BUSTED by Emma Harrison

Busted by Emma Harrison
BUSTED
BY
EMMA HARRISON
1
Chapter One
Ask anyonewell, anyone who knows meand they will tell
you that I have this
1
uncanny ability for finding the fun. It doesnt
matter how
2
sedate the situation, how
3
staid the partiipants, I, !im
"tratford, will inspire laughter where there is only misery. I an bring
#
effervescence to plaes where boredom seems to
$
permeate the very
walls. I am the
%
indomitable mistress of
&
mayhem.
'(amples) *ou ask for e(amples) +o problem. I have a
,
plethora
of good stories.
-ow about last year when we were all fored to sit through
areer planning with .r. /inters, the guidane ounselor of
0
doom,
and I redued the entire lassroom to hysteris by repeatedly insisting
I wanted to pursue a areer in high1end porn) 2I know. It was
13
ingenious.4 5r when my mother and I went to Aunt 6enees for
7hanksgiving and I refused to give up until I persuaded even my
11
execrable 8nle .organ to play
12
charades. 2-e did a killer 9aws, by
the way4. :ast summer, I even got the rowd giggling at the funeral of
my best friend, ;orinne, when I brought up her maaroni1and1heese
obsession during my
13
eulogy. 5kay, so maybe I didnt find the fun
1 uncanny . weird
2 sedate dull
3 staid serious or dull
4 effervescence sparkle
5 permeate penetrate
6 indomitable unconquerable
mayhem . !a"oc
# plethora e$cess or lar%e number
& doom . unpleasant or disastrous destiny
1' ingenious cle"er or inspired
11 execrable terrible or dis%ustin%
12 charades . player acts out a p!rase (or ot!ers to %uess
13 eulogy speec! %i"en at a (uneral
2
for myself that dayit was ne(t to impossiblebut I did find it for
other people.
"o why, I ask you, why was I sitting there for the fifth afternoon
in a row, wathing yet another
1#
appalling, mind1numbingly stupid
soap opera) -ad I really sunk so very low)
It was my first ever winter break from ollege. 5ne month bak
at my house in ;onnetiut, where there was virtually nothing to do, I
was faing four whole weeks
1$
sequestered from all the new friends
Id made at "tanford 8niversity in the first few months of my
freshman year, and I was
1%
wallowing. Im not proud to admit it, but I
was. It was about twenty degrees outside and I
1&
abhor the old,
unless, of ourse, Im on the slopes with my snowboard, sporting
some
1,
sleek, se(y and
10
impervious boarding gear. I had already read
every last book I would be re<uired to read in ne(t semesters
Amerian /riters ourseten heavy and mostly
23
tedious
21
tomes
that were a serious pain to
22
lug aross the ountryinluding the
23
unabridged version of .oby1=ik, whih, let me tell you, will make
you want to srath your brain out through your ear anal, its so
2#
oblique.
.y high shool friends had been
2$
expunged from my life over
14 appalling aw(ul or dread(ul
15 sequestered isolated or apart
16 wallowing sel()pityin%
1 abhor !ate
1# sleek . !a"in% a smoot!* %leamin% sur(ace re(lectin% li%!t
1& impervious solid or waterti%!t
2' tedious borin% or tiresome
21 tomes books
22 lug . carry wit! di((iculty
23 unabridged (ull)len%t!
24 oblique indirect or meanderin%
25 expunged wiped out
3
the past semester, for whih I take the
2%
brunt of the responsibility. I
hadnt been very
2&
fastidious about returning phone alls and emails,
preferring not to be reminded of senior year and of ;orinne. I was
ready to move on. And when I first stepped off the five1hour flight to
;alifornia I was over>oyed by my
2,
fortuitous hoie of shools.
"tanford was so far away from the Ivies on the 'ast ;oast where most
of my friends were going that Id never be e(peted to see them. It
was a new life for me. A new start.
+ow, of ourse, I was paying for it. 7hey all had given up on me,
for good reason, and there was no one I ould all, no one to distrat
me from the talk shows and the
20
turgid dramas of these horrid over1
ators. .y life had beome so
33
insipid I ould hardly even stand to be
around myself.
I glaned around the
31
impeccably kept living roommy mother
is a neat freak while I tend toward the messylooking for something
to inspire me. .oms many awards of servie,
32
extolling her virtues
as a poliewoman, lined the walls. .y karate and trak trophies were
displayed with pride along the mantle. 7he eclectic olletion of
books and videos we had
33
amassed sine I was a kideverything
from ?ree to @e *ou and .e to ;harlies Angels 1 and 2paked the
shelves
3#
adjacent to the fireplae, but none of them was interesting
enough to stir me from the omfort of the ouh. 7he
3$
effulgent sun
26 brunt wei%!t or burden
2 fastidious care(ul or attenti"e
2# fortuitous lucky
2& turgid sti(( or stilted
3' insipid dull
31 impeccably . (lawlessly
32 extolling praisin%
33 amassed . collected
34 adjacent to ne$t to
35 effulgent bri%!t or beamin%
4
3%
glinted off the snow1overed lawn outside, blinding me whenever I
made the mistake of looking toward the window. I
3&
squinted and
overed my eyes. 7his was sad. I was beoming allergi to sunlight.
5kay, !imbo, time to get off your ass, I told myself.
3,
Mustering
all my energy, I pushed myself from the omfy
30
faux-suede ushions
and padded over to the mirror to hek my refletion. It was beyond
#3
mortifying. .y skin was so
#1
pasty youd think I was a
#2
nocturnal
being 7rs vampiri. .y short brown hair was
#3
mussed into spikes on
one side. I even had the pattern of the plaid throw pillow imprinted
on my heek. It was time, as they say, to get a life.
At that moment one of those
##
ebullient ommerials ame on
the 7A,
#$
touting the energiBing effets of some nutritional
supplement for the elderly. I saw the refletion of the sreen in the
mirror and aught a glimpse of an anient ouple riding their bikes
along a path, smiling all the way. "uddenly I had an
#%
epiphany. I
ould do that. I had a bike . . . somewhere. "o what if it was
#&
subzero
temperatures out there) I had to do something.
I hanged into a pair of warm leggings, my favorite "tanford
#,
sweatshirt and my
#0
windbreaker, got my hair under ontrol with a
36 glinted . be s!iny* as i( wet or %listened
3 squinted . partly close one+s eyes* as w!en !it by direct blindin% li%!t or squinc!ed
3# mustering %at!erin%
3& faux-suede . man)made ,synt!etic- leat!er wit! a napped sur(ace
4' mortifying s!ame(ul
41 pasty . pallid or pale
42 nocturnal acti"e at ni%!t
43 mussed . made messy or untidy
44 ebullient bri%!t and c!eer(ul
45 touting . ad"erti.in% in stron%ly positi"e terms/ boastin%
46 epiphany sudden reali.ation or awakenin%
4 subzero . below (ree.in%* lower t!an .ero de%rees
4# sweatshirt . cotton knit pullo"er wit! lon% slee"es worn durin% at!letic acti"ity/ pullo"er
4& windbreaker . a kind o( !ea"y 0acket or parka
5
ski hat and headed out to the garage. It took a few minutes to
$3
excavate my dirt bike from the bak of the room, whih served as a
storage plae for all
$1
discarded furniture, applianes and
$2
sundry
items that my mother ouldnt seem to part with but refused to keep
in her
$3
meticulously lean house. @y the time Id filled the tires with
air and heked the brakes, I was
$#
raring to go.
As soon as I was out on the road I felt a million times better. 7he
old air in my lungs and the pumping of my musles brought on a
light1headed kind of
$$
euphoria. -ow had I forgotten how muh
better e(erise always made me feel) I definitely needed to get out
more. I rode to the end of my blok, slowing down as I passed the
houses of my former friendshomes where Id attended doBens of
slumber parties, obsessive @uffy viewings and ountless >unk food
$%
fests. /hen I ame to ;orinnes house I pedaled a little bit faster.
7here were ertain things I >ust ouldnt
$&
ruminate on.
I turned down .orrison "treet, the main avenue of .orrison,
;onnetiut, my
$,
quaint hometown, whih was lined with .om1and1
Cop businesses, the town library and the
$0
obligatory Dap. 7he wind
was biting against my fae, but I ouldnt help smiling. I felt like I was
riding down memory lane as I Boomed by -Eagen1=aBs and the
.orrison =iner, the only two hangouts for kids in this town. I rode
through Aeterans Cark and the benh where ;had .artin had given
5' excavate di% out
51 discarded t!rown away
52 sundry . consistin% o( a !ap!a.ard assortment o( di((erent kinds/ mi$ed
53 meticulously care(ully or t!orou%!ly
54 raring . (ull o( ea%erness
55 euphoria e$!ilaration or 0oy
56 fests . a %at!erin% or e"ent wit! a particular (ocus
5 ruminate t!ink o"er
5# quaint old)(as!ioned or c!armin%
5& obligatory una"oidable or necessary
6
me my first ever kissand the last kiss for a long time. 2It was so
sloppyF /ho wanted to do that again) :ittle did I know that ;had
was >ust a smoohing
%3
novice like me. 5ver the last ouple of years
Ive definitely improved, though I dont know if ;had an say the
same.4
?inally I ame to .orrison -igh "hool where lass was in
session. 7he Amerian flag on the front lawn whipped around in the
wind, and as I looked up at it, I ouldnt help realling when it had
flown at
%1
half-mast last year for a month after the senior prom.
If it hadnt been for me it never would have been lowered, a little
voie in my head taunted me. I pulled my ap down to over my ears
and raed away, pushing the thoughts from my mind. 2Im an e(pert
at issue1avoidane4. As I hit the orner the bell
%2
pealed behind me,
signaling the end of lasses. I pedaled even harder. 7he last thing I
wanted was a reunion with some of this years seniors. I took the
=onnybrook hill at a rate that would have made :ane Armstrong
proud.
5n the other side of the hill, I normally would have >ust
%3
coasted, but I felt the need to esapeto put as muh distane as
possible between myself and the shoolso I pedaled >ust as hard as I
had on the way up. .y insane
%#
momentum toward the bottom of the
hill sent my heart into my throat, and I slammed on the brakes,
stopping >ust seonds before
%$
hurtling into traffi at a four1way
intersetion. I plaed my feet on the ground and aught my breath.
6' novice be%inner
61 half-mast . a position some distance below t!e top o( a mast to w!ic! a (la% is lowered in
mournin% or to si%nal distress
62 pealed ran%
63 coasted . mo"e easily (orward wit!out applyin% more power
64 momentum (orce o( motion
65 hurtling . makin% a t!rustin% (orward mo"ement or lun%in%

/anting to esape was one thing.
%%
ndangering my own life was
another.
Det a grip, I told myself. If I ouldnt be out on the streets of
.orrison without having a nervous breakdown, then I was in for one
tough winter break.
Aross the street was the .orrison Colie "tation, my mothers
home away from home. I saw her 7aurus parked in the spot marked
G6eserved for the ;hief of ColieH and smiled, my heart swelling with
pride. .y mother had worked so
%&
diligently to beome the first
female hief in the ounty. I bet she grinned to herself every morning
when she pulled into that spae.
/hen the light turned green I pushed my bike through the
intersetion, deiding to surprise my mother with a visit. "he had
gone in early that morning and would be off in about an hour. .aybe
I ould hang out for a while and then we ould go
%,
chow down on a
piBBa together. 7he only thing better than the
%0
bliss of a good ride
was the reward of a steaming pepperoni piBBa afterward.
I loked my bike up outside and
&3
barreled through the front
door of the station, into the
&1
rustic front offie. ;hief !no(, the man
who had
&2
abdicated the position of polie hief to my mother, had
been an
&3
avid hunter and fisherman. -ed had the station
&#
outfitted
like a log abin with wood1paneled walls, benhes made of ut logs,
66 endangering puttin% in dan%er
6 diligently t!orou%!ly or industriously
6# chow . in(ormal term (or a meal
6& bliss pleasure or en0oyment
' barreled . mo"ed alon% "ery quickly
1 rustic old)(as!ioned or rural
2 abdicated abandoned
3 avid . marked by acti"e interest and ent!usiasm
4 outfitted . (urnis!ed wit! essential equipment (or a particular occupation or undertakin%
occupation or equipped
#
and paintings of various fish
&$
indigenous to the lakes and streams of
;onnetiut. .y mother had taken the
&%
helm only last year, and
redeorating hadnt been her top priority, so the
&&
vestiges of ;hief
!no( remained.
G-ey, "elmaFH I said to the
&,
diminutive female offier who
always worked the desk.
"he was the only other woman on the s<uad and ouldnt have
been more different from my mom. "hort, skinny and sweet, "elma
had managed to
&0
infuse her immediate area with some feminine
touhes, plaing framed pitures of her kids and her ats on the front
desk and always making sure there was a andy >ar full of .I.s for
the taking. "he even hanged them with the seasons, making sure to
buy the orange and blak ones in 5tober, the
,3
pastel ones around
'aster, and the red and green ones at ;hristmastime. *ou had to love
that kind of attention to detailor be slightly afraid of it.
It was 9anuary now, so the .I.s were bak to being
multiolored. "hed probably tossed any
,1
superfluous red and green
andies first thing in the morning on =eember 2%. @ut even for all her
,2
quirks, I liked "elma. "he always had a smile for everyone.
G!imF Its so good to see youFH she
,3
trilled, grinning up at me.
G-ows shool)H
G?antasti, thanks,H I replied honestly, wishing I was bak in my
5 indigenous nati"e
6 helm . leaders!ip
vestiges traces or remnants
# diminutive tiny
& infuse (ill or introduce
#' pastel . delicate and pale in color
#1 superfluous e$tra or unnecessary
#2 quirks . stran%e attitude or !abits
#3 trilled spoke musically or warbled
&
dorm right about then. 7he emotional bike ride had taken a lot out of
me.
G-ere to see your mom)H "elma asked.
G*ep,H I replied, pulling off my knit hat. "elmas eyes traveled up
to my hair, whih I was sure was stiking out in a million diretions
due to stati. GIs she busy)H
G"hes in with 7ad and Juiny,H "elma said. G"o probably not,H
she added with a little wink.
7ad and Juiny were the two detetives on the .orrison s<uad,
and there was no love lost between them and "elma. 7he two men
were always
,#
derisive of "elmas positive outlook, moking her love
of animals and her tendeny to believe everyone was innoent. "elma
thought they were
,$
sophomoric and annoying and never missed an
opportunity to point out that they had yet to solve a ase together.
I wasnt fond of 7ad myself. I ould tell he was >ealous of my
mothers
,%
ascent to power, and their relationship was
,&
acrimonious.
Juiny, however, was harmless. -e respeted my mom and was
always nie to me. -e >ust wasnt very self1assured and was therefore
,,
malleable. -e thought 7ads
,0
ribald sense of humor was hysterial
and went along with whatever he did, >ust like those sorry kids at
shool who followed the GoolH kids around like they were the
03
end-
all be-all.
I grabbed a few .I.s, thanked "elma and
01
wound my way
#4 derisive scorn(ul or mockin%
#5 sophomoric immature
#6 ascent rise
# acrimonious un(riendly or bitter
## malleable (le$ible or manipulable
#& ribald "ul%ar or bawdy
&' end-all be-all . t!e essential (actor/ t!e all)important element/ t!e supreme aim
&1 wound . to mo"e or cause to mo"e in a sinuous* spiral* or circular course
1'
through the desks to get to my moms offie at the bak of the station.
/hen I was a few feet away I heard raised voies on the other side of
the
02
shuttered glass walls that surrounded her offie. I paused,
03
flabbergasted. It was ompletely
0#
bizarre to hear yelling in the
normally
0$
serene offie. 2+ot muh happens in a sleepy town like
.orrison4.
0%
!ntrigued, I paused outside the window1walls to listen.
G7he
0&
headmaster says the problem has >ust been
0,
exacerbated
sine ;hristmas break,H I heard Juiny say in his high1pithed voie.
-e sounded
00
tremulous, like whatever he was talking about was a
serious and somewhat sary issue. G7hey >ust had to e(pel five kids
and theyve offiially re<uested our help.H
G/ell, I still say the best way to flush out a drug problem in a
teen population is to send someone in underover,H my mother
replied firmly. G!ids talk to kids.H
I felt my heart skip a few nasty beats. A drug problem) And if
they were talking about a headmaster they had to be disussing
-ereford Aademy, the
133
upscale private shool at the edge of town.
7he plae was populated by over1privileged
131
snobs and brainias
the kind of people who probably did drugs >ust to get .ummy and
=addys attention. /hy was I not surprised they had a drug issue that
had grown into a
132
predicament worthy of polie involvement)
&2 shuttered . pro"ided wit! s!utters o(ten used in combination/ closed
&3 flabbergasted stunned
&4 bizarre stran%e
&5 serene peace(ul or calm
&6 intrigued interested or absorbed
& headmaster . presidin% o((icer o( a sc!ool or sc!oolmaster
&# exacerbated intensi(ied or made worse
&& tremulous unsteady or tremblin%
1'' upscale . desi%ned (or consumers wit! !i%! incomes
1'1 snobs . re%arded as arro%ant and annoyin% people
1'2 predicament problem or dilemma
11
G*eah, 9enna, thats the problem,H 7ad said.
GId prefer it if youd address me as ;hief "tratford,H my mother
133
snapped. G5r >ust plain K;hief would be fine.H
I grinned. Do, .om.
G"orry, ;hief,H 7ad
13#
amended
13$
acerbically. .y mother wisely
hose to ignore his tone. 7he last thing she needed right then was a
pointless
13%
altercation. G@ut weve been over this already. +one of us
is going to pass as a high shool kid. /e dont have anyone in the
13&
precinct under thirty.H
GIf youre about to suggest yet again that we all in the "tate
Colie, save your breath,H my mother said.
GIm sorry to say it, ;hief, but it looks like were gonna have to,H
Juiny replied, sounding like he didnt want to
13,
contravene but felt
it was his only option. G7heres no other way.H
G7here has to be,H my mother insisted.
I knew my mother was being
130
obstinate beause of her out1of1
ontrol pride. /hen shed been promoted to hief a lot of people had
predited she would failthat she didnt have enough e(periene to
take over. 7he last thing she wanted to do was all for help and prove
all those
113
incendiaries rightprove that a woman ouldnt
111
hack it
as hief of polie.
1'3 snapped . uttered in an an%ry* s!arp* or abrupt tone
1'4 amended . made better impro"ed
1'5 acerbically bitterly or sarcastically
1'6 altercation ar%ument
1' precinct . city district marked out (or administrati"e purposes
1'# contravene disobey
1'& obstinate stubborn
11' incendiaries people w!o stir up trouble
111 hack . be able to mana%e or mana%e success(ully
12
G/ere >ust going to have to find someone who an pass as a
teenager and
112
deputize them,H my mother said.
"uddenly I felt a rush of e(itement rash over me. "omeone who
ould pass as a teenager . . . . -ell. I was a teenager. .aybe I ould do
it. I wouldnt mind spending a few days at -ereford finding out what
it was really like. .y friends and I had always speulated about what
the lasses were like, how the plae was run, whether they had a .iss
.inhin1type headmistress
113
policing the halls. I would kill to get
inside -ereford. +ot to mention how ool it would be to
11#
collar one
of those trust1fund babies for dealing.
@ut was I up to the >ob)
*ou so know you an do this, I told myself, my palms beginning
to sweat and ausing the .I. dye to smear all over my skin. :ast
summer Id partiipated in the ountys :aw 'nforement Intern
program and had been their number1one
11$
recruit. Id learned all
about the various enforeable laws, how to <uestion a witness, when
to all for bakupall kinds of things. And then Id aed the written
Colie Aademy e(am. 'veryone said I ouldve >oined the fore last
August if Id wanted to. 'ven 7ad had been impressed with my
performane.
7his was
11%
serendipityF I ould I do this. I had to. It was e(atly
what I needed. An answer to my
11&
ennui. +o more
11,
sedentary
afternoons in front of the 7A for me. I was about to beome =eputy
"tratford.
112 deputize . act or speak as a replacement
113 policing . patrollin%
114 collar . arrest
115 recruit . new member or supporter
116 serendipity luck
11 ennui boredom
11# sedentary inacti"e
13
I popped the last few .I.s into my mouth and thrust open the
door to my moms offie. 7ad, tall and
110
sinuous, was hovering over
my moms desk. "he and the
123
rotund Juiny both stood the moment
I walked in. .y moms fae was lined with surprise and onfusion
over the lear sense of purpose on my fae.
GIll do it,H I announed,
121
bubbling over. G=eputiBe me, .om.
Im going in.H
11& sinuous %race(ul
12' rotund (at or round
121 bubbling . !i%! spirits or e$citement
14
Chapter "wo
It took my mother a few seonds to reover from her shok, but
when she did, she was
122
adamant.
G8h1uh. +o way, no how,H she said. Juiny and 7ad stepped
out of her way as she rounded the desk. .y mother is an
123
impervious woman, to say the least. 7all and strong, she has a
s<uare >aw thats even more
12#
pronounced when shes at work
beause she always has her red hair pulled bak in a bun. Id
obviously taken after my father more.
12$
#eredity ould be weird that
way. I hadnt laid eyes on my dad in eleven years, but I saw him
every time I looked in the mirror. @esides, I kept a photo album
12%
replete with family photos under my bed so I knew he was short,
dark and
12&
pudgy like me.
/ell, Im not usually pudgy, but that G
12,
freshman fifteenH thing
is no myth, let me tell you.
G;ome on, .om,H I said, rossing my arms over my hest and
looking up at her, trying to onvey
120
resolution with my eyes. GIm all
over this. *ou know me. Ill be walking out the front gates of that
dump with your suspet in hand in less than a week.H
133
$udacious, I know, but I had to be. "he was looking at me all
122 adamant stubborn
123 imperious bossy or commandin%
124 pronounced . easily noticeable
125 heredity in!erited traits
126 replete (illed or (ull
12 pudgy . s!ort and plump ,c!ubby-
12# freshman fifteen . re(ers to an amount o( wei%!t o(ten %ained durin% a student+s (irst year
at a colle%e or uni"ersity
12& resolution determination or (irmness
13' audacious bold or darin%
15
131
dubious like I was some kind of
132
feeble little girly1girl. "o not the
ase. I dont even own one artile of pink lothing, let alone a bottle of
nail polish. And even if I did deide to go out tomorrow and wipe out
the @etsey 9ohnson setion at :ord I 7aylor, I ould take are of
myself, lae skirts and all.
G!im, I dont know what you overheard, but Im not sending
you in on this ase and thats final,H my mother said, her >aw
lenhing. G*oure not even on the fore.H
G@ut you said yourself you ould deputiBe somebody,H I said,
throwing out a hand as she turned her bak on me and went behind
her desk again. I ould feel the adrenaline mounting in my veins and I
refused to be
133
deterred. GIm eighteen. Im totally deputiBable.H
5kay. "ometimes I make up words.
