Kris Neville

“ Life was no longer sweet and innocent, and the lake smell was like decay upon the air.
"There," she said huskily. "Sit there. I'll sit by you."
Again she took his hand, and the wind rustled the trees.
"I want you to be in love with me," she said.
"Uh ... you love me, don't you?" he said uncomfortably.
"I want to be loved," she echoed stubbornly, and the wind sighed.
Lake water gurgled at the shore, and she thought it might be going down a drain, somewhere, the way time goes down a drain; although time goes silently. ”

“ Shortly, the adults, nodding pleasantly with the confidence and understanding of hundreds of years, passed them and continued down the lane, looking no older than the two adolescents.
When they had gone, vanishing around a sharp bend in the lane, Clyde said, "Uh, Margy. Have you ever thought, I mean really thought, of having to grow up?"
"... Yes," she said, feeling a calmness come to her, an almost iciness, a resignation.
"It's awful puzzling: I mean, they know so much. It takes so long to become an adult. And you're always doing silly things that they don't do, and you don't know why. ”

“ She wanted to say, "Look, Clyde, let's just go on laughing like we have been. Let's laugh and laugh. And not talk very much. Not about things like death. I like you when you're a little boy and laughing. I'm afraid of you when you're a man and not laughing." But she said, "It's nice today, don't you think so?" ”

“ Margy said, feeling the cold place in her stomach become even colder.
"She'll be dead in another fifty years."
Margy shuddered as the coldness exploded through her whole body and tingled down to her finger tips, making her want to cry. "I hate to think of anyone dying," she said, wishing he would talk about the weather, or about anything but dying, wishing he were less serious, more embarrassed, and more like his old self.
"I just wondered if you'd noticed Teach. I thought you would. You—you know—you ... uh ... seem to understand things, Margy." ”

“ I'm serious, Margy. I mean it, really. You're more grown up than we are."
Her heart raced with terror, and her face was drained. She looked away so he would not notice. "Don't say things like that, Clyde. Clyde, if you say any more about that I'll—I'll just not ever speak to you again!"
"Aw, Margy. I don't want to get you sore. I'm sorry." ”

“ Clyde continued. "Have you ever ... I mean ... uh, Margy, it's kinda nice, I mean ... to make an early first marriage, don't you think?"
She felt herself trembling, and her lips moved soundlessly.
"What I want to say, it's so much nicer to have someone. I mean, it helps you grow up faster. Gives you responsibilities. Teaches you, I mean." ”

“ Time hung suspended; and every second the clock let fall was a heartbeat of increasing intensity. Suspense was in the air, and Margy knew that she was waiting, waiting with a wound up tenseness that would explode inside of her if something didn't happen.
And it was almost a relief when the messenger came, and Teach said, "Margy, would you mind going into room C? Someone wants to see you there."
Trembling, Margy stood up. "Yes, Teach." ”

“ Clyde glanced across at her, and she stared down at her swinging legs, telling herself to be very careful, and above all, not to look into his eyes when the mature confidence shone through.
Clyde cleared his throat nervously and made conversation by saying, "I ... uh ... feel sorry for Teach, don't you?"
Margy twisted and puckered her mouth, remembering Teach that morning; she had looked very bad, and the eye wrinkles were very noticeable, more noticeable than ever before. "Teach is wearing out," Margy said, trying to keep the horror out of her voice. ”

“ But she could not let him escape from her: for he owed her something more—he had to owe her something more; life owed her something more, and she would not be cheated. Then she would go away, and leave school, and go somewhere and try to start all over again, and most of all, really try to understand. ”

“ Doggedly, Clyde said, "I don't understand you, Margy."
She laughed tiredly, for he was gone, and it was almost too late, now. "Don't be serious. Tonight, don't be serious. Let's not talk any more about that. I don't want to talk about that."
"We've got to," he insisted. "We've got to learn to be serious. We can't go on like a couple of kids like this forever."
"There's ... there's a lot of time, yet. We've got so much time ... before we...." She wondered how the thought had almost crept into words, and she shuddered, while from across the lake, a tree frog began to chirp eerily. ”

“ Hershey spoke softly into the phone. "Could you send over a couple of men? I'm afraid we've got another Revert for you."
"I don't hurt anybody," she said tonelessly. "It's no crime to want to be young. Why don't you let me alone ... let me alone ... alone ... alone?" ”