Eleanor & Park (2 page)

The girl stopped and looked

up at Tina, then looked back at the

empty seat.

‘Sit

down,’

the

driver

bellowed from the front.

‘I have to sit somewhere,’ the

girl said to Tina in a firm, calm

voice.

‘Not

my

problem,’

Tina

snapped. The bus lurched, and the

girl rocked back to keep from

falling. Park tried to turn the

volume up on his Walkman, but it

was already all the way up. He

looked back at the girl; it looked

like she was starting to cry.

Before he’d even decided to

do it, Park scooted toward the

window.

‘Sit down,’ he said. It came

out angrily. The girl turned to him,

like she couldn’t tell whether he

was another jerk or what. ‘Jesus-

fuck,’ Park said softly, nodding to

the space next to him, ‘just
sit

down
.’

The girl sat down. She didn’t

say anything – thank God, she

didn’t thank him – and she left six

inches of space on the seat

between them.

Park

turned

toward

the

Plexiglas window and waited for a

world of suck to hit the fan.

CHAPTER 2

Eleanor

Eleanor considered her

options:

1. She could walk home from

school. Pros: Exercise, color in

her cheeks, time to herself.

Cons: She didn’t know her new

address yet, or even the general

direction to start walking.

2. She could call her mom and ask

for a ride. Pros: Lots. Cons: Her

mom didn’t have a phone. Or a

car.

3. She could call her dad. Ha.

4. She could call her grandma.

Just to say hi.

She was sitting on the concrete

steps at the front of the school,

staring out at the row of yellow

buses. Her bus was right there.

No. 666.

Even if Eleanor could avoid

the bus today, even if her fairy

godmother showed up with a

pumpkin carriage, she’d still have

to find a way to get back to school

tomorrow morning.

And it’s not like the devil-kids

on the bus were going to wake up

on the other side of their beds

tomorrow. Seriously. It wouldn’t

surprise Eleanor if they unhinged

their jaws the next time she saw

them. That girl in the back with

the blond hair and the acid-

washed

jacket?

You

could

practically see the horns hidden in

her bangs. And her boyfriend was

possibly

a

member

of

the

Nephilim.

That girl – all of them – hated

Eleanor before they’d even laid

eyes on her. Like they’d been

hired to kill her in a past life.

Eleanor couldn’t tell if the

Asian kid who finally let her sit

down was one of them, or

whether he was just really stupid.

(But not
stupid
-stupid … He was

in two of Eleanor’s honors

classes.)

Her mom had insisted that the

new school put Eleanor in honors

classes. She’d freaked when she

saw how bad Eleanor’s grades

were from last year in the ninth

grade. ‘This can’t be a surprise to

you, Mrs Douglas,’ the counselor

said.
Ha
, Eleanor thought,
you’d

be surprised what could be a

surprise at this point
.

Whatever. Eleanor could stare

at the clouds just as easily in

honors classes. There were just as

many windows.

If she ever even came back to

this school.

If she ever even got home.

Eleanor couldn’t tell her mom

about the bus situation anyway

because her mom had already said

that Eleanor didn’t have to ride the

bus. Last night, when she was

helping Eleanor unpack …

‘Richie said he’ll take you,’

her mom said. ‘It’s on his way to

work.’

‘Is he going to make me ride

in the back of his truck?’

‘He’s trying to make peace,

Eleanor. You promised that you’d

try, too.’

‘It’s easier for me to make

peace from a distance.’

‘I told him you were ready to

be part of this family.’

‘ I ’ m
already
part of this

family.

I’m

like

a

charter

member.’

‘Eleanor,’ her mom said.

‘Please.’

‘I’ll just ride the bus,’ Eleanor

had said. ‘It’s not a big deal. I’ll

meet people.’

Ha, Eleanor thought now.

Giant, dramatic ha.

Her bus was going to leave

soon. A few of the other buses

were

already

pulling

away.

Somebody ran down the steps

next to Eleanor and accidentally

kicked her bag. She pulled it out

of the way and started to say sorry

– but it was that stupid Asian kid,

and he frowned when he saw that

it was her. She frowned right back

at him, and he ran ahead.

Oh, fine
, Eleanor thought.
The

children of hell shan’t go hungry

on my watch
.

CHAPTER 3

Park

She didn’t talk to him on the ride

home.

Park had spent all day trying to

think of how to get away from the

new girl. He’d have to switch

seats. That was the only answer.

But switch to what seat? He didn’t

want

to

force

himself

on

somebody else. And even the act

of switching seats would catch

Steve’s attention.

Park had expected Steve to

start in on him as soon he let the

girl sit down, but Steve had gone

right back to talking about kung fu

again. Park, by the way, knew

plenty about kung fu. Because his

dad was obsessed with martial

arts, not because his mom was

Korean. Park and his little brother,

Josh, had been taking taekwando

since they could walk.

Switch seats,
how
…?

He could probably find a seat

up front with the freshmen, but

that would be a spectacular show

of weakness. And he almost hated

to think about leaving the weird

new girl at the back of the bus by

herself.