.y mother sighed as if she was suddenly
13#
encumbered by the
weight of the world. "he did that around me a lot. "ometimes I think
she would have rather had a more
13$
acquiescent daughter, but I
knew she loved me. =eep down she appreiated my
13%
fervent spirit. I
ould tell by the way she looked at me whenever I kiked ass in a
karate math or ame home with another detention for talking bak to
my
13&
misogynistic high shool history teaher, .r. ;onroy. "he was
proud of me. I >ust wore her out sometimes.
G!im, this is not even an issue,H my mother told me, looking me
in the eye. GIm not sending my only daughter into a potentially
dangerous situation.H
131 dubious doubt(ully
132 feeble weak
133 deterred discoura%ed
134 encumbered burdened
135 acquiescent passi"e or unresistin%
136 fervent !ot)blooded
13 misogynistic . !atin% women in particular
16
I
13,
scoffed. G-ow dangerous ould it be) Its -ereford. /hat are
you afraid theyre going to do to memake me wear @urberry)H 7ad
laughed, and my mother shot him a
130
reproving look that ould have
melted steel. Juiny, meanwhile, leared his throat and started to
grow flushed and
1#3
patchy around his heeks and nek. I ould tell
there was something he wanted to say, and from the almost
1#1
penitent way he was looking at my mother, I had a feeling he was
going to agree with me.
+ieF
G/hat is it, Juiny)H my mother demanded.
G/ell, ;hief,H he said, shifting from one foot to the other. GI
think !im would be perfet for the >ob.H
G5h, you do, do you)H my mother asked,
1#2
lacing her fingers
together. -er fae seemed to go flat and Juinys only reddened
further.
GIm with Juiny on this,H 7ad put in. G!im was a
1#3
stellar
reruit in last years summer program. "he an handle those
1##
tarts
over at -ereford.H
I smirked at his use of the word Gtarts.H 7ad was nothing if not
politially inorret and, well,
1#$
crude. @ut everyone in .orrison had
the same opinion of the kids who attended -ereford. It was a well1off
town, but ompared to the students at the private shool, we were
13# scoffed 0eered or lau%!ed at
13& reproving disappro"in%
14' patchy . une"en
141 penitent apolo%etic
142 lacing . entwinin%
143 stellar . indicatin% t!e most important per(ormer or role
144 tarts . a promiscuous woman
145 crude "ul%ar or o((ensi"e
1
pratially
1#%
indigent. It wasnt >ust about the money either. 7hese
kids were total snobs. All they ever did was ome into town in their
brand1spankin new @./s and toss out insults to all us GtowniesH as
they so originally alled us. 'ither that or rae their rides out on 6oute
23 and put eah other in the hospital. 7hey were nothing but a bunh
of >erks.
G;ome on, ;hief,H Juiny said. GDive !im a hane.H
I had to
1#&
preen slightly. It was kind of ool how both Juiny
and 7ad had suh onfidene in me. If only my mother ould >ump on
the bandwagon.
I grinned at my mother and reeived a blank stare in return.
Apparently 7ad and Juinys arguments hadnt e(atly been
1#,
efficacious. +ot that I was surprised. .y mothers
1#0
hide was as
hard as rok.
G/ould you two gentlemen e(use us, please)H my mother
asked, keeping her eyes on me.
G"ure, ;hief,H Juiny said <uikly, e(hibiting a lear
1$3
propensity for esape. -e smiled at me as he walked by, and 7ad
gave me an enouraging wink. I
1$1
steeled myself as the door losed
behind me. .y heart was still
1$2
fluttering with e(itement and I
wasnt about to give up this fight.
I wanted to take part in this ase. I felt like I was meant to take
part in this ase.
146 indigent poor or needy
14 preen swell wit! pride
14# efficacious e((ecti"e or success(ul
14& hide . t!e dressed skin o( an animal ,especially a lar%e animal-
15' propensity tendency
151 steeled . %et ready (or somet!in% di((icult or unpleasant or ner"ed
152 fluttering . beatin% rapidly
1#
G!im, I dont think you understand the seriousness of the
situation,H my mother began. GI know youre a very
1$3
self-sufficient
person, and I know you did well in the ourse last summer, but that
does not mean you are prepared to take on a ase like this on your
own.H
GI wont be on my own,H I told her. G*ou guys will help me,
right) Its not like youre going to drop me off in the
1$#
hallowed halls
of -ereford and >ust leave me to my own
1$$
devices.H
G5f ourse not. If I were to send you in we would be in onstant
ontat,H my mother replied. G@ut !im, going underover is a very
deliate skill. It takes
1$%
finesse . . . it takes
1$&
cunning . . . it takes
imaginationG
G:ike I dont
1$,
exemplify all those things,H I said, rolling my
eyes.
G!imG
G.om, listen,H I said,
1$0
curtailing whatever she had planned for
her ne(t
1%3
harangue. I walked over and leaned my hands into her
desk so I ould look down on her. It wasnt often I got to take the
1%1
domineering
1%2
stance with my mother. I knew I was being
1%3
pertinacious, but I had to do what I had to do.
153 self-sufficient . able to pro"ide (or your own needs wit!out !elp (rom ot!ers
154 hallowed sacred or respected
155 devices . any cle"er maneu"er
156 finesse %race or (lair
15 cunning slyness or sneakiness
15# exemplify ser"e as an e$ample o(
15& curtailing !oldin% back
16' harangue lecture or criticism
161 domineering dominant
162 stance position or "iewpoint
163 pertinacious constant
1&
GIf theres a drug problem at -ereford, I want to help.H "he
blinked, and I ould tell she was starting to understand e(atly why I
was so
1%#
resolute about this. GI have to help,H I added, >ust to drive
the point home.
G!im . . . ,H my mother said in a tone that told me she was
breaking.
GClease, .om,H I said. G9ust give me a hane. I swear I wont let
you down.H
.y mother took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. G?ine,H
she said finally. G@ut one thing goes wrong up there on that ampus
and you are outta there. +o <uestions asked.H
G*esFH I said, >umping up. A pak of butterflies went wild in my
stomah. G*esF 7hank you, thank you, thank youFH
I ran around the desk and gave her a big hug, and my mother
s<ueeBed me bak a tad
1%$
reluctantly. I knew she was doing this
against her will, but Id show her. I was going to bring home the bad
guys and lean up that shool.
/hoa. =id I >ust say that)
G5kay, these are your suspets,H 7ad told me, laying three
photographs on the table in front of me. It was the following morning,
and I was sitting in the onferene room at the polie station, my bak
1%%
rigid. I had worn my most boring brown sweater and my leanest
>eans to
1%&
engender an air of responsibility, but 7ads business1like
demeanor only served to make me feel like the
1%,
inept
1%0
rookie I was.
164 resolute (irm or stead(ast
165 reluctantly unwillin%ly
166 rigid (irm or sti((
16 engender produce
16# inept clumsy or unskilled
16& rookie . amateur or be%inner
2'
Id woken up with slightly less onfidene than Id e(hibited the
day before. .aybe that rush of
1&3
aplomb Id had was >ust an
1&1
extension of the roller1oaster emotions Id been e(periening, but
by the light of a new day the truth was lear.
I mean, yeah, I was a good atress. 2/itness the lightheartedness
at the funeral and the total dupe Id pulled on my guidane ounselor.
7he man is a
1&2
dunce, but still4. "o maybe I ould make the
population of -ereford believe I was >ust another rih student, but
who knew if I was a good detetive) /hat if I went in there and
1&3
tanked) /hat if I let my mother down and embarrassed her) 7his
was so important to her. /hat was the headmaster of -ereford going
to think if the
1&#
emissary from the loal polie department ouldnt
even navigate the shool or keep the suspets straight) 2I dont have
the greatest attention span.4
I ouldnt do this. /ho was I kidding)
I sipped at my =unkin =onuts offee and glaned at the losed
door as 7ad momentarily turned his bak on me. /hat were the
hanes I ould
1&$
abscond with a >elly donut and make a lean
1&%
getaway)
G!im, have you even looked at the photos)H 7ad demanded.
I glaned up at him with
1&&
trepidation. ?or all the
1&,
acclaim hed
1' aplomb sel()con(idence or ease
11 extension product or out%rowt!
12 dunce (ool or idiot
13 tanked . cras!ed and burned/ (ailed badly
14 emissary representati"e or a%ent
15 abscond run away
16 getaway . escape
1 trepidation (ear or ner"ousness
1# acclaim praise
21
1&0
heaped upon me the day before, he was bak to being
1,3
abrasive
today. 7alk about
1,1
fickle. @ut if 7ad was having his doubts, maybe
my doubts were
1,2
well-founded. "till, somehow I didnt want to let
him see me sweat.
G"orry,H I told him, setting the offee aside. I used my fingertips
to slide the three photographs toward me. 7he first
1,3
depicted a
handsome guy with urly brown hair, broad shoulders and an open,
1,#
genial smile. It was learly his lass piture beause he was posed in
an unomfortable position in front of a featureless bakground. 7he
piee of tape slapped on the bottom of the piture read G=avid 6and.H
G=avid has a reord,H 7ad began, sitting down aross from me.
G-es from @rooklyn and hes got two arrests under his belt. 5ne for
breaking and entering, although no harges were brought. 7he other
for possession of mari>uana.H
Cossession of mari>uana. :ike that was suh a shoker in this day
and age. +ot that I would ever say that to 7ad, who would definitely
go on a
1,$
tirade
1,%
enumerating the evils of drug use. I didnt need to
hear it beause I was right there with him. .y generation may have
been all about the easy high, but I had never touhed the stuff, nor
anything harder. I kind of wished no one around me had.
I looked at the =avids sweet fae again. -e hardly seemed like a
1,&
hardened riminal.
1& heaped . piled
1#' abrasive %rouc!y or irritatin%
1#1 fickle unpredictable or unreliable
1#2 well-founded . tenable ,based on sound reasonin% or e"idence-
1#3 depicted s!owed
1#4 genial (riendly
1#5 tirade outburst
1#6 enumerating listin% or namin%
1# hardened . con"erted to solid (orm ,as concrete-
22
G/hy were no harges brought on the first arrest)H I asked.
GDood <uestion. "ee) +ow youre with me,H 7ad said, heking a
file. GIt says here that it was the house of a family friend.H -e sanned
the page. G5h, here it isa <uote from the lady of the house. K/e
know =avey didnt mean any harm. 7his is >ust the kind of thing he
does.H
G-uh)H I said, my <uestion
1,,
mirroring 7ads
1,0
dumbfounded
e(pression.
-e flipped a page and read on. G7his is from his statement. K7hey
>ust got the new Crotetor 2333 alarm system and I wanted to see if I
ould get past it. I wasnt going to take anything.H
I let out a
103
guffaw. GInteresting guy.H G+o doubt,H 7ad said.
GAnd it gets even more interesting. -ereford >ust got a new firewall
installed on their omputer system and while the teh guy was in
there setting it up he found out somebodys been haking all the
shools seure files for months. Duess who)H
G=avid 6and,H I said under my breath.
GDot it in one,H 7ad replied with a wink. I
101
shuddered.
"omeday I was really going to have to tell him how inappropriate that
was.
/e moved on to the ne(t piture.
G7hat would be .arshall ;one,H 7ad said with a
102
sardonic
smile. G@ig .an 5n ;ampus.H
GIn what way)H I asked.
1## mirroring . re(lectin%
1#& dumbfounded astonis!ed or speec!less
1&' guffaw . belly lau%!
1&1 shuddered . s!i"ered
1&2 sardonic mockin% or scorn(ul
23
G7hat kid is an All1"tar football, basketball and baseball player,H
7ad
103
clarified. GAnd get thishe runs an
10#
intramural karate
league.H
G;ool,H I said, looking down at the photo. "omehow, even
though he was a fellow
10$
devotee of the martial arts, I took an instant
dislike to .arshall. -e had one of those
10%
haughty e(pressions I
e(peted from kids at -ereford. -is hin was slightly raised and his
smile was almost a smirk. -e was handsome, no doubt. @road and
athleti with dark skin and dark eyes, but I ould pratially hear him
in my head going on and on about how great he was.
Im so hot . . . Im so ool . . . Im so rih I ould buy you and your
family . . . .
G+ow, .arshalls a suspet beause hes at -ereford on full
sholarship,H 7ad said.
.y line of thought was
10&
disrupted and I flushed with
embarrassment. 5kay, so he wasnt rih. "o muh for >umping to
onlusions. G/hy does that make him a suspet)H I asked.
GIts not that. Its the fat that even though hes dirt1poor and on
sholarship, hes always walking around with all the same toys the
other -ereford kids have,H 7ad e(plained, leaning both elbows on the
table. GCalmCilot. . . iCod . . . laptop omputer and on and on.H
G"o wheres he getting the money)H I said, my brain starting to
ome to life. I felt like I was beginning to
10,
hone my investigative
1&3 clarified e$plained or made clear
1&4 intramural . intra%roup or occurrin% wit!in an institution or community
1&5 devotee (an or ent!usiast
1&6 haughty proud or conceited
1& disrupted interrupted or disturbed
1&# hone s!arpen
24
skills right here. .y level of onfidene
100
mounted, and I shifted
forward in my seat.
G'(atly,H 7ad said with a satisfied smile. G;ould be drug
money.H
I laid .arshalls piture on top of =avids and grabbed the ne(t
one. 7his kid had
233
juvenile delinquent written all over him.
231
%allid
skin, a
232
furtive e(pression. *ou ould pratially feel the tension in
the piture, like as soon as it had been snapped hed
233
bolted for the
nearest door. -e had dark, shaggy hair and a bit of
23#
stubble around
his hin. -e sported a leather >aket over the
23$
requisite shirt and tie.
'ven though he was rough around the edges, I thought he was
totally hot. -is green eyes were intense, and Ive always liked the
bad1boy type. 5r, more aurately, the guys that looked like bad boys
but underneath were simply misunderstood tortured1artist types >ust
waiting for someone who really gets them. *ou know, like 9ames
=ean or Caey /itter or Angel.
5f ourse, he may not have been a bad boy. Id made
assumptions on the last piture that had proved to be
23%
fallacious. I
didnt want to make the same mistake twie.
G/hos this guy)H I asked.
G9onathan /isnewski,H 7ad replied with a
23&
sneer. GIn my
opinion, hes your number one. -e hangs out with the only rough
1&& mounted . climbed
2'' juvenile delinquent . a youn% o((ender
2'1 pallid pale
2'2 furtive sly or sneaky
2'3 bolted . absconded or ran away
2'4 stubble . s!ort sti(( !airs %rowin% on a man+s (ace w!en !e !as not s!a"ed (or a (ew days
2'5 requisite required or necessary
2'6 fallacious incorrect
2' sneer . contemptuous or scorn(ul remark
25
rowd at -ereford and hes always looking over his shoulder. -e >ust
has that <uality, you know)H
G/ait, so no arrests, no suspiious behavior)H I asked.
G+ah. 7he administrators >ust think hes hiding something,H 7ad
replied.
Dreat. It looked like I wasnt the only one >udging books by their
overs around here. "till, I ouldnt help it. I was >ust a
23,
peer of these
kids, and we always >ump to onlusions about eah other. @ut 7ad
was an adult and a polie offier. -is behavior seemed a bit
230
precipitate, to say the least.
G;an a person really be a suspet based on their appearane)H I
asked.
-e opened a folder and read from it. G"tudent e(hibits
213
persistent e(haustion,
211
paranoia and
212
shiftlessness. -is eyes are
often glassy and
213
rimmed with red. -e is
21#
sullen, withdrawn and
21$
lashes out when
21%
provoked.H
I blinked. G*ou >ust desribed half my graduating lass,H I told
him.
G/ell, we deided hes a suspet, so hes a suspet,H 7ad shot
bak,
21&
eschewing the issue.
2'# peer . equal or matc!
2'& precipitate reckless or !asty
21' persistent constant
211 paranoia . se"ere mental disorder in w!ic! contact wit! reality is lost or !i%!ly distorted
212 shiftlessness la.iness
213 rimmed . lined or (urnis!ed
214 sullen %loomy or morose
215 lashes out . a%%ressi"ely c!allen%es in speec! or writin%/ attacks
216 provoked irritated or a%%ra"ated
21 eschewing a"oidin%
26
GAll right, all right,H I said, not wanting to get into a big blowout.
G"o its >ust those three) +o other possibilities)H
G7hese are the three suspets weve
21,
weeded out after a areful
review,H 7ad said. GIts one of these guys. =ont waste your time
elsewhere.H
GDotha,H I said.
At that moment Juiny walked in and handed me a brown
folder with an I= lipped to the top. I smiled when I saw that it was a
-ereford Aademy I=, omplete with my senior1year photo and a
whole new
210
alias!im "harpe.
G;ool,H I said, yanking the I= free. /ith it ame a freshly
223
laminated ;onnetiut drivers liense and an A7. ard, both with
!im "harpes name. G/ow, you guys are good,H I said, impressed.
G7hanks for the
221
compliment,H Juiny said, blushing. G+ow, in
that file is your new history. *ouve gotta learn that bakward and
forward.H
G+o problem,H I said, opening the file and flipping through the
pages.
G-es not kidding, !im. @akward and forward,H my mother
said, appearing in the doorway. G"ideways wouldnt be a bad idea
either.H
I took a deep breath and plaed the folder down in front of me. GI
got it, .a,H I said. I didnt want her to treat me like I was >ust her kid
around the offie. It
222
undermined my redibilityif I had any.
21# weeded out . remo"ed unwanted elements
21& alias (alse name
22' laminated . co"ered wit! a t!in s!eet o( non)(abric material
221 compliment praise or (lattery
222 undermined dama%ed
2
G7his isnt a >oke, !im,H my mother told me, walking into the
room. G7heres someone at that shool dealing a whole hell of a lot of
'stasy, and theyre going to be on the lookout for anyone out of the
ordinary.H
I straightened up at my mothers tone and pulled the file toward
me again. G5kay,H I told her. 7hen, notiing her solding e(pression, I
added, GIll study it tonight. Im going to be a
223
paradigm of an
underover offier. I swear.H
GAll right, then, good,H my mother said. "he pulled a folded
sheet of paper from her bak poket and opened it before laying it in
front of me. Juiny smiled and plaed a fatherly hand on my
shoulder. .y heart started to pound
22#
frenetically as I looked down
at the ertifiate.
7his ertifies that !imberly Ann "tratford is hereby
22$
instated as
a =eputy 5ffier of the :aw in the town of .orrison, ;ounty of
.orris, "tate of ;onnetiut.
It was really happening. I was about to beome an 5ffier of the
:aw. !ikassF
G*oull have to sign this before we an
22%
dispatch you on any
assignment,H Juiny said, learing his throat in an offiial way as he
handed me a pen.
I grinned at all of them, feeling like some kind of
22&
maverick
young lawmakerthe type of woman they made bad lifetime movies
about. Any doubts I had about my abilities were
22,
allayed as I saw
223 paradigm e$ample or model
224 frenetically wildly or (rantically
225 instated . installed someone in o((ice/ induct
226 dispatch send out
22 maverick rebel
22# allayed put to rest
2#
the onfidene in their eyes. 7here was no way I ould walk away
from this now. I signed the ertifiate with a
220
flourish.
=avid, .arshall and 9onathan had better wath their baks, I
thought. =eputy !im "tratford was on their tails, and they were never
going to see me oming.
As I followed .s. @eanyes, .s. @eanthrough the halls of
-ereford, I felt like I had been almost
233
prescient. 7he shool was
everything I had predited it would be and more. 7he walls were
fashioned out of dark, gleaming wood, >ust as Id imagined. 7he floors
were glossed to suh a high shine I ould almost see my refletion in
them. 'verywhere I looked there was another painting or photograph
of an
231
aloof headmaster or a
232
decorously dressed faulty member.
'very now and then Id hear a
233
medley of voies or a
23#
peal of
laughter, but the volume was
23$
muted by the thikness of the walls.
G*ou will be sharing your room with =anielle ?isher, one of our
finest pupils,H .s. @ean told me, her heels lip1lopping as she took a
set of stairs to the seond floor. 7he woman had a pointed hin and
glasses with tiny round frames, and she wore a blak turtlenek. /ed
been right about the .iss .inhin ideashe looked >ust like the
headmistress in "ara ;rewe or /hat -appened at .iss .inhins by
?ranes -odgson @urnett.
G"he has had her room to herself sine the
23%
commencement of
22& flourish s!owy %esture
23' prescient prop!etic
231 aloof distant or cold
232 decorously properly or decently
233 medley 0umble or mi$
234 peal . deep prolon%ed sound ,as o( t!under or lar%e bells-
235 muted mu((led or quieted
236 commencement start or be%innin%
2&
the shool year, but Im sure shell be
23&
amenable to this new
arrangement.H
*eah, right, I thought. I knew I would be
23,
psyched if I had my
own room and some new hik ame
230
swooping in and took over.
7his =anielle girl was about to
2#3
forsake her swingin single1room
lifestyle thanks to me. I ould >ust imagine how a spoiled, stuk1up
-ereford girl would feel about that. "hed probably be on the phone
to =addy in two1point1five seonds. 9ust what I neededinstant
2#1
enmity.
.s. @ean rapped on a door marked G21&H and smiled a tight
smile in my diretion.
G;ome in,H a <uiet voie alled out.
G=anielle, Id like you to meet your new roommate,H .s. @ean
said
2#2
crisply as she opened the door.
=anielle stood up from her omputer, turning her bak to it as if
to hide the sreen from us. 2Crobably arrying on a
2#3
passionate email
affair with her ski instrutor in "witBerland4. "he swung her long
blond hair behind her bak, and to my surprise, she smiled. -er
e(pression was weloming, even happily surprised. "he was wearing
a blak A1nek sweater and
2##
hip-slung >eans and looked like she
would fit right in with me and my friends. I was surprised by the
2#$
affinity I felt for her. After all, she was a -ereford girl. I was
23 amenable a%reeable
23# psyched . scared or o"er stressed
23& swooping . 1o"in% wit! a sweep* or in a swoopin% arc
24' forsake abandon
241 enmity !ostility or ill will
242 crisply . in a well delineated manner ,accurately or precisely-
243 passionate !ot)blooded or (er"ent
244 hip-slung . !an%in% (rom t!e !ips
245 affinity likin%
3'
supposed to feel nothing but disgust.
G-i,H she said, lifting her hand in an almost1wave.
G-i. Im !im "harpe,H I said, proud of myself for getting even
that little bit right. I
2#%
bustled into the room and plaed my bags on
the empty bed that was shoved against the far wall along with an
empty desk and a dresser.
G5h, we an rearrange the furniture. Its >ust like that beause
Ive been alone,H =anielle said.
G7hanks,H I replied.
