Echoes by Marissa Lete (best books for students to read txt) 📕

like a train. The deep thumping of the music and voices of people trying to talk to each other over the music fills my ears in a way the echoes of the past never have. It’s loud. Today, right here, right now loud. So loud that it drowns out the possibility of me ever being able to distinguish what sounds are from today and which ones are from the past.

“The best part about these school dances,” Leo practically has to yell over to me, “is that everyone is so caught up trying to keep track of their crush, or their ex or whoever, that no one actually eats the food. So we can pretty much eat whatever we want.”

I smile at his comment, still trying to decide if I’m okay with this new level of noise or if I despise it. I follow him to the food table, watching as he piles the appetizers on a tiny plate. As we stand off to the side, munching on our food, more and more people pile into the room, costumes and bodies pressed tighter and tighter together. I search the room for Grace, but I don’t see a trace of her. I don’t see Andy, either, and I’m starting to wonder if she has a reason other than the poofy dress to be late when Leo takes the plate out of my hands, drops it in the trash, and grabs my arm.

“This is my jam, come on, you’ve got to dance to this one.” A new song has just started, and I can see people on the dance floor cheering at the DJ.

I resist, backing further away from the crowd. “No, I can’t. I don’t even know how to!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Leo replies, voice loud above the music.

“But I—” I try to protest, but another hand grabs my other arm.

“Just one song?” Grace asks from beside me. I sigh, both relieved that she’s finally here and sad because I know there’s no point in trying to argue when it’s two against one.

“I thought you’d never show,” I comment as she drags me into the crowd behind Leo. In the dim lights, I can barely recognize the wedding dress she bought from the thrift store. She has cut the shoulders out, torn it in places, and shortened it so that strips of cloth only hang down to her knees. She’s added a short veil and done her hair in such a way that it looks both frazzled and perfectly placed all at once. It suits her perfectly.

We make our way into the center of the crowd, pushing past warm bodies and big costumes. Some of the faces are recognizable, and others are so heavily covered in makeup that you’d never know who is underneath. Grace and Leo immediately start bouncing to the beat of the music, moving with the deep, vibrating bass, blending in with the crowd. I stand there, watching, unsure of what to do.

“Come on!” Grace calls over the music.

“I don’t know how!” I call back.

“Just move!” she replies.

So I do, starting with a little bit of head nodding and foot tapping. And then, slowly, I start to loosen up, more and more of my body moving with the music. The volume of the music and the crowded room makes me feel trapped, and I can’t hear myself think over the sound. But as the songs beat by, I start to embrace the feel of it. The stifling noise becomes a welcome distraction from all of the crazy occurrences lately, and I lose myself in the music.

I’m not sure how much time has passed before I realize that neither Grace nor Leo is nearby anymore. I snap out of the strange trance the music has put me in, straining my neck to see through the crowd. From the corner of my eye, I see Leo standing by the food table and start to make my way toward him.

“Woah. Where did you guys even go?” I ask him.

“Take a look for yourself,” Leo replies, a twinge of bitterness in his voice as he points across the room.

It takes me a second to find Grace, still amid the crowd, thumping to the music. Two hands are on her waist, and a tall figure is behind her. Just then, she turns to face him and I watch as Andy leans in, kissing her on the mouth.

I turn back to Leo. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“They’ve been doing that for a while now,” Leo says.

I sigh. “Guess it was bound to happen eventually.”

“I guess,” Leo replies, disappointed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the reason she didn’t show up earlier.”

Anger flashes through me, then, as I think about Grace hanging out with Andy all day, completely forgetting about Leo and me. Not even bothering to let us know where she was until right before the dance.

“Hey, Laura, can I talk to you for a second?” Grace comes up beside me a few minutes later, flashing a grin.

“Yeah, I think that would be good,” I reply, not even bothering to try and hide my irritation.

Grace doesn’t seem to notice, just grabs my arm and pulls me over to the back door of the gym, stepping outside into the bus parking lot behind the school. Leo trails behind us. The brisk air hits my warm, sweating body and sends chills down my spine. I fear that a small breeze might give me hypothermia. As soon as the door closes behind us, it’s like I’ve put earplugs in. All that’s left is the distant thrum of the bass vibrating through the dark.

“Look, I need you to do me a solid,” she says. When she finally looks at me, her expression shifts from excited to concerned. “Everything okay?”

I hold in an outburst, barely. “What’s going on in there?” She looks confused