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Back Anne of Greenville Save as PDF
Chapters (31)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  31. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

But, you know, I didn’t.

We didn’t, clearly, know what to do.

“No,” I said.

Lucy gave me another hug. “Okay.”

I smiled and felt my lip throb. “Everything will be fine.”

Everything will be fine is both a very comforting thing to say and a thing that anyone who says it must know isn’t true.

Everything is an impossible thing.

Sissy made me stay for a few more minutes after Lucy left, then declared me “fit as a fiddle” and kicked me out just after the bell.

I looked for Berry, but she was gone.

BERRY

I have to go home to help my dad with a job!

BERRY

Hope you’re ok

BERRY

That was bonkers

Then she must have taken a solid few minutes to send me a text that was a field of soccer balls with a little surprised face in the middle.

ANNE

Yeah I’m ok. Split

ANNE

Did you see Sarah kick the ball at my head?

BERRY

No

ANNE

That’s what Gilly said

BERRY

Yeah

There was a space of three dots appearing and disappearing as I walked down the hall.

BERRY

I mean, first she sets u up with the sign up list, then this.

ANNE

Yeah

BERRY

Seems weird

ANNE

Yeah

ANNE

Maybe she’s just sick of her terrible friends

More dots appeared and disappeared.

BERRY

Maybe

BERRY

You believe her?

ANNE

I don’t know????

I collapsed on the steps.

ANNE

Going home for a hundred aspirin

BERRY

OK!

Did Berry not believe Gilly? Would Gilly lie? I wondered as I strapped on my skates.

BERRY

If you feel faint when ur skating, pull over and I’ll come and get u

ANNE

OK!

ANNE

What if I just feel really cool?

BERRY

Then go with it

When I coasted out of the parking lot that day, there was another ring of people in the lot, what looked like moms in shorts and sandals, their heads tipped together.

FIFTEEN

On Saturday, Berry texted that she had to help her dad clean the garage, so she couldn’t come over and watch movies.

Which felt like a weirdly fake excuse, but then maybe cleaning the garage is a big thing in Greenville. I technically had to help my moms unpack the kitchen, since there were still boxes all over the place.

Hey, we all had stuff to do, okay?

Then Lucy ended up having to be at the school all day, and Millie had errands to run for a photoshoot she was planning.

And suddenly I was alone in the house.

So of course I got on the phone and called all my friends and I was like, “KEG PARTY AT MY HOUSE, EVERYBODY! YAAASSSS!”

Ha-ha. No.

Can you imagine? No.

No. I went disco roller-skating.