BooksBarbecue
Back Stay Save as PDF

Stay

Bobbie Pyron
Chapters (65)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. Acknowledgments
  62. About the Author
  63. Books by Bobbie Pyron
  64. Back Ads
  65. About the Publisher

Cover

image

Dedication

To the girls of Girl Scout troop 6000.

You are our future; you are my inspiration.

1

Piper

I rest my head against the cold window of the Country-Wide bus, watching the world go by. The full moon lights up empty fields. Cornstalks and stubble throw long shadows across the ground. It’s pretty and kind of mysterious too.

To tell you the truth, I think I’m the only person on the entire bus who’s awake. Well, except for the driver, but I can’t see her anyway. Her name tag said Doreen. She seems nice.

Across the aisle, my little brother, Dylan, sleeps with his head in Mama’s lap. His red superhero cape is spread across his body. It’s just an old red blanket he won’t give up without pitching a royal fit, so we pretend it gives him superpowers, especially when his asthma is bad. I can just see the tips of his sneakers peeking out from under the blanket. He has his best friend, Ted the stuffed shark, tucked under his chin.

I gaze back out the window at the headlights of cars ticking by; at the warm yellow porch lights glowing outside of houses in the neighborhoods we pass. Like our old neighborhood and our little house.

Thinking of home reminds me of the things in the backpack by my feet. Inside, along with my Firefly Girls sash, a jacket, and some other stuff, is my favorite book, My Side of the Mountain. I could take it out and read it—again—but if I turn on the overhead light, it’ll wake Daddy up.

Daddy snores lightly, almost like a purr, in the seat beside me. I lean my head against his arm and feel warm skin through the thin flannel shirt. I can smell his familiar scent of cigarettes and Juicy Fruit gum. And if I rub my nose just a little deeper into the soft flannel, I swear I can smell the salty sea air of home.

I close my eyes. The bus rocks so, so gently as it speeds through the night past farms and fields and towns, houses and neighborhoods, everyone sleeping snug as bugs in their beds.

Since I can’t read my book, I decide to run my favorite “imaginary movie” in my head. I’m not the world’s best sleeper, especially when I worry, which is pretty much most of the time. So when I can’t sleep, I make up movies. My favorite is Trudeau Family Wins Big! In it, we win the lottery and have all the things we’ve ever wanted: a house on the water and a big boat for Daddy, a fenced-in yard with a dog for me, college for Mama, and a brand-new bicycle for Dylan. And best of all, no worries about paying the bills.