I notied that =anielles room, while not a total disaster, was far
from
2#&
antiseptic like my mothers house. -er open loset was >am1
paked, and there were some sweaters bunhed up on the floor on top
of her shoes. 7he garbage was in desperate need of an emptying, and
her bed looked slightly
2#,
mussed, as if shed reently been napping or
reading over there. I had a feeling we were going to get along >ust
fine.
G/ell, Ill leave you girls to get a<uainted,H .s. @ean said.
GDood evening.H
=anielle laughed the instant the door was losed and sat down
on her bed, faing me.
G"hes a
2#0
conivial person, isnt she)H I said lightly.
G;onvivial,H =anielle repeated, sounding impressed.
I flushed. G*eah, bak home they all me the walking
ditionary,H I told her with an apologeti shrug. G-ope you dont
246 bustled !urried
24 antiseptic sterile or bland
24# mussed . tussled or made messy or untidy
24& convivial warm or (riendly
31
mind, ause I ant ontrol it.H
GAre you kidding) Its fineFH =anielle told me. GIm always
slipping and using big words myself. 7he kids here think Im showing
off, but Im not. Its >ust the way I talk.H
G.e tooFH I said, grinning. "ee) I knew I liked this girl.
G"oF 7ell me all about yourselfFH =anielle prompted, leaning bak
against the wall.
GAll about myself)H I repeated unertainly. "he had to be the
2$3
inquisitive type, didnt she) I ould probably
2$1
regurgitate
everything I knew about !im "harpe in the spae of ten minutes, but
then what were we going to talk about)
G5h, sorry. I dont mean to be
2$2
presumptuous,H she said,
flushing so fast I thought her skin was about to burn off. GI guess Im
>ust e(ited to have a roommate. 7heres kind of a
2$3
dearth of people
to talk to around here. At least for me.H
G6eally)H I asked.
:eading <uestions, I remembered Juiny telling me. Always be
interested in others, but dont give up too muh about yourself.
G/hat do you mean)H I
2$#
pressed.
G/ell, lets >ust say Im not .iss Copularity at -ereford
Aademy,H =anielle replied, getting up and rossing to her dresser.
"he toyed with the
2$$
scalloped edge of a frame that was
2$%
propped
25' inquisitive . s!owin% curiosity
251 regurgitate repeat
252 presumptuous conceited or presumin%
253 dearth s!orta%e or lack
254 pressed questioned persistently
255 scalloped . !a"in% a mar%in wit! rounded scallops
256 propped . supported by placin% a%ainst somet!in% solid or ri%id
32
up there. 7he piture appeared to be of her and a guy, but it was hard
to tell from that distane.
.y heart instantly went out to her. "he seemed so
2$&
forlorn.
GIts really >ust me and =avid,H =anielle added, regaining some
of her spark.
G=avid) Is that your boyfriend)H
=anielle laughed. G8h . . . no. =avid and I do not have that kind
of relationship. /ere >ust buddies. -es my best friend here, whih is
why its so ool that youre here now.H
G/hat do you mean)H I asked.
GI may atually get to have a girlfriend,H =anielle said
2$,
sheepishly.
5h, wow. 7hat wouldve been patheti if it werent so
2$0
earnest.
"he heked her wath. G=avids atually going to be here any
seond to go down to dinner. *ou an ome with usFH she said
brightly.
"he was so
2%3
jubilant at the prospet of dinner I nearly laughed
out loud. 7hen it hit me that we were standing here talking about
someone who had the very same first name as one of my suspets.
;ould I possibly be that luky)
I pulled out a -ereford student
2%1
directory that .s. @ean had
given me.
G/hats =avids last name)H I asked. I flipped open the diretory
25 forlorn sad or un!appy
25# sheepishly . su%%esti"e o( a s!eep in docility or stupidity or meekness or timidity
25& earnest . sincerly intended and wit! stron% (eelin%
26' jubilant 0oy(ul
261 directory . an alp!abetical list o( names and addresses
33
as if I were >ust run1of1the1mill urious to see what he looked like.
G6and. =avid 6and,H =anielle larified. G-es the best. *oure
going to love him.H
I ouldnt believe it. .y roommate was bff 2best friends forever4
with one of my
2%2
prime suspetsF -ow perfet was this) I was so
aught up in the
2%3
felicitous turn of events that I barely even notied
the fat that =anielle was ating like she already knew me and ould
tell what kind of people I was going to love.
7here was a knok at the door, and my stomah lurhed. 7his
was it. 7he investigation was on.
G-eyFH =anielle said, opening the door for a guy that was,
without a doubt, suspet number one=avid 6and. -is hair was
ropped a bit loser than it had been in the piture, and he was shorter
than I e(peted, but it was himmy little haker.
G-ey. 6eady for some
2%#
grub)H =avid asked, rubbing his hands
together. 7hen he notied me, and his eyes did that kind of fliking
thing they do when you see someone you find attrative. /hatever
=avid saw in me, he obviously liked it. I wasnt sure whether to feel
flattered or sared. I mean, he was a suspet, and from the sound of
his file, he was also kind of a nut >ob.
GAnd you are)H he asked,
2%$
sidling over to me. -e didnt lak
onfidene, that was for sure.
G=avid, this is !im, my new roommate,H =anielle said with that
giddy smile. G!im, meet =avid 6and.H
G-ey,H I said. G+ie to meet you.H
262 prime ma0or or (oremost
263 felicitous (ortunate
264 grub . in(ormal term (or a meal
265 sidling . mo"in% unobtrusi"ely ,undesirably noticeable- or (urti"ely ,quiet and sneaky-
34
G7he pleasure is mine,H =avid said with that broad smile hed
2%%
evinced in his piture. G"hall we)H he asked, glaning at =anielle.
G/e shall,H she >oked bak with a formal nod.
"he grabbed her keys and we all headed out for the dining hall
together. =avid and =anielle walked ahead of me as I losed the door
and I ouldnt help saying a little thank1you to the gods. I was already
in with my first suspet and Id only been at -ereford for half an
hour.
7his ase was going to be ake.
266 evinced displayed
35
Chapter "hree
G"o, !im, you ready for your first lass with
2%&
&efarious
+itkin)H =anielle asked the following morning as she, =avid and I
made our
2%,
descent to the basement lassroom where senior -istory
lass was held. At dinner the night before they had given me a
2%0
rundown of all my teahers, but no one had mentioned this guy.
G+efarious +itkin)H I asked, raising my eyebrows.
G=anielle ame up with that one,H =avid said with a laugh. GIts
so perfet.H
G/hat) Is he really evil or something)H
G*oull see. I would have told you about him, but no one ould
ever do +itkin >ustie,H =anielle told me, tuking her hair behind her
ear.
/ithin seonds I understood why. .r. +itkin was a skinny little
man with angular features and a dark mustahe that gave him a
serious -itleres<ue vibe. 9udging by the
2&3
pursed e(pression on his
fae as he wathed us fill the room, he also had a
2&1
distint dislike of
all teenagers. /hen I approahed him with my shedule, he eyed me
with
2&2
disdain and gave me a
2&3
curt welome.
G7ake any empty hair,H he said, waving his arm about. 7hat was
when I aught a
2&#
whiff of his ologne or aftershave or whatever it
26 nefarious e"il or wicked
26# descent mo"e downward
26& rundown . a concludin% summary
2' pursed . contracted into wrinkles or (olds/ pucker
21 distinct clear
22 disdain disrespect or ill will
23 curt abrupt or rude
24 whiff . a s!ort li%!t %ust o( air or pu((
36
was. It was so
2&$
noisome I almost
2&%
heaved up my nutritious
-ereford breakfast.
7hat was one thing I had to give this plae. .y first teaher may
have been
2&&
odious, but so far, the food was beyond
2&,
reproach. After
that mornings yummy oatmeal, fresh fruit and endless supply of 59, I
atually ouldnt wait to see what the hefs
2&0
whipped up for lunh.
=anielle and =avid both took seats at the front of the room,
saving an empty desk for me right between them. +o good. If I sat up
front Id never be able to san the rest of the lassroom and see if
either of the other suspets was there. 8nfortunately, =anielle was
waving at me
2,3
giddily and I ouldnt ignore her. "he was so
obviously
2,1
ecstatic to have someone new to sit with. Coor kid. I
sighed,
2,2
resigning myself to a lass period with nothing to absorb
e(ept historial fats. 5nes I probably already knew.
GDood luk. *oure probably gonna need it,H =avid said, leaning
toward me.
G/hat, you think I ant handle this lass)H I asked.
GIts not a ommentary on you,H he said with a grin. G+one of us
an handle this lass.H
I smiled. After spending dinner and breakfast with =avid, I was
having a hard time believing this kid ould be a drug dealer. -e was
>ust so sweet and funny and smart. -e ouldnt be the type of person
who would get involved with something like that. ;ould he)
25 noisome !arm(ul or nasty
26 heaved . made an unsuccess(ul e((ort to "omit/ strain to "omit
2 odious !orrible
2# reproach criticism
2& whipped . beat wit! or as i( wit! a wire w!isk
2#' giddily . li%!t)!eadedly or di..ily
2#1 ecstatic deli%!ted or o"er0oyed
2#2 resigning %i"in% up or yieldin%
3
G=id you hear about ;ora !lein)H a girl behind me whispered to
her friend. G-er parents are sending her off to some shool in ?rane.H
G7hats what happens when you flunk the urine test,H the other
girl said, snorting a laugh.
=anielle and =avid e(hanged a
2,3
loaded look. G/hos ;ora
!lein)H I asked innoently.
G9ust some moron who got busted for ',H =avid replied as he
opened a notebook. G7here were, like, five kids booted from here last
week. If you get a @ig @rother vibe around here, its probably beause
everyones wathing us like hawks now.H
Interesting. /ould =avid talk about the situation so easily if he
were the drug dealer)
G@et your parents wouldnt have sent you here if they knew it
was 'stasy entral,H the girl behind me said
2,#
snottily.
5n the ontrary, I thought. 7hats why I was sent here.
GAll right, lassFH .r. +itkin slapped his hands together the
moment the bell rang and everyone fell into their seats. G:ets see who
among you has atually done the reading.H
A
2,$
general groan went up among the students, and I felt a little
wave of nerves run through me. A pop <uiB) @ut I wasnt preparedF
7hen I realiBed that it didnt matter if I wasnt prepared. I wasnt
a student here. I no longer had to
2,%
maintain my straight1A average.
!im "tratford had never failed a <uiB in her life, but maybe !im
"harpe did it all the timeF
2#3 loaded . adulterated
2#4 snottily . o( no important
2#5 general common or uni"ersal
2#6 maintain keep up
3#
5r not, I thought, the very idea of ?s ausing goosebumps to pop
out all over my skin. I mean, a person ouldnt go from perfetionist
to
2,&
delinquent that fast. It ould give you
2,,
whiplash.
All my
2,0
obsessing turned out to be pointless anyway. +efarious
+itkin wasnt handing out papers. -e was simply standing at the
front of the lassroom eyeing us like we were the
203
slush hed kiked
off his boots. .eanwhile, all the kids around me were pratially
trembling.
G6evereFH +itkin barked, ausing an
201
obese kid to my left to
202
flinch. GIn what year was the @attle of the @ulge fought)H
6evere, whose first name I later was to learn was atually Caul
ruel parents
203
blanched. G8h . . . end of 10## into 10#$)H
G7hat is orret,H .r. +itkin said, making a mark in his leather1
bound notebook. GAlthough you should know by now that I do not
award full points to a person who begins his answer with Kuh.H
Caul sank a bit lower in his seat as +itkin paed the front of the
room.
G?isherFH he blurted. I was happy to see that =anielle was not
intimidated. "he stared bak at him, her hands folded on her desk, her
e(pression
20#
impassive. G/ho was the Allied Deneral in harge of the
+ormandy ;ampaign)H
GDeneral =wight =. 'isenhower, .r. +itkin,H =anielle replied
2# delinquent careless or irresponsible
2## whiplash . a quick blow deli"ered wit! a w!ip or w!iplike ob0ect
2#& obsessing worryin% or (i$atin%
2&' slush . partially melted snow
2&1 obese (at or o"erwei%!t
2&2 flinch crin%e or start
2&3 blanched %rew pale
2&4 impassive emotionless
3&
20$
nonchalantly.
GAery good,H +itkin said with a smirk. I ould tell he liked
=anielle, but I wasnt sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. If
someone learly evil likes you, there must be something wrong.
9ust kidding.
G;oneFH
'veryone turned around as my heart leaped into my throat.
.arshall ;one, suspet number two, was sitting at the bak of the
lassroom, his hair tipped onto its bak legs and his arms draped
over two more hairs that he had pulled loser to him. -e lifted his
hin at +itkin and smiled the same oky smile Id notied in his
piture. 8nlike most of the kids in the room, he was
20%
unabashed by
+itkins attak.
I instantly disliked him and all his little friends. 7hey reminded
me all too muh of the so1alled Gpopular kidsH at my high shool
the ones who thought they were so ool and that everyone loved
them, even though everyone hated them for being suh egotistial
>erks.
20&
!ronic how the kids that are alled GpopularH are usually only
friends with a very small group of people.
G;one, name the 8nited "tates primary Allies in /orld /ar II,H
+itkin said.
'asy <uestion.
GIra< and Iran)H .arshall said, his grin widening. A group of
kids around him laughed and slapped hands, and a pretty but way1
too1dolled1up girl in front of him rolled her eyes and smiled.
2&5 nonchalantly casually or coolly
2&6 unabashed unembarrassed or unas!amed
2& ironic opposite to w!at was e$pected
4'
+itkins fae hardened. GI suppose you think youre funny, .r.
;one,H he said. G@ut you get Bero points for the day.H -e made a note
in his book and resumed with the
20,
rapacious <uestioning. I
ontinued to stare at .arshall for as long as I ould without drawing
attention to myself. -e wasnt even
200
remotely
333
ruffled by the Bero
hed >ust earned. As an
331
overachiever by nature, I >ust ouldnt
understand people like that. @esides, wasnt this kid on sholarship)
-ow ould he afford to pull a stunt like that)
7he lass period dragged on endlessly. +itkin spent the entire
hour <uiBBing us
332
incessantly. -e even threw a ouple of
333
queries
my way, but I answered them both orretly, muh to his obvious
33#
exasperation. -e seemed determined to prove that wherever I had
ome from, my eduation had been substandard. @ut I like to think I
33$
debunked that theory. "till, by the end of the lass I was e(hausted
from trying to remember all the fats Id learned the year before. And
then +itkin assigned a ten1page paper. I ouldnt believe it. In all my
e(itement to go underover Id negleted to realiBe that this >ob was
going to re<uire atual homework of the preollege variety.
+ow I had yet another
33%
motivation to solve this ase <uikly. I
had to get the hek out of here before that paper was dueF
'ven though .arshall and his friends were sitting at the bak of
the room, they were the first ones out the door when the bell rang. I
grabbed my stuff and raed after them, hoping =avid and =anielle
2&# rapacious a%%ressi"e or predatory
2&& remotely . "ery unlikely
3'' ruffled bot!ered or intimidated
3'1 overachiever . student w!o attains !i%!er standards t!an t!e 23 indicated
3'2 incessantly continually or relentlessly
3'3 queries questions
3'4 exasperation (rustration or annoyance
3'5 debunked e$posed as untrue
3'6 motivation reason or incenti"e
41
wouldnt want to hat and
33&
detain me from my mission. I was too
fast for them, though, and the seond I hit the hallway I alled out
.arshalls name.
'very single person in our viinity stopped and gaped at me. +ot
that I ould blame them. -ow dare the new girl
33,
deign to speak to
this
330
exalted popular one)
I have to admit, I felt pretty ool. If this were last year I probably
would have been intimidated by this rowd, but it was like my
mission had sparked some kind of previously
313
untapped well of
audacity within me.
I turned beet red as .arshall turned to fae me, a <uestion in his
eyes. -e really was gorgeous.
311
$rrogant, but gorgeous.
.y heart pounded nervously and I hated it. 7his kid wasnt
supposed to be able to make me nervousF -e was in high shoolF
G/hore you)H he asked, shoving one hand into the front poket
of his >eans and s<uaring his shoulders, a maneuver that only made
him seem more
312
imposing. 7he pretty girl from lass reahed out
and
313
clasped his free hand, glaring at me as I approahed.
9eeB. Cossessive, arent we)
G=ont worry, Im not after your boyfriend,H I heard myself say.
7he girl pressed her high1gloss lips together. G:ike Im
3' detain delay or !old back
3'# deign . do somet!in% t!at one considers to be below one+s di%nity
3'& exalted lo(ty or !i%!)rankin%
31' untapped . une$ploited
311 arrogant proud or conceited
312 imposing . in(lictin%
313 clasped !eld or %rasped
42
threatened,H she said with an
31#
indifferent
31$
scoff. 2"he learly was.4
G;heryl, Im telling you, I dont even know this girl,H .arshall
said.
G+o, you dont,H I said. GIm !im "harpe. I hear youre the
person to talk to about the karate program.H
.arshall and the guys that hovered around him laughed, but
;heryls fae took on a wiked
31%
gleam.
G5h, youre the poor thing who got stuk rooming with =anielle,
arent you)H she said with
31&
calculated fake sympathy. "he made a
fae as if the name tasted
31,
rancid on her tongue. GI feel sorry for
you.H
G/ell, dont,H I said. I had to bite the inside of my heek to keep
from lashing out with the rest of the
310
caustic omebaks that were
bouning around inside my head. If I was going to investigate
.arshall, I had to
323
infiltrate this rowd. 7he last thing I needed was
to
321
implant myself at the top of his girlfriends list of enemies.
G"orry, new girl,H .arshall said with a sneer. G/e dont have
hiks on our team.H
8ghF -e was so
322
puerile I was surprised he wasnt sporting
Campers. -e started to turn away, but now he had me fuming and I
refused to be
323
rebuffed. I stepped in front of him and glared right
314 indifferent uncarin% or unconcerned
315 scoff . lau%! at wit! contempt and derision
316 gleam . %listen
31 calculated deliberate or plotted
31# rancid rotten
31& caustic s!arp or bitter
32' infiltrate break into
321 implant insert or place
322 puerile c!ildis!
323 rebuffed re0ected or snubbed
43
into his eyes.
G*ou do now,H I said.
.arshall paused and looked me up and down, learly impressed
by my attitude, but trying not to show it. ;heryls grip on his hand
tightened, but he didnt seem to notie.
GAll right, new girl,H .arshall said finally. G*ou wanna get your
ass kiked after lasses today, then show up at the gym at five
olok.H
GIll be there.H
.arshall and his followers moved away, muttering and
laughing. ?reakin popular kids. I ouldnt stand them. /ho did they
think they were, anyway) A few of .arshalls friends ast
32#
wondrous looks bak at me and shook their heads as if they thought
I was
32$
doomed.
7hey obviously had no idea who they were dealing with.
G*eah, ;heryl pretty muh
32%
detests me,H =anielle said over
lunh that afternoon.
I plaed my tray of food at a table near the wall and dropped my
books on an empty hair. 7he
32&
aroma oming from the kithen
aused my stomah to grumble
32,
inaudibly. I was still in shok over
the fat that the lunh lady had grilled my hamburger right in front of
me, making sure it was medium rare the way Id ordered it. 7his
wasnt a shool lunh. It was fine Amerian
320
cuisine.
324 wondrous . wonder(ul
325 doomed . marked (or certain deat!/ damned
326 detests !ates
32 aroma smell
32# inaudibly (aintly
32& cuisine cookin%
44
G/hy)H I asked, dumbfounded. /ho ould hate a sweet,
333
innocuous person like =anielle) I mean, the girl had given up half
of her loset for my lothing
331
overflow. "he was a saint.
G;heryl was
332
biased before she ever even met =anielle,H =avid
e(plained, shoveling ?renh fries into his mouth. GAll she had to hear
was that we had a new
333
genius on our hands and she was ready to
hate whoever it was.H
G5h, so youre a genius)H I teased.
=anielle flushed and looked down at her hands. GIm probably
going to be
33#
valedictorian,H she said, her smile
33$
abject. GApparently
;heryl was the
33%
forerunner and then I got here . . . .H
G"o you
33&
surpassed the priness and she ouldnt handle it,H I
said, glaning aross the room at .arshall and his
33,
raucous friends.
;heryl was
330
gabbing with a
3#3
bevy of
3#1
impeccably dressed girls,
asting
3#2
scathing looks in my diretion every few seonds. 7hey
were probably making some
3#3
obnoxious
3##
assessments about me
33' innocuous !armless
331 overflow . outpourin%/ brim o"er
332 biased un(air or pre0udiced
333 genius brilliant person or mastermind
334 valedictorian . t!e student wit! t!e best %rades w!o usually deli"ers t!e "aledictory
,(arewell oration- address at commencement , an academic e$ercise in w!ic! diplomas are
con(erred-
335 abject miserable
336 forerunner predecessor
33 surpassed beat or outdid
33# raucous wild or rowdy
33& gabbing . talk socially wit!out e$c!an%in% too muc! in(ormation
34' bevy crowd
341 impeccably . (awlessly
342 scathing mockin% or woundin%
343 obnoxious annoyin% or intolerable
344 assessments 0ud%ments or opinions
45
and my wardrobe. G*ou gotta love it when people are that
preditable.H
GAmen,H =avid said with a laugh. GI think surprises are highly
3#$
overestimated.H
At first this statement aught me off guard. =avid seemed to
have e(atly the kind of fun1loving personality that would
3#%
thrive on
surprises. @ut then I remembered his file and it atually made sense.
A guy who broke into houses to see if he ould
3#&
bilk the alarm
system) "omeone who haked into the shools omputers to keep
wath over his lassmates) 7hat, my friends, is a ontrol freak.
G/ell, its not my fault Im here. I didnt even want to ome. .y
parents only sent me beause they thought I would have a better
hane of getting into -arvard if I had a -ereford diploma,H =anielle
said. "he glaned aross the room at ;heryl. GI wish they would move
on already and stop direting their
3#,
animosity at me.H
G7hey)H I asked.
GIts not >ust ;heryl, its her friends,H =avid e(plained, rolling his
eyes. G7hat whole rowd. 7heyre total
3#0
lemmings. Doing against
;heryl and .arshall is like . . .
3$3
blasphemy around here.H
I raised my eyebrows. G/ell, then, no offense, =anielle, but
=avid, why did you rise above the rowd)H
7hey both laughed and I was glad =anielle didnt seem to take
345 overestimated o"errated or !yped
346 thrive prosper or blossom
34 bilk trick
34# animosity !ostility or ill will
34& lemmings . rodents ,small placental mammals !a"in% a sin%le pair o( constantly %rowin%
incisor teet! speciali.ed (or %nawin%-
35' blasphemy serious disrespect to belie(s
46
3$1
umbrage to my <uestion. =avid shrugged, smiling aross the table
at her.
