“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Ma remarked, arching her eyebrow. “What was that? Since when do we act out like that?”

“I can’t do it! I don’t want to do this,” I said, swallowing hard. I was angry, and I didn’t want to paint anymore. I just wanted to go home.

Not to our new home, but our old one.

The one where I had a few friends.

“What’s wrong?” Ma asked.

“Nothing.”

“Jackson, what is it? I know you’re not mad at the painting, because you were doing great. So tell me the truth. What’s wrong?”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t understand why we have to live in this stupid town! Nobody likes me, and they just pick on me about everything. I hate it here, and I want to move!”

“Are people bullying you again?” she asked me.

Tears fell from my eyes. She said “again” like everyone had stopped bullying me at some point. I was tired of people judging me for how I looked. I was tired of people laughing at me because sometimes I couldn’t score a goal in gym class. I was tired of not fitting in.

I was tired.

“Come here,” she told me.

“No.”

“Jackson Paul.”

I sighed.

I walked over to her and she took my hands into hers. “What are you?” she asked me.

I mumbled a word.

“Louder,” Ma said.

“I said I’m extraordinary.”

“That’s right, and even on the bad days, you are extraordinary. These mean people, they don’t get to run you away. They don’t get to hurt you, and come Monday, I’ll be marching down to the school to talk to the principal about doing something about this. But we are staying in this town.”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t run. We don’t let people run us away. We have a right to be here, to be happy, and that’s exactly what we are going to do, okay? We are going to be happy.”

I sniffled. “Okay.”

“And you are going to get this technique down tonight. Do you know why?”

I sniffled. “Because I’m extraordinary?”

“Yes, my love. You. Are. Extraordinary.”

12

Grace

Finn had been calling me each day, but I never answered. Every time he left a voice message, I deleted it. I knew if I listened to his voice, I would miss him, and he didn’t deserve to be missed. My brain understood that fact, yet my heart had its own thoughts on the subject. Avoiding him was the best option for me.

I did my best to keep to myself. When I went to The Silent Bookshop, Jackson was normally there, yet we didn’t interact. He sat in the far-left corner of the shop while I sat at the table in the far-right.

Sometimes, we’d cross paths while searching for books, but he made it his mission not to look my way, so I did my best to stay out of his way, too.

Something about him made me so uneasy. The way he approached me in the marketplace was so odd. He came off so aggressive but also protective all at once, and it gave my head the biggest migraine.

I did catch him one afternoon with Tucker, and Josie wasn’t lying—it made my heart swell. I was walking through Kap Park when he and Tucker arrived. Tucker seemed to have trouble walking on his own, so Jackson carried him in his arms. Jackson wore a backpack, and once they found a spot in the sun, he pulled out a blanket and chew toys for Tucker. He laid his old faithful down on the blanket and just sat with his dog. Every now and then, he’d pet Tucker’s back, and say, “Good boy.” It almost looked as if Tucker was smiling as he slowly wagged his tail and rested.

Jackson cared for his dog with nothing but love. I didn’t know a man like him could care for something in that way. His love was so quiet, yet somehow so loud. The way he loved Tucker was the way every person should’ve been loved: unconditionally.

When he looked up and saw me watching them, I started walking away fast.

He didn’t look at me the same way he looked at Tucker.

When Jackson’s eyes locked with mine, I only saw hate.

* * *

On Friday evening, Judy joined me at the bookshop, something she never did. Yet she’d been very close since I’d been back to town, making sure I was okay. She wasn’t as big on reading as I was, so she casually flipped through some pages as we sat in my corner.

“We can go,” I whispered, watching my sister twiddle her thumbs from boredom as she leaned back in her chair.

“Shh…” she scolded me. “Silence is golden.”

I laughed. “You’re bored out of your mind.”

“What are you talking about? This is the best. Books and words, words and books. It’s amazing.”

A person shushed us from afar, and we couldn’t help but snicker some more. “Want to go get ice cream?”