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

stand, so I follow it, moving in the direction of the woods at the edge of my backyard.

“Hold up, strange guy? I thought you would at least consider me an acquaintance by now,” comes Maverick’s reply.

My echo laughs. “Fun fact. Your status actually does depend on the circumstances.”

“So like, what kind of circumstances, exactly?” I can almost hear the eyebrow raise in his sentence.

“Hmm. Well, for starters, the time of day. I’m technically supposed to be in bed, so I had to bump you down a bit for rule-breaking.”

“Noted. What else?”

“I guess the location can change things, too. Because right now it looks like you’re leading me into the woods so you can murder me.”

“Wow, I didn’t think this through, did I?” Our echoes join in laughter at the comment. A few beats of silence pass and I continue walking in the direction the echoes had been headed, listening. A breeze drifts past, rustling the tree branches above and I shiver, pulling the coat tighter around myself.

I’m beginning to think I’ve lost track of the echo when a few feet away, Maverick’s voice appears again. “So if we stop here, does that move me up on the list?”

I walk toward the sound, listening as my echo says, “Not really. You’re still at strange guy, but you’ve dropped the risk of falling to ax murderer.”

Another gust of wind blows through the trees, but Maverick’s voice is easy to pick out, its low pitch standing out against the rustling of the leaves. “Okay, okay. So how can I move up on the list?”

My reply comes a beat later. “Well, you did bring me a jacket to stay warm, so you get points for that. But my hands are freezing.”

Another few seconds pass. “Does this help?”

“See, now I’m just confused. Because you were just at strange guy, but holding hands is definitely creeping into boyfriend territory.” I feel my heart flutter a bit at the thought of holding hands and boyfriends, but it just leaves me longing to remember this moment. To remember Maverick.

“Oh snap. Laura just used the b-word. Who are you?” Maverick gasps.

“Whatever. Just tell me why you brought me out here!”

“What, I can’t just surprise my girlfriend with a scandalous stargazing session whenever I want?” I hear my echo laugh, then Maverick adds, “Also, there happens to be a meteor shower tonight.”

“Seriously?” my echo replies, and I look up at the sky. It’s cloudy tonight, but there’s a gap in the trees right above where I stand that would be perfect for stargazing on a clear night.

“Seriously. Of course, we’ll be lucky if we see two or three. The peak isn’t supposed to happen until two or three, but assuming you want to go to school tomorrow, you’ll probably want to go back to bed a lot sooner.”

“Oh, okay,” my echo replies but doesn’t sound too terribly disappointed.

“Really it just made for a good excuse to get you out here with me.”

“I think that actually bumps you back down to strange guy,” my echo teases.

Maverick laughs, a low, gentle sound. “Alright, we need to watch, because we could only have so many chances to see one.” At that, there’s a rustling sound in the grass. Us laying down?

A long silence stretches into the night and I stare up at the sky, waiting to hear the continuation of the echo. It seems like such a sweet, romantic gesture, an interesting addition to the playful flirting from a few days ago. I wonder what, if anything, had happened between now and then.

“Look!” my echo exclaims, though there’s nothing but clouds for me to look at in the present. “Did you see that?”

“I did! Hurry, make a wish.”

There’s a brief silence, and I close my eyes. I wish I remembered this moment. I wish I knew what happened to you.

“What’d you wish for?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” my echo counters.

“I would, actually.”

“I can’t tell you, or it won’t come true.”

“That’s totally a myth,” Maverick fires back.

“Maybe. But I’d rather not take any chances,” my echo insists.

“So what if I guess what you wished for, and you just tell me if I guess it right? Because technically then you’re not telling me,” Maverick suggests.

“Hmm. It’s risky, but I guess you can try if you want,” comes my reply.

“Challenge accepted. Okay, so what would Laura Jones wish for? Let me think,” Maverick pauses. “I know. A scoop of cookie dough ice cream, on a waffle cone.”

I shiver, partially because of the cold and partially because I remember the worker at Coffee and Cream knowing the exact same order Maverick just recited. It is my favorite. “Really good guess, but no.”

“An endless supply of French fries?”

“Why do you think I would want that?”

“Have you seen yourself around a plate of French fries?” He chuckles. “You’re pretty ravenous, actually. And you get territorial about them, too. Anyone who takes one—or even thinks about taking one—gets this horrifying glare.”

“Oh my gosh, stop it!” Both of us laugh, and I imagine the moment, laying on the grass next to a guy, joking around. It just seems so… normal. I envy my echo, wishing I could feel that normality right now.

“It’s super cute, honestly,” he says.

“Whatever,” the word comes out muffled as if my face is buried in my hands.

A minute later, Maverick speaks again. “Alright, I have one final guess, and then I give up.”

“Better think carefully, then.”

There’s a long silence, and the wind sifts through the trees again, gentler this time. I look up, watching the dark shadows of the leaves moving.

“That’s my final answer,” Maverick finally says. I frown, feeling like I’m missing part of the conversation.

“You might be right,” my echo replies, barely above a whisper.