Here's an update! Enjoy!

"Mr. Aarons?"

Jess raised his head from his drawing, blinking. His entire class was staring at him.

"Mr. Aarons, I asked you a question."

Jess sat up a little in his chair and looked at his math teacher, confused. "Huh?"

"I asked you a question," his teacher barked at him.

"Er…sorry, what was the question?" The class sniggered.

His teacher rolled her eyes irritably. "How would you solve this problem," she pointed to the board, "using the distance formula?"

Jess blinked at the arrangement of numbers, mind completely blank. "Um…you would…uh…."

"Next time I call on you, Mr. Aarons, be so kind as to be paying attention, would you?" his teacher snapped. "Ms. Pollsworth, would you mind helping us out here?"

"You would use the coordinates the problem gives you and—"

Jess sighed deeply and put his head back down, abandoning his drawing but still not really listening. Nothing seemed to be working right in his head. It was the last day of the second week of school and he felt as though he had been in school for a year.

"Stay after, Mr. Aarons," his teacher howled over the students when the bell rang. Jess gritted his teeth and stayed in his seat while the rest of his class hurried out the door. When there was no one left in the room, his teacher gave him a packet of math problems.

"For you," she said. "This is the third time this week I've caught you drawing in class during my teaching. I don't care whether you are Picasso's great-great grandson or something; you will pay attention in my classroom. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jess muttered.

"I want this packet completed by next Tuesday. You have the whole weekend and Monday to finish it – I don't want any excuses."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You aren't a bad kid, Mr. Aarons, compared to a lot of the students here. And I want to ensure that. Okay?"

Jess nodded in irritation.

"Good. You're dismissed."

Jess picked up his bag and walked to the door respectively. Once he had cleared the doorway he broke into a run, anger tight in his chest. He always hurried from math class to English class, to be sure that Trent wasn't in the same room with Leslie too long without him. It was bad enough that she had a class with Trent before English. And now, adding insult to injury, his stupid teacher chose to hold him back when he wasn't the only one not paying attention, giving him at least fifty problems to do.

Life is not fair, Jess decided as he ran into the classroom a minute before the late bell. His math teacher had delayed him so that he got to the classroom when mostly everyone else was already there, including Trent. Jess hurried toward Leslie and sat down, as he always did, between her and Trent's piercing eyes.

"Look," Leslie whispered to him after Jess had collapsed in his chair. She scooted over a piece of paper onto his desk. "It was on the bulletin board in the attendance office."

Jess looked at it. Miranda's Outfitting! it said at the top of the page in bright, cheerful letters. Coming soon to Lark Creek! Call 555-8204 for details.

"You're sure that's it?"

"Positive," Leslie said. "We've sought out every other clothing store possible, and there aren't any ones that have bought land around here. I looked online today."

"So this is who we call."

Leslie nodded as the bell rang. "This is who we call."

OOO

As both Jess and Leslie had hoped, Judy and Bill went out that night. Every Friday evening they were usually welcomed over to a friend's house where they talked writing strategy late into the night, often not coming back home until midnight. After Jess saw the Burke's car pull onto the dirt road from his front window, he went into the living room to his parents.

"I'm going over to Leslie's house."

"Okay," Nancy said, who was reading a book. "You guys going downtown tonight?"

"No. Leslie was going to help me with my math."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," Jack told him.

"My teacher gave me an extra packet."

"Did she, now?" Jack asked, eyeing Jess carefully. "So you're going to work on it Friday night when you've got the whole weekend ahead of you to finish it?"

Jess shrugged. "Leslie said I should finish homework as soon as possible," he said, trying to sound innocent. "That way I don't have to do it last minute."

"Well, she's right," Nancy said, turning a page in her book.

Jack shook his head, chuckling. "Well, if this is how you want to spend Friday nights..."

"Be back by a decent hour, okay, Jess?" said Nancy.

"Okay," Jess said, heading for the door.

"Have fun doing math," Jack called after him.

"But not too much fun," Ellie added from the table, and Jess bumped her chair on his way out, causing her to protest in irritation.

