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

goes over and plops next to Andy without even glancing in my direction. Leo slides into the seat across from me.

“Yikes, you don’t look so good,” he says.

“Gee, thanks.”

“Look, I know what she did sucked, but you know how she is. It’ll pass eventually.”

“Do you think I’m boring, too?” I ask him, serious.

Leo makes a face, the corners of his mouth pulling to one side. “I think you’re just… you. I enjoy our movie nights. I also enjoy going out and stuff, but that doesn’t make you boring. It just means you’re not the person I’m going to invite to those kinds of things. And if you’re okay with that, then I don’t see the problem.”

I throw my head and arms down onto the table, my voice muffled through my sleeves. “Ugh. Why can’t Grace be in love with someone else? I feel like Andy is the one making her think she can’t be friends with me because I’m not ‘fun’ enough, or whatever.”

When I look up, Leo is looking across the cafeteria at the table Grace is sitting at, a strange expression on his face. Then he looks down at his food. “He’s honestly the worst.”

“How did the thing go on Saturday?” I ask him.

“Not well.” Leo sighs. “I followed them, but I wasn’t about to go inside, since I probably wouldn’t be welcome anyway. So I waited outside until Grace left. Everyone was fine, but my parents weren’t too happy about me coming home so late. So I’m grounded, for who knows how long.”

“Yikes,” I reply. I wonder why Leo was so persistent about following Grace to the party. I understand that it’s a dangerous place and that he was worried she could get hurt, but to sit outside of the building for hours just to make sure she was okay… that takes dedication. I admire Leo’s loyalty, even when Grace isn’t returning it.

✽✽✽✽✽

After school, I decide to do some digging to figure out more about this Maverick guy. I remember the echo between me and Maverick about my supposed trip to Louise’s. Maverick had talked about Tony, the chef as if he knew him. If they worked together, Tony should know who Maverick is, so I need to ask him about it.

I drive to Louise’s alone, and when I pull into the parking lot there are two other cars parked out front. I enter the building and immediately Penny greets me with a smile.

“Welcome back!” I go to the bar, listening to the echoes of busy chattering, just like last time. It’s pretty empty today, except for an older couple sitting in a booth to my right. “Friends couldn’t make it this time?” Penny asks as I sit down.

I cringe a little bit at the word friends but smile back at her. “Just me today,” is all I can reply.

“Well, what can I get you to drink on this fine afternoon?” She asks.

“Cherry Coke,” I reply, smiling. I’m not sure how to go about asking if I can talk to Tony, so I just sit and look at the menu for a few minutes while Penny pours my drink. When she comes back, I order a burger, remembering to ask for chips as my side since the fries weren’t any good last time. She heads back into the kitchen to put in my order, and I catch a glimpse of the older man Penny had called Tony as the door closes.

Once she’s gone, I look around the diner, spotting a bathroom sign just past the kitchen door. I get up from my seat and walk over, then down a small hallway that leads to the back of the building. To my left are two doors marked as restrooms, and to my right is a third door with a small window on it, the kitchen on the other side. If Maverick really worked here, there will probably be plenty of echoes of him in there. Maybe if I just slip in for a second and listen, I’ll be able to hear something.

Slowly, I push on the door, checking left and right to see if anyone is nearby. As I enter the room, the echoes change from a loud stream of chattering to the sounds of pots and pans clanging, water running, and a knife hitting a cutting board repeatedly. The sounds from today are also quieter in comparison.

Then, to my right, I hear someone’s voice. “Hey, did you finish order number sixty-six?” it calls out, filling up the space of the room. It’s Maverick’s voice, from last year.

“I finished the salad, but that’s it,” another male voice replies to his echo.

“Looking for something?” the same male voice asks, except it’s not an echo. I whip around, and the older man I’d seen through the other door is standing a few feet away, staring at me. He’s big, mostly bald, and scowling at me.

“I—uhh, sorry!” I spit out. “I thought this was the bathroom!” I back up, ready to turn to head out the door. The man—Tony, I presume—points out the window of the door I’d just come through.

“Bathroom’s right there,” he says. I nod, then exit through the door, practically running across the hall to the bathroom.

When I finally get back to my seat, Penny is wiping down the table that the old couple had been sitting at earlier. I take a deep breath and sip on my Coke, my heart rate slowly returning to normal. A few minutes later, the door of the kitchen opens up, and Tony comes out holding a plate with a burger and a bag of chips on it. He sets it down in front of me while I try to avoid his gaze, then puts his hands on the edge of the bar, looking at me pointedly.

“Alright, sweetie. Now you and I both know that the