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‘I’m not cool,’ he said ‘You’re cool’

‘Ha,’ she said ‘I wish I were drinking milk, and I wish you were here, so that you could watch it shoot outme?’ he said ‘You’re Dirty Harry’

‘I’m dirty hairy?’

‘Like Clint Eastwood, you know?’

‘No’

‘You don’t care what anyone thinks about you,’ he said

‘That’s crazy,’ she said ‘I care what everyone thinks about me’

‘I can’t tell,’ he said ‘You just seerandmother would say you’re comfortable in your own skin’

‘Why would she say that?’

‘Because that’s how she talks’

‘I’m stuck inaboutabout you’

‘I’d rather talk about you,’ he said His voice dropped a little It was nice to hear just his voice and nothing else (Nothing besides Fraggle Rock in the next room) His voice was deeper than she’d ever realized, but sort of warm in the , obviously And not with a British accent

‘Where did you come from?’ he asked

‘The future’

Park

Eleanor had an answer for everything – but she still ed to evade most of Park’s questions

She wouldn’t talk about her fa that happened before shethat happened after she got off the bus

When her sort-of stepbrother fell asleep around nine, she asked Park to call her back in fifteen minutes, so she could put the kid to bed

Park hurried to the bathroom and hoped that he wouldn’t run into either of his parents So far they were leaving hiht ed into pajama pants and a Tshirt

He called her back

‘It so hasn’t been fifteen minutes,’ she said

‘I couldn’t wait Do you want me to call you back?’

‘No’ Her voice was even softer now

‘Did he stay asleep?’

‘Yeah,’ she said

‘Where are you now?’

‘Like, where in the house?’

‘Yeah, where’

‘Why?’ she asked, with so about you,’ he said, exasperated

‘So?’

‘Because I want to feel like I’ so hard?’

‘Probably because I’ on the floor in the living room,’

she said faintly ‘In front of the stereo’

‘In the dark? It sounds dark’

‘In the dark, yeah’

He lay back on his bed again and covered his eyes with his arhts on a stereo Street lights through aHe iht in the rooround

‘Yeah, I think it’sit over and over again It’s nice not to have to worry about batteries’

‘What’s your favorite part?’

‘Of the song?’

‘Yeah’

‘All of it,’ she said, ‘especially the chorus – I uess it’s the chorus’

‘I’

‘Yeah …’ she said, softly

He kept singing then Because he wasn’t sure what to say next

Eleanor

‘Eleanor?’ Park said

She didn’t answer

‘Are you there?’

She was so out of it, she actually nodded her head ‘Yes,’ she said out loud, catching herself

‘What are you thinking?’

‘I’’

‘Not thinking in a good way? Or a bad way?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said She rolled over onto her stomach, and pressed her face into the carpet

‘Both’

He was quiet She listened to him breathe

She wanted to ask him to hold the phone closer to his ht here’

‘I wish you were here Or that I was there I wish that there was so each other Like, really seeing each other Of being alone, together’

‘Why can’t there be?’ he asked

She laughed That’s when she realized she was crying

‘Eleanor …’

‘Stop Don’t say my name like that It only ,’ she said

He was quiet

She sat up and wiped her nose on her sleeve

‘Do you have a nickname?’ he asked That was one of his tricks, whenever she was put off or irritated – changing the subject in the sweetest way possible

‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘Eleanor’

‘Not Nora? Or Ella? Or … Lena, you could be Lena Or Lenny or Elle …’

‘Are you trying to give me a nickname?’

‘No, I love your nale syllable’

‘You’re such a dork’ She wiped her eyes

‘Eleanor …’ he said, ‘why can’t we see each other?’

‘God,’ she said, ‘don’t I’d al’

‘Tell me Talk to me’

‘ Because,’ she said, ‘because my stepdad would kill me’

‘Why does he care?’