Bridge to Terabithia Chapter 9 Summary

The Evil Spell

  • The following week it's raining really hard. Jess and Leslie are hanging out at her house, and Leslie says they should go to Terabithia, even though it's raining.
  • They start getting ready, but are interrupted by Leslie's mom. She's preoccupied and doesn't really try to stop them or ask them where they're going exactly. When she gets re-inspired, she races back to start typing again.
  • Leslie lends him a raincoat and hat, but there are no boots so they decide to just go barefoot. With P.T. beside them, they run to the creek's edge.
  • Here they pause because the water in the creek looks so gnarly.
  • Jess says maybe they should just wait to go 'til another day, but Leslie insists they should go forward. She says she'll take P.T. because the pup won't fit in Jess's coat. He tells her to be careful and she's impatient. She makes it across beautifully, and then Jess follows. He falls on the other side, and then they are Terabithians again.
  • The next few days, they return to Terabithia, even though it's raining still and the creek is even higher. The higher it gets, the more scared Jess becomes.
  • That Wednesday, it rains incredibly hard, and Leslie says they must be under a curse. She says they should go to their grove and pray with the spirits. So they do. Leslie prays there, but Jess is uneasy, and glad when they leave.
  • Jess sort of wishes they could be warm and dry and watch TV, so he's glad when Leslie suggests exactly that on the way home.
  • That night, Jess worries because it's still raining and he's too scared to go to Terabithia. He doesn't think Leslie will be upset that he can't go; he's sad that he was born without the courage gene, or something.