I Become Shadow by Joe Shine Page A

lied.
    Junie slid back over to the steering wheel and put his seat belt on … in a fake car. It was cute. But man, it looked and felt so real! The engine revved, and when Junie accelerated, it felt like we were really moving down a road. The wind rushing through the open windows matched the speed. I closed my eyes for an instant. It ruffled my hair. I made a wing with my hand, like I used to in the car back home. I missed this.
    I don’t know if we were following an old woman, or if it was supposed to be this easy since it was our first lesson, but the pursuit was painfully slow. Within moments, we were practically tailgating. So I did what I do best: I rested my cheek against my arm, let the wind blow through my hair, and zoned out.
    I was snapped out of it when Junie said, “All right. Pay up. Where are you from?”
    I was ready to drag it out, to play coy, but when we bumped over a small dip in the pavement, it hit me. Therewas a reason this all felt so familiar. I knew this road. I knew it like an old book.
There’s a sharp right coming up
. Seconds later we rounded the bend and hit that turn. The trees began to thin, revealing a town I knew all too well.
    My throat caught. My eyes began to sting.
Not here. Not anymore
. Katie’s words didn’t work. A tear fell from my lashes. I shook my head.
    Junie, thinking he’d done something wrong, backpedaled. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me.” His nervous eyes flashed between the car in front of us and me. “I didn’t mean it.”
    I took a deep breath and choked out, “No. It’s … I’m from
here
.” The dam broke and I began to sob. I never thought I’d see this place again, let alone so soon and like this. I wasn’t ready for it. It was a cruel joke. It had to be. This was no coincidence.
    Junie didn’t know what to do so he focused on following the green car, like he was supposed to. At least he didn’t try to calm me down or touch me. But part of me could have used a good hug. I wiped my eyes and smiled as I imagined him trying to give me another high five.
    We slowly cruised by the bank that sat on the corner of the main square. The initial rush of emotion had passed. The tears were still flowing, but I was quiet.
    “So where are we?” Junie asked me.
    I kept looking out the window, afraid to look at him. “Amherst.”
    “It’s pretty,” he said.
    “It’s home,” I said softly.
    “Where’s your house?” he asked.
    “To the left,” I answered, barely audible.
    The car we were following turned right. Junie turned left.
    I flinched and sat upright. “Where are you going?” I demanded, whirling to face him.
    “I’m taking you home.” He flashed a small smile before focusing on the road again.
    “Junie, don’t. We’ll get in trouble. Turn around.” Part of me wanted him to keep going, of course. But the other part of me was terrified.
    “No. I’m taking you home. They can punish me however they want. It’s my call, not yours. Now where am I going?”
    It was a bad idea. A horrible idea. But in the end, I couldn’t say it wasn’t what I wanted. If they were going to screw with me like this, I had to see how far they were willing to take it. If they could recreate everything they’d stolen from me with the same accuracy. I reached over and hugged him. Not how I wanted our first non-training physical contact to be, but whatever. He reached over and held my hand, gently squeezing it for support as we drew closer and closer to my house. Each turn that took us closer was an exercise in keeping it together.
    When we turned onto my road my stomach did a flip. Would it look the same? Everything else had, but could my own home stand up to that intimate level of scrutiny? Would my mother’s rose bushes have the right shape? Would the tree I fell out of when I was nine have the missing branch?
    I wasn’t sure what I was feeling but as Junie pulled upoutside my house I couldn’t breathe. They’d gotten it right,