Tag: Character: Leila

Edie waited; Leila was taking a long time to respond. Anxiety twisted her stomach, but she clutched her umbrella and said nothing. She wasn’t going to rush Leila into a response.

She didn’t want her to leave, of course. But she knew, at this point, that there was nothing she could do to stop her. So she just wanted to understand. And if Leila was just going back to her tree, why bring Edie with her? Why bring her at all, when she’d vanished so abruptly last semester with the expectation that Edie would just forget her?

It was dark in the woods, the only light coming from the moon filtering feebly through the clouds—and perhaps from Leila’s tree itself. It was quiet, the dripping of the trees still the only sound. Edie waited.

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 56: The Tree” →

The rain let up later that afternoon, but the clouds didn’t clear away, so Edie didn’t trust it. She and her friends went to the dining hall for dinner, and then she went back to the front gate with all of her rain gear, even though she was very early to meet Leila. She wanted to be sure she didn’t miss Leila or make her wait.

Leila wasn’t at the gate when Edie arrived, so she pulled out the book she’d put in her pocket, making sure that her four-leaf clover and phone were both where she’d left them in another pocket. She didn’t want to get caught without any protection or a way to reach her friends. She’d also made sure that not only Corrie, but also Dawn, Annie, and Roe knew where she was going. She knew Leila wouldn’t hurt her—she was fairly certain of that—but it was still good to know that if she was gone for a long time, her friends would know what to do.

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 55: Trust” →

Edie grabbed the note hastily. Her fingers were almost shaking. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her, then leaned against the building to unfold the paper.

For a second she didn’t recognize what was on the paper as writing and stared at it as a whole, trying to make sense of it as a drawing. Then she realized that Leila’s handwriting was just very narrow and cursive—it looked old-fashioned, like the style of writing that had been in vogue centuries before—but that it was neat and readable if she focused.

Edith, it read. Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 33: The Orchard” →

“It’s not your fault,” Edie said, confused as to why Leila would suddenly want to leave. It obviously bothered her that the professor thought Edie was crazy, but that didn’t have anything to do with Leila. At least, not with her specifically.

“Perhaps not,” Leila said. She was still frowning.

Edie had a sudden, scary premonition. “You’re not going to do anything to Sol, are you? It’s going to be fine. We’re halfway through the semester anyway.”

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 25: Sharing Notes” →

Edie shook her head. She wasn’t sure if she understood what Leila was getting at. “Are you just telling me that it would be hard for you to change? That’s okay. I can help you. You know I’m here for you, whatever you need.” She reached out, trying to take Leila’s hand, but Leila didn’t let go of the yearbook.

Leila shook her head. “I do not wish to change who I am. I would have to become a different person.”

“Just change one little thing at a time,” Edie said. “It doesn’t even have to be something that feels like a change. I mean, you’ve been pretending to be a student a lot—you were for most of last semester, anyway. What’s the difference?”

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 24: Being a Student” →

Leila was silent for a long time, her hands no longer stroking Edie’s hair. Edie sat up—this time Leila didn’t try to stop her—and moved into a cross-legged position, next to Leila but at an angle so she could face her.

Leila was staring into space, or maybe up at the trees. She was very, very still—she didn’t even seem to be blinking.

Edie didn’t want to say anything; she was sure Leila must be thinking hard and didn’t want to interrupt her. So she sat quietly, just waiting.

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 7: Complications” →