Page 71 of Chasing Infinity

Finally, after searching my face for what feels like ages, Charlie shrugs and reaches for the other half of my carrot. He pops it in his mouth and gets an equally satisfying crunch, not caring that I’d already taken a bite out of it. “My dad’s the sheriff. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief and open my mouth to thank him when my attention is pulled by the sound of my name. I turn to the right to see the third of my new little trio of friends. Eli bounds over with his Spider-Man lunch box dangling from his hands.

“Hey, guys!” he exclaims far too loudly as he sits across from them at the table. “What are you talking about?”

I glance at Charlie right as he abruptly responds, “Nothing.”

I decide then, at this moment, that Charlie is going to be an irreplaceable friend. Though I’ve only known him for a few days, this solidifies my trust in him. He effortlessly could have filled Eli in on our conversation, but he doesn’t. He promised me he wouldn’t tell anyone, and I know he meant it.

Eli frowns for a second, feeling left out, but he smoothly replaces it with a big grin. “Oh, okay. So anyway, I just overheard Noah complaining to his friends that Addison bullied him out of this table. She’s been here for, what, four days, and she’s already a legend?”

I scrunch my nose at this new development. “I don’t think Ibulliedhim.”

Eli shakes his head. “No, it’s fine. It’s great, actually. Noah’s been walking around here for years, acting like he’s better than us. He deserved to be put in his place. And I’m glad you were the one to do it.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re new. You don’t have any history like the rest of us do. I think it was a good rude awakening for him. Hopefully, he realized that he’s not the untouchable king he thought he was,” Eli observes as he unzips his lunch box. He pulls out a sandwich with a groan. “Bologna again? I told my mom Ihatebologna.”

“Why does it matter if I don’t have any history here?” I ask him, trying to get Eli back on topic. I close my mythology book, already knowing that I’m not going to get back to it during this lunch break.

“Because Noah likes to think that he’s the top dog. But that doesn’t mean anything if he can’t extend it to people outside the little ‘Founding Families’ circle,” Charlie fills in, reaching intomylunch box for another carrot. “He’s powerless against you, and I’m sure that will really start to bother him.”

“He’s going to self-combust,” Eli adds, his mouth full of his gross bologna sandwich. “And I personally can’t wait till that happens. I’ve been dreaming of it since kindergarten.”

“I think you need a new hobby,” I tell him softly. Charlie snickers next to me, and Eli frowns, not fully understanding the joke, but shrugs anyway and pretends to laugh along.

“I’m so glad you came here, Addie. You will be the greatest thing that happened to this little town. I already know it,” Eli tells me, his eyes warm and round as they gaze at me adoringly.

I register my cheeks starting to heat up underneath Eli’s stare. Still, I manage to smile back at him despite feeling shy under all this newfound attention. No one ever seemed to give me a second thought at my old school, especially boys. I was just Addie—nerdy Addie—who only wanted to read and always got the highest scores on homework. If I was getting any attention, it was because the kids in my class wanted me to give them the answers.

But now? Now, my only two friends were these two boys, and I’m still unsure what to make of this change in events.

From that first week on, though, we are inseparable. It doesn’t take long for me to realize that being the new kid in a new town isn’t quite so bad with them by my side. Charlie and Eli continue to surprise me throughout my first year here by being some of the best friends that I could’ve ever dreamed of having.

As the year passes by, I manage to get the best grades in my class—of course—followed closely by Noah, who never seems to want to let me forget it. He hardly lets up on his threatening promise from the showdown over the lunch table. Noah seizes any chance he can get to throw a snide comment or a mean remark my way. He always takes the easy way out and makes his strikes at my curly, unruly hair or that my parents are trying to open a little café.

His ammunition is weak, and I never let him forget it.

As much as Noah pushes me that first year, I push back. For the first few months, we’re constantly at each other’s throats, picking on one another and tossing insults back and forth. It quickly becomes the new normal.

After we return from Christmas break, the intensity of our rivalry seems to calm down. However, it still lingers behind every interaction we have. At the end of the school year, Noah slides by me, bumping my shoulder with his once the final bell rings, releasing us into our summer vacations. He tilts his head around to glare at me.

“Watch where you’re going, Parks.”

“Maybe you should open your eyes when you walk instead of expecting everyone just to get out of the way for you.”

He stops and turns to face me fully. He’s grown over the spans of the year, now a few inches taller than me. I tilt my chin up to meet his glare. His eyes study me before his expression relaxes, and a wicked smirk takes hold of his face.

“Have a good summer, Parks. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

Trepidation settles in my stomach. Willow Heights is a small town. There’s no way he’snotgoing to see me around. As I head home, I steel myself for the worst. I don’t regret standing up to Noah; bullies need to be put in their place. But I have the feeling that Noah and my story is just beginning. If this first year has been any indication of what the future will be like, I better prepare for whatever storm he will unleash.

Chapter 19

Noah

Noah - Age 13

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