G/hat an I say) I took the time to atually know the girl and I
like her,H he said. G'(ept she has this nasty tooth1piking habit.H
G=avidF I do notFH =anielle said, tossing a rumpled napkin at
him.
I smiled and dug into my lunh. If I had been at -ereford to
make friends for life, I had definitely landed the right roommate.
=anielle and =avid were learly two of the more
3$2
congenial people
at this shool.
'(ept hes still a suspet, !im. It ould >ust be a faLade, I told
myself. *ou ant get suked in.
8nfortunately, it sounded like being friends with them was
going to
3$3
hinder any strides I might otherwise make with the ream
of the rop, so to speak. If .arshall and ;heryl really hated =anielle,
then the more I hung out with =anielle and =avid, the slimmer my
hanes of being aepted into .arshalls rowd. And I had to be
aepted. 7he investigation depended on it.
G"o why were you talking to .arshall ;one anyway)H =avid
asked.
G5h, I want to >oin the karate team,H I replied, eyeing .arshall as
he
3$#
wolfed down his seond burger.
G6eally) *ou do karate) 7hats
3$$
astonishing,H =anielle said, her
eyes wide. GAre you any good)H
351 umbrage o((ense
352 congenial (riendly
353 hinder %et in t!e way o(
354 wolfed . ate !astily
355 astonishing incredible or unbelie"able
4
G-ey, youre talking to the girl who won the ;onnetiut "tate
7ournament last year,H I replied.
7he seond the words had left my mouth, my stomah was in
3$%
upheaval. !im "harpe was supposed to be from ;alifornia, not
;onnetiut.
GI thought you >ust moved here,H =anielle said, not missing a
beat.
5h, Dod. 7hey knew I was a
3$&
fraudF I hadnt even lasted a full
day before blowing my over. /hy ouldnt I
3$,
refrain from listing
my many aomplishments) /as my ego that
3$0
inflated)
G5h, I meant the ;alifornia "tate 7ournament,H I said with an
embarrassed laugh. G;onnetiut . . . ;alifornia . . . . I guess I >ust have
;onnetiut on the brain.H
G;alifornia, huh) *ou dont seem like a ;alifornia girl,H =avid
said. I was so happy that hed moved on I ould have sreamed.
G7hats why they
3%3
ostracized me,H I replied lightly, even though
my heart was still pounding. GI think it was the brown hair that
pushed them over the edge.H
=anielle and =avid laughed, easing my nerves even further.
G/here did you go to shool)H =anielle asked.
G"tanford Crep,H I said. .y mother had deided it would
3%1
behoove all of us if we set !im "harpes past in a plae I was
familiar with so that I ould talk freely. "o +orthern ;alifornia and
the "tanford area it was. If only I ould remember that in asual
356 upheaval . a state o( "iolent disturbance and disorder
35 fraud (ake or p!ony
35# refrain a"oid
35& inflated pu((ed up or o"erblown
36' ostracized disliked or did not accept
361 behoove . be appropriate or necessary
4#
onversationF
G/hy did you transfer)H =avid asked. GI mean, you ould have
stayed even if your parents moved, right)H
G*eah, but my mom didnt like the idea of being so far away
from me, so . . . .H
G
3%2
Overbearing parents,H =anielle said. GI an relate.H
G/ell, good luk with .arshall,H =avid told me. G-es a little
3%3
intense.H
5ooh. I ould tell a
3%#
spillage of inside info was
3%$
imminent.
.aybe I ould make up for my earlier
3%%
flub. G-ow so)H I asked.
:eading <uestions . . . .
=avid smiled
3%&
conspiratorially. G:ittle known fat about
.arshall)H he said, leaning aross the table. I leaned in as well. G-es
here on sholarship.H
I made my mouth drop open. G6eally)H I said. :ike I didnt
already know this. I was so
3%,
duplicitous.
G*ep. ?or sports,H =avid told me, nodding. G-es gotta produe
on the field and keep his DCA up or hes outta here.H
G-e didnt seem too intense in history today,H I pointed out.
GIts a
3%0
ruse,H =avid told me. G-e does that for his
3&3
groupies,
but hell probably write an e(tra few pages on the paper to make up
362 overbearing bossy or domineerin%
363 intense (orce(ul or e$treme
364 spillage . t!e amount t!at !as spilled
365 imminent comin% up
366 flub . an embarrassin% mistake
36 conspiratorially sneakily or secreti"ely
36# duplicitous two)(aced or dis!onest
36& ruse trick or !oa$
3' groupies . de"otees/ (ans
4&
for it. =oes it all the time.H
G-ow do you know all this)H I asked. GAre you
3&1
clairvoyant or
something)H
=anielle and =avid e(hanged a knowing look. GI have my
ways,H =avid said.
*eah. *ou haked into the shools entral omputer, I thought,
resisting the urge to all him out. .y brain was daning around to the
tune of GI know something you dont knowF +a1na1na1na1na.H
"ometimes my brain an be so
3&2
callow.
I was about to ask him to elaborate when I saw someone emerge
from the lunh line out of the orner of my eye. It struk me as
3&3
incongruous beause most of the students had gotten their food and
sat down by now. I felt all the blood rush to my head as I realiBed I
was looking at my third suspet.
9on /isnewski was
3&#
slouching his way aross the afeteria with
a heaping tray of food. -e kept his eyes trained straight ahead and
down toward the floor. -is >aket was so big for his thin
3&$
frame that
it
3&%
billowed out behind him as he walked. -e shoved through the
metal door at the top of the room and
3&&
trudged outside where he
took a seat at one of the pini tables in the
3&,
quad.
'ven though it was about ten degrees outside, he proeeded to
sit there and eat his lunh, his breath making mist louds in the
31 clairvoyant psyc!ic or mind)readin%
32 callow immature
33 incongruous stran%e or out o( place
34 slouching . slumpin%
35 frame . (i%ure
36 billowed (luttered or wa"ed
3 trudged . walked !ea"ily and (irmly* as w!en weary* or t!rou%! mud
3# quad . a rectan%ular area surrounded on all sides by buildin%s
5'
3&0
frigid air. -e was even hotter in personin that moody,
'()
scowling
way.
G!im) /hatre you staring at)H =anielle asked.
G"orry,H I said. GDuess I Boned out for a seond there. "ee) I am a
;alifornia girl.H
.y >oke earned a ouple of smiles and then they thankfully
moved on to the sub>et of +itkins assignment, leaving me free to
wath 9on for a few more minutes. Anyone who would hoose to sit
outside alone in the freeBing old rather that eat lunh among his
lassmates was either a total
3,1
outcast or an
3,2
avowed
3,3
introvert.
7here was something about 9on that made me think it was the latter
he was
3,#
solo by hoie. I had a feeling 9on /isnewski was going to
be a tough nut to rak.
After lunh the students at -ereford got a half1hour break that
was
3,$
akin to reess. I hadnt had reess sine the fourth grade. And
they alled this plae a prep shool.
G/e go outside when its nie out, but on days like this we >ust
hang out here or in the library,H =anielle told me, leaning bak in her
hair. @ehind her I saw 9on get up from his pini table and toss his
garbage in a nearby
3,%
receptacle. I held my breath as he walked bak
into the afeteria, then headed for the door at the far end of the room.
?ollow him, a little voie in my head told me. *ou have thirty
free minutes. *ou should be doing something produtive.
3& frigid (ree.in%
3#' scowling . sullen or un(riendly in appearance
3#1 outcast outsider
3#2 avowed . openly declared as suc! or asserted
3#3 introvert s!y person
3#4 solo alone
3#5 akin similar
3#6 receptacle container
51
I >umped up from my seat so fast I slammed my knee into the
table, ausing all the trays to >ump. .y knee
3,&
throbbed, but I tried to
3,,
repress any
3,0
visceral reation.
GAre you okay) /here are you going)H =avid asked.
GI >ust realiBed I forgot my ?renh book in the room,H I told
them, rubbing at my knee. GIll . . . see you guys later.H
I surried along the wall as fast as I ould without looking
suspiious. 9on pushed through the swinging door that led to the
main hallway and I took a deep breath and followed. I had to get
more info on this guy and if I had to do it
303
surreptitiously, then so be
it.
9on walked at a fast pae down the enter of the hall, shaking his
hair bak from his fae every so often. At first I had to remind myself
to breathe. I kept remembering random things 7ad had said about
himthat he was onstantly looking over his shoulder 2he hadnt
done that one4 and that he hung out with the only rough rowd at
-ereford 2Id yet to see anyone that looked rougher than the kids
from "mallville4.
@ut if he aught me following him, what was I going to say)
-ey, you have >ust as muh of a right to be in this hallway as he
does, I told myself.
"o I
301
endeavored to look like >ust another student out for a
asual stroll, but lukily he never notied I was there. -is blak boots
made so muh
302
racket there was no way he ould hear my tiptoeing
3# throbbed . pulsated/ s!i"ered
3## repress !old back or keep inside
3#& visceral . intuiti"e or nonrational
3&' surreptitiously sneakily or secretly
3&1 endeavored tried
3&2 racket . a loud and disturbin% noise
52
Adidases.
-e took a left at the end of the hall and I pressed my bak against
the wall and waited for a ount of ten, then followed. 7he doorway to
the stairwell at the end of the hall was >ust swinging shut. I ould hear
laughter and voies ehoing up and out into the hall from below,
followed by the
303
acrid sent of igarette smoke.
Interesting. It seemed that 9on was >oining in on some seret
meeting. /hoever was bak in that darkened stairwell, they had
30#
played hooky from lunh. Cerhaps this was 9ons little Grough
rowd.H It was all I ould do to keep from slapping myself on the
bak. Id found out where 9on and his friends seretly
30$
conveyedF
Do, meF
I stepped away from the wall and was >ust about to head into the
stairwell to introdue myself and let the hips fall where they may,
when a hand losed around my upper arm. I gasped, my heart seiBing
up, and turned to find a pair of flared nostrils right in my fae. It was
-eadmaster ;o(, the man who
30%
reigned over -ereford. Id met him
the day before when my mother had brought me in, but hed barely
even looked at me during our brief meeting.
G.s. "harpe,H he said, his
30&
beady eyes narrowing. G/ill you
please ome with me)H
I ast a longing look over my shoulder as he basially dragged
me bak in the diretion from whih Id ome. /ho did this guy think
he was) 7his ould have been a
30,
pivotal moment in my
3&3 acrid . stron% and s!arp
3&4 played hooky . played truant ,absent wit!out permission- (rom work or sc!ool
3&5 conveyed . e$pressed
3&6 reigned ruled
3& beady . small and round and s!iny like a s!iny bead or button
3&# pivotal important or crucial
53
investigation. I was about to
300
lay into him for
#33
interfering, but
when we ame out into the main hall there was a group of teahers
hatting near the door to their lounge. I ouldnt openly
#31
defy the
headmaster without blowing my over to bits. It looked as if 9on
/isnewski had
#32
eluded my grasp. ?or now.
7wo minutes later I found myself sitting aross a huge oak desk
from the
#33
hulking headmaster and I was
#3#
seething. /here did this
guy get off
#3$
foiling my mission) /asnt he the one whod alled the
polie,
#3%
railing about the
#3&
exigent drug situation at his shool)
G*oure
#3,
impeding a polie investigation by bringing me here,H
I said, my >aw set.
G/hile youre a guest at my shool you will treat me with
respet,H he snapped bak.
G"orry. *oure impeding a polie investigation by bringing me
here, sir,H I replied, refusing to be
#30
daunted by him. 7he students
here may have lived in fear of this guy, but that didnt mean I had to.
It was important that I maintain an air of authority. After all, I was in
harge of the investigation here at the shool.
-ow ool was that)
GI suppose you think youre lever,H he said, leaning his beefy
3&& lay into . !it "iolently* as in an attack
4'' interfering . comin% between so as to be !indrance or obstacle
4'1 defy disobey or c!allen%e
4'2 eluded escaped (rom
4'3 hulking . o( %reat si.e and bulk or !ulky
4'4 seething . (eelin% or s!owin% e$treme an%er
4'5 foiling blockin% or t!wartin%
4'6 railing . complainin% bitterly
4' exigent di((icult or tricky
4'# impeding %ettin% in t!e way o(
4'& daunted (ri%!tened or intimidated
54
arms into the edge of his desk. G@ut let me tell you something, missy. I
dont
#13
approve of having a mole in my shool. I dont like lying to
my kids.H
G7hen why did you ask for our help)H I asked.
G/hen I re<uested the assistane of the loal polie department I
did not e(pet
#11
espionage,H he replied, his voie approahing a
#12
growl. -e pushed himself out of his leather hair, whih s<ueaked
in seeming relief, and walked around the desk so that he ould get
right in my fae again. GIf I sense that you are violating the rights of
any of my students, you will be out of here so fast your head will
spin.H
I stood up and kept my eyes loked on his, never
#13
wavering. I
didnt even bak up the slightest bit. 7his guy was a >erk. And >erks
didnt impress me.
G/ell, sir, its nie to know I have suh
#1#
vociferous support
from the front offie,H I told him, my eyes
#1$
flashing.
7hen I turned and strode from the room, already looking
forward to my nightly all with ;hief "tratford. I was sure she would
be interested to know that the headmaster was trying to
#1%
trammel
the investigation. As far as I was onerned, that was suspiious
behavior. .aybe we should add another name to our suspet list.
9ust for fun.
41' approve a%ree or support
411 espionage . underco"er work or spyin%
412 growl . low dull rumblin% sounds
413 wavering s!akin% or tremblin%
414 vociferous "ocal or ent!usiastic
415 flashing . %leam or %low intermittently
416 trammel %et in t!e way o(
55
Chapter *our
@y the time lasses were dismissed that evening, I was more than
ready for a good
#1&
therapeutic karate math. 'ah teaher at -ereford
was more
#1,
dour than the last, and they all seemed to think that the
only way to get through to the students was by
#10
inundating us with
homework. I had more assignments in one day than I had been given
in my first week at "tanford. 7hats a top1ten ollege, peopleF
I ran to my room and hanged into my karate robe, then headed
for the gym. I hadnt set eyes on the plae yet, and I ended up getting
ompletely turned around in the
#23
labyrinth of the shools hallways.
I was >ust about to give up on the whole thing and onsider .arshall a
#21
lost cause when I finally heard the distant sounds of shouting male
voies, followed by a
#22
smattering of applause. I followed the sounds,
and eventually the hallway opened up onto a small lobby with the
gym >ust beyond. I paused in the doorway of the
#23
cavernous room,
taking it all in. "o this was where all the shools money went.
7oto, were not in .orrison -igh anymore.
7his plae was double the siBe of my old gym. 7he eilings were
so high it was like a athedral, and the hardwood floors gleamed
under the
#2#
fluorescent lights. 7he bleahers were state1of1the1art
metal with ushioned seats, and obviously >ust reently installed.
@urgundy1and1gold hampionship banners for
#2$
myriad sports
41 therapeutic %ood (or t!e !ealt!
41# dour stern or un(riendly
41& inundating o"erw!elmin%
42' labyrinth ma.e
421 lost cause . a de(eated cause or a cause (or w!ic! de(eat is ine"itable
422 smattering . a small number or amount
423 cavernous !u%e or "ast
424 fluorescent . emittin% li%!t durin% e$posure to radiation (rom an e$ternal source
425 myriad countless
56
overed the walls. Apparently -ereford had won its division in every
sport imaginable for the last three years.
GImpressed)H .arshall asked, breaking away from the rest of the
team. -e
#2%
loomed over me.
G7he
#2&
accolades
#2,
abound,H I said
#20
facetiously. G:et me guess.
*oure responsible for all of these,H I added, glaning up at the
banners.
G+ot all of them,H .arshall said with a shrug. G7he hiks won
theirs on their own.H
I made a noise in the bak of my throat. I was so going to en>oy
#33
vanquishing this guy.
G*ou sure you want to do this)H .arshall asked, looking me up
and down
#31
derisively. +ot that I ould blame him. .y karate robes
only
#32
accentuated my petite siBe.
All the better to fool you with, my dear.
G5h, yeah. @ring it on,H I said.
G*our funeral.H
.arshall led me over to the mats where the rest of the team was
#33
sparring. 'ven if I wasnt impressed by the
#3#
multifarious
hampionship wins, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of guys
426 loomed . came into "iew indistinctly* o(ten t!reatenin%ly
42 accolades praise or compliments
42# abound are plenti(ul
42& facetiously 0okin%ly
43' vanquishing de(eatin% or crus!in%
431 derisively . mockin%ly
432 accentuated drew attention to
433 sparring . bo$ li%!tly
434 multifarious "arious
5
on the team. +ot to mention their
#3$
agility. 7he two kids who were
battling were fast, smart and displayed some sophistiated moves.
"till, I had a feeling I ould take them.
I was, after all, a karate goddess.
As we wathed, the tall blond guy flipped the shorter, less1blond
guy over his shoulder and pinned him with a foot to the hest.
'veryone heered. .ath over.
GAll right, guysFH .arshall shouted, then whistled with both
fingers in his moutha skill I had always wanted to master. G7his is
!im. "he thinks she an fight.H A few of the guys laughed. G7om, why
dont you show her what the -ereford karate team is all about)H
I blinked, surprised. G/hy dont you show me yourself)H I asked
.arshall as 7om, a rather
#3%
gaunt guy, desended from the bleahers.
A bunh of the guys GooohedH preditably at my hallenge.
.arshall laughed. G7rust me. *ou dont want that.H
G7ry me.H
I ould pratially see the
#3&
gears in .arshalls head working. I
was alling him out and if he ignored the hallenge of a girl, he was
going to look like a omplete oward. -is immature friends would
never let him live it down.
GAll right, fine,H he said, ad>usting his belt. 7om sat down again.
G*our funeral.H
G*ou said that already.H
As we took our plaes on opposite sides of the sparring irle,
435 agility swi(tness or de$terity
436 gaunt t!in or bony
43 gears . mec!anism (or transmittin% motion (or some speci(ic purpose
5#
.arshall
#3,
glowered at me, his nostrils flaring. I was probably a total
#30
aberration to him. .arshall was the kind of guy that people didnt
talk bak to or
##3
denigrate in any way.
5ne of the guys Id seen hanging out with .arshall at lunh
blew a whistle, and I bowed to my opponent. .arshall barely tipped
his head forward. 7hen the whistle sounded again, and the fight was
on.
After eleven years of karate lessons and mathes, I an tell when
a guy is
##1
discomfited by the idea of fighting a girl. And I know how
to use it to my advantage. .arshall was one of those guys. Instead of
oming out
##2
no-holds-barred, he irled me
##3
tentatively for a few
moments, unsure of what to make of me.
"o I surprised him with a
###
roundhouse kik to his upper hest.
-e was ompletely taken off guard and didnt even get his hands up.
/hen he stumbled bak, the guys in the rowd groaned. In a formal
math, a shot like that wouldve earned me a point. In this math, it
>ust made me grin.
@ut after that, .arshall didnt hold bak.
-e ame at me with a
##$
one-two punch, and I dodged right, then
left so he aught only air. /hile he was off balane I dropped to the
ground and swept his feet out from under him. 7he bigger they are,
the harder theyyou know. And .arshall was definitely one of the
43# glowered looked an%rily
43& aberration irre%ularity or (reak
44' denigrate talk down to
441 discomfited uncom(ortable
442 no-holds-barred . (ree o( restrictions or !amperin% con"entions
443 tentatively cautiously or !esitantly
444 roundhouse . workplace
445 one-two punch . combination o( two blows deli"ered in rapid succession in bo$in%*
especially a le(t lead (ollowed by a ri%!t cross
5&
bigger. 7here was an
##%
audible intake of breath as he went
##&
horizontal, hitting the ground with a thud. 7he rest of the team was
learly
##,
disheartened by their
##0
bumbling leader.
@ut .arshall wasnt one to stay down for long. -e popped to his
feet and
#$3
buffeted me with a
#$1
flurry of frustrated punhes. I baked
up <uikly, so most of them >ust glaned off my shoulders and hest,
but he was fast for his siBe, and one finally hit home with full fore,
right in my ribs. 7he pain was
#$2
mind-blowing, and I gasped for air.
7his guy was powerful.
-e baked up, waiting for me to ath my breath, and I knew I
ouldnt let him get in another shot like that or I was done for. 7his
thing was going to have to end now.
I was about to do him in with my
#$3
patented !im "tratford
>umping1kik1and1elbow1>ab ombination when something in his
#$#
belligerent fae triggered a realiBation within me and made me sik
to my stomah.
I had to let him win.
7his was a guys guythe ampus
#$$
studaptain of three
hampionship teams in three different sports. Detting beaten by a girl
would probably be the single most
#$%
ignominious thing that ould
happen to a guy like that. -ow was I supposed to investigate him if
446 audible capable o( bein% !eard
44 horizontal parallel to t!e %round
44# disheartened discoura%ed or dispirited
44& bumbling . lackin% p!ysical mo"ement skills* especially wit! t!e !ands
45' buffeted beat or battered
451 flurry . rapid acti"e commotion
452 mind-blowing . intensely a((ectin% t!e mind or emotions
453 patented . protected by patent
454 belligerent . c!aracteristic o( an enemy or one ea%er to (i%!t
455 stud . mac!o)man
456 ignominious !umiliatin%
6'
he was reminded of his
#$&
infamous defeat every time I stepped into a
room) If I beat him, hed never speak to me again.
I was going to have to throw the fightsomething Id never
done in my life.
=amn. And I had so wanted to
#$,
belittle .r. ;oky. 5h, well.
It was
#$0
heinous, it was
#%3
reprehensible, but I took a dive. I left
my right side wide open, and .arshall landed a hop aross the bak
of my nek that took me right down. I ouldve gotten up again, but I
didnt. Instead I did my best
#%1
dramatic
#%2
rendition of a person too
weak to go on, pushing myself up and then stumbling down again.
.arshalls friends went wild and soon, he was offering his hand to
help me to my feet.
I was flushed from
#%3
exertion but it was
#%#
compounded by my
frustration over what Id >ust done and the fat that the guys were
now
#%$
jovially >eering at me. 5h, how I wished I ould take every last
one of them on in a math.
GAll right, guys, thats enough for tonightFH .arshall dismissed
them, smiling triumphantly.
I hung bak while the rest of the team filed past me, some of the
more human members shooting me
#%%
awed glanes. I had, after all,
45 infamous well)known or le%endary
45# belittle put down
45& heinous terrible or o((ensi"e
46' reprehensible wron% or blamewort!y
461 dramatic sta%ed or t!eatrical
462 rendition . a per(ormance o( a musical composition or a dramatic role etc.
463 exertion p!ysical e((ort
464 compounded made worse
465 jovially merrily or %lee(ully
466 awed impressed
61
#%&
dominated for most of our time on the mat.
