4.

Judy sits alone on a backless bench that rests on it's own, in a wide-open space. A slim pebbled walkway led the way to this bench and a sea of green reaches out either side of this walkway as well as out in front of this bench. It is nice out, bright with a slight breezy, and this is a perfect opportunity to continue that read of hers.

School is out for the day, the same day of the possible Ellie sighting, and Judy is having herself a moment's peace to indeed read a little before heading home. Before she does get to delve right back into that read, she becomes somewhat distracted by the sound of what seems to be a football match, or at least a training session, taking place a little ways behind her.

She takes a look around and cannot see any signs of any sort of a football game going on anywhere near to her. Strange how the sounds she had heard had dissipated somewhat in the short time she took to look around, in fact soon after beginning to look around those sounds of a football game had completely faded. Despite that though, there are what appear to be three cheerleaders nearby, two of which are walking a step or two behind the other. Judy can't help but think of the term 'brats'.

Whatever relevance this moment may hold, if it holds any at all, Judy tries not to dwell on it and fairly soon it is back to that book. She opens it up right to the spot to where she had previously read up to.

It's a wonder as to the power of the mind, what you read may project itself in some way or another onto the real world. This could be a point to which can be argued, the fact that you may begin to see similarities to your own life with what it is you are reading but what if things which happen around you mirror what you read prior to having had such a read, can the power of suggestion have an effect on a moment after the moment has already taken place? Words in books are prewritten, they cannot be altered to suit a feeling.

In this particular book Judy is reading and right at the point she returns to, Ellie is sitting about half way up a stand by her school football field and the college team is out practising. There are a few other students sitting in this stand, none of whom are particularly close to where Ellie is sitting. She has her school bag with her and is sufficiently distracted that she is not paying any attention to what is happening out on the field.

There is football training going on and the school cheerleaders are practising off in the distance and indeed the 'brats' are among then. What is happening out on the field is not why she had come to be where she is. Ellie enjoys moments of being alone when there are people in the immediate vicinity. She finds the noise and the sounds to be calming and almost soothing. It's nice to have a moment alone when life is occurring all around.

Surely it is not possible that Judy can hear the sounds that Ellie can hear at this point of the story. Even the suggestion of such a thing is ridiculous ... right?

As it is, not unlike Judy and of course within the story of that book, Ellie is the new girl in town, and she is still settling in. This visit to the stand next to the football field is not Ellie's first. She has indeed been there before, and there is someone in particular who has taken notice of that fact, someone Ellie herself has yet to take notice of. The training session comes to an end. The guys on the field begin to make their way back to the changing rooms.

'You coming?' one asks of another.

'Yeah, give me a minute though will ya?'

Noticing how distracted his friend was all during training and now noticing as to what the distraction is, a bit of banter is thrown about.

'Yeah, I imagine you will be looking for more than just a minute.'

'Jealousy does not suit you, my friend.'

A smile is shared, and present company is parted, company of another kind is being sought after. This particular player makes his way up the stand and over towards where Ellie is still sitting. Football practice may be over, but she has of yet to make her way away from the field. After all, she had not come to where she is to observe practice or training of any kind or to have even observed a guy.

He quietly sits close but not so close that he might invade her space. She briefly looks up and returns to what it is that has her attention. They both may be sitting though there is a certain stand-off feeling about this moment. It is a matter of who breaks first. She may want to but is not going to, so he does.

'Hi, my name is Steve.'

'That's good' she says acknowledging him verbally but not physically.

'Aren't you gonna tell me your name?'

'It's Ellie.'

'Nice to meet you ... Ellie. I have noticed you here before.'

'That's nice' she says in a nonchalant way that Steve has trouble reading.

Does she not have any kind of interest in him or is she just letting on that she has no interest in him whatsoever? Apart from her brief look up when Steve took a seat, Ellie has still yet to physically acknowledge the fact that she is not alone. Silence devours the next few seconds after which Steve stands.

'Well, I guess it was kinda nice to meet you, I will leave you to it. Maybe see you again?'

Ellie remains quiet. Steve begins to move away and offers a 'bye' as he does. It is only when his back is turned that she looks up and at that she takes a couple of seconds before she returns the 'bye'. He turns back briefly and smiles seeing her apparently lost in her studies, then he continues along on his way. Ellie smiles a smile of her own but only at a point where she is sure that Steve cannot see her smile.

In the changing rooms, banter returns as Steve's friend passes a remark. 'Guess you really only needed a minute after all.'

'Shut it Mike'. Steve takes a towel from his training bag and throws it at his friend and the two laugh before Steve throws a glance back to the entrance of the changing rooms.

Judy smiles a smile of her own as she reads, though at that, she is not sure if this is the right response she should be having. It may have been a kind of feel-good moment for Ellie, but Judy has doubts as to Steve's intentions especially when Judy half suspects that Queen Bee has taken an interest with what occurred in the stand despite the fact that the book did not reveal such a thing. It just feels logical to her that Queenie should be near, observing a moment with a horrid distain.

Ellie is well able to take care of herself though, right? Still, it is just a story, just a story within a book. Ellie is not real; she is just a character, just like Steve and just like Queen Bee, all fictional people in a fictional world. It definitely does not feel like that at all to Judy. There is much more to this book than what meets the eye.

Strange it is, being taken somewhere like this. It was what she wanted when she went to the library to pick out a book, this however has gone to another level, to somewhere she could never have imagine ever going. Just wait for the moment when Judy physically arrives there. She really will be taken away in more ways than one.