Leslie already had the paper and the phone in front of her on the counter when Jess walked through her screen door into her kitchen. She looked up as he came in.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Jess answered. "Ready for math?"

Leslie snorted. "Of course," she said. "Today we're using special numbers. And they are a couple of fives, an eight, a two…."

Jess laughed.

"Yeah, that was my excuse, too," Leslie said. "Can your parents see us through windows if we stay here?"

"Maybe if they walked by on the road."

"Let's go in the living room." She picked up the phone and the paper and they walked through the hallway. "I don't think they'd like what we're doing."

They stared at the paper for a few minutes after they sat on the couch. "So...what are we going to say?" Jess asked finally.

"We're going to ask for an appointment with Miranda. Or at least get some information."

"There's no way the actual namesake of the store will have time to talk to us."

"Then we make an appointment with one of her representatives," Leslie said. "Do you want to talk, or should I?"

"You're better at it," Jess told her and Leslie nodded and dialed the number. "Use a different name," he said. "Just in case."

"Okay," she said, holding the phone to her ear. "Here goes nothing," she added quietly as the phone rang. Jess leaned in closer so he could hear.

"Miranda's Outfitting," a man's bored voice said after three rings.

"Hello," Leslie said professionally. "My name is Katie, and I live in Lark Creek."

"Um-hmm."

"May I speak to someone regarding the construction that's taking place in our town?"

There was a short pause, and Jess could almost hear the shock of the man; the guy probably had been expecting a whole other question. Finally he said, "I am the corporate assistant for the job."

Leslie looked at Jess nervously. "Well, would you be responsible for buying the land that your company is building on?"

"I've had a hand in it."

"We want to ask whether or not the property you purchased was public or private."

The man didn't speak for a moment or two. Then he continued, "I beg your pardon?"

"We're aware that the property you're building on is private property," Leslie said, and Jess knew she was thinking fast. "There are fields that develop into the forest you are building on, and my neighbor Tom Strellgate owns those fields. I'm asking whether or not the land you purchased belonged to Mr. Strellgate, too."

There was yet another second of silence. "Please hold," the man said, and there was a soft click. Jess and Leslie waited in silence for five minutes straight, but no one picked up the phone again.

"Dammit," Jess muttered as Leslie hung up.

"Don't say that word," Leslie said, smacking him across the shoulder. "God…they could have at least given us a different number or something…."

"You know what? The land has to belong to Tom Strellgate, now that you mention it," Jess said, rubbing his shoulder. Tom Strellgate was an old farmer who plowed the fields they raced across to get to Terabithia. He lived in an old abandoned cabin across from the woods. "They just didn't want to tell us."

"That could be why they hung up on us," Leslie said angrily.

"Maybe…" Jess said, having just realized something, "maybe Strellgate sold them the land."

"Dammit," said Leslie loudly, and Jess grabbed the phone from her.

"Don't say that word," he told her in a mock stern tone, and she rolled her eyes. "Okay. Let's call them again. I'll talk this time."

Now Leslie leaned in toward him so she could hear. Jess dialed then waited for the man to answer.

"Miranda's Outfitting," said the man's voice through the phone.

"Hi," Jess said. "My friend just called you, and you put us on hold but never picked back up."

"Did I, now?" the man said. He still didn't sound like he was the least bit interested in the conversation. "My apologies."

"We were asking about the land you purchased in Lark Creek," Jess said, hoping he sounded as professional as Leslie. "We were wondering if we could set up an appointment or something, to talk to either you or one of Miranda's representatives, about the property you're building on. Or if you could tell us who you bought the property from that would be great, too."

The man was silent. "Please hold," he said.

"No, we will not please hold," Leslie said suddenly, grabbing the phone from Jess. "We want to talk to someone about this land purchase now,and since you seem to have no information, we would appreciate it if you handed the phone over to someone who does."

Jess smiled at Leslie in awe, as there again was silence on the other line. Then there was some muffled talking, some thuds, then a woman started speaking on the other line. "This is Kelsey Thomas. How can I help you?"

