It Ends with Us

gardening tools for my birthday last year and when she bought me a full-sized shovel
and a hoe, I didn’t have the heart to tell her it’s not what I needed.
Atlas cleared his throat and then, in a much quieter voice, he said, “I know it’s
not like a real gift. I didn’t buy it or anything. But . . . I wanted to give you
something. You know . . . for . . .”
He didn’t finish his sentence, so I nodded and tied the bag back up. “Do you
think you can hold them for me until after school? I don’t have any room in my
backpack.”

---

He grabbed the bag from me and then brought his backpack up to his lap and
put the bag inside of it. He wrapped his arms around his backpack. “How old are
you?” he asked.
“Fifteen.”
The look in his eyes made him seem a little bit sad about my age, but I don’t
know why.
“You’re in tenth grade?”
I nodded, but honestly couldn’t think of anything to say to him. I haven’t really
had much interaction with a lot of guys. Especially seniors. When I’m nervous, I
kind of just clam up.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be staying at that place,” he said, bringing his voice
down again. “But if you ever need help with gardening or anything after school, it’s
not like I have much going on there. Being as though I have no electricity.”
I laughed, and then wondered if I should have laughed at his self-deprecating
comment.
We spent the rest of the bus ride talking about you, Ellen. When he made that
comment about being bored, I asked him if he ever watched your show. He said he’d
like to because he thinks you’re funny, but a TV would require electricity. Another
comment I wasn’t sure if I should have laughed at.
I told him he could watch your show with me after school. I always record it on
the DVR and watch it while I do my chores. I figured I could just keep the front door
dead bolted, and if my parents got home early, I’d just have Atlas run out the back
door.
I didn’t see him again until the ride home today. He didn’t sit by me this time
because Katie got on the bus before him and sat next to me. I wanted to ask her to
move, but then she’d think I had a crush on Atlas. Katie would have a field day
with that one, so I just let her stay in my seat.
Atlas was at the front of the bus, so he got off before I did. He just kind of
awkwardly stood there at the bus stop and waited for me to get off. When I did, he
opened his backpack and handed me the bag of tools. He didn’t say anything about
my invitation to watch TV from earlier this morning, so I just acted like it was a
given.
“Come on,” I told him. He followed me inside and I locked the dead bolt. “If my
parents come home early, run out the back door and don’t let them see you.”
He nodded. “Don’t worry. I will,” he said, with kind of a laugh.
I asked him if he wanted anything to drink and he said sure. I made us a snack
and brought our drinks to the living room. I sat down on the couch and he sat down

---

in my dad’s chair. I turned on your show and that’s about all that happened. We
didn’t talk much, because I fast-forwarded through all the commercials. But I did
notice he laughed at all the right times. I think good comedic timing is one of the
most important things about a person’s personality. Every time he laughed at your
jokes, it made me feel better about sneaking him into my house. I don’t know why.