Boy from the Woods (9781311684776) by Jen Minkman Read Free Book Online Page A

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oak and sat down for a minute against it, stretching her calves and
staring up at the branches winding their way upward to the skies,
reaching for the light, escaping the ever-present gravity of the
earth. The canopy of the tree branches kept her from getting
wet.
    Julia
switched off Nina Hagen on her borrowed
MP3 player and closed her eyes, resting her head against the oak
tree. Every now and then, she heard the rumble of thunder in the
distance. Very softly, very far away.
    When the rain
started to come down faster, Julia got to her feet and ran back to the forest trail in the direction of
Eichet. She wanted to pay her grandmother a surprise visit and have
tea with her. After twenty minutes, she reached the edge of the
woods and jogged down the asphalt road at a steady pace. In the
meantime, the rain had soaked all her clothes, but it didn’t bother
her. The temperature outside was still agreeable.
    Julia ran up to the front door of Gran’s house and
rang the doorbell with a wet, slick finger. The sound of
Mozart’s A Little Night
Music jingled through the house. Julia
edged forward under the awning to find shelter from the rain and
wring out her wet hair.
    “Hello?” she
called out through the kitchen window, which she saw was slightly
ajar. “Gran? Are you home?”
    Nothing. She peered through the ribbed glass of the front
door, seeing the contours of an empty umbrella stand in the
hallway. Apparently, Gran had ventured out in the rain as well.
Maybe she’d just missed her.
    Disappointed,
Julia turned around and walked out of the front yard. At the end of
the street, she suddenly spotted Sabine walking in her direction,
flanked by a tall guy about twenty years old carrying a red
umbrella. Julia waved at the two of them and waited for them to
reach her.
    “Hi, Julia,”
Sabine said cheerfully. “Didn’t you bring an umbrella?”
    Julia
chuckled. “Yeah, while jogging? Not such a good idea.” Her eyes
drifted to the guy standing next to Sabine, who was observing her
with a slight smile. He caught her eye and extended his
hand.
    “Thorsten
Ebner,” he introduced himself. “I’m Sabine’s
brother.”
    “Nice to meet you. I’m Julia Kandolf, Anne’s sister.” She smiled
back. The boy had friendly, blue eyes and an eye-catching smile.
His black hair curled out from underneath the hood of his rain
jacket.
    “Wow, you’re
one athletic girl to go out running in a
downpour like this,” he commented.
    “Oh, it’s
not that bad,” Julia replied as a blue lightning bolt split the sky
in two and the thunder rumbled just above their heads. The next
moment, the clouds seemed to burst, rain coming down like an
impenetrable curtain pelting down on her drenched head.
    “What the…” She glared up
at the clouds. Thorsten burst out
laughing, and Julia continued mock-reproachfully: “You know, this
is all your fault. You shouldn’t have used the
word ‘downpour’. That’s where it all went wrong.”
    “Oh, really? You’re
blaming me? Not the best way to make friends. You know what, I’ll just be on my merry way without using
the word ‘sunshine’.” He grinned
mischievously.
    “Thor, can we please go to
the bus stop?” Sabine asked plaintively,
gripping her brother’s sleeve in white-knuckled fists. “I’m afraid
of thunderstorms.”
    “Of course we
will,” Thorsten said with a reassuring smile. He glanced back at Julia. “I don’t think that second word
actually helped. You joining us under the umbrella?”
    Julia shook her head.
“I’ll run back. It’ll be all right under
the trees in the forest. Talk to you
later!”
    “Are you sure?” Thorsten looked
puzzled.
    “Yeah, absolutely! Don’t worry.” She quickly turned around and ran
off in the direction of the woods, her socks making squishy sounds
in her sneakers by now. She passed the bus stop, hesitated for a
moment, then continued down the road. She’d rather walk. Of course
she hadn’t brought her bus card, and she didn’t