Page 227 - My FlipBook

T R A I L O F C R U M B S

hand again, and Greta grasped it. They swung arms as shouting
erupted behind them. Greta blocked out the words—they
weren’t hers, and she refused them. The noise clipped as the
heavy gym doors swung closed. No more balls against the floor.
More like a bar brawl.
Their legs moved in sync down the hallway. Greta waited
for demons in basketball uniforms to swirl around her, spit in
her face, but they didn’t. Maybe they carried the shame now.

Maybe he did.
They pushed through the front doors, Greta’s legs moving
forward until Alice pulled her to a stop. She turned Greta’s
shoulders to face her, looking at her eye to eye. “That was
brave, Greta. You were brave.”
Alice pulled Greta close and held her until her bones
stopped rattling, until the blood slowed in her veins. Her

body throbbed, from her heart to the bottom of her gut. Free
from shame but ripped wide open. When Greta could breathe
again, Alice held her at arm’s length and said, “Now you move
forward.”
Greta nodded. Forward.
They joined hands and walked to the bus stop, West
Edmonton High a dumpster fire burning behind them.

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