By early December, just over to reer dark before Miss Garber    us leave, and Jamie asked me if I    mind o. Beaufort    exactly a bed of criminal activity back t abbed outside of Maurices tavern,    caused quite a stir, and poy of a crazed lunatic reets, preying on i victims. Doors    by t    of t be creeping doreet. But t o tation to give    it    out of ly tim . t six years in tate peiary. to till liked to strut around    in coffee salked about t;big crime," as if the Lindbergh baby.

        But Jamies o mine, and I couldnt say no    ing     t I liked    get t inue doing t for at least anot    to do anyt mig day miserable for either of you.

        to be performed t Friday and Saturday, and lots of people alking about it. Miss Garber    s telling everyo o be t play tion, too, . e ation in toervie t;Its going to be marvelous," s;absolutely marvelous." So e an article about it, primarily because of t e, even to it. But Miss Garber less, and just t day sold us t ira seats to aodate tra-large croed. t of oo    t o some of t t time ierested in . You migtied about it, too, but I really . My friends ill teasi soon off i me going    t I ;rig; I knos not muc frankly, it    of good about it, too, tted it to anyone. I could practically imagianding around and staring fully do me tle tears filling talking about how wonderful I was for all my sacrifices.

        So I    nig tuff, wion.

        "Is it true you and your friends sometimes go to t nig;

        Part of me    serested. t    exactly a secret, it didnt seem like t of t at all.

        "Yea; I said, s;Sometimes."

        " do you do t peanuts?"

        I guess s t, too.

        "I dont kno; I said. "talk . . . joke around. Its just a place o go."

        "Does it ever scare you?"

        "No," I ans; scare you?"

        "I dont kno; s;It mig;

        ";

        "Because Id    I mig;

        "e dont do anyt knock over tombstones or leave our tras; I said. I didnt    to tell    our versations about on because I k of t to . Last    could lie in bed and . . . well . . . you know.

        "Do you ever just sit around and listen to t; s;Like ts g of leaves are at tars?"

        Even teenager and    kno t teenagers, and trying to uand teenage boys f to decipivity.

        "Not really," I said.

        Stle. "I ts    look around to really see t quietly and listen."

        tion struck me as strange, but I didnt press it, and s. And sile about me, I sort of felt obliged to ask     broug    I could do.

        "So, ; I asked. "Besides ters or reading t; It sounded ridiculous, even to me, I admit, but ts w she did.

        S me. I tion, and even more surprised at my i in her.

        "I do a lot of tudy for my classes, I spend time ."

        "Do you ever just go off ;

        "No," sell by t even to     no one ed her around much.

        "Ill bet youre excited about going off to college    year," I said, c.

        It took    to answer.

        "I dont to go," ster-of-factly.    me off guard. Jamie    grades in our senior class, and depending oer , s even end up valedictorian. e o imes sion t een, being t ses.

        " about Mount Sermon? I t ts ," I offered.

        S me    rig you?"

        times t bethe eyeballs.

        "I didnt mean it t ; I said quickly. "I just meant t Id    ed you o be going t year."

        S really anso be , I didnt knoo make of it. By t of opped on t front. From    s sains. tting on t he Bible.

        "t; s me for a moment before finally starting up the walk.

        As I c    t of all times Id ever talked test versation ically normal.

        t nig my father.

        ", I re," I said. "But    around muc;

        "Do you miss t? Not gro;

        "Sometimes."

        "I miss my mom, too," s;even t;

        It    time Id ever sidered t Jamie and I mig t sink in for a while.

        "It must be ; I said sincerely. "Even trao me, at least ill around."

        S me as ugged gently at o notice t s sure o say.

        "It is, sometimes. Do me -but times    alk about t my fat."

        I assumed salking about boys. It    until later t I learned h I was.

        "s it like, living ;

        "No. ually got a pretty good sense of ;

        "?" I blurted out. I couldnt even imagi.

        I to    name, but s me off t respond to my ent. Instead s;Dont look so surprised. Youll like    to know ;

        "I doubt if Ill ever get to know ;

        "You never kno; s;;

        I ed    k t;Big Guy upstairs" old    even    ticket into    I mean, being as how good a person she was.

        " to know ; I asked.

        S ans so    t sed it w.

        t nigalked about her Bible.

        " ; I asked.

        No t big of an assumption, give about Scripture and all. But tty looking, and I figured t s to    try or to sion to thing.

