even reached them and momentum took him the rest of the
way. He saw the news van coming up behind him, swerving hard to pass a car
that had stopped short in the middle of the crosswalk. Brent reached out one
hand and pushed Jill, as gently as he could, backward, back onto the sidewalk.
Dana was just about to fall.
He wasted a
fraction of a second thinking about the best way to grab her, the way that
wouldn’t involve touching her anywhere inappropriate. Then, one hand scooping
low under her stomach, the other wrapping around her shoulders, he picked her up
and then kicked hard to launch them both across the street, toward a patch of
green grass that looked like it would soften the impact.
The news van
hit him in the shoulder, hard enough to make him see stars. He twisted around
to take the impact across his back, protecting Dana as the van’s grille buckled
under his weight. The blow knocked him sideways, but only a little, and then
he was falling, rolling, and time sped up again, became a blur—
Then he was
sliding on his back across the grass, Dana on top of him as if she were riding
a sled. They came to a stop just like that, with her lying full length on top
of him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
He was a
fifteen year old boy so he noticed at once how soft her body was, how perfectly
she fit into his arms. He was also Brent Gill so the thought embarrassed him
enough to make him blush.
“How’s my
hair?” Dana whispered. It was the first thing she’d ever said to him.
“It’s
beautiful,” he said, honestly. Then he looked over her shoulder and saw a
portable video camera staring back at him. He tried to smile. Then he tried
to sit up, thinking he would gently roll out from under Dana and get back on
his feet.
Instead she
clutched him hard. He could feel her shaking and he realized she must be terrified—she
could have been killed back there.
“It’s okay,”
he said. “You’re safe now.” There were reporters everywhere, and people with
cell phone cameras, and a man carrying a garden hose—Brent thought it
must be his lawn they’d landed on. It was all happening so fast. He saw Jill
come running up, and Lucy pushing her way through the crowd, her eyes wide.
Slowly,
carefully, he lifted Dana off of him and set her down in the grass. She was
breathing very hard, almost hyperventilating.
The reporters
all started talking at once. “Brent! Brent! Do you have some kind of super
senses, that let you know when danger is near? Brent! How does it feel to
save a pretty girl? Is she your girlfriend? Does Brent have a girlfriend? Is
she going to kiss him anyway? Mr. Gill—could you just look this way and
give us a thumb’s up?”
“Get back!”
Lucy shouted. “Let him breathe!” Then she grabbed the garden hose and put her
thumb over the end so she could spray any reporters who got too close. Soon
she’d cleared a circle maybe twelve feet wide around Brent and Dana. “Get
back, all of you! Give him some room!”
Brent got to
his feet and brushed off his clothes. He was covered in blades of freshly mown
grass. He looked down and saw Dana still sitting there, hugging herself. He
reached down and gave her a hand up.
“I don’t have
a date for homecoming yet,” she blurted out.
He opened his
mouth but he had no idea what to say in reply.
Chapter 23.
Back at home
Brent and Lucy hid out in his room, with the blinds down and the door locked.
Despite the court order that was supposed to keep reporters away from his house
there were people all over his lawn, some of them with cameras, some just
holding notepads and pens, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for him to
come down and tell them how he felt about saving people.
He’d already
learned they didn’t want to know how he really felt. They wanted him to say something like, “All in a day’s work!”
or “Anybody would have done the same.” They didn’t want to hear that he was
struggling to get his homework done or
way. He saw the news van coming up behind him, swerving hard to pass a car
that had stopped short in the middle of the crosswalk. Brent reached out one
hand and pushed Jill, as gently as he could, backward, back onto the sidewalk.
Dana was just about to fall.
He wasted a
fraction of a second thinking about the best way to grab her, the way that
wouldn’t involve touching her anywhere inappropriate. Then, one hand scooping
low under her stomach, the other wrapping around her shoulders, he picked her up
and then kicked hard to launch them both across the street, toward a patch of
green grass that looked like it would soften the impact.
The news van
hit him in the shoulder, hard enough to make him see stars. He twisted around
to take the impact across his back, protecting Dana as the van’s grille buckled
under his weight. The blow knocked him sideways, but only a little, and then
he was falling, rolling, and time sped up again, became a blur—
Then he was
sliding on his back across the grass, Dana on top of him as if she were riding
a sled. They came to a stop just like that, with her lying full length on top
of him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
He was a
fifteen year old boy so he noticed at once how soft her body was, how perfectly
she fit into his arms. He was also Brent Gill so the thought embarrassed him
enough to make him blush.
“How’s my
hair?” Dana whispered. It was the first thing she’d ever said to him.
“It’s
beautiful,” he said, honestly. Then he looked over her shoulder and saw a
portable video camera staring back at him. He tried to smile. Then he tried
to sit up, thinking he would gently roll out from under Dana and get back on
his feet.
Instead she
clutched him hard. He could feel her shaking and he realized she must be terrified—she
could have been killed back there.
“It’s okay,”
he said. “You’re safe now.” There were reporters everywhere, and people with
cell phone cameras, and a man carrying a garden hose—Brent thought it
must be his lawn they’d landed on. It was all happening so fast. He saw Jill
come running up, and Lucy pushing her way through the crowd, her eyes wide.
Slowly,
carefully, he lifted Dana off of him and set her down in the grass. She was
breathing very hard, almost hyperventilating.
The reporters
all started talking at once. “Brent! Brent! Do you have some kind of super
senses, that let you know when danger is near? Brent! How does it feel to
save a pretty girl? Is she your girlfriend? Does Brent have a girlfriend? Is
she going to kiss him anyway? Mr. Gill—could you just look this way and
give us a thumb’s up?”
“Get back!”
Lucy shouted. “Let him breathe!” Then she grabbed the garden hose and put her
thumb over the end so she could spray any reporters who got too close. Soon
she’d cleared a circle maybe twelve feet wide around Brent and Dana. “Get
back, all of you! Give him some room!”
Brent got to
his feet and brushed off his clothes. He was covered in blades of freshly mown
grass. He looked down and saw Dana still sitting there, hugging herself. He
reached down and gave her a hand up.
“I don’t have
a date for homecoming yet,” she blurted out.
He opened his
mouth but he had no idea what to say in reply.
Chapter 23.
Back at home
Brent and Lucy hid out in his room, with the blinds down and the door locked.
Despite the court order that was supposed to keep reporters away from his house
there were people all over his lawn, some of them with cameras, some just
holding notepads and pens, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for him to
come down and tell them how he felt about saving people.
He’d already
learned they didn’t want to know how he really felt. They wanted him to say something like, “All in a day’s work!”
or “Anybody would have done the same.” They didn’t want to hear that he was
struggling to get his homework done or
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