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Annette stayed et to her

That feeling she used to have when she was sitting next to Park on the bus – that feeling that she was on base, that she was safe for the moment – she could summon it now Like a force field Like she was the Invisible Girl

That would make Park Mr Fantastic

CHAPTER 18

Eleanor

Herto let her babysit

‘He has four children,’ her h for tortillas ‘Did he forget that?

Eleanor had stupidly told her mother about her dad’s phone call in front of her brothers and sister – they’d all gotten really excited And then Eleanor had to tell the, anyway, and that Dad wasn’t even going to be there

Mouse had started to cry, and Maisie got mad and stormed out Ben asked Eleanor if she’d call Dad back to see if he could co to help

‘Tell him I babysit all the time,’ Ben said

‘Your father is a piece of work,’ her mother said ‘Every time, he breaks your hearts And every time, he expects me to pick up the pieces’

Pick up, sweep aside – saue

‘Please let o?’ her mom asked

‘Why do you even care about him? He’s never cared about you’

God Even if it were true, it still hurt to hear it that way

‘I don’t care,’ Eleanor said ‘I just need to get out of here I haven’t been anywhere but school in two months Plus, he said he’d payaround, maybe he should pay his child support’

‘Mohed ‘Fine I’ll talk to Richie’

‘No Don’t talk to Richie He’ll just say no

And, anyway, he can’t tell me that I can’t see my father’

‘Richie is the head of this household,’ her mom said ‘Richie is the one who puts food on our table’

What food? Eleanor wanted to ask And, for that matter, what table? They ate on the couch or on the floor or sitting on the back steps holding paper plates Besides, Richie would say no just for the pleasure of saying it It wouldof Spain Which was probably why her ive him the chance

‘Moainst the refrigerator ‘ Please’

‘Oh, fine,’ her ives you any money, you can split it with your brothers and sister That’s the least you can do’

They could have it all All Eleanor wanted was the chance to talk to Park on the phone To be able to talk to hi

The nextthe inside of her bracelet, Eleanor asked hi

‘Why is that funny?’ she asked

‘Because,’ he said quietly They said everything quietly, even though everyone else on the bus roared, even though you’d have to shout into aand idiocy ‘I feel like you’re hitting on me,’ he said

‘Maybe I shouldn’t ask for your number,’ she said ‘You’ve never asked for ured you weren’t allowed to talk on the phone … after that time with your stepdad’

‘I probably wouldn’t be, if I had a phone’

She usually tried not to tell Park things like that

Like, all the things she didn’t have She waited for hi the veins in her wrist

‘Then why do you want ht, never ive it to ot a pen out of his backpack, then reached over and took one of her books

‘No,’ she whispered, ‘don’t I don’t want my mom to see it’

He frowned at her book ‘I’d think you’d bethis’

Eleanor looked down Crap Whoever wrote that gross thing on her geography book had written on her history book, too

‘suck rabbed Park’s pen and started scribbling it out

‘Why would you write that?’ he asked ‘Is that a song?’

‘I didn’t write it,’ she said She could feel patches of red creep up her neck

‘Then who did?’

She gave him the meanest look she was cap-able of (It was hard to look at hiooey eyes)

‘I don’t know,’ she said

‘Why would anyone write that?’

‘I don’t know’ She pulled her books against her chest and wrapped her arnored him and looked out theShe couldn’t believe she’d let hi to let him see her crazy life a little bit at a time … So, yeah, I have a terrible stepdad, and I don’t have a phone, and sometimes e’re out of dish soap I washto reirl She ive him an alphabetical list of all the names they called her

A – Ass, Fat

B – Bitch, Red-Headed

He’d probably try to ask her why she was that girl

‘Hey,’ he said

She shook her head

It wouldn’t do any good to tell hiirl at her old school Yeah, she’d been made fun of before There were always irls – but she’d had friends at her old school She’d had people to eat lunch with and pass notes to People used to pick her to be on their teaht she was nice and funny

‘Eleanor …’ he said

But there was no one like Park at her old school

There was no one like Park anywhere

‘What,’ she said to the

‘How’re you going to callto call you?’ She hugged her books

He leaned against her, pressing his shoulder into hers

‘Don’t be‘It ht’

‘I’m not’

‘You ainst his and s at ht,’ she said, ‘and he said I could use the phone’

Park turned his face eagerly It was painfully close to hers She could kiss him – or head-butt him – before he’d ever have a chance to pull away ‘Yeah?’ he asked

‘Yeah’

‘ Yeah,’ he said, s ‘But you won’t let me write down my number?’