        Seps before answering.

        "It ; she said simply.

        "O; I said it like Id stepped on someones pet turtle, squas under my shoe.

        S me. "Its okay, Landon. ;

        "Im sorry I asked. . . ."

        "Dont be. You didnt mean anyt." S;My mot my mom    first. S all time, especially wime in ;

        I t about t on.

        "So read it at nig to sleep, and s al    s of tal at time."

        "Im sorry," I said again. ells you somets to say, even if youve already said it before.

        "It just gives me a o . . . to be a part of and t?" S saying it sadly, just more to let me knoo my question. Some made it worse.

        After sold me tory, I t of    again, and I didnt really knoo say. As I    my anss opped and turned around at time as o the side.

        Erid Margaret    on t to us.

        "ell, lookee old    teenage minds    took priority over anyt I    Jamies story.

        "," Jamie said cheerfully.

        "alking ; I could see ttle devil behind Erics smile.

        "; I said, wishing hed never seen me.

        "Its a beautiful nigrolling, isnt it?" Eric said. I t because Margaret tle bolder t tunity pass    stig it to me.

        Jamie looked around and smiled. "Yes, it is."

        Eric looked around, too, ful look in aking a deep breatell . "Boy, it really is    t; o it    be ually ars, and I     you to miss it." h a favor.

        "O to my ; Jamie said. "I o offer Landon a cup of cider. ould you like to meet us ty."

        A cup of cider? At    mentio. . . .

        I put my ,    any worse.

        "Os all rig o Cecils Diner."

        "On a sc?" sly.

        "O be out too late," ;but ;

        "topping to say ; Jamie said, waving.

        Eric got t slo , t getting out of trouble ime    of ts    , Mom, t of no darted out in front of me, and I couldnt stop in time." ly dart anyhe way.

        O of siguro me and smiled.

        "You ;

        "Sure I do." Notice the careful way I phrased my answer.

        After dropping Jamie off-no, I didnt stay for any cider-I started bay ime. By tory    me pletely, and I could practically    me, all the way from Cecils Diner.

        See ens when youre a nice guy?

        By t m everyo scarted up a neion about time it     I o spend my lunc to get a all.

        t nig t    one before t to der sco load all to ted truck to take to t Eddie and I ly t coordinated individual in ory. ed be ems, and     every critical moment umble over some dust or an i on t of t t painful ossible.

        "S-s-sorry," ;D-d-did . . . t ?"

        Id stifle t and bite out, "Just dont do it again."

        But    stop umbling around any more top time    t eve a co eat before rearted. Moving taken t finisting til a fees before everyone else arrived to begin. it    day, suffice it to say I ty bad mood.

        I ran t even t t say t long. Ser Jamie simply smiled and told    to    everyto be all rig trying to make tter for me, but o a of my     to be seen again doing it. But Miss Garber    and s Id be glad to do it. "You talk about t; s;Maybe you     t; By kinks, of course, s me specifically.

        So once more I ended up    really in to talk because I tle bit in front of s,    even really turning back to see    t fees, and I    said a o her.

        "Youre not in a very good mood, are you?" s;You didnt even try tonig;

        "You dont miss a t; I said sarcastically    looking at her.

        "Maybe I    ; s kind of tle angrier.

        "I doubt it," I snapped.

        "Maybe if you told me ;

        I did her finish.

        "Look," I said, stopping, turning to face ;Ive just spent all day    eaten since lunco trek a mile out of my o make sure you get    even need me to do it."

        It    time Id ever raised my voice to o tell you trut felt kind of good. It ime. Jamie oo surprised to respond, and I    on.

        "And t even like me. to do it."

        "Youre just saying t t;

        I cut h a shake of my head.

        Once I got on a roll, it imes o stop. I could take imism and coday    to pusoo far.

        "Dont you get it?" I said, exasperated. "Im not nervous about t dont    to be     to    my friends to keep talking about me, and I dont    to spend time ing like    . ere not anyt    to be over so I    go bay normal life."

        S by my outburst, and to be , I couldnt blame her.

        "I see," o defend o make    s. All so of ed to cry, but s, and I finally stalked aer, tart moving, too. S five yards be of to    try to talk to me again until sarted up the sidewalk when I heard her voice.

        "t; s.

        I eful to t t kind of girl, and I tually ed .

        Or rated myself.
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