G+ie fighting,H a kid with urly blond hair said. -e was
hanging bak with .arshall and they both seemed to be looking me
over.
G"o, am I on the team)H I asked.
G/ell, Im definitely impressed,H he said. GI gotta admit, you had
me there for a while.H
I had you there Ktil the end, I thought.
G/e do need a replaement for =umbo,H the blond kid said.
G=umbo)H I asked.
G7his kid =anny =umbrowski,H @londie replied. G-e got kiked
outta shool last week beause he got aught with drugs.H
G"o weve been alling him =umbo ever sine,H .arshall put in,
wiping his fae with a towel.
G/ow. 7hats the seond person I heard about getting booted,H I
said. GIs this a shool or a rak house)H
.arshall and @londie both laughed. G7he moral of the story is,
dont get aught,H @londie said
#%,
cryptically.
I wanted to punh him in the fae. "o typial. A bunh of his
friends get e(pelled from shool for drugs, and he still thinks its okay
to do them as long as you dont get aught. *oud think hed learn
something from his friends lives being ruined.
G5kay, I guess you an work out with us,H .arshall said finally.
G*oure pretty ool, +ew Dirl. It takes guts to do what you >ust did.H
46 dominated been in control
46# cryptically . mysteriously
62
I ouldnt believe he was atually
#%0
conceding to my worth.
.aybe he wasnt so bad. 8nless, of ourse, he was the dealer.
G7hanks,H I said, shoving my feet into my sneakers. GAnd my name is
!im.H
G*ou know, you should dith those losers youve been hanging
out with and have lunh with me and mine tomorrow,H .arshall said.
5kay,
#&3
scratch that. -e is so bad.
G5migod, you are suh aG
.arshalls fae darkened.
=ammit, !imF @ite your tongueF
G"uh a saintFH I
#&1
improvised, smiling. GI would love to sit with
you guys.H
G;ool,H .arshall said.
G;ool,H @londie repeated.
As we walked aross the gym together, I swallowed bak the
#&2
impertinent remarks that kept reeping their way into my mouth. I
had to be nie to .arshallit was one of the re<uirements of the >ob.
@ut when all this was over, I really wanted to get him bak on that
mat. @ig time.
G"o, whats so great about =avids room)H I asked as =anielle
and I limbed the stairs into the guys dormitory that night. After
dinner, =avid had suggested we hill with him at his digs, and
=anielle had taken him up on it before Id even had a hane. "he
really was making my >ob easier.
46& conceding admittin%
4' scratch . cancel
41 improvised made up or ad)libbed
42 impertinent impolite or disrespect(ul
63
G=avid is a total
#&3
technophile,H =anielle e(plained, swinging
her long hair bak. G-es got a flat sreen, surround sound, a stereo
most guys would kill for. Its, like, entertainment entral.H
G-is roommate must love that.H
G5h, he does,H =anielle said. G;hristian owns more =A=s than
Dod. 7hese two only leave their room when its absolutely
#&#
imperative.H
I was pretty sure that Dod wasnt a big =A= olletor, but I kept
my mouth shut as =anielle rapped on the door for room 230. I was
>ust happy to have the opportunity to hek out the
#&$
domicile of one
of my suspets.
!eep your eyes peeled and say as little as possible, I reminded
myself.
7he door was flung open and =avid stood there, grinning,
wearing the most
#&%
ostentatious -awaiian shirt Ive ever seen. 7he
theme to "tar /ars blasted through the door at a
#&&
decibel level
formerly reserved for fire sirens.
G/elome to my
#&,
humble
#&0
abodeFH =avid announed,
throwing his arms wide.
It was like stepping into a funhouse. A huge flat1sreen 7A hung
from the far wall between the two windows with the "tar /ars
opening story srolling up it. A omputer monitor in the orner
43 technophile . a person w!o is ent!usiastic about new tec!nolo%y
44 imperative necessary
45 domicile dwellin% or !ome
46 ostentatious s!owy or (lamboyant
4 decibel . a lo%arit!mic ,e$ponent required to produce a %i"en number- unit o( sound
intensity
4# humble modest or lowly
4& abode dwellin% or !ome
64
flashed =avids name rapidly like a
#,3
strobe light, hanging the font
and olor eah time. Attahed to the omputer was every aessory
known to man, from an eletri piano keyboard to speakers and
mirophones and something that looked suspiiously like a polie
sanner. 7he
#,1
bass lights on the keyboard >umped up and down with
some random beat that was pumping through the speakers, adding to
the
#,2
cacophony. 5n one of the two beds, a srawny, pasty1faed kid
was lying
#,3
prone on a
#,#
drab gray omforter, busily pounding away
at his Dame@oy.
G;hristian, this is !im,H =avid said, losing the door behind him.
G-eyFH I said brightly.
;hristian grunted in response.
G+ot e(atly the
#,$
garrulous type, huh)H I said under my breath.
G*ou ant talk to him when hes in the Bone,H =avid e(plained.
I deided to attempt it anyway. ;hristian was =avids roommate.
If I ould befriend him and then
#,%
isolate him at some point, I might
be able
#,&
garner some useful information and start
#,,
compiling my
=avid 6and file. I perhed on the edge of his bed near his feet.
G/hatha playing)H I asked.
;hristian sighed, hit pause and fi(ed me with a glare. -is eyes
4#' strobe . instrument t!at pro"ides a (las!in% li%!t sync!roni.ed wit! t!e periodic mo"ement
o( an ob0ect/ can make mo"in% ob0ect appear stationary
4#1 bass . !a"in% or denotin% a low "ocal or instrumental ran%e
4#2 cacophony !ars! noise
4#3 prone . lyin% (ace downward
4#4 drab . lackin% bri%!tness or color/ dull
4#5 garrulous talkati"e
4#6 isolate separate
4# garner %ain or collect
4## compiling puttin% to%et!er
65
were glassy from hours of playing and his
#,0
angular features were
srewed up in a
#03
scowl.
G=o you know anything about video games)H he asked.
GI
#01
dabble,H I said with a shrug. It was a total lie. As far as I was
onerned, video games were a huge waste of time, but I was bent on
being as harming as humanly possible. ;hristians fae, however,
was full of
#02
scorn.
GI dont have time for this. I have a level to lear.H -e pushed
himself off the bed, taking his Dame@oy with him, and stormed out of
the room, slamming the door behind him.
G
#03
+urly, isnt he)H I said,
#0#
deflated.
G"orry. I shouldve warned you,H =avid said, piking up the
remote and merifully muting the television >ust as =arth and the
"tormtroopers were boarding :eias ship. 2Im as muh of a "tar /ars
#0$
fanatic as the ne(t person. I >ust never felt the need to be deafened
by it.4 G-es been like that lately. 7hat new =ragon @all M game is
driving him
#0%
over the edge.H
G/hatever. -es always like that,H =anielle said.
G"o, what do you guys want to do)H =avid asked.
I got up and walked
#0&
nonchalantly over to his omputer,
4#& angular lean or bony
4&' scowl . a (acial e$pression o( dislike or displeasure
4&1 dabble mess around
4&2 scorn ridicule or annoyance
4&3 surly rude or abrupt
4&4 deflated . brou%!t low in spirit
4&5 fanatic ent!usiast or maniac
4&6 over the edge . alludes to t!e ed%e o( sanity
4& nonchalantly . casually
66
#0,
feigning interest in his many gadgets and
,--
peripherals.
G7his thing is state1of1the1art,H I said, hitting a key to make the
sreensaver dissolve. =avid had "ponge@ob "<uareCants wallpaper. I
wasnt sure whether that was ute or disturbing.
G/anna see something ool)H =avid asked, slipping in front of
me,
$33
ostensibly to open up some program. I had a feeling he >ust
wanted to
$31
thwart my attempts to get to his omputer.
$32
%aranoid
muh)
@ut then, I guess he had a right to be. I was spying on him.
=avid punhed away at his keyboard and pulled up what looked
like a list of student names, eah with a file ion ne(t to it.
GI an tell you anything you want to know about any student in
this plae,H =avid said, suddenly <uite the
$33
braggart.
G"eriously)H I said, pretending to be shoked. G-ow)H
GI haked into the shools
$3#
mainframe,H =avid said matter1of1
fatly. -e didnt seem to have any problem talking about his
<uestionable
$3$
ethics with near1strangers. +ot e(atly the autious
behavior youd e(pet from the guilty. .aybe =avid wasnt our
dealer. -e >ust seemed too . . . upfront.
G/ait . . . is that what you meant at lunh about having your
ways)H I asked.
4&# feigning (akin% or simulatin%
4&& peripherals . electronic equipment connected by cable to t!e 456 o( a computer
5'' ostensibly supposedly
5'1 thwart block
5'2 paranoid unreasonably suspicious
5'3 braggart someone w!o bra%s or boasts
5'4 mainframe . central processin% unit ,t!e part o( a computer ,a microprocessor c!ip- t!at
does most o( t!e data processin%-
5'5 ethics morals or principles
6
G-ey, youve gotta know who youre dealing with, right)H =avid
said with a ;heshire1at grin. GAnd its not like the administration is
going to
$3%
divulge all our dirty little serets. *ou wouldnt believe
how many people at this plae have
$3&
checkered pasts,H he added,
glaning at =anielle.
G*ou have serious issues, .r. 6and,H =anielle said with a smirk.
GIm >ust taking are of me and mine,H =avid replied, grinning.
.eanwhile, I was pratially salivating to see what he had on his
omputer. G;ome on. *ou ant have everyones info on there,H I
$3,
prodded.
G*ou dont believe me)H =avid said, returning his attention to
me. G+ame one student and Ill tell you everything about him . . . or
her.H
I ouldve kissed the kid right then and there. :ittle did he know
he was basially offering to
$30
facilitate my investigation.
G5kay, how about 9on /isnewski)H I asked. -e was the one
person I had yet to make ontat with, and I still knew very little
about him, G-e seems like an interesting guy.H
G5h, he is,H =avid said, the grin widening. I thought he would
lik 9ons file on his omputer, but he simply
$13
reclined in his hair
and rubbed his hands together. G9on /isnewski. A1minus grade point
average, plays the drums, leaves ampus every weekend in his 2331
9eep /rangler to head up to 'vergreen "ki :odge to snowboard. And
get thishes not allowed to have anything stronger than 7ylenol
beause he got hooked on painkillers a ouple years ago after he was
5'6 divulge make known
5' checkered past . a morally dubious past
5'# prodded . ur%ed on/ cause to act
5'& facilitate make easier
51' reclined sat back or lay back
6#
in a serious boarding aident.H
=avid leaned bak even further,
$11
basking in the glow of his
$12
omnipotence. It was kind of ute but at the same time rather
disturbing. /here did he get off nosing around in peoples private
business)
7hen again, that was what I was doingkind of. @ut it was my
>obF I had to stop
$13
obsessing.
G/ow,H I said. G*ou do know everything.H
Dot hooked on painkillers, huh) I thought, trying to fous on the
$1#
pertinent matter at hand. +ow there was inriminating evidene
something 7ad hadnt even known about. .aybe 9on was a
$1$
legitimate suspet.
GAnyone else you want to know about)H =avid
$1%
prompted.
7here was a
$1&
mischievous spark behind his eyes now as he looked at
melike he was looking right into my soul.
"uddenly it was like my blood was freeBing up in my veins. 5h
my Dod. -ed tried to look me up, hadnt he) /hat did my omputer
file say about me) /as I even in the -ereford omputer system)
/e ouldnt have one of our main suspets suspeting me. I took
a deep breath in an attempt to soothe my freshly
$1,
frayed nerves.
Clease let .om have thought of this, I begged silently, my palms
starting to sweat. Clease, please, please.
511 basking re"elin% or indul%in%
512 omnipotence power
513 obsessing . be preoccupied wit! somet!in%
514 pertinent important or rele"ant
515 legitimate "alid or %enuine
516 prompted . reminded
51 mischievous nau%!ty or play(ul
51# frayed . worn away or tattered alon% t!e ed%e
6&
I had a sudden mental image of me stepping into a ab to make
my way home, my mission having failed on the very first day.
G/hat did you find out about me)H I asked finally, biting the
$10
proverbial bullet.
=avid flushed slightly. G+othing. I wouldnt invade your
privay like that.H -e averted his eyes and toyed with a "linky he had
ne(t to his able modem. +ot a good liar. If =avid was the
$23
perp, this
ase was going to be way too easy to solve.
G/hy not) *ou do everyone elses,H =anielle
$21
piped up. "he
was saked out on ;hristians bed staring at the muted television.
G;ome on, =avid. I know Im not
$22
immune. *ouve got every
kid in this plae on that list.H
Clease let there be something in there. "omething that doesnt
say I went to .orrison -igh and graduated last year.
GAll right, all right,H =avid said, sitting up and planting his feet
on the floor. -e pulled his hair toward the desk and tapped a few
things into the omputer. Instantly my piture and fake name
appeared at the top of the page, followed by a transript from
"tanford Crep and a list of e(traurriular ativities.
I felt the o(ygen
$23
whoosh bak into my lungs. It was all I ould
do to
$2#
abstain from >umping up and down in glee.
Instead, I leaned forward, intrigued. .y mom had given me
straight As, made me aptain of the debate team and a member of the
trak and karate teams, >ust like Id been in high shool. Id apparently
51& proverbial well)known or commonly spoken o(
52' perp . perpetrator
521 piped up . uttered a s!rill cry
522 immune untouc!able or e$empt
523 whoosh . mo"e wit! a w!oos!in% sound
524 abstain re(rain or a"oid
'
$2$
amassed a total of three detentions in my
$2%
fictional time at
"tanford Crep and been suspended one for utting shool to go to the
beah.
=amn, my mom was thorough. I felt as if Id >ust dodged a
speeding train.
G+ot really the rebel, are ya)H =avid >oked.
G9ust all me goody1goody !im,H I replied, giggling
unharateristially. I guess thats what seeing your life flash before
your eyes will do to you.
G"ee you tomorrowFH I said to =avid as I left his room later that
night. =anielle had already bailed an hour ago to get some studying
done, and ;hristian had never returned. =avid had
$2&
theorized that
his roomie was in the anient1history setion of the library, tearing his
hair out over his video game.
Id spent the last hour hatting with =avid about "tar /ars 2he
knows everything4, shool and his soial lifeor lak thereof. :ike
=anielle, =avid seemed to be a bit of an outast, whih was probably
why they lung to eah others side. 'ven though =avid was suh a
$2,
gregarious guy around =anielle and me, I wasnt surprised that he
wasnt rolling in friends. -e was suspiious of everyone around him,
and that ould be a bit
$20
off-putting. I had a feeling the only reason
he trusted me so muh was beause he was attrated to mewhih
only made me feel all the more
$33
compunction for messing with his
head.
525 amassed collected or accumulated
526 fictional ima%inary
52 theorized %uessed or speculated
52# gregarious social or talkati"e
52& off-putting . unappealin% or displeasin%
53' compunction %uilt
1
I sighed and
$31
trudged down the hall. 7his underover gig was
tough on the onsiene.
As I rounded the orner toward the stairs I slammed right into
someone and had to hold onto the wall to ath my balane. Imagine
my shok when I realiBed I was looking down at the battered boots of
none other than 9on /isnewski.
G"orry,H I said, looking up into his deep green eyes.
-e held my gaBe for a split seond, then sidestepped around me
and yanked his keys out of his poket.
GI guess Im kind of a
$32
klutz tonight,H I said, attempting to get
him to respond. +othing. I stared at his bak as he worked the lok on
room 22$.
"heesh. Dive a girl a break.
"ay somethingF *ou know about him nowF .ention the drumsF
5r snowboardingF
@ut I ouldnt. I wasnt supposed to know that stuff about him,
and if I >ust blurted it out he was definitely going to think it was
$33
absurd.
G8hH
@ut it was too late. 9on slipped into his room and shut the door in
my fae.
GI guess -ereford doesnt have a lass in
$3#
courtesy,H I muttered,
turning away.
531 trudged . walked !ea"ily and (irmly* as w!en weary* or t!rou%! mud
532 klutz . ,7iddis!- a clumsy dolt ,stupid person-
533 absurd stran%e or ridiculous
534 courtesy %ood manners
2
At that point it was easy to
$3$
surmise that earning 9ons trust
was going to be the most
$3%
arduous part of my >ob. I was going to
have to get reative with that one. @ut I ould
$3&
ponder that later, in
bed, where I did my best thinking. 2I always keep a pad by my bed to
>ot down my middle1of1the1night brainstorms, and last semester Id
written an entire paper between the hours of 2 and $ a.m. .y
roommate, ;athy, had been slightly
$3,
perturbed.4 ?or now I had to
get to my dorm, grab my ell and find a <uiet spot from whih to all
my mom. "he would worry if I didnt hek in soon.
G.s. "harpeFH
-eadmaster ;o(s
$30
barrel of a hest greeted me at the bottom of
the stairs. -ow did someone with suh
$#3
brawn end up being a
headmaster) "houldnt he be hopping logs somewhere)
G-eadmaster ;o(FH I shot bak,
$#1
mimicking his emphasis.
-is >aw lenhed at my
$#2
irreverence. GIt is after 13 p.m.H
7his meant nothing to me, so I >ust stared bak at him.
G?emale students are not allowed in the boys dormitory past 13
p.m. and vie versa,H he told me. G/hile you are a student here I
e(pet you to follow the rules of our
$#3
institution.H
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. G5f ourse,H I said. G+o
problem.H
535 surmise %uess
536 arduous di((icult or tirin%
53 ponder t!ink or meditate about
53# perturbed bot!ered or disturbed
53& barrel . ribs and belly o( a !orse or pony
54' brawn stren%t! or brute (orce
541 mimicking imitatin%
542 irreverence sassiness or c!eekiness
543 institution . an establis!ment consistin% o( a buildin% or comple$ o( buildin%s w!ere an
or%ani.ation (or t!e promotion o( some cause is situated
3
7hen I walked around him and
$##
sauntered down the hallway,
trying to show him how little an effet he had on me.
/hat is that guys deal) I wondered. =oesnt he want me to
solve this ase)
544 sauntered . strolled
4
Chapter *ive
I waited until I heard =anielles breathing slow to a nie,
rhythmi pae before stealing out into the hallway with my ell
phone. 5n the way bak from the guys dormitory Id notied three
old telephone booths built into the wall near the lounge. 7hey looked
like they hadnt been used in a
$#$
decade, probably beause every kid
at -ereford had been given a ell phone as soon as theyd said their
first word. I
$#%
deemed it the perfet plae for my midnight phone all.
I duked into the booth losest to the lounge and farthest from
any dorm rooms. "ure enough, the inside was peppered with graffiti
like G".D. ;lass of K01H and G+ew !ids 6uleFH It seemed the phone
booths were the one area that had esaped the reent
$#&
refurbishment
that had left all of -ereford smelling of paint and new arpet.
I losed the glass door behind me. It let out a loud reak that
$#,
reverberated through the silent dorm, ausing my heart to hit my
throat. I waited for a moment, holding my breath, but no one seemed
interested in heking out the noise.
"itting bak against the hard wooden wall, I hit the speed1dial
number for my house. .y mother piked up on the first ring.
G;hief "tratford.H
G-ey, .om,H I said. GIts me, alling with my
$#0
quotidian
update.H
G!imF -ows it going up there)H my mother asked. GAre you
doing all right)H
545 decade ten years
546 deemed 0ud%ed or considered
54 refurbishment restoration or reno"ation
54# reverberated ec!oed or boomed
54& quotidian daily
5
G/ell, Ive talked to all three of the suspets, although one of
them didnt atually talk bak,H I said,
$$3
cringing slightly as I realled
the
$$1
encounter with 9on. G=avid
$$2
corroborated the fat that
.arshall is here on sholarship, but I havent learned anything new,
yet. 5hF '(ept that 9on /isnewski was addited to painkillers a
ouple of years bak. 7hats
$$3
incriminating, right)H
I waited for my mother to
$$#
convey her thoughts, wondering
whether shed be proud of the
$$$
tidbit Id managed to
$$%
unearth or
irritated that I hadnt gotten very far.
G7hats great, !im, but I was more onerned about you,H my
mother said. G-ow are the people up there) -ows your roommate)
/hat are they feeding you)H
?or a moment I >ust sat there,
$$&
rendered speehless by surprise.
I had e(peted my mother to
$$,
interrogate meto be all business.
7his was, after all, an important investigation. /hat did she are if my
roommate was ool or not)
G.om) Are you okay)H
G/hat, I ant be onerned about my daughter)H she shot bak.
"uddenly I ouldnt help smiling. I
$$0
relished the rare moments
when my mother dropped her hard1ass persona and beame
motherly.
55' cringing wincin% or (linc!in%
551 encounter meetin%
552 corroborated con(irmed
553 incriminating . c!ar%in% or su%%esti"e o( %uilt or blame
554 convey e$press or %et across
555 tidbit . a small tasty bit o( (ood
556 unearth . brin% to li%!t
55 rendered . caused to become
55# interrogate inter"iew or cross)e$amine
55& relished en0oyed
6
G.y roommate is great,H I told her. G@ut the teahers suk.
$%3
Mediocre at best. I definitely got a better eduation at .orrison
-igh. 7his plae is a
$%1
flagrant ripoff.H
GI had a feeling,H my mother said.
G'(ept for the food. .om,H I added, e(periening a sudden
$%2
craving for the hoolate hip ookies theyd served up after dinner.
GI swear they should open a restaurant up here.H
G/ell, thats good, at least,H my mother replied. G"o listen, you
said you talked to all the suspets. =o you think any of them has
$%3
deduced why youre there)H
G+ah. Im definitely not impressed by their olletive
intelligene,H I told her, ad>usting my butt on the rok1hard seat.
G=avids the only one who seems
$%#
incisive enough to figure it out,
but I dont think he will.H
G/hy not)H
GI think hes kind of
$%$
enamored of me,H I said, flushing.
G!imberly "tratford, you are not there to make friendsFH
?inallyF A
$%%
reprimandF +ow that sounded more like the mother
I know, love and sometimes fear.
GI know, .om. =ont worry. Its not like Im going to start dating
himFH I said. GAll Im trying to say is no one suspets a thing.H
G/ell, if they start to <uestion you or make you feel at all
56' mediocre a"era%e or second)rate
561 flagrant ob"ious or %larin%
562 craving !un%er or desire
563 deduced (i%ured out
564 incisive s!arp or percepti"e
565 enamored in lo"e wit!
566 reprimand scoldin% or lecture

unomfortable, I an bring you home at any time,H she told me.