He hated himself for thinking

like this.

If his dad knew he was

thinking like this, he’d call Park a

pussy. Out loud, for once. If his

grandma knew, she’d smack him

on the back of the head. ‘Where

are you manners?’ she’d say. ‘Is

that any way to treat somebody

who’s down on her luck?’

But Park didn’t have any luck

– or status – to spare on that dumb

redhead. He had just enough to

keep himself out of trouble. And

he knew it was crappy, but he was

kind of grateful that people like

that girl existed. Because people

like Steve and Mikey and Tina

existed, too, and they needed to be

fed. If it wasn’t that redhead, it

was going to be somebody else.

And if it wasn’t somebody else, it

was going to be Park.

Steve had let it go this

morning, but he wouldn’t keep

letting it go …

Park could hear his grandma

again. ‘Seriously, son, you’re

giving yourself a stomach ache

because you did something nice

while

other

people

were

watching?’

It wasn’t even that nice, Park

thought. He’d let the girl sit down,

but he’d sworn at her. When she

showed up in his English class

that afternoon, it felt like she was

there to haunt him …

‘Eleanor,’ Mr Stessman said.

‘What a powerful name. It’s a

queen’s name, you know.’

‘It’s the name of the fat

Chipette,’ somebody behind Park

whispered.

Somebody

else

laughed.

Mr Stessman gestured to an

empty desk up front.

‘We’re reading poetry today,

Eleanor,’

Mr

Stessman

said.

‘Dickinson. Perhaps you’d like to

get us started.’

Mr Stessman opened her book

to the right page and pointed. ‘Go

ahead,’ he said, ‘clear and loud.

I’ll tell you when to stop.’

The new girl looked at Mr

Stessman like she hoped he was

kidding. When it was clear that he

wasn’t – he almost never was –

she started to read.

‘I had been hungry all the

years,’ she read. A few kids

laughed. Jesus, Park thought, only

Mr Stessman would make a

chubby girl read a poem about

eating on her first day of class.

‘Carry

on,

Eleanor,’

Mr

Stessman said.

She started over, which Park

thought was a terrible idea.

‘I had been hungry all the

years,’ she said, louder this time.

‘My noon had come, to dine,

‘I, trembling, drew the table

near,

‘And touched the curious

wine.

‘T’was this on tables I had

seen,

‘When turning, hungry, lone,

‘I looked in windows, for the

wealth

‘I could not hope to own.’

Mr Stessman didn’t stop her,

so she read the whole poem in that

cool, defiant voice. The same

voice she’d used on Tina.

‘That was wonderful,’ Mr

Stessman said when she was

done. He was beaming. ‘Just

wonderful. I hope you’ll stay with

us, Eleanor, at least until we do

Medea
. That’s a voice that arrives

on a chariot drawn by dragons.’

When the girl showed up in

history, Mr Sanderhoff didn’t

make a scene. But he did say, ‘Ah.

Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine,’

when she handed him her

paperwork. She sat down a few

rows ahead of Park and, as far as

he could tell, spent the whole

period staring at the sun.

Park couldn’t think of a way

to get rid of her on the bus. Or a

way to get rid of himself. So he

put his headphones on before the

girl sat down and turned the

volume all the way up.

Thank God she didn’t try to

talk to him.

CHAPTER 4

Eleanor

She got home that afternoon

before all the little kids, which

was good because she wasn’t

ready to see them again. It had

been such a freak show when

she’d walked in last night …

Eleanor had spent so much

time thinking about what it would

be like to finally come home and

how much she missed everybody

– she thought they’d throw her a

ticker-tape parade. She thought it

would be a big hugfest.

But when Eleanor walked in

the house, it was like her siblings

didn’t recognize her.

Ben just glanced at her, and

Maisie – Maisie was sitting on

Richie’s lap. Which would have

made Eleanor throw right up if

she hadn’t just promised her mom

that she’d be on her best behavior

for the rest of her life.

Only Mouse ran to hug

Eleanor. She picked him up

gratefully. He was five now, and

heavy.

‘Hey, Mouse,’ she said. They’d

called him that since he was a

baby, she couldn’t remember why.

He reminded her more of a big,

sloppy puppy – always excited,

always trying to jump into your

lap.

‘Look, Dad, it’s Eleanor,’

Mouse said, jumping down. ‘Do

you know Eleanor?’

Richie pretended not to hear.

Maisie watched and sucked her

thumb. Eleanor hadn’t seen her do

that in years. She was eight now,

but with her thumb in her mouth,

she looked just like a baby.

The baby wouldn’t remember

Eleanor at all. He’d be two …

There he was, sitting on the floor

with Ben. Ben was eleven. He

stared at the wall behind the TV.

Their mom carried the duffel

bag with Eleanor’s stuff into a

bedroom off the living room, and

Eleanor followed her. The room

was tiny, just big enough for a

dresser and some bunk beds.

Mouse ran into the room after