was suspended instead. My bruises healed, and all was well again. The remainder of the năm was really good.
Some time later, Una and Everett were settled in a cozy small cafe eating sandwiches and sipping quả bí ngô, bí ngô spice lattes while foil cutouts of cute ghosts and pumpkins hung from the walls around them.
"Thanks again, Una," Everett đã đưa ý kiến after a time. "I just... I don't like small spaces very much."
Una smiled at him and reached across the bàn to touch his hand. "Hey, bạn saved my life once. It's time I saved yours."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, enjoying this much calmer stage of their Halloween celebrations. Una was first to break it.
"I can't believe we solved a real mystery! I can't wait to go trang chủ and tell Mother what the secret of the haunted house is."
"Yes," Everett smiled at her. "The secret is my talented actress and her ghost impression."
Una beamed.
"Thanks again, Una," Everett đã đưa ý kiến after a time. "I just... I don't like small spaces very much."
Una smiled at him and reached across the bàn to touch his hand. "Hey, bạn saved my life once. It's time I saved yours."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, enjoying this much calmer stage of their Halloween celebrations. Una was first to break it.
"I can't believe we solved a real mystery! I can't wait to go trang chủ and tell Mother what the secret of the haunted house is."
"Yes," Everett smiled at her. "The secret is my talented actress and her ghost impression."
Una beamed.
"What lead bạn to the club where bạn first saw us, Henry?" Les asked. Henry replied, "One of my neighbors told me that a rock band called A Wave Tossed in the Ocean was going to perform at the club that had opened the trước đó week. I thought that the name sounded interesting, so I asked him what kind of rock music, and he said, 'I think it's stuff from the sixties and seventies.' I was eager to hear the songs from my youth. When I saw bạn perform, I knew bạn were the right fit. Of course, bạn know how we met backstage." Jimmy said, "And the rest is history." Everyone laughed. "Yes," Henry said. "The rest is history." Just then, Felix looked at his cellphone and said, "It's 10:00, guys." Henry said, "We better go to bed. We've got a big ngày tomorrow." The boys all said, "Okay. Good night, Henry." Henry smiled and said, "Good night, boys. Pleasant dreams." With that, they retired to their beds for the night.
THE END
THE END