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It is August, just before the school year begins, and Jess wakes up early to go for a run. He waits until his father leaves for work and is careful not to wake his mother and sisters. Jess has been training all summer, running through the cow pasture in his overalls with his rough, bare feet. He wants to be the fastest runner in fifth grade and not just the "crazy little kid that draws all the time." Jess runs for longer than usual and is called in to breakfast by his younger sister May Belle. When he enters the kitchen, his older sisters Ellie and Brenda make fun of his sweatiness and odor. Momma scolds Jess and makes him wash in the cold water of the kitchen sink.
When Momma announces chores to do, the older girls object, saying they need to go school shopping. Jess observes to himself that "these girls could get out of work faster than grasshoppers could slip through your fingers." The girls also wheedle five dollars from their mother, saying their father promised them the money, even though Momma protests she "ain't got no money to give you." Since the two youngest girls are not old enough to help with chores, the older girls' departure has "left Jess to do the work as usual," including milking the cow and picking beans in the noonday sun. As Jess picks beans, May Belle arrives with news that new neighbors are moving into the "ratty old country house" next door. Jess's first thought is "they wouldn't last," but the narrator notes he later recognizes this moment as "probably the biggest thing in his life."
Jess spends the day canning beans with his mother, who "had screamed at Jess all afternoon and was now too tired to fix any supper." He makes sandwiches for himself and the girls, which they eat outside while their frazzled mother watches TV. Jess then slips away to his room to draw, a pastime that brings him peace and helps him relax. "Lord, he loved to draw," the narrator says. The narrator also reveals Jess "would like to show his drawings to his dad, but he didn't dare." His father doesn't want Jess to be an artist and blames Jess's school for "turning my only son into some kind of a—" (The word questioning his son's manliness is unspoken, but it's clearly not meant as a compliment.)
In reality, however, no one at the school supports Jess's art except for Miss Edmunds, the music teacher, who praises his talent and encourages him to keep drawing. Jess has a crush on her, even though—or because—she is a "hippie" and "the only female teacher anyone had never seen in Lark Creek Elementary wearing pants." Miss Edmunds's music class is Jess's favorite part of school, and he finds himself "under the spell of her wild beauty and in the snare of her enthusiasms."
Jess's mother rouses him from his drawing and sends him outside to milk Miss Bessie. Meanwhile, his older sisters return home from shopping before their father, who works "from sunup until well past dark." His father's beat-up pickup truck arrives, and May Belle joyfully runs to greet him. Jess suffers a moment of envy, thinking how lucky she is to receive their father's attention and hugs. "He had been thought too big for that since the day he was born," the narrator notes. His father has no greeting for Jess beyond criticizing his lateness in doing his chores.
The next morning Jess goes out early to run again, and this time he finds an unknown person sitting on the pasture fence. Jess looks over the short, raggedy hair and cutoff jeans and "couldn't honestly tell whether it was a girl or a boy." The person is Leslie Burke, a girl his own age and his new neighbor. She introduces herself, even shakes hands, and tries to make friends, but Jess isn't interested in making her acquaintance. He decides to milk the cow instead of running, and Leslie disappears.
Leslie joins Jess's fifth-grade class at school, arriving dressed in "faded cutoffs and the blue undershirt." All the other students, dressed up for the first day of school, are shocked at her appearance. Jess doodles a fantasy animal while another student passes out schoolbooks, and Gary Fulcher tries to peek at his drawing. Jess refuses and stomps on Gary's toe, drawing the attention of their teacher Mrs. Myers, or "Monster-Mouth Myers," with her "lemon-pie smile" that she wears only on the first and last days of school. "A whole year of this," thinks Jess in misery and humiliation. "He wasn't sure he could stand it."
The students eat lunches, brought from home, at their desks—the school has no lunchroom or cafeteria. After lunch at recess the boys' long-awaited footraces begin, with bossy Gary Fulcher reigning over the process. Leslie shows up with the boys, and Jess tries to ignore her, hoping "she would go back to the upper field where she belonged" with the other girls and play hopscotch. But she stays. When Jess challenges Gary about the outcome of a race, Gary sneers and says, "next thing you're gonna want to let some girl run." In gleeful defiance Jess invites Leslie to run, taunting Gary with "You ain't scared to let a girl race are you, Fulcher?"
Leslie runs in the next race, and much to everyone's surprise, she wins, beating even Jess. His dream is crushed: "He was going to be champion ... and he hadn't even won his heat." When Gary doesn't want to let Leslie run in the final, Jess taunts him again with cowardice. To save face Gary must allow Leslie to race, and Leslie wins again. When she tries to thank Jess for including her, Jess gives her the cold shoulder and ignores her on the bus ride home. Nevertheless Jess watches as she runs home from the bus stop: "She ran as though it was her nature," the narrator reveals. "The word 'beautiful' came to his mind."
