Chapter 6: The Talk
Finally! I thought the bus would never get to school! It seemed like we hit every red light, and were moving ten miles below the speed limit. I have decided to tell Haley of my secret. I'm not going to tell her until later in our friendship, maybe in a year or so, as a test of our friendship. I still want to know who that other person was. Haley's coming over. "Hey, Haley."
"Hi, August. Do you have an email address?" Huh?
"Yeah, why?" I answered, curious.
"I just want us to be able to talk to each other when one of us is not in school." She was up to something, I'm sure.
"OK, It's . My sister thought of it. What's yours?" She finished writing down my email address, and then replied.
"" Hay Bale?
"Why 'haybale'?"
"That's what the original root word for 'Haley' means."
"Cool."
"Here comes Mr. Warner." Mr. Warner is our algebra teacher.
"Let's talk more at lunch, Haley."
"Okay."
The Home of Haley Cranmer...
"Charlie! We need to leave NOW! Not twenty minutes from now!" Charlie was being really slow. Again.
"I know, Haley!"
"Doesn't seem like it!" Finally! We could leave! Great. Let's go hit every red light. Ah, school. I could go talk to August. There he was! I had a sudden thrill. I didn't know what it was, but I liked the butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling it gave me.
I heard him call, "Hey, Haley!"
"Hi, August! Do you have an email address?"
"Yeah, why?" He sounded puzzled. Uh, oh. I wasn't planning on explaining why.
Ummm... Perfect! "I just want us to be able to talk to each other when one of us is not in school." Could he see that I was only telling half the truth?
"OK, it's . My sister thought of it. What's yours?"
I wrote it down as he said it then said my own email, "." He was clearly curious.
"Why 'haybale'?"
"That's what the original root word for 'Haley' means."
He sounded sincere as he said, "Cool."
I was suddenly aware of the time and looked past August to see Mr. Warner, our algebra teacher, entering the room. "Here comes Mr. Warner."
"Let's talk more at lunch, Haley."
"OK."