His mom insists he see a shrink to talk about whatever it is that he's going through. That's one heck of a cry for attention, and oh boy does he get some. Poo really hits the fan when the school calls their parents to report that Link left all of his final exams blank. He starts teaching her how to draw, and over time their companionship turns into something more, and they start dating each other. They start frequenting hospital cafeterias and playing games that teach them how to really 'see' people. Link starts dating a girl, so James and Ellen turn to each other for companionship. Link storms out, and Ellen and James are left to sift through the remains of the fight for little kernels of truth.Įllen decides that she needs to educate herself about what it means to be gay, but no matter how many books she reads, she can't seem to find the answers she wants. James says yes, they are, but Link adamantly denies being gay, despite knowing that James is. Ellen finally screws up enough courage to ask the boys if they're a couple, and things explode. Mom says that she wants Link to do whatever makes him happy (typical Mom thing to say) and that if Ellen really wants to know, she needs to ask him. So now she's consumed with the need to define their relationship in order to better understand her two favorite people. One day at lunch, a friend observing Link and James remarks upon how much they seem like a couple, and the remark effectively blows Ellen's mind- of course they're a couple. (Hey teachers, there's nothing wrong with being introverted.) She's determined to have a fresh start and be more social (no more teacher's notes on her unwillingness to make friends), but that proves to be difficult for her. She prefers to fly under the radar socially and academically, but at Cedar Hill everyone knows she's Link's little sister. And Link, poor Link, just doesn't know how he feels about that.Įllen starts at her new school and she's filled with anxiety. For a while now they've been an inseparable trio, but now they're also developing into an unfortunate love triangle: Ellen is madly in love with James, but James is in love with Link.

It's the end of summer vacation and things are starting to get tense for Ellen, her math prodigy of an older brother, Link, and Link's best friend, James.

My heartbeat by garret freymann weyr