Excerpt from Silent Waters

By Mary McPadden 

    I know when a girl likes me. I can tell by the way she stares at me and then when I lift my dark eyes up to hers, she turns her head away. She tries to pretend that she didn’t just lock eyes with her crush. But I can tell by her breathing that her heart is racing.

    I don’t even like them, the mediocre girls, but I do enjoy giving them that thrill. I see them all turn and look at me when I pass down the hall. And just a little smile or a stare can send their young bosoms into a rapid pulsing.

    I’ve got the good looks of my father. My younger brother has them too but he doesn’t know it yet. 

    But Kylee, she never seemed to bother with me. She is my equal. She’s got the good looks, the long flowing hair and the perfect body. Like me, she is a runner too. She is the top tier and she fits the part. Her body is elegant when she runs. Her arms flow rhythmically and her long, slim legs stretch forward as she seems to leap, almost dance down the track. And the curve of her butt always just sneaks out of her tight shorts.

    She never seems to pay me any mind. She never looks at me the way the other girls do. If I catch her eye, she always seems to have a look of disgust. 

    Of course we’ve talked. At Greg Dunnan’s party she sat near me around the firepit. All the guys were filling beer cans with gasoline and lighting them on fire. She told me I was being a jerk but I know she thought I was cool. It wasn’t like anyone could get hurt. We did that all the time.

    So when I saw her running in the woods, I just wanted to talk to her. She was far away and I couldn’t catch up to her. So I threw a rock to get her attention. I didn’t mean to hit her. I panicked when I saw the blood trickling down her face. I brought her down to the lake and rinsed my hands at the water’s edge.

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