First Date by R.L. Stine, Sammy Yuen Jr. Read Free Book Online Page B

day,” she said, giggling.
    â€œOh. You don’t want to go?” he asked.
    He’s worse than I am, she thought.
    That thought cheered her.
    â€œLet’s go,” she said. “Shadyside Park is behind the school. Have you been there?”
    He shook his head, then followed her toward the back of the building. They walked through the long corridors without saying a thing.
    It was colder outside than Chelsea had thought. A gusting wind made it feel more like winter than autumn. She stopped to zip her jacket up to the collar. Then they walked side by side past the teacher parking lot, past the baseball and soccer fields, and into the broad, tree-filled park that stretched behind the school.
    Chelsea took a deep breath. “The air smells so good,” she said.
    â€œEspecially after breathing the air in school,” he agreed. “I think it’s recycled from 1920 or something.”
    She laughed. Hey, he has a sense of humor, she thought.
    He laughed too, a dry, nearly silent laugh from deep in his throat.
    He’s really good-looking, she thought.
    She raised her eyes to the trees. More leaves had fallen, making the branches wintery and bare. “You know, the woods beyond the park stretch all the way to the river,” she said.
    â€œI’d like to see the river,” he said. “Is there a path through the woods?”
    She nodded. “Yeah. I guess. I’m pretty new here myself, you know. We moved to Shadyside at the end of September.”
    â€œYou move a lot?” he asked, his expression serious.
    â€œNo. Not really,” she told him, her arm bumping against him as they headed through the grass, their sneakers crunching over brown leaves. “My dad had a chance to buy a restaurant here, so we came.”
    â€œYou’re rich?” he asked and then blushed. “I mean—”
    She laughed, more at his embarrassment than at the question. “It’s just a tiny coffee shop in the Old Village. And my dad had to take out a big loan to buy it. But it’s something he’s always wanted.”
    They walked in silence for a while.
    â€œYou move a lot?” Chelsea asked, trying hard to keep the conversation going.
    â€œYeah,” he said with some bitterness. She waited for him to say more. But he got a faraway look in his eyes and, staring straight ahead, continued walking in silence.
    They followed a narrow, leaf-covered path through the trees. The sky grew darker. It seemed to lower itself over them, darkening the woods.
    â€œIt’s almost cold enough to snow,” Chelsea said.
    Oh, no. Stop it, she scolded herself. Don’t talk about the weather.
    â€œI like snow,” he said, turning to grin at her. “It’s so pure.”
    He stopped in front of a broad white birch tree and tossed his book and binder down at the foot ofthe smooth trunk. “Let’s leave our stuff here,” he suggested, gesturing toward her backpack. “That looks so heavy.”
    â€œGood idea.” She pulled off the backpack and dropped it beside his stuff. “I feel a thousand pounds lighter.”
    â€œWe’ll come back this way,” he said, lingering behind her a few paces as the path curved through the trees.
    â€œHey—I think I can see the river!” Chelsea exclaimed, pointing. “Look!”
    She waited for him to catch up. “It’s called the Conononka,” she said.
    He came up close beside her, smiling, his breath steaming in front of him. She decided she loved the way his dark eyes glowed every time he smiled.
    I’m walking with a boy in the woods, she thought happily.
    For most girls, that’s probably no big deal.
    But I’ve never walked alone with a boy in the woods before.
    She smiled at Will for no reason in particular. He returned the smile, then quickly turned his eyes back to the path.
    They walked a little farther. The air grew colder as they neared the riverbank. She could