the men were holding； I figured out in a
hurry what was making Juli refuse to e out of the
tree。
Chain saws。
Don't get me wrong here； okay？ The tree was an ugly mutant tangle of gnarly branches。 The
girl arguing with those men was Juli — the world's
peskiest； bossiest； most know…it…all female。 But all of a sudden my stomach pletely bailed
on me。 Juli loved that tree。 Stupid as it was； she
loved that tree； and cutting it down would be like cutting out her heart。
Everyone tried to talk her down。 Even me。 But she said she wasn't ing down； not ever；
and then she tried to talk us up。 “Bryce； please！ e
up here with me。 They won't cut it down if we're all up here！”
For a second I considered it。 But then the bus arrived and I talked myself out of it。 It wasn't
my tree； and even though she acted like it was； it
wasn't Juli's； either。
……… Page 13………
We boarded the bus and left her behind； but school was pretty much a waste。 I couldn't seem
to stop thinking about Juli。 Was she still up in the
tree？ Were they going to arrest her？
When the bus dropped us off that afternoon； Juli was gone and so was half the tree。 The top
branches； the place my kite had been stuck； her
favorite perch — they were all gone。
We watched them work for a little while； the chain saws gunning at full throttle； smoking as
they chewed through wood。 The tree