BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA 2: IN CAPTIVITY OF THE DARK MASTER (RETURN OF LESLIE)

Chapter 1

It was late night when Jess watched the final star appear in the sky. In fact, this was the first time he was watching the stars out of his rooftop window since.. since the last time he's been to Terabithia. He hasn't even glanced at the forest this afternoon, like he's never actually been there. It wasn't the same without Leslie. Although he'd been thinking about that over the past year, he still imagines her walking and laughing around over the other side of the bridge, but then when he's back at school the reality sets in and he's always alone. He tries not to forget the princess of course, May Belle, but Leslie was beyond May Belle's inspiration. Whenever she was around Jess, he felt like flying in the clouds. And even better when they were both in Terabithia. But still, to this day, he can't forget the dark day of the queen's death.

When it's morning, everyone is ready for breakfast at the table. Everyone except Jess, who slept late and the main cause of that was dreaming about Leslie. He knew he would have to wake up eventually, but he didn't want to. He felt so relaxed and free when he was with her, even if it was only a dream. Of course he wished it was real.

"Come on sleepy head!" May Belle says, grabbing Jess' arm and pulling him into his chair. He sits uncomfortably as his mum lays a pile of pancakes onto his plate. Suddenly he changes his mind about eating them. He remembered them, they were the exact same pancakes with the exact same jam that he ate the morning after Leslie died. Instead he took a sip of tea and stood up.

"I'm not hungry," he says sharply.

"But Jess, you have to eat something before school." His mum tries waving him back to his chair but he walks off in the opposite direction. "Jess!" but he was already behind the door.

After about half an hour, Jess sees May Belle running through the garden door, nearly crashing into him. He was sitting on a wooden plank situated on top of the small green cupboard behind the door, so it could have crushed him like a bug. May Belle burst in shouting his name, and he realised she was holding his black torn backpack.

"Jess! Jess! Come on we're gonna be late for school!" He jumped down to the floor and grabbed the bag. Forgetting his sister was in there, he smashed the door behind him which left her screaming. She was lucky that their dad appeared just in time to get her out, she would've been late for the bus.

"Hey Jess! Watch your sister will you!" Jess turned around for a second, then turned back away and walked through the bus door. "You won't be going to school today May Belle. Come on, mom will make you toast."

Jess walks through the bus as the engine starts, and he unexpectedly watches Janice watch him from the front seat. She gives him a fain but warm smile, but he walks past her and to his original seat where he and Leslie used to always sit. Of course it wasn't easy becoming friends with a past bully, but Leslie had a good, some kind of magical impact on people. But he wasn't like her. He didn't know how to befriend people. He didn't know how to make people befriend him.

The journey to school was quick, and before he could blink Jess was already in his class. Then he instantly rose up from his daydreaming when Ms. Edmunds walked into class. He still had a crush on her, but each time he looked at her he remembered Leslie's words. "Take a picture, lasts longer."

"Good morning everyone! How's your day going?" She asks, sitting at her desk, but instead of Jess watching her like everyday last year, he was looking out the window. Of course he was thinking about Leslie again. Floating in the clouds. It's been a year, but he can't forget about her. Not someone so special, and everyday, from the day of her death, he wakes up screaming her name telling her not to let go.

"Hello Ms. Edmunds." The class says miserably.

"What's wrong? You don't like the weather?" She says with a laugh, and suddenly the whole class is laughing. This wakes Jess up. He starts to focus on what is going on, and when they start singing he tries to catch up with the rhythm, but fails, unwilling to start again.

Finally, the day is over. After an encounter with green guy and orange guy, which is what he nicknamed Gary and Scott, he was exhausted. He tried to keep a low profile against Janice at school, so she wouldn't come up to him one moment and ask for friendship. When he gets dropped off by the bus, he walks straight home. He remembered throwing his bag aside and running off with Leslie everyday, but he couldn't do that anymore. May Belle asked him if they were going to Terabithia again, but Jess didn't answer. Of course they must go there sometime, for the Terabithians. But he was mad at the world, at God for killing his best friend. He's been through this. He's been through all this already. But he can't stand sitting on his Terabithian throne without a queen by his side. So he lay down on his pale white pillow, hating the lifeless colours of his house, and stared unmoving out the window. He watched the sun set, beautiful, yet so forbidding and dangerous. It seemed like the sun was hurting the sky when it was setting, because the sky was bleeding with red and orange colours. Blue was there too, but it was hardly recognizable over all the mystic clouds. Then, with one last thought of Leslie, Jess fell asleep.