Leslie nodded to Jess, and Jess cleared his throat. "Hello," he said. "Are you in charge of the purchase of land here in Lark Creek? For the store 'Miranda's Outfitting'?"

"Yes, sir, I am," the woman said in a sweet tone. "Who is this?"

"This is Charlie," Jess said, borrowing his cousin's name, "and I live not too far away from where you're building your store. My friend and I want to know who you bought the land from."

"Whom we bought the land from?" Ms. Thomas gave a little laugh. "What an interesting question."

"Could you answer it?"

Leslie bit her lip, clearly holding herself back.

"Mr.…er, Charlie, the land is our property."

"Yes, but we wanted to know who the land belonged to before you got the rights to build on it. And if it's possible, could you tell us how soon you plan to develop on it?"

"Develop?" Ms. Thomas asked, tone sugary. "You mean build, perhaps?"

"I thought they meant the same."

"Of course they do, dear. We plan to build on the property within two months or so."

"But who did the land belong to before?"

"Didn't I just say, Charlie? The land is our property."

"We understand that," Leslie blurted out into the phone before Jess could speak. "But we wanted to know—"

"Now who is this, speaking?"

"Katie," Leslie said clearly. "And we both are curious as to whose land it was that you purchased, the land that you're building 'Miranda's Outfitting' on."

Ms. Thomas laughed again. "Pardon me, sweetie. You two don't sound old enough to be concerned about matters like what land we buy to build stores on."

"Well, we are," Jess said. "Do you know who Mr. Tom Strellgate is?"

"No, young man, I'm afraid I don't."

Leslie and Jess looked at each other. "Then could you please answer our question?" Leslie asked in a very forced polite tone. "From whom did you buy the land from?"

"I thought I made it very clear, young lady, that the land is ours."

"We know that," Leslie said through gritted teeth. "But it had to belong to someone before."

"Well, if that land did belong to someone previously," said Ms. Thomas, speaking as though they were five years old, "then they have long left Lark Creek. Sweetheart, all my workers found when they were marking the property was a little tree house and some sort of tree bridge going across the creek—"

"Yeah, that was our bridge," Jess said, temper firing up inside of him. "And it took me days to build that."

"I am ever so sorry," Ms. Thomas said, not sounding sorry whatsoever. "But the land that we are building on is our property, honey. We had every right to tear your little bridge down."

"It wasn't your property six years ago when the bridge was built," Leslie said hotly into the phone.

"Children, children, listen to yourselves. Getting worked up about us building on our own property—"

"How do we know it's your property?" Jess asked angrily. "Was the land public, then? How did you get the rights to build?"

There was a buzzing silence on the other end of the line. "We...we…" Ms. Thomas finally stuttered, then she cleared her throat and picked up right where she had left off. "Now you two listen to me. I don't know what you might have been hearing—"

"If you don't know who the land belonged to before you purchased it…" Leslie spat, then she trailed off. "Wait, you can't have purchased it—"

"—if there was no one you contacted in the first place!" Jess finished in shock.

"I don't know what you kids are talking about," Ms. Thomas said. She didn't sound warm and friendly now. "The land is ours, period, end of story. We have already—"

"The land isn't yours," Leslie said furiously. "You stole it!"

"You are jumping to conclusions, little girl," Ms. Thomas snapped. "I would love to chat longer but unlike you, children, we are very busy here at our quarters."

"Don't you dare—"

Click. Then all they heard was the dial tone.

Leslie slammed down the phone into the couch. "Dammit!" she and Jess said at the same time.

"I can't believe her," breathed Leslie. She was livid. "She stole the land. They don't have a contract to build…they don't have anything…they just stole the land from someone…."

"She stole our land from us," Jess spoke over her. "If anyone has a right to that property, we do."

"Don't you get it, Jess? Terabithia is our land. But Terabithia is on someone else's property!" Leslie was trembling, she was so mad. "She stole the land! They stole it!"

