I remember.
I remember you.
I remember how you made me feel.
And in that moment, even though it is brief, she remembers just enough to feel that way again.
When she rises out of the water, the dream will float away with the fading scent of awapuhi, replaced with the reality that she will have to go back to school tomorrow. Back to the stares and the gossip and the not listening. But somehow, Ms. Lindsay remains hopeful, despite what she knows. She will drive to school and sit in the parking lot and make the same promise she always makes, even if she doesn’t necessarily believe it.
Today will be better.
She will stand in front of the class and hold up her three fingers to quiet them down, and for a moment she will think, Read between the lines, class.
But then, as she looks at their unsuspecting, uninterested faces, she will start to think about what that really means. That just like there is more to her than what they see, there is more inside each one of them.
What’s your story? she will wonder as she scans the room from face to face.
And this time, when she pleads with them to read between the lines, she will try to do the same.
I am grateful to my writing partners, Cindy Faughnan and Debbi Michiko Florence, for their love and support and valuable feedback. To Robin Wasserman, who forced me to send her chapters to prove I really was still working on this project I was writing “just for fun.” To my agent, Barry Goldblatt, who didn’t laugh when I told him my dream, but instead said, “Write it!” To my husband, Peter Carini, and my son, Eli Carini, who listened to my ideas and brainstormed with me through countless dinners. I love and appreciate you both so much. And finally, to my wonderful editor, Joan Powers, who embraced this project and always inspires me to tell it true, no matter what. Thank you for giving me the courage to write the stories my heart longs to tell.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2015 by Jo Knowles
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2015
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2014944796
ISBN 978-0-7636-6387-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7636-7421-2 (electronic)
Candlewick Press
99 Dover Street
Somerville, Massachusetts 02144
visit us at www.candlewick.com
Jo Knowles, Read Between the Lines
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