Jay Asher - The Future of Us

He smiles. “I would love it if you went first.”

“It’s gone,” I say. I glance over at Kellan and Tyson, still absorbed in their game of Pac-Man. “We can’t get onto Facebook anymore.”

Josh leans into the table. “Really? How’d that happen?”

“Tonight, fifteen years from now, I cancel my account,” I say. “Originally, I was just going to change my password, but then the whole thing disappeared like it was never there.”

Josh leans back, obviously shocked by the news.

“Now it’s your turn,” I say.

He places both hands on the table. His face is flushing from his cheeks to his ears.

“Just say it, Josh.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” he says. “And I guess neither of us will now. But I’ve decided not to be with Sydney.”

I don’t know how to respond.

“It never felt right,” he continues, and then he looks at me. “She wasn’t the one.”

A blue plastic ball smacks the side of Josh’s head. We both look over at the ball pit. Kellan’s already in there, and Tyson is pushing himself through the entrance in the netting.

After he dives in, Tyson shouts, “Come on! Less talking, more ball-pitting!”

Kellan tosses a bunch of the rainbow-colored balls into the air.

Josh looks at me and we both smile. We head over and look through the mesh. Kellan and Tyson are stretched out, hogging the area beneath the slides. I go in first, sinking down to my knees, and Josh tumbles in after me. The balls rise and shift around us, covering us up to our chests.

Kellan tosses me a yellow ball and I catch it.

“When did we take that picture of the four of us in here?” she asks.

I think about my copy of that photo, currently ripped in pieces in my journal. One day I’ll tape it back together.

“Last year,” Tyson says. “I’ve still got mine in my locker.”

“Me too,” Josh says. He chucks an orange ball at Tyson’s chest.

Kellan tosses another yellow ball at me. I catch it and throw it to Tyson, then lower my arm back into the pit. As I do, my pinky finger touches the side of Josh’s hand. I’m about to pull it away, but instead I leave my hand where it is.

A moment later, Josh lifts his pinky over mine.

ALL WEEK, I’ve known bits and pieces of my future, and I’ve wondered how my current actions affect me in fifteen years. But when Emma’s finger touched mine, I was only thinking about now.

If I moved my hand away, I knew Emma would play it off as an accident. But I didn’t want that to happen. So I slid my finger over hers. When she didn’t pull away, I went one step further. Now I’m covering her hand completely.

“Want to see something?” Kellan reaches for Tyson’s palm, and then drags her index finger down to his wrist. “This is your career line.”

“My career line?” Tyson says. “Where’s my love line? Show me something sexy, woman!”

Kellan lets go of his hand. “You’re hopeless.”

Emma laughs. As she does, she turns her hand over, lacing her fingers into mine. For as many nerve endings as I thought I had in my hand, I now realize there are a hundred times more.

“You guys are being quiet,” Kellan says. She looks carefully between me and Emma. “Are you plotting your revenge for being kidnapped?”

Hardly.

“Hold on!” Tyson says. He lifts both of his arms out of the ball pit. “Shhh… Listen. If any of you can read stomachs, tell me what this means.”

We all wait patiently until his stomach growls.

“Never mind,” he says. “That was easy. I’m starving!”

Kellan grasps the netting around the ball pit and hoists herself up. “There’s an entire kitchen back there that we can raid.”

Emma slides her body lower until the plastic balls touch her chin.

Kellan staggers across the pit and pushes her way outside. Tyson follows after her.

“You guys want to come?” he asks.

Emma squeezes my hand.

“I’m not hungry,” I say.

“I’m good,” Emma says.

“We won’t be long,” Kellan says. “We’ll probably just heat up some garlic knots.”

“Take your time,” Emma says.

When I hear the door to the kitchen swing shut, I finally look directly at Emma. She smiles at me. I push aside a few of the plastic balls so I can see her entire face.

“Much better,” I say.

Emma leans her head back and her smile fades. “Josh, I need to tell you something else. And this is probably the worst time to say it.”

I groan. “This doesn’t sound promising.”

She shifts onto her side and looks up at me, still holding my hand. “School will be out in a few weeks, and I have a feeling this could be the most incredible summer,” she says. “But my dad asked me to spend the summer in Florida. I really want to see him and Cynthia, and I especially want to get to know Rachel.”

Even though I’m holding Emma’s hand for the first time, I already miss her. It would be amazing to spend this summer together. A big part of me wishes she wouldn’t leave. And yet, I’m happy for her.

“I know how much that means to you,” I say.

“I know you do.”

“Of course, I’d be stupid not to try talking you out of leaving for the whole summer.”

“I’m not leaving for the whole summer,” she says. “Probably just six weeks.”

“Or maybe four?”

Emma grins. “Five.”

“Four and a half and I’ll throw you a welcome back party.”

She laughs. “You don’t throw a party for someone who’s only been gone four-and-a-half weeks.”

“Then how about a really nice date?” I reach across and find her other hand resting on her stomach. My balance shifts and I slide a little lower into the ball pit.

“In a way, I’m glad Facebook’s gone,” Emma says. “I hated obsessing about what I didn’t want in my future.”

“It’s better to focus on what you do want,” I say.

Her lips part slightly. “I’m starting to figure that out.”

“But I’d love to know,” I say, leaning closer, “what this will change.”

I feel her breath on my lips as we both whisper, “Hopefully everything.”

JoanMarie Asher

Jocelyn Davies

Ryan Hipp

Magda Lendzion

Penguin Young Readers

Jodi Reamer

Laura Rennert

Jonas Rideout

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

Ben Schrank

Mark Zuckerberg

The Future of Us

RAZORBILL

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Young Readers Group

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Copyright © 2011 Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

All rights reserved

ISBN : 978-1-101-54812-7

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