Number 8 (33 page)

I couldn't help thinking afterward, though, about exactly how long the kiss lasted. I went through it all in my mind, and I even tried to kiss the mirror, to get it right. The glass was really cold. Ez and I, we didn't dislocate our jaws or anything, but we did have our lips open a bit. I figure it went for about sixteen seconds. That one kiss was so good, I didn't even need to ask for another to make it even.

A kiss like that could change a guy's whole attitude to life.

I told Asim that, and he could see it. He thinks he'll have his first kiss in eighth grade. I'm just glad I got mine out of the way in seventh grade.

Mom says I'll really enjoy the rest of high school. She thinks I'll grow into myself, like finding the right-sized suit. I hope so—before I moved to Homeland I felt empty a lot of the time, with too much loose space inside.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all,” said Helen Keller. Well, I think I've had about enough adventures to last a lifetime. But then again, maybe this is only the beginning.

You never know.

Copyright © 2006 by Anna Fienberg

All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published in Australia in 2006 by the Penguin Group, Puffin Books

First published in the United States of America in August 2007
by Walker Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
E-book edition published in November 2012
www.bloomsburykids.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker & Company, 104 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request
p. cm.
Summary: In 1970s Florida, eleven-year-old Violet's world is upturned by the arrival of a girl from Detroit who seems bent on stealing Violet's best friends, but by summer's end, Violet's relationships have only gotten better.
[1. Best friends—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction. 3. Neighbors—Fiction. 4. Summer—Fiction. 5. Lightning—Fiction. 6. Florida—History—20th century—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H31365Vio 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2007049129

Book design by David Altheim

ISBN: 978-0-8027-3498-3 (e-book)