The Pentrals Read Online Free

questions about the scene, but I know her action is all about the two of them and nothing to do with myself.
    “I get it,” Thomas says as he pulls himself back. Violet is so still, I have time to catch the flash of hurt in his eyes, but he regains himself quickly. “I’m still here, okay?”
    The school bell rings. Violet nods and watches Thomas turn to walk inside the building. Together we take a moment to hang our heads as one of her last friends leaves her standing alone on the pavement.
    It wasn’t always this way.
    At the end of Violet’s junior year, you could not tear her away from Thomas’ side. The two had been friends forever, starting with the day he saved her handmade pinwheel from flying away in a sudden gust of spring wind. I remember how hard she worked on it in class, as getting to do art projects on paper was a special occasion. She drew intricate swirls on the curved corners, giving them a sprinkling of glitter on each point. It had flown right out of her hand after she walked out the door of her fourth grade classroom. Thomas, a bespectacled little boy with a mop of blond hair, had just emerged from his class next door, and saw the sparkling contraption spinning through the air. He rescued her creation just before it suffered a watery fate in the nearby drinking fountain.
    As a young Shadow, I had not yet mastered the art of quickly stealing glances at Persons besides my own, but on that day, it was impossible not to see how Thomas looked at Violet. His oversized frames could not hide the look of wonder across his face upon meeting the green-eyed, freckle-faced girl with glitter under her fingernails. It was like he saw an angel, and the two became inseparable. Whenever Violet was with Thomas, my job became easier, because her body instantly released any anxiety built up throughout the day. I no longer carried her stress through to my outline, as his presence melted away her tension.
    Halfway through high school, the pair became an official couple. Their attraction had grown to such a palpable level even I felt like I could reach out and grab it. After an evening party held on the shore of Lake Clarion, the large body of water at Talline’s basin, the two snuck away close to the water’s edge. I get nervous around water, but luckily the moon was covered in a swath of clouds, so I was free to watch the moment their romance began from an angle of my choosing.
    Violet had kicked off her flip-flops and was balancing on the rocky border of the shore.
    “You’re going to fall,” Thomas teased.
    “Well, then you’d better catch me,” Violet replied. She tiptoed around the formations, miming the movements of a tightrope walker. A wave crashed against the rocks and Violet jumped down to avoid being swept away.
    “I told you!” he laughed.
    “No, I jumped! I didn’t fall!” She playfully reached out to push him, but he caught her hand and pulled her close to him instead. The two were inches apart, and I waited anxiously to see what would happen next. One silhouette I had yet to outline was that of a couple embracing, but with the moonlight so soft, my form was not visible. I was removed from the moment. I wished to be part of their first kiss, to understand the feelings involved. But all I could do was watch in awe.
    Thomas and Violet used to be one half of a group of friends who jokingly called themselves the Alliance. The nickname was created through the playful minds of children, but somehow stuck through the years. The other members included Mary Kelly, Violet’s very best friend since her toddler days, and Benjamin, Mary’s adopted brother. Ben was brought to Talline in middle school and became friends with Thomas through the school’s soccer team. Each member of the Alliance had very different interests and personalities, but somehow when they got together, their variances brought them together. As adopted siblings, Mary and Ben shared a tightly woven bond to be rivaled only by Thomas and