The Camaro Murders by Ian Lewis Read Free Book Online Page A

jean jacket just like Timmy, but he’s got a Mötley Crüe patch on the back of his.
    â€œYeah, I’m going,” I say. I don’t want to look chicken in front of Starla, so I head toward the trees and then stop, waiting for her.
    She doesn’t follow. Her eyes are really wide.
    Jeff and Timmy are still laughing and saying things like, “She ain’t gonna go.”
    Starla looks back and forth. Then she walks over to me with her head down.
    We move away from Jeff and Timmy, and Starla grabs my hand. This makes me feel brave. I hear Jeff and Timmy run to the edge of the woods to watch us go.
    â€œDon’t be scared now!” Timmy yells. They laugh at that.
    I want to punch them both.
    Starla’s arm touches my arm, and she asks, “How far do we have to go?”
    â€œI don’t know. I’ve never been back here before.”
    Most of the leaves have already fallen off the trees. They swish and crunch as we walk through them. There are other noises too—whistling bird sounds and echoes everywhere.
    I’m not sure what the ravine looks like. Someone told me it’s like a big ditch. I don’t know how far we’ll have to go to get to it, either. Everything is brown and gray and taller than we are, so we keep walking because nothing looks like a ravine yet.
    We’re far enough that we can’t hear Jeff or Timmy anymore. It’s cooler in here and a little wet. I try to keep us in a straight line, but there are a lot of stumps and fallen branches, so we have to go around them.
    Starla follows me, and I still have her hand. I notice her breath and ask her if she’s O.K., because I don’t know what else to say. She says she is, but I don’t believe her.
    It feels like we walked forever when we finally get to a ledge. There’s a bunch of dead weeds in a big ditch below. It must be the ravine because it goes in both directions.
    I’m not sure how we’ll both make it down. There are a lot of stones and roots in the way. The other side is mostly dirt.
    â€œDo we have to go across?” Starla asks.
    â€œYep, Mr. Cressup’s shack is on the other side, and Timmy says we have to touch it with our own hands.”
    â€œCulver, I don’t like it back here,” Starla pulls on me. “I wanna go back.”
    â€œWe can’t go back yet,” I don’t tell her that I want to leave too. I’m worried about getting back before the bell rings.
    â€œBut I don’t wanna keep going!” she says like she’s about to cry. “I’m scared.”
    â€œHow ’bout I go then? You can stay here and wait till I come back.”
    â€œO.K.,” she says and then sniffles.
    The ravine isn’t too steep where we’re standing, and I think I can get down it if I run. I take one step back and then start down the edge, running as fast as I can so I won’t stumble. I reach the bottom and then stop myself two steps up the other side.
    â€œSee? It’s not so bad,” I yell to Starla.
    She sniffles again and smiles. I climb my way up the other side. I turn to see Starla again when I get to the top. “Are you going to wait?” I ask.
    Starla nods. “Uh-huh, I promise I’ll wait if you promise to come back.”
    â€œI promise, cross my heart and hope to die.”
    â€œStick a needle in your eye,” she says.
    We both smile, but she’s so pretty I have to look away. I walk in the other direction.
    I can’t stop thinking about Starla as I move further from the ravine. She wore her new dress today. It’s blue with a white collar, so she looks extra pretty. Maybe I should tell her that when I get back. I could say she’s prettier than the flowers. No, that’s dumb. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything at all.
    I wonder if she’d hold my hand on afternoon recess. What would Jeff and Timmy say? They’d probably make fun of me. I’d slug ’em both if