Read Falling (Bits and Pieces, Book 1) for Free Online

said I would do it.”
    “Yeah, I know. But, I didn’t expect you to already be working on it.”
    “I do that sometimes. Besides, I have to prove to someone that they can trust me.” He flashed a smile and sat down at his seat.
    The bell rang and Mr. Ludlow started class. I went to my desk and started reading over what he had written. It was very thorough. He had included comments that I had made when we worked on it in class. I was impressed. Maybe I could trust him enough to work as a team.
    It was a hard thing for me to do. Trusting someone with your grade in class was the equivalent to trusting your future with them. If they ruined your grade on a project or assignment, then it would hurt your overall grade, which would hurt your overall GPA, which would hurt your chances for college and your future. My future was the way out from my parents. It was all logically connected to me.
    I guess he hadn’t yet given me a specific reason to not trust him. There was something about his confidence that I couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t cockiness or smugness. It was almost like he could kill you with kindness and you wanted him to do it. Maybe it was just because he was the first person in a long time that didn’t use me for getting our projects done. Maybe I was over thinking the whole thing. Maybe not. I don’t know anymore.
    Mr. Ludlow let us self-select groups to discuss reading from last night. I always hated that. Did he not know our names yet? It’s October! Was the teacher too lazy to assign groups? Did he know that groups were really pointless and some of us did all the work while others did nothing? Did he think of the assignment that morning and didn’t get around to figuring out the whole thing? Usually, when it was ‘pick your groups’ I sat and did the work myself. Everyone picked their friends anyway. It was better that way. There was no pretense of teamwork. I didn’t have to resent the other person.
    This time, Patrick came over and sat beside me. It startled me.
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He must have seen me jump a little in my seat.
    “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting… never mind.” I shook my head.
    He read the first question from the screen at the front of the room. We discussed the questions that were posted and wrote our responses to turn in. The overachievers that we were, we got done very quickly. “So, did you get a chance to read over what I wrote earlier?”
    “Yeah. I did. It’s good.” Really good, actually. I was impressed.
    “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.” I handed it back to him. “I… I didn’t start yet. I haven’t had time. I was gonna start at lunch.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I know you’ll get it done. I trust you.” He winked. His grin was coy and playful. Suddenly, his smile disappeared. “Wait. I don’t want you spending your lunch doing it, just ‘cause I got some of it done. That’s not why I showed it to you.”
    “Oh, I know.” I shrugged my shoulder. “I just wanted to get some stuff done, so I had less to do tonight.”
    “Oh. Okay.” His smile returned. “So, you got big plans tonight?”
    “No major plans.”
    “I thought you said you needed to bail from the game before 5:00.” He looked confused. “’Cause if you don’t….”
    I quickly thought of a reason I could share that was still the truth. “Well, it’s just that I’ll have the house to myself. And, I can practice before my folks get home.”
    “Practice?” I could see his mind working trying to figure out what I was talking about.
    I had said too much. The words had come out of my mouth before I could stop them. Why did I say that? “Uh… yeah.”
    “For what?”
    I felt myself shrinking in my seat. If I could hide in a shell like a hermit crab, I would have. “Nothing.”
    “Come on. Tell me.” His voice was kind.
    “No. You’re going to laugh.” I shook my head. I could hear my mom in what I said.
    “I won’t. I swear.” His