GI know, .om, but Im not leaving here until I
$%&
prevail,H I told
her, twisting the silver ord of the
$%,
obsolete phone in my hand. GI
feel like this is something I have to do.H
.y mother sighed. G!im, we didnt really talk about this before
you left, but if this is about ;orinneH
GIts not,H I lied,
$%0
truncating her speeh. I didnt want to have
all that baggage dragged out right before bed. It had already aused
enough
$&3
insomnia over the past few months, and I had to be alert
tomorrow. GI >ust want to help. 7hats all. @esides, I was going out of
my mind sitting at home. 7his is muh more interesting.H
GIf you say so,H she said.
GI do,H I replied with a nod. GIll all you tomorrow. Im having
lunh with .arshall and Im hoping to get in with 9on as well.H
G5kay, but honey . . . >ust be areful.H
.y heart warmed. .y mother had never alled me honey in my
life. 7aking on this ase may have been the greatest deision Id ever
made.
G=ont worry, .om,H I told her. GI will.H
@y the time I
$&1
emerged from the lunh line the ne(t afternoon I
was all nerves. I was about to sit with .arshall and his obno(ious,
56 prevail win or succeed
56# obsolete out)o()date
56& truncating cuttin% s!ort
5' insomnia sleeplessness
51 emerged . came out o(
#
$&2
vain,
$&3
fatuous friendsa
$&#
prospect that made me
$&$
queasy for
three reasons. ?irst, I knew that =avid and =anielle were going to be
thrown ompletely and would probably
$&%
excise me from their lives
forever. "eond, I was going to have to maintain omplete
$&&
focus
not one of my
$&,
attributesand be areful about everything I said.
After my
$&0
flub yesterday at lunh I realiBed that soial situations
ould be
$,3
hazardous to my over. Apparently when I got too
omfortable I got areless. 5f ourse, omfort probably wasnt going
to be an issue, beause third and most diffiult to admit, I also was
nervous beause I was about to have lunh with the ool kids.
@ig onfession time. I, !im "tratford, had
$,1
heretofore never
hung out with the ool kids. At least not until I got to ollege and
nobody knew that in high shool I was barely a blip on the soial
radar. I never really wanted to hang with them beause they were all
$,2
elitists, but that didnt mean they werent intimidating. I had
always found them intimidating.
"o there I was, a high shool graduate, a ollege student from
"tanford 8niversity and a poliewoman, and I was
$,3
cowed by a
bunh of kids wearing 7ommy -ilfiger and laughing over the latest
episode of 7he 9amie !ennedy '(periment. +ot my proudest
52 vain proud or conceited
53 fatuous stupid or c!ildis!
54 prospect . scene
55 queasy . nauseated or ner"ous
56 excise cut out
5 focus concentration
5# attributes traits
5& flub . an embarrassin% mistake
5#' hazardous dan%erous
5#1 heretofore up to t!is point
5#2 elitists . ones w!o belie"es in rule by an elite ,%roup or class o( persons en0oyin% superior
intellectual or social or economic status- %roup
5#3 cowed scared or intimidated
&
moment.
-ere goes nothing, I thought.
.arshall waved to me from aross the afeteria, as if I ould miss
him and his
$,#
obstreperous friends even in all the
$,$
chaos. 7heir table
stood out like a ruise ship in the middle of a sailboat raebig and
long and paked with
$,%
boisterous people. ;heryl turned to see what
he was waving at and her fae grew
$,&
livid the moment she laid eyes
on me. /ow. 7his girl was seriously >ealous. I had a feeling she was
going to tear me down the first hane she got. It was so unfair. I
ouldnt have been less interested in her potential drug1dealer
boyfriend.
*ou an deal with her, I told myself. /hatever she attempts to
throw at you, >ust make sure her efforts are
$,,
futile . *oure older,
youre ooler and you have way1better hair.
I knew it would be easier said than done, but my internal pep
talk almed me a bit. !eeping my hin up, I
$,0
gamely walked along
the wall until I reahed the paked table. 'ah guy was sporting more
hair gel than the one ne(t to him, and the
$03
commingled sents of the
many produts the girls were urrently abusing reated a
$01
noxious
loud over the table.
G'veryone, this is !im,H .arshall said, looking proud that hed
remembered my name. G"hes ool.H
5#4 obstreperous loudmout!ed or unruly
5#5 chaos commotion or madness
5#6 boisterous li"ely or noisy
5# livid (urious
5## futile useless or unsuccess(ul
5#& gamely ea%erly or c!eer(ully
5&' commingled mi$ed or blended
5&1 noxious poisonous or !arm(ul
#'
7he few people who
$02
acknowledged my presene seemed
unimpressed. A ouple of girls gave me the one1over and then
looked away, returning to a heated debate over the benefits of thongs
vs.
$03
tangas.
I was in hell. I mean, how
$0#
banal ould they be)
*ou have to be
$0$
tolerant here, I told myself, sliding into an
empty seat ne(t to .arshall. 7hey ant be all bad.
I
$0%
hazarded a glane toward the table where Id sat yesterday
with =anielle and =avid. 7hey were both staring at me, and their pain
was almost
$0&
palpable, even from aross the room. I hated that I was
the one who had made them feel that way. I smiled at them
$0,
obsequiously, but they both turned away. .y stomah ontrated.
7his is your >ob, I reminded myself. *ou ant worry about
=anielle and =avids feelings. *oure gonna have to
$00
ingratiate
yourself with these people and youre going to have to do it fast.
G-i,H I said, smiling at the most weloming1looking person there
a ute guy with shaggy red hair who sat aross from me.
G-ey. Im ;urtis,H he replied, e(tending his hand to me from
aross the table. 7he headphones of his iCod dangled from his nek as
he rose from his seat. I was impressed that he was atually shaking
hands with me. +ot something most teenage guys bothered to do.
G+ie to meet you,H I said.
5&2 acknowledged reco%ni.ed or accepted
5&3 tangas . 1'' tan%a equal 1 8a0ikistani ruble
5&4 banal ordinary or predictable
5&5 tolerant open)minded
5&6 hazarded . put at risk
5& palpable p!ysical or solid
5&# obsequiously in an o"erly (latterin% or polite manner
5&& ingratiate suck up to
#1
G/hat do you think of -ereford)H .arshall asked as he shoved a
fistful of fries into his mouth.
GIts okay,H I replied, pushing my fork around in my spaghetti
and meatballs. I was too tense to eat >ust yet. G"ome of your teahers
are tough, though,H I added, hoping to get a onversation started. If
there was one thing I remembered about being a high shool senior, it
was how muh we en>oyed
%33
lamenting our
%31
lot in life.
G/hat did you e(pet,
%32
remedial lasses)H ;heryl said, looking
down her nose at me. G-ereford is a
%33
reputable shool. *ou ant >ust
%3#
coast here.H
G/ho said anything about oasting)H I shot bak immediately. GI
go to "tanford. Ive never oasted in my life.H
G/hat do you mean you go to "tanford)H ;heryl asked.
=amn. 7here I go again. Apparently I wasnt only in danger of
blowing my over when I was too omfortable. It was also going to
happen whenever I was
%3$
heckled. Dood >ob, =eputy .oron.
GI mean I went to "tanford. Crep,H I e(plained, proud of the
smooth save. G7he teahers were atually tougher there, but I didnt
want to make you guys feel
%3%
inferior.H
G/hatever,H ;heryl said, rolling her eyes and returning her
attention to her girlfriends.
.arshall, ;urtis and a ouple of other guys hukled to
themselves.
6'' lamenting cryin% about
6'1 lot . o"erall circumstances or condition in li(e ,includin% e"eryt!in% t!at !appens to you-
6'2 remedial meant (or slower learners
6'3 reputable !i%!ly re%arded
6'4 coast . succeed wit! little e((ort
6'5 heckled !arassed or 0eered at
6'6 inferior lesser or worse
#2
G/hat)H I asked.
G;at fights. Dotta love it,H the blond kid from karate pratie
said.
I had a feeling I wasnt going to be having any
%3&
scholarly
debates with these guys during my days at -ereford. I deided to ut
to the hase.
G"o, what do you do for fun around here)H I asked, raising my
eyebrows.
.arshall e(hanged autious glanes with his buddies as if he
were debating whether or not he should let me in on something. I felt
my pulse start to rae. /as I already on to something
%3,
disreputable)
G"he seems ool,H ;urtis said finally, lifting one shoulder.
G:ike I said,H .arshall replied firmly, as if he wanted to make
sure he was
%30
credited with being the first person to say I was ool.
G"o tell her,H some meathead suggested.
I saw ;heryl shoot .arshall a warning glane, but he was either
%13
oblivious or deided to ignore her.
G/e have this seret party every month in the gym,H .arshall
e(plained through a full mouth. GIts totally
%11
exclusive. 9ust us and
some of the ooler >uniors and sophomores.H
I ould tell that his GusH didnt apply to all seniors, >ust the ones
at this tablethe -ereford
%12
regime. I held my breath as .arshalls
6' scholarly intellectual
6'# disreputable dis!onest
6'& credited %i"en reco%nition
61' oblivious unaware
611 exclusive pri"ate or restricted
612 regime rulers or commanders
#3
eyes fliked over me. /ould I be inluded as one of Gus)H I had an
%13
inkling my investigation depended on it. An underground monthly
party sounded like the perfetly
%1#
unwholesome
%1$
venue for some
serious drug use.
Instantly my mind turned to ;orinne and I felt my blood start to
boil. I shoved the thoughts away. I ouldnt go there now. 5therwise
Id be blaming these kids for what happened to her, and they never
even knew the girl.
G*ou an ome if you want,H .arshall said.
At that moment ;heryl shoved her hair bak from the table in
an
%1%
intemperate manner, making far more noise than was absolutely
neessary, and
%1&
stalked through the afeteria toward the bathroom.
G=ont mind her. "hes
%1,
on the rag,H .arshall said, ausing
.eathead to guffaw.
8ghF -e was so
%10
uncouthF
G"o, you in)H ;urtis asked me.
G"ure. /hen is it)H
G+e(t ?riday,H ;urtis replied. G/e meet in the gym at
midnight.H
G-ow do you guys get away with it every month)H I asked. GI
mean, doesnt the -ereford
%23
administration sort of frown on this
613 inkling !unc! or idea
614 unwholesome dis!onest or indecent
615 venue . t!e scene o( any e"ent or action ,especially t!e place o( a meetin%-/ locale
616 intemperate !ot!eaded ,quickly aroused to an%er-
61 stalked . (ollowed stealt!ily or recur constantly and spontaneously to
61# on the rag . w!en a woman is 9on t!e ra%9* t!at means s!e !as !er period and likely in a
bad mood because o( t!e "arious discom(orts
61& uncouth crude or o((ensi"e
62' administration o((icials
#4
kind of thing)H
G7hey turn a blind eye uB its us,H .arshall said, reahing out to
slap hands with his friends. GDotta love it.H
GIts gonna be wiked this month,H ;hris said with a grin.
G.arshall is =91ing with his new speakers.H
GIm making some killer mi(es, man,H .arshall said, nodding his
big head. G/aitll you hear what I got in store.H
"uddenly, in a flash of brilliane, I saw my opening. A
%21
feasible
way to
%22
insinuate myself into .arshalls good graes.
GI have a ton of new ;=s if you want to borrow some,H I said,
munhing asually on my roll. GA lot of /est1;oast stuff you may not
have.H
7his was atually true. .y friend C.!. bak at "tanford had a
brother who worked for 8niversal 6eords, and he was onstantly
sending us new albums by up1and1oming =9s and bands. "ome of it
was
%23
vapid rap, but most of it was kiking party musi.
GDood deal,H .arshall said. G@ring Kem by my room tonight. Im
in 31$.H
*ayF CrogressF
GIm there,H I said, rela(ing. +ow that things with .arshall were
settled I was finally able to dig into my lunh, but I
%2#
devourd it
<uiklybefore ;heryl ould ome bak and turn my stomah to
knots all over again.
As soon as lunh was over I found myself in the deserted
621 feasible possible
622 insinuate weasel a way into
623 vapid dull or bland
624 devoured ate quickly
#5
hallway one more, following 9on /isnewski bak to his
%2$
stairwell. I
was feeling a little more daring after my suess with .arshall and I
must admit, I wasnt <uite as
%2%
stealthy this time. .y sneakers made
%2&
sporadic s<ueaking noises, and with eah one I e(peted 9on to turn
around and
%2,
confront me, but he didnt. -e was either deaf or didnt
are that he was being tailed.
5kay, Ill >ust tell them Im lost or something, I thought as 9on
shoved through the swinging doors that led to the stairwell. 5ne
again, voies, laughter and smoke
%20
wafted out into the hallway. 5r
maybe Ill try to bum a smoke . . . and make a omplete idiot of myself
when I hoke all over them.
I was still
%33
contemplating these options when I pushed open
the door and it was grabbed by 9on himself. I stopped, my breath
athing in my throat. -is fae was inhes from mine.
G/hy are you following me)H he
%31
demanded.
"o muh for not aring about being tailed.
625 stairwell . a "ertical well around w!ic! t!ere is a stairway
626 stealthy quiet or sneaky
62 sporadic occasional or intermittent
62# confront c!allen%e or (ace
62& wafted . (loated or blew %ently
63' contemplating considerin% or t!inkin% o"er
631 demanded . called (or or asked to be in(ormed o(
#6
Chapter +ix
GI . . . uh . . . .H
-adnt I >ust had some
%32
plausible e(uses lined up) .y mind
was ompletely
%33
devoid of words. +o
%3#
poise under pressurenot a
good <uality in a op.
GI >ust . . . lostFH I e(laimed, ompletely unintelligible.
G*ou >ust lost,H he said, his brow
%3$
furrowing over his seriously
piering green eyes. "omehow they made my heart pound even more
%3%
furiously. G-ow aveman of you.H
G:ook . . . Im new around here,H I e(plained. GAnd I >ust . . . Im
trying to make friends, and to be honest, you seemed . . . interesting.H
/hat the hell was I saying)
G6eally)H he said, ushering me bak out into the hallway. It
seemed he didnt want whomever was down below doing the
%3&
cavorting and the smoking to overhear us. GI thought I >ust saw you
eating lunh with the ;onenites. *ou seem pretty muh
%3,
acclimated
to the situation around here.H
G8m . . . ;onenites)H
G.arshall ;one and his friends)H 9on said like I was some sort of
%30
doofus for not having
%#3
inherent knowledge of his nikname for
632 plausible possible or belie"able
633 devoid empty
634 poise sel()assurance or composure
635 furrowing creasin% or wrinklin%
636 furiously . in a wild and stormy manner
63 cavorting . playin% boisterously or (rollickin%* %ambolin%* or (riskin%
63# acclimated ad0usted
63& doofus . a stupid incompetent person/ dimwit* !al()wit* or nitwit
64' inherent natural or inborn
#
them.
G6ight. /ell, theyre okay, butH
G+o, theyre not. @ut thats not e(atly the point. 7he point is,
you dont hang out with the ;onenites and find me interesting. 7he
two things dont mesh.H -is fae was growing hard as he spoke and
took a
%#1
menacing step loser to me. I felt my pulse speed up. /as
this kid dangerous) I mean, I ould definitely take him, but the last
thing I wanted was to get
%#2
embroided in a sparring math in the
middle of the hallwayespeially not with ;o( potentially lurking
around here somewhere.
G"o I repeat,H 9on said. G/hy were you following me)H
G*ou know what) I dont have to stand here and take this kind of
%#3
invective from you,H I said, deiding to ut my losses. /e were in a
deserted hallway, and his behavior was getting more and more
%##
disquieting. G/e ould have been friends. And who knows, you
may have found me very interesting. @ut now well never know.H
GDee. Im real broken up about it,H 9on said, narrowing his eyes.
G?ine,H I said.
G?ine,H he replied, shoving through the door again.
I stormed away, fuming, my fae so hot it felt as if my makeup
was going to melt right off. 9on /isnewski was
%#$
infuriating.
"o why was my brain imagining what it might be like to run
641 menacing t!reatenin%
642 embroiled in"ol"ed
643 invective criticism or attack
644 disquieting disturbin% or unsettlin%
645 infuriating . e$tremely annoyin% or displeasin%
##
bak there, grab him and kiss him) 8ghF I needed to see a
%#%
shrink,
%#&
stat.
GI ant believe you were hanging out with .arshall ;oneFH
=anielle seemed
%#,
anguished by the new development as she paed
our room later that day. GAtually, wait. I an believe it.H "he paused
and looked at me. I was sitting on my bed with my tail between my
legs. G=ont you hate it when people say that ant believe something
thats totally believable)H she asked.
"he sat down right aross from me and sighed. "he looked so
%#0
distraught I felt the need to beg for
%$3
absolution. @ut what was I
going to say)
GDee, sorry, =anielle, but I have to hang out with .arshall
beause he ould be a drug dealer and I might have to bring him in)H
+ot likely.
GIm sorry,H I began, feeling like evil
%$1
incarnate. 7his was
insane. Id ome here to solve a ase, not break the heart of some poor
%$2
vulnerable girl. I was suddenly
%$3
acutely aware of >ust how muh
=anielle needed me. And shed known me for only two daysF /hat
was she going to do when I up and left)
5kay, dont think about that right now. *oure not responsible
for this girls soial life. "till, she was so disappointed I felt the need to
e(plain.
646 shrink . a p!ysician w!o speciali.es in psyc!iatry or psyc!iatrist
64 stat . immediately* now ) usually used in medical situations* to connote e$treme ur%ency
64# anguished pained or a%oni.ed
64& distraught upset
65' absolution (or%i"eness
651 incarnate in material (orm
652 vulnerable weak or de(enseless
653 acutely s!arply or intensely
#&
G-e asked me yesterday at karate and I >ust thought . . . you
know . . . it would be good to get to know some other . . . people,H I
told her.
5h, Dod. I was
%$#
faltering here. I sounded like a totally
insensitive soial1limber. I would hate me if I were her.
G=ont worry about it,H she said finally. GI ompletely
understand. If .arshall asked you to sit with them, then you have to
sit with them. 5nly the strong survive around here.H
"he looked up at me, her eyes sad. G/ere still gonna be friends,
right)H she
%$$
beseeched me. GI mean, if you dont want to talk to me
in front of them, I totally get it. 9ust dont start ignoring me when
were here. I dont think I ould handle that.H
G5f ourse were still going to be friendsFH I protested, getting up
and
%$%
plopping down ne(t to her. G:ook, I have never let any
%$&
clique define who I am and Im not gonna start now.H
G6eally) ;uB I havent had a real girlfriend in so long . . . .H
.y heart went out to =anielle. "he was suh a ool, sweet, smart
girl. /hy did everyone have to treat her like a
%$,
pariah >ust beause
she e(elled in her lasses) =idnt everyone around here e(el in their
lasses) /ho ared who was
%$0
paramount among them) 7hey were
all going to get into Ivy :eague shools anyway.
GI promise I am not going to hange >ust beause Im hanging out
with .arshall,H I told her firmly.
654 faltering weakenin% or !esitatin%
655 beseeched be%%ed or pleaded
656 plopping . drop wit! t!e sound o( somet!in% (allin% into water
65 clique . an e$clusi"e circle o( people wit! a common purpose or inner circle
65# pariah outsider or re0ect
65& paramount o( %reatest importance
&'
=anielle smiled, finally aepting my
%%3
assertions. G;ool,H she
said, bouning up from her bed. G"o, I was going to go to the library
to work on history. =o you want to ome)H
"he sorted through her books,
%%1
painstakingly organiBing eah
sub>ets notes and te(ts on her desk. .y heart tightened as I wathed
her. In that moment she reminded me so muh of ;orinne that I was
%%2
consumed by
%%3
nostalgia and sadness. ;orinne had been
%%#
slovenly in every
%%$
facet of her life, but when it ame to shool she
was more uptight than a 6epublian touring the Clayboy .ansion.
7here were atually a lot of
%%%
parallels between ;orinne 6yan
and =anielle ?isher. 7hey were both
%%&
diffident, yet funny when you
got to know them. @oth
%%,
self-deprecating in publi but privately
aware of their worth. ;orinne had even been >ust as distrustful of the
popular rowd at .orrison -igh as =anielle was at -ereford.
And
%%0
justifiably so, as it turned out, I thought, my mouth set in
a line.
7hinking of ;orinne
%&3
catalyzed me into ation. I had to solve
this ase and I had to do it fast. 7here was no way I was going to let
what had happened to ;orinne happen to =anielle. +o way in hell.
GAtually, I told .arshall Id lend him some of my ;=s,H I said,
66' assertions statements or claims
661 painstakingly care(ully or meticulously
662 consumed o"erw!elmed
663 nostalgia lon%in% (or t!e past
664 slovenly sloppy or messy
665 facet aspect or part
666 parallels similarities
66 deficient poor or lackin%
66# self-deprecating . conscious o( your own s!ortcomin%s
66& justifiably ri%!tly or understandably
6' catalyzed inspired or incited
&1
rossing over to the
%&1
bulky bo( that held all my musi. It still was
sitting on the floor ne(t to my bed beause I figured Id probably
never have to unpak it. I planned to solve this ase and be out of here
before I needed to really set up shop.
=anielle shot me a look and I smiled.
GIm >ust gonna drop them off and then Ill meet you in the
library,H I
%&2
assured her. GI swear I am not up and >oining the
;onenites.H
G7he ;onenites)H she asked with a laugh. GI like it.H
I flushed. G*eah. I dont know where that ame from.H
G5kay, but >ust keep an eye out for ;heryl,H =anielle warned me.
GIf she finds you in his room, shell kill ya. "hell kill ya dead.H
GI
%&3
appreciate your
%&#
candor,H I said, laughing.
I gathered my favorite albums and headed for the door. 7he
phone rang as I walked out, and =anielle lunged for it.
G-ello)H she said. -er entire fae lit up,
%&$
elated. G-ey, honeyFH
she e(laimed, her eyes
%&%
flicking toward the framed photo on her
dresser. ;learly it was her boyfriendsomeone shed yet to onfide in
me about. I had, however, heked out his piture. -e was tall, broad
and a little
%&&
scruffy with a
%&,
mischievous smile. Another bad boy
something else =anielle and I had in ommon. I losed the door
61 bulky lar%e or massi"e
62 assured promised
63 appreciate "alue
64 candor openness or !onesty
65 elated e$cited or o"er0oyed
66 flicking . (las!in% intermittently
6 scruffy . s!abby ,si%ns o( wear and tear- and untidy or seedy
6# mischievous . nau%!tily or annoyin%ly play(ul
&2
behind me, happy that =anielle had someone who ould so instantly
%&0
alleviate all her loneliness.
It kinda took the pressure off.
As I was oming around the orner into .arshalls hall I heard a
door swing open. I paused, then duked bak behind the wall. I dont
know if it was detetives
%,3
intuition that made me do it, but I was
instantly glad I did. /hen I peeked around the orner I saw none
other than 9on /isnewski
%,1
slinking out of .arshalls room. -e
didnt
%,2
loiter eitherhe was out of there faster than you ould say
Gsuspiious.H
/hat was 9on /isnewski doing hanging out in .arshall ;ones
room) -adnt he insulted him and his friends to me that very
afternoon) 5r was that >ust something I had
%,3
inferred from his use of
the word G;onenitesH) +o. 7here was no way these two were friends.
