Read The Survival Kit for Free Online

has a green thumb, that kid, just like your mom,” he said. I was about to go to my room when Dad called after me, “I’m glad, Rose.”

    I stopped and turned, curious what he meant. “Glad about what?”
    “That you’re going to plant some flowers. It would make Mom happy. It makes me happy, I can say that much,” he said, and disappeared again behind a letter.

7
    NICE GUY
    The moment the bell rang to end school the following Thursday, I was on my way to the parking lot. Dad’s suggestion that I ask Will for help had been rattling around in my mind since the weekend. Originally I had planned to do it on Monday, and then on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday, too, but I soon found out that approaching quiet, shy, stoic, and maybe a little intimidating Will wasn’t an easy prospect. He never showed any emotion or betrayed what he was thinking, and for some reason I couldn’t bear the thought of his eyes on me, like he might immediately know my secrets without having to ask. Each time I geared up to approach him, rehearsing my opening words in my head, the moment I saw him I did a one-eighty and hurried in the other direction, and I’m pretty sure he noticed me do this at least once. But then I reminded myself: Will was just the landscaping guy, someone I saw every day at my house, not a clairvoyant or a magician, and I truly doubted he would be mean to me.
    “Where are you rushing off to?” Krupa asked as I flew by our locker.

    If I stopped to talk to her I would lose my courage so I kept on going. “Tell you later,” I yelled over my shoulder. I went over the plan in my head: Will would be paid extra for helping me, the money tacked on to what he made each week, since I didn’t want Will to feel like I was asking for favors. When I reached the end of the hall I shifted my body into the metal bar across the exit door and soon I was outside in the sun. People rushed by on their way home or hung out in groups, loitering on the lawn, enjoying the nice day. A few gave me a small wave but no one stopped to talk. I cupped a hand over my eyes, searching the grounds, but still no Will.
    Maybe I would find him at his truck.
    I took the shortcut to the parking lot and skidded my way down a steep grassy bank and onto the pavement, sliding sideways between cars so close together they almost touched. People were sitting on their bumpers in groups, talking and laughing. Kecia Alli was putting a bag into her trunk, already dressed for cheerleading practice—and I made a quick left at an SUV and headed down another row. The noise of football practice reached out to me and I thought of Chris. Would he care that I was going to ask another guy for help instead of him?
    Right when I was about to give up, I saw the Doniger Landscaping truck, gray and battered and towering over the little four-doors parked nearby, and I made my way there. I leaned against the driver’s side door to wait, the metal burning hot through my T-shirt. Occasionally I glanced around to see if Will
was anywhere in the vicinity, and eventually he was. Through the windows I watched him say goodbye to a few other guys, and when he came around the front of the cab he halted, surprised to see me I think.
    “Hi, Will,” I said.
    “Hey. What can I do for you?” he asked, straight to the point, as if he already assumed my reason for being there could only be business-related.
    The lack of small talk threw me off but I could be all business, too. “Um. Well. I guess I sort of have to figure out how to plant something in our yard that’s supposed to grow in the spring. Peonies. Apparently they are kind of tricky and I don’t really know what I’m doing and it’s important—”
    “Are you asking for my help?” he interrupted.
    I swallowed, unnerved by those eyes of his. “As a matter of fact, yes. I am. I’d like your help.”
    “Sure.” He looked at his watch and a sliver of white flashed along its side where his skin hadn’t tanned. “How about