"Calm down," Jess said, even as his anger raged inside him like a storm.

"Calm down?" shrieked Leslie. "They are going to destroy Terabithia illegally and you want me to calm down?!"

"The land could have been public," Jess said, trying to make sense of it all.

"If the land was public then she's trespassing on our property," Leslie snarled. Jess flinched; Leslie was deadly when she was this angry. "If anyone owns that property it's us."

Jess didn't think it smart to speak.

"And if she honestly thinks she can tear down our land…" Leslie seethed. She shook her head, glaring at the paper with the phone number on it. "Who does that woman think she is?"

"It's not like she knows about Terabithia," Jess said, regretting the words even as they came out of his mouth. Leslie turned to him, looking like a predator about to attack its victim.

"Of course she doesn't know about Terabithia," she shot at him. "But does that make it okay for her to build? Ms. Thomas wouldn't tell us who the land belonged to, right? And do you know why that is? It still belongs to whoever owns it…she's just building on it illegally, without them knowing it!"

"It could have been public," Jess said. "And I'm not stupid; I can figure out why Ms. Thomas wouldn't say who the land belongs to, so you don't have to snap at me."

"I'm not snapping at you," Leslie snapped at him; then she caught herself. She froze for a second, then she sighed and put a hand to her temple, sinking back into the couch in exasperation. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Jess said nothing; his head was spinning too much. "Are we sure that that woman doesn't own the property legally?" he asked finally.

"She didn't tell us who she took the land from," Leslie said again, brow furrowed in concentration. She was a little calmer now, as Jess was relieved to see. "And she never heard of Mr. Strellgate. So either she ordered construction on the property, without the permission of the owner, or the land must have been public. And she took over it."

They were quiet. PT came padding into the room.

"So what you're saying," Jess clarified as PT jumped on the couch between them, "is that either that company is building illegally, or the property is…just...up for grabs?"

"Pretty much," Leslie said unhappily, scratching PT behind the ears.

Jess sighed heavily and leaned back against the couch as well. "It's our property. It has been for six years."

"I know," said Leslie, eyes downcast. "I know."

They were silent again. PT yawned and put his head on his paws.

"So we find out who owns it," Leslie said suddenly. Jess looked over toward her.

"What do you mean?"

"We find out who owns the land Terabithia is on," Leslie said, fire in her eyes. "And if no one owns it then we have a right to be on it. And they had no right to destroy our bridge."

"Leslie, they already have the bulldozer there and everything," Jess said desperately. "And they've spray painted the whole joint and have got the trees marked…"

"So?"

"Are you saying we can stop it? I guess we could go to someone and they can investigate—"

"We could do that," Leslie said. "But what if it turns out that the land was public? Then Ms. Thomas will have every right to build on it."

"But it's our land. We were on it long before that woman set foot onto it!"

"Exactly," Leslie told him.

"So…what do we do?"

Leslie thought for a moment, then a mischievous grin spread across her face. "King Jess," she said to him. "What do we do when an enemy wanders onto our territory uninvited?"

Jess stared at her.

Leslie turned her head and looked at him, determination sparkling in her eyes. "We fight."

All right, first and foremost I must thank the amazing reviewers who all have given me so much encouragement. So...thank you! You all are wonderful. And to the anonymous reviewers: (there are lots of them! Yay!) Ali, HarleyQuinn, Lillianthia, LostPrincess, magicalsongbird, and blink6966, you all are awesome. Thank you so much for telling me what you think of this story! It means a lot to me; thanks for taking the time to review!

Now, about the story…I'm not 100 percent sure about the legal "rights" a company must have to build on property, but I finally figured that if they didn't have a contract that it wouldn't be legal for them to build. So next chapter, you'll find out whether the land Terabithia is on was really owned property, or if it's public and open for anyone to use. In the meantime, I hope that I haven't confused anyone. :D

I can't promise any quick updates because I'm having a little trouble with the other plots this story is going to start having. But I can promise that I will update as soon as I can!

Thank you for reading! And please review this chapter, too!