I was going to have to ponder this one later. I waited until 9on
was long gonedidnt want to be aused of stalking him again
then knoked on .arshalls door.
7he first thing I notied when he welomed me into his room
was the smell. -e must have been showering himself with
%,#
gratuitous amounts of ;! @e about five seonds before I got there.
In seonds I was diBBy from
%,$
deprivation of o(ygen.
G/hat do you think)H .arshall asked, tipping his head bak
slightly as if he wanted to impress me with the
%,%
girth of his nek. It
6& alleviate lessen
6#' intuition instinct
6#1 slinking . walkin% stealt!ily
6#2 loiter !an% around
6#3 inferred assumed
6#4 gratuitous unnecessary or unreasonable
6#5 deprivation lack
6#6 girth si.e or t!ickness
&3
took me a seond to realiBe he was asking what I thought of the room.
7he plae was a
%,&
bastion of
%,,
materialism. 7here was a state1of1
the1art twenty1dis hanger on top of his desk, hooked up to
%,0
authentic surround1sound @ose speakers that were suspended from
eah orner of the eiling. -is omputer was a seventeen1inh
Cower@ook, and his iCod was hooked up to it, downloading songs. A
pair of brand1new skis
%03
jutted out from behind his bed, and a home
theater systemeven better than =avidswas showing 5ld "hool.
'very inh of wall was overed in posters of
%01
voluptuous women in
%02
scant lothing who seemed to be lusting over the red sports ars
they were posed on.
%03
"estosterone ity.
GIts . . . nie)H I said.
G+ie) .e and 6ob have the sikest setup at this shoolFH
.arshall was offended. -e ertainly liked to put himself up on a
%0#
pedestal. I plaed my ;=s near his stereo and aught a glimpse of
his @lakberry sitting in the enter of his desk.
G/hats this)H I asked, piking it up on
%0$
impulse.
.arshall grabbed it out of my hand swiftly, but not before I saw
a reminder that readN G1O0 =elivery.H A reminder he obviously didnt
want me to see. *et another tidbit to file away.
6# bastion stron%!old
6## materialism lo"e o( lu$ury items
6#& authentic %enuine
6&' jutted stuck out
6&1 voluptuous se$y or sensual
6&2 scant tiny or minimal
6&3 testosterone . a potent andro%enic !ormone produced c!ie(ly by t!e testes/ responsible (or
t!e de"elopment o( male secondary se$ c!aracteristics
6&4 pedestal !i%! position
6&5 impulse sudden ur%e or w!im
&4
GIts a @lakberry,H he said, his e(pression
%0%
patronizing.
G/herere you from) Idaho)H
"heesh. =id anything intelligent ever
%0&
issue from this guys
mouth)
G+ot e(atly,H I said. G@ut Im sure all Idahoans would be happy
to know that you think theyre too
%0,
naive to reogniBe a @lakberry.H
G/ell, you didnt,H he said.
GI >ust hadnt seen that model before,H I shot bak. 7hen, in an
effort to
%00
retain his respet for my oolness fator, I ran my hand
down one of his "alomon skis. As far as I knew, they were the most
e(pensive ones on the market. G7hese are
&33
sleek,H I said. GI get some
serious speed with those.H
.arshall seemed surprised by my knowledge, but then overed
it well. GDotta love it,H he said. 7his seemed to be his favorite phrase.
G;hek it out. I got a pair of 6ay1@an goggles too8A1proteted,
glare1resistant and damn if I dont look fine.H
-e held them up to his fae and I gave him the e(peted
impressed frown and nod. I barely even notied how he looked,
however. I was too busy taking in the
&31
opulent designer wardrobe,
inluding a
&32
preponderance of suede >akets and leather boots, in the
loset behind him. 7here was no way this kid was here on
sholarship. -is room was more
&33
lavish than the latest 6eal /orld
house.
6&6 patronizing condescendin% or belittlin%
6& issue come out
6&# naive %ullible or simple
6&& retain preser"e or maintain
'' sleek . su%%esti"e o( material wealt!/ prosperous in appearance
'1 opulent (ancy or e$tra"a%ant
'2 preponderance e$cess or surplus
'3 lavish (ancy or e$tra"a%ant
&5
G"o, whaddaya got for me)H .arshall asked, flipping through
my ;=s.
G.ost of that stuff is pretty
&3#
obscure, but its good. 7rust me,H I
said, trying to take in more
&3$
notable details of his room.
8nfortunately there wasnt muh out of the ordinaryfor a
millionaire. 7hen I notied a stak of
&3%
correspondence on his desk,
whih upon further
&3&
scrutiny turned out to be ollege appliations
e(atly the institutions youd e(pet for a -ereford student*ale,
Crineton, =uke, =artmouth.
G*ou know where you want to go to shool yet)H I asked
&3,
cavalierly.
.arshall glaned at the apps and shrugged. G'h, theyre all after
me, but Im going to =uke.H
GI admire your
&30
optimism,H I said.
G/hat)H -e seemed a little
&13
riled by my omment.
GI mean you seem fairly onfident youre going to get in.H
.arshall
&11
scoffed and looked at me as if it was >ust too obvious
why he should be so onfident about that. "omehow I
&12
squelched
the desire to smak him in the head. -e ated like he was
&13
heir to the
throne.
'4 obscure little)known
'5 notable prominent or noticeable
'6 correspondence mail or communication
' scrutiny study or inspection
'# cavalierly casually or o((!andedly
'& optimism con(idence or !ope(ulness
1' riled an%ered or annoyed
11 scoffed . lau%!ed at wit! contempt and derision
12 squelched suppressed or !eld back
13 heir successor or in!eritor
&6
G=ukes an e(pensive shool,H I said, trying to do the leading
thing 7ad had taught me.
G.oneys not an
&1#
impediment for me,H he said, still
&1$
rifling
through my ;=s.
-e didnt blink or lear his throat or touh his fae or anything. If
the kid was lying, he was doing a bang1up >ob.
G-ow)H I wanted to sream. GAording to your reord, you are
&1%
currency
&1&
deficient. -ow are you affording all this stuff)H
I paed aross the room, piking up a wath here, glaning at a
stak of old Cost1its there. I e(amined a shelf full of 7winkies and
=oritos and ans of 6ed @ull. 7here was nothing to
&1,
implicate him.
8nless you were looking for a
&10
hedonist.
G"o . . . are you and 9on /isnewski friends)H I asked.
I heard my ;=s
&23
clatter to the desk. G7hat loser) /hy would
you ask me that)H
.y heart pounded with
&21
anticipation. I was so onto something.
GI >ust saw him in the hall, and it looked like he was oming from
your room,H I mentioned
&22
blithely. G9ust urious.H
G/ell, he wasnt. ;oming from my room, I mean,H .arshall said,
his fae set like stone.
14 impediment obstacle or barrier
15 rifling . %oin% t!rou%! in searc! o( somet!in%/ searc! t!rou%! someone+s belon%in%s in an
unaut!ori.ed way
16 currency money
1 deficient poor or lackin%
1# implicate point t!e (in%er at
1& hedonist someone w!o seeks pleasure
2' clatter . make a rattlin% sound
21 anticipation e$pectation
22 blithely casually
&
*oure so bustedF I thought. 7hough busted on what, I had no
idea.
G7hanks for the ;=s. Im gonna get to work on the mi(es,H
.arshall said, slipping right by me and opening the door. +ot too
obvious an
&23
ejection.
G+o problem,H I said as I stepped out of the room. GIll >ust get
them bak from you later in the week)H
G*eah. /hatever,H .arshall said. And he losed the door in my
fae.
*ou mention 9on /isnewski to .arshall, you get booted, I
thought. Interesting.
I wasnt sure if it meant anything to the ase, but my uriosity
was
&2#
piqued. /hat was going on between .r.
&2$
%eevish and the
biggest of the @ig .en on ;ampus)
23 ejection kickin% out
24 piqued awakened or aroused
25 peevish cranky or irritable
&#
Chapter +even
7he following day after lasses I aompanied =anielle to the
student post offie to drop off a birthday present she was sending to
her sister. 7he bo( was wrapped in plain brown paper
&2%
embellished
with glittering flowers =anielle had spent half the night working on.
"he was so proud of it shed showed it to me first thing that morning.
2"he was already at her omputer emailing 7ag, her boyfriend, when
Id woken up.4 "till, she seemed
&2&
listless as we made our way along
the pathways that
&2,
meandered through -erefords
&20
extensive
grounds. "omething was up.
G/hy arent you going home for your sisters birthday)H I asked,
pulling my oat loser to me to guard against an
&33
eddy of wind.
GI wanted to, but my parents didnt think it was worth the
money,H =anielle replied with a shrug. "he attempted a arefree
smile, but I ould tell she was
&31
disconsolate. GI was >ust there for
;hristmas . . . . H
G/ell, Im sure shes going to like the present. I mean, a twelve1
year1old and a omplete makeup kit) It doesnt get any better than
that,H I told her, attempting
&32
levity.
=anielles smile seemed to brighten a bit. G7hanks. 7his is it.H
"he paused in front of a short wooden door in a stone wall that
was overed in ivy. 7he whole building looked like something from a
26 embellished decorated
2 listless limp or lackin% ener%y
2# meandered wandered or .i%.a%%ed
2& extensive lar%e or (ar)reac!in%
3' eddy %ust or current
31 disconsolate depressed or sad
32 levity !umor
&&
bygone
&33
era with its round windows and its
&3#
turrets. A metal sign
that with the letters G".C.5.H stamped on it hung above the door, but
the letters had been almost entirely
&3$
obliterated by the
&3%
elements.
G"tate1of1the1art, huh)H I said.
G*eah. /e dont need
&3&
newfangled things around here. :ike,
oh,
&3,
legible
&30
signage,H she replied, opening the door for me.
I laughed as I stepped into a long room, the left wall of whih
housed at least three hundred tiny mailbo(es, eah with its own
keyhole. 7here was a window ut out of the wall to the right, behind
whih a
&#3
wizened,
&#1
stern1looking old man stood,
&#2
sifting through
a stak of mail. @ehind him was a system of wooden
&#3
slots for
sorting letters, and who should be
&##
haphazardly staking pakages
in front of it but 9on /isnewski)
I swear, sometimes Im >ust so
&#$
hapless I an hardly believe it.
-ow many times ould I bump into the guy)
5kay, but he didnt see you last night, so he only knows about
two of the three times, I thought, although it didnt make me feel any
better.
G-ey, .r. "mootFH =anielle said, sliding her pakage aross the
33 era time period
34 turrets . a small tower e$tendin% (rom a buildin%
35 obliterated wiped out
36 elements . components
3 newfangled new or ori%inal
3# legible readable
3& signage . si%ns collection ,especially commercial si%ns or posters-
4' wizened wrinkled or a%ed
41 stern !ars! or serious
42 sifting . c!eckin% and sortin% care(ully
43 slots . a small slit ,as (or insertin% a coin or depositin% mail-
44 haphazardly randomly or messily
45 hapless unlucky
1''
ounter. 7he old mans fae lit up when he saw =anielle. I was
starting to notie this was sort of a trend with her. Ceople >ust took to
=anielle. Adult people, anyway.
G7his is going to your sister, huh)H .r. "moot asked
&#%
genially.
G*ep.H
GDot anything else for me today)H
G+ope. +ot today,H =anielle replied. G9ust this.H
/hen =anielle spoke, 9on looked up and notied me standing
there.
G"talker,H he said,
&#&
dispassionately.
I graed him with my most
&#,
saccharine smile. GIm with her,H I
told him as =anielle fed instrutions for shipping to .r. "moot. GI
swear I didnt even know you worked here.H
G/hatever,H 9on said. -e turned and tossed a pakage marked
G
&#0
fragileH halfway aross the room. I ouldnt help thinking that his
working here was >ust a little too perfet. -e was the
&$3
epitome of a
&$1
disgruntled postal worker.
G=o you find it
&$2
hampers your >ob performane to ignore the
warnings on the pakages)H I asked.
?rom the
&$3
mutinous look on his fae I had a feeling the ne(t bo(
would have a diret
&$#
trajectory for my nose. @ut he simply turned
46 genially in a (riendly manner
4 dispassionately wit!out emotion
4# saccharine o"erly and (alsely sweet
4& fragile delicate
5' epitome ultimate e$ample
51 disgruntled irritated or discontented
52 hampers %ets in t!e way o(
53 mutinous de(iant ,noncompliant-
54 trajectory route or (li%!t pat!
1'1
his bak on me and ontinued to stumble about his >ob.
G"o, how long have you worked here)H I asked the bak of his
head.
G/hy do you are)H he shot bak.
/hat was the point of trying to
&$$
initiate a onversation with
this person)
@eause you have to. Its your >ob, I reminded myself,
&$%
bolstering myself for another try.
G=o they pay well)H I asked.
'ver
&$&
taciturn, 9on snorted in response and tossed another
pakage on the pile. I wathed as he piked up a small bo( and read
the address. 8nlike the others, this one he plaed arefully on a high
shelf. -uh. /hat was the
&$,
import here) /hy did it merit suh
&$0
distinction)
And then it hit me. .aybe the pakage was for 9on himself. And
maybe, >ust maybe it was a shipment for his little underground drug
&%3
enterprise. 5f ourseF /hat better way to smuggle drugs into
-ereford than to
&%1
ensconce yourself in a >ob at the
&%2
antiquated post
offie) 7hey had no omputer system to log who reeived what and
when, and 9on probably handled every pakage that ame through
hereF
G=o you have some kind of staring problem)H 9on suddenly
55 initiate start
56 bolstering %i"in% a boost to
5 taciturn quiet or distant
5# import importance
5& distinction !onor or wort!
6' enterprise . an or%ani.ation created (or business "entures
61 ensconce install
62 antiquated old)(as!ioned or out)o()date
1'2
snapped.
7hat was when I realiBed I had been gaping at him,
&%3
enthralled,
while my +any =rew brain worked its wonders.
G*ou know, its always so great talking to you,H I said
./,
mordantly as =anielle finished her transation. I followed her over
to her mailbo(, my
&%$
turbulent thoughts
&%%
muddling my brain. 7his
was it. A real lead. I had to tell my mother about this and I had to step
up my attempts to
&%&
whittle my way into 9ons life. @ut how) 7he kid
learly thought I was
&%,
deranged. /henever I was around him I
beame either
&%0
inarticulate or totally
&&3
shrill. And at this point, I
was having a hard time masking my
&&1
contempt for him.
I shot a glane over my shoulder at 9on, >ust in time to see him
bump a shelving
&&2
unit with his elbow and ause an
&&3
avalanche of
letters to rain down on his head. -aF "erved him right. =ealing drugs
out of a shool post offie. ;ould there be anything more
&&#
sinister) I
was going to lok him up and throw away the key.
G!im) Are you okay)H =anielle asked, looking from me to 9on
and bak again. "he raised her eyebrows in a surprised, leading way
as if she thought I was heking 9on outas a
&&$
potential date, not as
63 enthralled (ascinated or %ripped
64 mordantly bitin%ly or sarcastically
65 turbulent c!aotic or restless
66 muddling . mi$in% up or con(usin%* addlin% or puddlin%
6 whittle . per!aps t!e aut!or meant to say :wi%%le;<
6# deranged cra.y or insane
6& inarticulate speec!less or inco!erent
' shrill . !a"in% or emittin% a !i%!)pitc!ed and s!arp tone or tones
1 contempt dislike
2 unit . a sin%le undi"ided w!ole
3 avalanche landslide
4 sinister menacin% or creepy
5 potential possible
1'3
a potential riminal.
I flushed. GIm fine. Its >ust . . . what is that guys deal)H I said as
=anielle unloked her bo(. GIs he that
&&%
boorish to everybody)H
GAre you kidding) *ou got him to say two words to you,H
=anielle replied, her eyes wide. G7hats
&&&
tantamount to a mirale.H
G"eriously)H
GI dont think Ive ever even heard his voie before,H =anielle
said, shoving a bunh of envelopes into her bag. G-e and his little
snowboard buddies only hang out in
&&,
deserted areas or in eah
others rooms, and he even
&&0
snubs the teahers. Aording to =avid,
if 9on werent
&,3
irreproachable on paper, he wouldnt even be here.H
GIs he really that smart)H
G7he only other
&,1
contender for ;heryls throne before I got
here, apparently,H =anielle said. G7rust me. If I thought 9on was
apable of liking anybody, Id say you were it.H
"he slammed the door of her post offie bo( and we headed out.
As we walked by the window again I eyed 9ons tanned fae. /as it
&,2
remotely possible that =anielle was right) ;ould the fat that 9on
even
&,3
grudgingly aknowledged my e(istene mean that he didnt
detest me as muh as he detested the rest of the student body) It
seemed
&,#
improbable. 8nless, of ourse, he liked his girls inartiulate
and shrill.
6 boorish rude
tantamount rou%!ly t!e same as
# deserted empty or isolated
& snubs i%nores or re0ects
#' irreproachable per(ect
#1 contender candidate or ri"al
#2 remotely t!e least bit
#3 grudgingly unwillin%ly
#4 improbable unlikely
1'4
9ust as we were about to leave, 9on looked up and aught me
staringagain. I didnt look away and neither did he. A slight shiver
of attration ran through me, but I
&,$
squelched it. I was not going to
be attrated to a drug dealerF I did have a hane to notie that there
was the faintest
&,%
discrepancy between the olor of the skin around
his eyes and the olor of the skin on his faesun1goggle tan.
-e and his little snowboard buddies . . . .
"uddenly I was struk with one of my
&,&
brilliant ideas. .aybe
there was a way to break through to 9on /isnewski.
G!im, this is all very good work,H my mother told me after I
e(plained the 9on situation to her. At first she had been upset about
the fat that I hadnt waited until midnight to all her. 2I was so
e(ited about the suspiious behavior Id witnessed at the post offie,
Id run off with my ell the seond I returned from dinner.4 7here
wasnt muh my mother hated more than a break in
&,,
procedure. @ut
she forgave my
&,0
lapse the moment she heard about 9on and the
mysterious bo(.
G"o, youll send it)H I
&03
prompted.
GAbsolutely,H she replied. GI think its an
&01
astute plan of ation.H
I grinned. .y mother was
&02
lauding my plan of ation. -ow
ool was that)
GDreat. Ill keep an eye out for it. 7hanks, .om,H I said, trying
#5 squelched . suppressed or crus!ed completely
#6 discrepancy di((erence
# brilliant cle"er or inspired
## procedure . process
#& lapse error
&' prompted . ur%ed
&1 astute smart or cle"er
&2 lauding praisin%
1'5
not to let my voie
&03
betray my giddiness. @ut I ouldnt help it. I
ouldnt wait to get started on this new
&0#
aspect of my
&0$
probe.
G+o problem. And !im)H she said. G@e safe.H
7hat night I sat in =avids room, propped up on ;hristians
pillow, wathing a partiularly
&0%
poignant episode of @uffy the
Aampire "layer 2he had every available episode on =A=4 and waiting
to put my
&0&
premeditated plan into ation. 'ven though I was
pratially ready to
&0,
convict 9on, I had to try to stay
&00
objective in
this investigation, and that meant finding out everything I ould
about eah of the suspets. I was going to
,33
abolish this drug problem
no matter who I had to take down in the proess. :ukily, one I had
made my breakthrough with 9on, brilliant plans seemed to be oming
to me
,31
spontaneously.
7onight I was going to work my magi on =avid.
,32
0nwary, =avid was over in the ornera small area he alled
his G
,33
culinary
,3#
nookHmaking grilled heese sandwihes on his
hot plate. -e kept telling me he was starving, whih seemed
impossible onsidering the amount of food hed
,3$
consumed at
dinner. @ut I guess it wasnt that surprising. Ive never known a
&3 betray %i"e away
&4 aspect part or p!ase
&5 probe searc! or in"esti%ation
&6 poignant mo"in% or touc!in%
& premeditated t!ou%!t out be(ore!and
&# convict (ind %uilty
&& objective neutral
#'' abolish put a stop to
#'1 spontaneously suddenly or wit!out t!ou%!t
#'2 unwary innocent or unsuspectin%
#'3 culinary . o( or relatin% to or used in cookin%
#'4 nook corner
#'5 consumed eaten
1'6
teenage guy to be
,3%
abstemious. @esides, his snak1time >ones was
perfet for me, sine my eating something was
,3&
integral to my plan.
GAoilaFH =avid said,
,3,
ceremoniously presenting me with my
first =avid 6and "peiala grilled heese aompanied by barbeued
potato hips and, I was sorry to see, a glass of ied tea. I glaned at the
bottle on his desk. 'mpty. 7hank goodness.
G7hanks,H I said, taking the plate from him. G*ou definitely
know how to
,30
regale your guests.H
G*our wish is my ommand,H =avid said with a tiny bow.
/e laughed and I leaned bak again. I took a few bites of the
sandwih, whih was, by the way, the best Id ever had. 7hen I
deided it was as good a time as any to put my plan into ation.
I swallowed a
,13
wad of sandwih and then, I started to hoke.
=avid looked up from the hotplate, his fae onerned, as I tipped
over my plate and dropped my glass to the floor, shattering it and
spilling ied tea everywhere. I stood up, oughing my little heart out,
and held my hands to my nek in the
,11
universal sign for hoking.
.y high shool drama teaher would have been so proud.
GAre you all right)H =avid asked.
I shook my head, oughing all the way.
=avids fae went
,12
ashen. -e ran over and started pounding
me on the bakhard.
#'6 abstemious sel()denyin%
#' integral essential
#'# ceremoniously (ormally or properly
#'& regale entertain or please
#1' wad . a lar%e number* amount or e$tent
#11 universal common or widespread
#12 ashen . blanc!ed/ li"id or pale
1'
G/ater . . . ,H I
,13
rasped. G"oda . . . I needG
=avid nodded and ran from the room,
,1#
unwittingly playing
into my hands. I felt guilty for a split seondhe looked so
,1$
overwrought. @ut my fake hoking display was a mere
,1%
peccadillo
ompared to the sin I was about to
,1&
commit.
7he seond he was gone I sat down in front of his omputer and
opened up his personal files. 7ad had oahed me to look for anything
that sounded
,1,
inordinately innoent or harmless. -e wasnt going to
label his drug1dealing reords G=rug1dealing reords.H It would
probably be something more like G7erm CapersH or G?amily 7reeH or
GCoetry,H I said aloud, liking on the folder. 7here were

probably a lot of kids at this shool who onsidered themselves to be
oppressed artists, but =avid did not seem like the type.
.y heart pounded as the file opened, and I kept one ear on the
hallway for rapid footsteps. I knew, however, that =avid would have
to go all the way downstairs and through the lobby to get me a soda
from the first1floor lounge. I had about five minutes.