The races at school come to a halt when Leslie continues to beat the boys. Jess takes consolation that if he can't be the fastest runner in the fifth grade, neither can Gary Fulcher, and once again, Jess delights in Miss Edmunds's Friday music class. As Miss Edmunds plays the guitar and the students sing about living in harmony, hand in hand, "Free to be you and me," Jess catches Leslie's eye and smiles at her. The ice is broken, and he decides to be friends after all. They sit together on the bus ride home, and she tells him about the privileged, suburban school she attended in Arlington. She misses her friends and doesn't like Lark Creek, but explains her family all agreed to move to the country. They gave up their wealthy lifestyle to farm and "think about what's important," she says. Jess considers this idea "the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard" because it's too difficult to earn a living farming, but then he understands the Burkes don't need to earn a living—they're already wealthy.
Back at school the next week, Mrs. Myers reads aloud Leslie's excellent essay about a hobby, scuba diving. She is a talented writer, and the realism of her essay takes Jess's breath away—literally. He nearly has a panic attack, frightened at the idea of being underwater and feeling like a coward because of his fear. Mrs. Myers then instructs the class to watch a TV program about Jacques Cousteau and write an essay about it. Leslie sheepishly admits her family doesn't have a television, and her classmates tease her until she cries. At the end of the day Leslie gets on the bus and sits in the back seat, where the older bullies usually sit. Jess tries to rescue Leslie and in the process insults Janice Avery to her face, making her more of an enemy than ever.
Leslie and Jess make plans to hang out, but first they have to bribe May Belle to leave them alone. Leslie gives her a set of paper dolls, and then she and Jess go exploring. They find an old rope by a creek and swing across to the other side, where Leslie proposes they create a magical land they alone will rule. "We need a place ... just for us," she says. They name the land Terabithia and promise to keep it secret. They spend time there in the afternoons reading books, dreaming up revenge plots against Janice Avery, and telling stories. Terabithia also has a dark pine forest, which Leslie dubs the sacred grove and declares they will enter it "only at times of greatest sorrow or of greatest joy."
Time passes, and fall turns to winter. Jess learns more about Leslie and her parents, Judy and Bill. They are worldly, highly educated writers who love books and music. Jess begins to understand how different their family is from the other people he knows, but he doesn't care. "Leslie was more than his friend," the narrator shares. "She was his other, more exciting self."
May Belle brings a package of Twinkies to school for lunch, a rare treat from her father. She brags about it on the bus and is overheard by seventh-grade bully Janice Avery, who later steals the Twinkies from her. May Belle runs to Jess, demanding he beat Janice up and then calling him "yeller" when he sensibly refuses. Leslie calms May Belle down and promises she and Jess will get revenge on Janice.
Later that day in Terabithia Jess and Leslie devise a plan. Leslie proposes they write a fake love note to Janice from Willard Hughes, the seventh-grade heartthrob. In the note they lay it on thick with words of love and adoration and ask Janice to meet Willard behind the school so they can walk home together. Leslie predicts—in fact, counts on it—Janice will brag to her friends about the note and will thus be humiliated.
Jess plants the note in Janice's desk while Leslie distracts Mrs. Pierce, the seventh-grade teacher. As predicted, Janice doesn't get on the bus that afternoon, and her friend Wilma Dean tells the bus driver Janice is meeting Willard. Billy Morris, a student on the bus, contradicts Wilma, having just seen Willard leaving on another bus. Wilma and Billy have a shouting match over it, and there is no doubt the story will be all over school the next day. "Poor old Janice Avery," laments Jess. When Janice gets on the bus the next day, she is fuming, and Leslie whispers the reason to May Belle. "We wrote that letter ... but you mustn't tell anyone, or she'll kill us." May Belle agrees, "her eyes shining."
It is November, and Christmas preparations are underway at the Aarons house. Brenda and Ellie plan to buy presents for their boyfriends, and they tease Jess about his "girl friend" Leslie. Brenda saucily states, "Nobody with any sense would call that stick a girl," a comment that enrages Jess, but he holds his temper. The narrator later reflects, "it hurt his guts to realize that it was Brenda who was his blood sister," while Leslie was not considered family at all. Jess then fantasizes he is really an orphan who was found by his dad, and his "real" family are still pining for their lost child somewhere far away.
Jess is also upset and angry he has no money to buy a present for Leslie. Most of his Christmas money will go toward a Barbie doll for May Belle, for which he is pooling money with Ellie and Brenda. "Somehow this year May Belle needed something special," Jess thinks, feeling guilty that her discontent is probably because he won't let her tag along with him and Leslie. Jess gets down on himself, repeatedly calling himself "stupid" and thinking "It was a wonder someone like Leslie would even give him the time of day."
Luckily, Jess notices a sign offering free puppies. He hops off the school bus to get one for Leslie and presents the pup to her at Terabithia on Christmas Eve afternoon. She is delighted, and names the dog Prince Terrien, guardian of Terabithia. They give thanks in the sacred grove of pines. Later that day Leslie gives Jess a present: paints, brushes, and art paper. "It's not a great present like yours," she says. Jess is delighted and deeply touched, wanting "to tell her how proud and good she made him feel," but words fail him.
Christmas at Jess's house is rather dismal. Joyce Ann cries, his sisters squabble about gifts, and his father gives him "a racing-car set, which he tried to run to please his father." The cheap set, which holds little interest for Jess, doesn't work well, and his father gets angry. When Jess's mother nags him to milk Miss Bessie, he jumps up to do it, eager to get away from the scene. A proud, happy Leslie meets him at the milking shed with Prince Terrien, and suddenly "It felt like Christmas again" to Jess.
After Christmas Bill is finished with his writing and starts repairs on their house, asking Leslie to help. She loves the time they spend together, but it also means she can't spend time with Jess. He tries to go to Terabithia on his own, "but it was no good. It needed Leslie to make the magic." At home, Jess's mother keeps him busy with chores and scolds him for drawing when he should be chopping wood. Jess becomes jealous as Leslie gushes about becoming better friends with her father. "He ought to have friends his own age and let her have hers," Jess thinks, finding it "weird" that Bill wants to be friends with his daughter. Leslie eventually notices the tension and confronts Jess. She asks why he doesn't like Bill and why he doesn't come to her house anymore. Jess peevishly says she is "always busy," and she responds with exasperation: "You could offer to help, you know." Jess feels stupid—the solution was obvious but he hadn't thought of it.
As Jess begins to help, he and Bill become better friends. Jess is handy with repairs, unlike Bill, so his contributions are valuable and appreciated. During these working hours, the three characters chat, tell stories, play records, sing, talk about world events, and listen to Leslie's mother, Judy, read poetry aloud. Jess lets "himself be wrapped warmly around in the feel of the Burkes' brilliance," enjoying every minute. They paint the living room gold and view their work with pride; "It was gorgeous." Once the work ends, Leslie and Jess go to Terabithia again, fighting imaginary duels to rid their kingdom of intruders, then celebrating their triumph in the sacred grove.
A few days later Leslie finds Janice Avery crying in the bathroom at school. Jess encourages Leslie to comfort her. He reasons "If she was an animal predator, we'd be obliged to try to help her," referring to the Burkes' support of whales and other endangered species. A skeptical Leslie agrees to try and emerges some time later smiling. She informs Jess on the bus ride that Janice's father beats her, and her "so-called friends Wilma and Bobby Sue" have gossiped about it to the entire seventh grade. Leslie happily states, "Thanks to you, I now have one and one-half friends at Lark Creek School."
That night, May Belle admits she has been spying on Jess and Leslie; she knows about their secret place in the woods. Jess makes her swear not to follow them again but still feels uneasy. He worries his life is "delicate as a dandelion" that could be blown away in a single puff of air.
March is unusually rainy, causing the dry creek bed to swell with water. The Aarons family prepares for Easter, the only time they attend church during the year. Brenda and Ellie whine about wanting new clothes, which Momma usually buys for the occasion. However, Mr. Aarons loses his job, making money tighter than ever. Jess escapes from the tense household by going to milk Miss Bessie, and Leslie arrives to keep him company. Much to Jess's surprise, she asks to go along with his family to Easter services. Jess warns her she can't wear pants, and she sasses back, "I've got some dresses, Jess Aarons." He squirts her in the mouth with Miss Bessie's milk, and they laugh and horse around until Mr. Aarons appears. Leslie slips away, leaving Jess to finish his chores.
The girls get new clothes after all, but Jess gets nothing. He uses this slight as "a little bargaining power with his mother" to get her to agree to Leslie attending church with them. Momma fears Leslie will look down on their family but nevertheless agrees. Leslie accompanies them, on her best behavior and wearing a dress. The service bores Jess, who "could tune it out the same way he tuned out school," but Leslie enjoys it. "It was better than a movie," she says, explaining she finds Jesus's story interesting and beautiful.
May Belle is horrified; she thinks the crucifixion story is "scary," not beautiful. Jess chimes in Jesus died because people are all sinners, and Leslie asks if he really believes that. Shocked, Jess replies, "It's in the Bible, Leslie." May Belle gets upset, insisting people who don't believe in the Bible will be damned to hell. Leslie doesn't believe it, and says so. Still distraught May Belle asks Leslie, "What if you die? ... What's going to happen if you die?"
Despite the constant rain Jess and Leslie go to Terabithia. As they look for coats and boots, Judy makes an appearance from her writing room, where she has been closeted away working on a book. She notices they're going out in the rain but doesn't seem particularly concerned; then she suddenly disappears to write again when inspiration strikes. Jess and Leslie decide to go barefoot and are soaked by the time they reach the stream, which is now raging, "a roaring eight-foot-wide sea."
Jess hesitates, but Leslie still wants to cross. She takes Prince Terrien under her raincoat and swings across effortlessly. Jess takes the leap, too, but lands clumsily in the mud on the other side. Throughout the week they visit Terabithia, despite the continued rain. "For Jess the fear of the crossing rose with the height of the creek," while Leslie continues to swing across fearlessly. The rain still pelts down, and a frustrated Leslie suggests "some evil being has put a curse on our beloved kingdom." They retreat to the pines where Leslie entreats the "Spirits of the grove" for the power to overcome this curse. Jess plays along, but in his mind he longs for the simple comfort of a cup of hot coffee in front of the TV, considering himself "obviously not worthy to be king of Terabithia."
Jess falls asleep that night feeling safe, as though "everything was going to be all right," but he wakes up in the middle of the night with a dreadful realization. He can't go to Terabithia anymore; the rain is too heavy, and he is too afraid to cross now. Jess loathes himself for this fear, especially compared to Leslie's daring: "No matter how high the creek came, Leslie would still want to cross it."
Jess awakens early, as does May Belle. He shows affection for his scrawny little sister, holding out the promise of watching cartoons together later in the morning, and decides to milk Miss Bessie to get the chore out of the way. It is still raining hard, and Jess thinks about his fear of the creek as he milks the cow. He decides to ask Leslie to teach him how to swim, to "grab that old terror by the shoulders and shake the daylights out of it." He reflects on his strong friendship with Leslie, knowing she won't make fun of him if he says he doesn't want to cross the stream.
May Belle, imitating Ellie's prissy tone, interrupts his thoughts to fetch him for a phone call—an unusual event, as Jess, of all people, in a day when children never had phones, would never be called by anyone. It is Miss Edmunds, who invites him to go to Washington, D.C., to escape the miserable weather and visit a museum. Jess tiptoes into Momma's room and asks her permission while she is not quite yet awake. "She was likely to say no if she woke up and thought about it," he reasons. When Miss Edmunds arrives, Jess races to get away before Momma wakes up and leaves May Belle to relay to their mother the details of his outing.
On the drive Jess realizes he could have asked if Leslie could go too but feels a "secret pleasure" that it is just the two of them. Miss Edmunds chats with Jess and asks if it's his first trip to an art gallery, and he acknowledges it is. "Great," she says, "My life has been worthwhile after all." The pair sightsee in the city and then go to the National Gallery, where Jess drinks in the artwork. "Entering the gallery was like stepping inside the pine grove," Jess reflects, sensing it as "obviously a sacred place." Miss Edmunds treats him to lunch, tactfully explaining, "I'm a liberated woman, Jess Aarons. When I invite a man out, I pay." They also visit the Smithsonian, and by the time they finish, the sun has come out and it's a beautiful afternoon. They chat happily on the ride home, with Miss Edmunds telling funny stories of her year in Japan. Jess is happy. "This one perfect day of his life was worth anything he had to pay," he thinks.
Jess's joy is short lived, for he arrives home to find his anxious family sitting in grim silence. Momma breaks down into hysterical sobs.
Jess, in shock, denies what happened. When his father explains what happened Jess yells, "I don't believe you! You're lying to me!" and he runs out of the house, down the road. He hears his father's pickup behind him and tries to outrun it, but his dad overtakes him and scoops him up "in his arms as though he were a baby." They drive in silence back to the house, though it seems as though his father wants to say something. Once back home, Jess lies down and sleeps.
Jess wakes up in the dark of the night, imagining he has had a dreadful dream. He plans to apologize for leaving Leslie behind on the outing with Miss Edmunds. "I'm really sorry, Leslie," he thinks. "I was dumb not to think of asking." Jess's thoughts disturb him, and he decides not to think about Leslie anymore. He relives his day with Miss Edmunds and plans to tell Leslie all about it the next day.
When Jess remembers he didn't milk Miss Bessie the night before, he pulls on his shoes to do the task, but his mother stops him in the kitchen. She tells him his father is already milking the cow and asks if he wants breakfast. Brenda and Ellie gawk at him as he digs hungrily into a stack of pancakes. "You don't even care. Do you?" Brenda demands. Jess is puzzled, not understanding her meaning. Brenda, Ellie, and Momma snap at each other, but Jess tunes them out. His father returns from milking the cow and suggests he, Jess, and Momma go to the Burkes' house. His father takes his son's hand and explains again about what happened. The three of them prepare to go.
Jess and his parents go to the Burkes' house to pay their respects. As they arrive, Prince Terrien joyfully jumps on Jess, who picks the dog up to pet him. Unknown adults are sitting around the golden room, either in silence or whispering. Leslie's grandmother introduces herself and thanks them for coming, but she tears up and excuses herself. Jess is glad when she goes, thinking it too strange to see people crying. "I'm not crying," he wants to say. Then it occurs to him he'll be important at school now, and his classmates will "probably whisper around him and treat him with respect." He imagines everyone will have to be nice to him now.
Bill enters the room and gives Jess a long hug that makes him uncomfortable; he doesn't want to see Bill crying. He feels a sudden anger that Leslie isn't there to cheer everyone up. Then Bill tells Jess how much Leslie loved him and thanks him "for being such a wonderful friend to her." Jess listens as Bill tells Mr. Aarons of their decision to bring her the family's home in Pennsylvania. Jess rages inside that "Leslie belonged to him," but no one consulted him about what to do with her.
Jess runs home and punches May Belle. He snatches the art supplies Leslie gave him and runs to the stream. He sees the frayed rope swinging above and realizes, "I am now the fastest runner in the fifth grade." Jess screams and throws the paints and paper into the stream. His father finds him and pulls him into a hug while Jess cries and rages, "I hate her. I hate her." Then when Jess asks if Leslie will go to hell, his dad reassures him that "God ain't gonna send any little girls to hell." The entire family—even Brenda—is gentle with Jess when he and his dad get home. Bill arrives and asks Jess to watch Prince Terrien while they are gone. Jess curls up with the dog and sleeps through the night.
Aunt Alexandra comes to stay indefinitely because she feels that the children need feminine influence during their crucial years of growing up. She is obsessed with ‘good breeding’ and fits in well with the neighbors, but not with the children because she demands different standards of behavior from those they are used to. Atticus is torn between being courteous to his sister and raising Jem and Scout as he sees fit. After one attempt to try and impose his sister’s standards on the children, he gives up.
Jess goes to the stream to look for his paints, regretting his rash action the day before, and uses a large branch to make a temporary bridge over the water. He heads toward Terabithia, "if it was still Terabithia," wondering whether Leslie was scared. He makes a wreath for Leslie, which he leaves in the sacred grove after saying a few words on her behalf.
A shout for help sends Jess running back to the stream, where he finds May Belle stranded halfway across the makeshift bridge. Jess inches out onto the branch and coaches May Belle, paralyzed with fear, back to the safety of the bank. Although frightened, Jess remains calm, and both reach solid ground. May Belle feels bad for following him and, like her brother, is ashamed of her fear. "I just wanted to find you, so you wouldn't be so lonesome," she says. Jess says that it's okay to be scared and that he too was shaking as they crossed the branch.
Back in school Jess is disturbed to find Leslie's desk already removed from their classroom. He wants nothing to do with his classmates, who had despised and shunned Leslie all year. The removal of Leslie's desk has shaken Mrs. Myers, too, and she offers Jess her genuine sympathy. She tearfully shares that when her husband died, everyone wanted her to forget him, "But I didn't want to forget." She tells Jess how much she valued Leslie as a student and will always remember Jess's dear friend.
Jess reflects on how Leslie "turned him into a king" in Terabithia, and how it is now "time for him to move on," to continue growing and changing. He resolves to honor Leslie by bringing his own gifts of "beauty and caring" to the world and to confront his fears with courage.
Bill and Judy, return to pack up the house and move away. Bill gives Jess Leslie's books and art supplies but takes Prince Terrien with him. Jess reassures Bill that "Leslie would want you to keep him." The next day Jess builds a bridge across the stream, and May Belle appears once again. Jess begins to reveal Terabithia to her, hinting she might do the same for young Joyce Ann sometime in the future. Jess leads May Belle into Terabithia, across the bridge, "which might look to someone with no magic in him like a few planks." He draws her into the fantasy land, whispering that the Terabithians have all come to see her, "the queen they've been waiting for."