I gasped when I saw the file open in front of me. GDot it in one,H I
said, suddenly feeling
,10
morose. 7here was a list of students names
at least thirty of themwith dollar amounts ne(t to them. "ome kind
of
,23
pecuniary reord. It was all very inriminating.
#13 rasped . uttered in a %ratin% "oice
#14 unwittingly unknowin%ly
#15 overwrought emotional or o"ere$cited
#16 peccadillo small crime or wron%doin%
#1 commit per(orm or do
#1# inordinately o"erly or e$cessi"ely
#1& morose %loomy or %lum
#2' pecuniary (inancial
1'#
@ut =avids a tehnology freak. /ouldnt he have
,21
encrypted a
file with a list of drug monies owed) I thought, my mind trying to
find a way to
,22
absolve him. I realiBed suddenly that I had hoped
=avid would turn out to be innoent. I really liked the guy. And
maybe he was innoent. After all, I had e(peted a lot more resistane
from his omputer than Id faed. .aybe =avid had >ust lent out a lot
of money and this was a list of his debtors.
5f ourse, if this list was a rundown of his drug ustomers, it
probably wouldnt hold up in a ourt of law, and =avid had to know
that. It wasnt labeled and there was no way to
,23
verify that it had
anything to do with drugs. Clus, keeping it semi1e(posed atually
made him look more innoent by
,2#
default. 7he more hidden it was,
the more inriminating it would be if someone did hak in and find it.
7he kid was good.
I heard footsteps pounding down the hall, and there was an
atual
,2$
tremor in the floor,
,2%
heralding =avids approah. I hit the
ommand button to bring up the sreensaver again and flew aross
the room to sit down on ;hristians bed. /hen =avid entered the
room he was panting and he pratially fell to the floor at my knees. I
had resumed oughing, but I wasnt
,2&
hamming it up <uite so muh.
G7hanks,H I said, making my voie all
,2,
gravelly. GIt went down
the wrong pipe.H
-e opened the soda an for me and handed it over. GIm >ust glad
#21 encrypted protected or !idden wit! a secret code
#22 absolve pardon
#23 verify pro"e or con(irm
#24 default . an option t!at is selected automatically unless an alternati"e is speci(ied
#25 tremor "ibration or tremble
#26 heralding si%nalin%
#2 hamming . ,dramatur%y- e$a%%erate one+s actin%
#2# gravelly . unpleasantly !ars! or %ratin% in sound or raspy
1'&
youre all right,H he said, athing his breath. -is eyes were wide and
worried. G*ou sared the rap outta me.H
.y heart hurt over his onern for me, but I managed to smile
slightly and
,20
slugged at the soda. I wished Id found something that
would allow me to grant =avid
,33
clemency, rather than another lue
to heighten suspiion against him. -e was suh a sweetie. ;ould he
really be a drug dealer)
#2& slugged . %ulped or swallowed
#3' clemency (or%i"eness
11'
Chapter ight
7he very ne(t day I reeived a yellow slip informing me that I
had a pakage waiting for me at the student post offie. I was so
,31
psyched I didnt even give myself time to
,32
deliberate about what I
was going to say. I grabbed my oat and ran for the post offie, giddy
over my
,33
impending suess. 7he plan, I believed, was totally
,3#
foolproof.
5f ourse, minutes later, I realiBed my
,3$
folly. As soon as I was
fae1to1fae with 9on, I was reminded one again of >ust how muh he
,3%
loathed me. -e handed over my pakage with a
,3&
sneer.
G=o I have to sign for it or anything)H I asked.
9on merely
,3,
grunted and rolled his eyes, then went about his
business.
.y self1assurane
,30
plummeted. =anielle must have been insane
to think that he had anything other than
,#3
hostile feelings toward me.
/hat was I thinking) 7his was never going to work.
"till, I was there, so I figured I may as well give it the old ollege
try.
GIve been waiting for this for days,H I said to the nearly empty
post offie.
#31 psyched . mentally prepare
#32 deliberate t!ink or ponder
#33 impending comin% up soon
#34 foolproof . not liable to (ailure
#35 folly (oolis!ness
#36 loathed !ated
#3 sneer . e$press t!rou%! a scorn(ul smile
#3# grunted . issued a %runtin%* low* animal)like noise
#3& plummeted . dropped s!arply
#4' hostile un(riendly or resent(ul
111
.r. "moot glaned at me without muh interest, and even 9on
didnt give me that muh. I tore open the white ?ed'( bo( right there
and made a big show of
,#1
extracting my snowboard, pretending it
was harder to free than it was. I made so muh noise that it
,#2
whetted
9ons uriosity and he
,#3
grudgingly turned around.
Cerfet timing. I saw his eyes widen as the bubble wrap fell away
and I produed one of my most priBed possessionsmy @urton
snowboard, light blue with
,##
swirls of purple and dark blue along the
edges.
G/ow,H 9on said, then blushed. -e had learly spoken
,#$
inadvertently.
G+ie, isnt it)H I said.
9on hesitated before answering, then took a step loser to the
window. GIs that a ;ustom)H he asked, eyeing my board in a
,#%
covetous manner.
G+ope, its a ?eelgood. Ive taken this thing all over the plae
with me7ahoe . . . =enver . . . Aspen . . . .H
I hadnt atually boarded at all those slopes, but I had to
,#&
fabricate an impressive boarding history. It was
,#,
crucial to my
plan that he know I wasnt >ust some
,#0
neophyte boarderthat I was
the real deal.
G-ow nie for you,H 9on said, the sneer returning. 7hen he
#41 extracting pullin% out
#42 whetted awakened or aroused
#43 grudgingly . wit! an attitude or reluctantly
#44 swirls . t!e s!ape o( somet!in% rotatin% rapidly or w!irls
#45 inadvertently by accident
#46 covetous 0ealous
#4 fabricate make up
#4# crucial essential or important
#4& neophyte be%inner
112
turned his bak on me yet again. .y onfidene
,$3
deflated slightly.
7hat was it) 7hat was all he was going to give me)
GI take it you board)H I asked, leaning my @urton against the
ounter.
G"ome,H he replied.
DodF ;ut me some slak, would ya)
GAny good slopes around here)H I asked.
G"ome,H he replied again.
8ghF I was so totally going to knok this kids
,$1
block off. I had
two hoies. I ould throw myself at his mery and
,$2
implore him to
show me where the slopes were, then hope that he would hang out
with me long enough to make some
,$3
inroads with him. 5r, I ould
do what an atual normal person would do if they were being treated
in suh a
,$#
repugnant waywalk out.
I
,$$
mused on the matter for a moment, then deided that a guy
like 9on, if he was going to respond at all, would respond to the latter
ourse of ation.
GDreat. 7hanks for all your help,H I said sarastially. I gathered
up my stuff and walked out as slowly as I ould without arousing
suspiion. I was >ust about to ut my losses and push through the
door when 9ons voie stopped me.
G-old up,H he said.
#5' deflated lessened in si.e
#51 block . in(ormal term (or t!e !ead
#52 implore plead
#53 inroads . an encroac!ment or intrusion
#54 repugnant dis%ustin%
#55 mused t!ou%!t
113
I grinned. .aybe there was a
,$%
gullible bone in his body. @efore
turning around, I made sure to rearrange my fae into a bored,
annoyed mask <uite like the one he was
,$&
sporting.
G/hat)H I asked.
9on ame around the ounter and approahed me, still eyeing my
board in a semi1
,$,
daze. It was almost as if he thought the very idea of
my being a snowboarder was
,$0
preposteroushe looked that
surprised. As
,%3
exultant as I had been on ;hristmas morning last year
when my mother had given me the snowboard, I was even happier
now. 7hank Dod she had dipped into the savings and bought the
,%1
high-end dek. It was learly having a
,%2
profound effet on 9on.
I also notied that he was even uter when he forgot to
,%3
scowl.
-e took a deep breath before >umping in. G:ook, me and a
ouple of guys go up to this mountain on the weekends to get in a few
hours,H he said, eyeing me as if he still were unsure about whether or
not he should say what he was about to say. G*ou an ome if you
want. I mean, if youre any good.H
I had a feeling that 9on inviting anyone to do anything was a
totally
,%#
unprecedented ourrene. If =anielle were with me, she
would have been saying, G"ee) I told you soFH
#56 gullible easy to (ool
#5 sporting . wearin% or displayin% in an ostentatious or proud manner
#5# daze (o% or !a.e
#5& preposterous ridiculous or unbelie"able
#6' exultant t!rilled or o"er0oyed
#61 high-end . appealin% to sop!isticated
#62 profound intense or o"erw!elmin%
#63 scowl . (rown wit! displeasure
#64 unprecedented (irst)time or e$traordinary
114
"till, I had to
,%$
perpetuate the persona I had
,%%
assumed in the
last ouple of minutesthat I was impatient and as rude as he was,
and that I found his behavior totally irritating. It wasnt that diffiult
to pull off.
G/owF I am totally blown away by your
,%&
largesse,H I said,
dropping my >aw for good measure, G7hank you so muh for
,%,
deeming me worthy enough to board with you and your palsFH
G-ey. I was >ust trying to be nie.H
GA little late, dont you think)H
7hen I turned and pushed the door open so hard it swung out
and slammed bak against the outside wall. I think I even knoked a
ouple of roks free from the
,%0
corroding
,&3
facade. 5ops.
"torming away was risky, I know. -e ould easily have
,&1
rescinded the invitation, but I had a feeling my new attitude would
prove too intriguing to him. I was right.
G/e meet in the parking lot "aturday morning at eight if you
hange your mindFH he alled after me before the door slammed in his
fae.
I ouldnt help grinning as I trudged through the slush and snow
bak toward my dorm,
,&2
gratified by my performane. If only my
mother ould see me now.
#65 perpetuate keep up
#66 assumed taken on
#6 largesse %enerosity
#6# deeming . "iewin% as
#6& corroding crumblin% or decayin%
#' facade . t!e (ace or (ront o( a buildin%
#1 rescinded taken back
#2 gratified satis(ied
115
7hat evening I was getting ready for my
,&3
inaugural karate
math when I heard a burst of laughter from the hallway, followed by
a string of
,&#
incoherent >eers. I <uikly tied the belt on my robe and
stuk my head out into the orridor. /hat I saw made my stomah
lenh.
9ust outside the stairwell, =anielle was
,&$
sprawled on the floor
with a doBen library books sattered around her. ;heryl and her
,&%
unscrupulous friends hovered over her, laughing. It was easy to
,&&
decipher what had happened. Inredibly mature girl that she was,
;heryl had obviously tripped =anielle on her way up the stairs.
,&,
!ncensed, I stormed past the other onlookers and helped a
trembling =anielle to her feet.
GAre you okay)H I asked as she dusted herself off.
GIm fine,H =anielle replied, her fae an embarrassed red.
I shot ;heryl a
,&0
withering glane as I helped =anielle gather
her books.
GIve got it,H =anielle told me, even as I piled half the heavy
volumes into the rook of my arm.
G;ant you find somebody else to
,,3
persecute)H I demanded,
glaring at ;heryl.
G5h, but =anielle >ust makes it so muh funFH ;heryl said,
ausing another round of laughter.
#3 inaugural (irst
#4 incoherent 0umbled or %arbled
#5 sprawled . sat or lain wit! one+s limbs spread out
#6 unscrupulous immoral or wicked
# decipher . decode or decrypt
## incensed an%ry or (urious
#& withering sneerin% or !ate(ul
##' persecute bully or !arass
116
=anielle turned on her heel and ran down the hall, slamming our
door behind her.
G;ongratulations, ;heryl. I think you >ust beat the all1time reord
for
,,1
infantility,H I told her. G-ow old do you feel right now) About
five) "i()H
;heryl lenhed her >aw and stared at me with her piering eyes.
G*oud better wath what you say, +ew Dirl. .aybe Ill find someone
else to pik on.H
G5oohF
,,2
OminousFH I said
,,3
facetiously. 7hen I turned and
,,#
tromped down the hall, bak to our dorm room.
I found =anielle sitting on her bed, her arms rossed over her
hest and her legs rossed at the ankles. "he stared
,,$
resolutely at the
eiling, trying not to ry, and didnt even aknowledge me when I
walked in.
GIll >ust put these over here,H I said, staking her books on her
desk.
G7hanks so muh for your help,H she said flatly. GI an take are
of myself.H
I blinked, taken abak. GI . . . I know you an,H I said <uikly. GI
>ust didnt want to leave you alone out there. ;heryl has bakup. "o
should you.H
G*eah, well, I >ust looked like a total
,,%
wuss.H
G=anielle, Im sorry,H I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed.
##1 infantility immaturity or c!ildis!ness
##2 ominous t!reatenin%
##3 facetiously . ton%ue)in)c!eek or 0okin%ly
##4 tromped . walked noisily* !ea"ily or an%rily
##5 resolutely . decisi"ely or s!owin% (irm determination or purpose
##6 wuss . a person w!o is p!ysically weak and ine((ectual/ dormat or weaklin%
11
GI was >ust trying to help.H I felt as if a huge
,,&
gulf had opened up
between us. I had no idea that I was
,,,
perpetrating an insult by
defending her. /ho knew =anielle
,,0
harbored so muh pride)
G=ont be mad,H I told her. G+e(t time I wont
,03
intervene. I
swear.H
=anielle let out a sigh and sat up a bit. GI >ust . . . I
,01
despise this
plae,H she said, pulling at the
,02
fraying edge of an old, gray throw
she had on her bed. G/hy did my parents have to send me here)H
It was a
,03
rhetorical <uestion so I remained silent. 5utside the
door a few girls giggled and I imagined that the story of what had >ust
ourred was making its way through the dorm like a
,0#
contagion.
Dirls really an be so
,0$
crass sometimes.
G9ust forget about ;heryl,H I told =anielle. G"hes an idiot and so
are her friends.H
GAt least she has friends,H =anielle said, her
,0%
desolate eyes
filled with tears.
.y heart went out to her. It must have been totally awful, being
sent away against her will and then, to add insult to in>ury, the entire
student body turning around and deiding to hate her.
GIm your friend,H I said. GAnd so is =avid. And I dont know
## gulf %ap
### perpetrating committin%
##& harbored !id or %uarded
#&' intervene %et in"ol"ed
#&1 despise !ate
#&2 fraying . wearin% away by rubbin%
#&3 rhetorical . (i%urati"e or not literally by usin% (i%ures o( speec!
#&4 contagion "irus
#&5 crass rude or insensiti"e
#&6 desolate un!appy or depressed
11#
about you, but I think were
,0&
superb. 'speially ompared to
;heryls
,0,
entourage.H
?inally, =anielle
,00
relented. "he raked a smile and rolled her
eyes in my diretion. GIm sorry I snapped at you,H she said. GIm >ust
so sik of them.H
G.e too. And I havent even been here a week,H I told her,
033
reciprocating the smile.
G*ou know what Id like)H =anielle said, sitting up and throwing
her legs over the side of the bed. G:ets do something hill tomorrow.
/e ould take the bus to the mall and hang out and be total
031
gluttons at the food ourt.H
It sounded like a great plan to me, but I was swept through with
an aidi sense of guilt. I wasnt e(atly free tomorrow. And after
what had >ust happened to =anielle, I ould
032
foresee that she wasnt
going to reat well to what I was about to tell her.
GAtually, I already have plans for tomorrow,H I said.
G6eally)H =anielle asked. G/hat)H
GIm kind of going snowboarding with 9on /isnewski,H I told
her.
=anielle looked
033
befuddled. G*oure kidding.H
G/ell . . . he asked and I havent been boarding in forever soG
G?ine. Do,H =anielle said, lying bak down again.
#& superb wonder(ul
#&# entourage . t!e %roup (ollowin% and attendin% to some important person
#&& relented %a"e in
&'' reciprocating returnin%
&'1 gluttons people w!o o"ereat or eat %reedily
&'2 foresee predict
&'3 befuddled con(used
11&
G;an we
03#
defer the mall thing until "unday)H I asked, standing
up. G5r . . . maybe you an ome with usF =o you ski at all)H
=anielle
03$
scoffed. G5h, yeah. .e hanging out with 9on
/isnewski and his friends. "ure.H
G/hy not) I havent even met his friends and Im going,H I said.
GIt ould be fun.H
GCleaseF 7heyd laugh me right off the slopes,H =anielle said.
G:ook, obviously youre >ust better at making friends than I ever was.
*ou should en>oy it.H
-er words were kind, but her voie was still
03%
brittle. 5n some
level I understood where she was oming from. "hed been here all
year and had only =avid to talk to. Id been here a ouple of days and
it seemed like I was turning into .iss Copularity. "till, she didnt have
to take it out on me. If only she knew the real reason I was hanging
out with these guys.
?or a split seond I entertained the urge to tell her. 7o let her in.
It would make her feel so muh better and I would have someone to
disuss the investigation witha
03&
confidant. @ut then, her best
friend was one of the potential
03,
culprits. I ouldnt ount on her
silene. And if =avid was
030
tipped off it would be
013
devastating to
the whole operation.
G/ell, Ill be bak tomorrow night,H I said,
011
fidgeting with the
end of my belt. G/e an hang out then.H
&'4 defer postpone
&'5 scoffed . lau%!ed at wit! contempt and derision
&'6 brittle (ra%ile or dry
&' confidant someone to talk to
&'# culprits criminals
&'& tipped off . %a"e insider in(ormation or ad"ise to
&1' devastating dama%in%
&11 fidgeting playin% wit! ner"ously
12'
G-ow
012
charitable of you,H =anielle said.
7hen she turned and faed the wall,
013
shunning any further
advanes I might have made. I tried not to roll my eyes. I had really
liked =anielle in the beginning, but she was turning out to be almost
as immature as ;heryl. "he was sweet and all, and I did feel sorry for
her situation, but I had >ust gotten here and she was
01#
bemoaning my
other friendships as if I were
01$
betraying her trust.
/ell, there was no way I was going to stand there and try to
01%
coddle her. I grabbed my keys and gym bag and headed out the
door, thankful that I had a karate math to go to. In the past five
minutes I had built up some serious
01&
aggression that was in
desperate need of release.
GCoint, "harpeF .ath, "harpeFH
7he referee grabbed my wrist and pulled it into the air, delaring
me the winner of the
01,
penultimate fight in the math. I grinned as I
fought for breath, but instead of the round of heers and applause I
was e(peting, I was
010
accosted by shouts, >eers and boos. Apparently
the -ereford and ;oakley Aademy karate fans had yet to be ushered
into the twenty1first entury. Dirls werent supposed to beat guys
twie their siBe. 7o them, it was
023
unfathomable.
I glaned at my opponent and he bowed to me <uikly, but I
&12 charitable %enerous
&13 shunning re0ectin%
&14 bemoaning complainin% about
&15 betraying bein% disloyal or treac!erous to
&16 coddle o"erprotect or (uss o"er
&1 aggression an%er or "iolence
&1# penultimate second)to)last
&1& accosted con(ronted or attacked
&2' unfathomable unbelie"able or unt!inkable
121
ould tell he was
021
abased. -e ran bak to the benh, head down, and
I knew he felt that by losing to me he had been permanently ast in a
022
pejorative light. Duys have suh
023
frail egos.
5h, well. I thought he was an
02#
adroit and
02$
nimble fighter. If
that wasnt enough for him, that was his problem.
I headed bak to the benh, and .arshall reahed out to slap
hands with me as he got up to take the mat. It was an une(peted
gesture and it
02%
buoyed me a bit as I took a seat ne(t to my
teammates. 7he rowd e(ploded with shouts of
02&
adulation as
.arshall readied himself for his fight.
G+ie work,H ;urtis said. -e held a washloth against a
02,
laceration over his eyebrow, but still managed to grin as he
ongratulated me.
GIs it any better)H I asked him. -ed suffered the in>ury in the
first round and had been bleeding ever sine.
G'h. Itll be fine,H ;urtis said. GI almost hope it sars. Dirls think
sars are se(y.H
GIf you say so,H I replied with a laugh. At least someone around
here still knew how to laugh. @etween ;heryl, =anielle, 9on, .arshall
and the ever
020
sober
033
faculty, Id been starting to think there was
&21 abased !umiliated
&22 pejorative ne%ati"e or uncomplimentary
&23 frail (ra%ile
&24 adroit skill(ul
&25 nimble quick or a%ile
&26 buoyed . upli(ted or encoura%ed
&2 adulation admiration
&2# laceration cut or %as!
&2& sober serious or dreary
&3' faculty . t!e body o( teac!ers and administrators at a sc!ool
122
some kind of mystial
031
pall over this shool making everyone
miserable.
7he whistle blew, and down on the mat, .arshall
032
assailed his
opponent with a series of
033
deft blows. 7he guy retreated right out of
the irle and .arshall was awarded a point.
G7his should take about five seonds,H ;urtis said under his
breath.
@ut it wasnt over so <uikly. After the first setbak, .arshalls
opponent
03#
retaliated with
03$
frenzied and strong blows, raining
slies, hops and kiks on .arshall like a man possessed. .arshall
03%
balked at a few, but took the
03&
brunt of most of them. 'veryone in
the rowd
03,
recoiled every time .arshall got hit, and ;urtis appeared
to be
030
baffled by his friends
0#3
lackluster performane. ;learly this
was not .arshalls finest hour.
"till, after about ten minutes the points were even. .arshall still
had a shot, but he appeared to be
0#1
winded. -e even made the
mistake of
0#2
bracing his hands on his knees during a <uik timeout. If
there was one thing I knew was a bad idea, it was showing your
weakness. I was taught to do everything I ould to appear at the
&31 pall %loom
&32 assailed beat or attacked
&33 deft nimble or quick
&34 retaliated struck back
&35 frenzied wild or (urious
&36 balked blocked
&3 brunt . main (orce o( a blow etc
&3# recoiled s!rank away
&3& baffled pu..led
&4' lackluster li(eless or mediocre
&41 winded . breat!in% laboriously or con"ulsi"ely
&42 bracing . (astenin% ti%!tly or %i"in% (irmness too
123
0#3
pinnacle of strength, even if I felt like I was about to
0##
keel over.
7he whistle blew again and .arshall met his man in the middle
of the irle. I gasped as I saw the upperut oming, but .arshall was
looking the other way. 7he guys hand ollided with .arshalls hin,
and there was a
0#$
resounding rak as .arshall was taken off his feet.
-e slammed into the ground and the ref alled the fight. .arshall was
downpoints to :effers. .ath, :effers.
?rom the reation on the -ereford side of the bleahers as the ref
raised this :effers kids arm into the air, youd think .arshalls loss
was a
0#%
calamity. 7here was booing, the ref was ursed out of the
gym and half the shool was
0#&
clamoring to see whether .arshall
was okay. 7his guy really was like a
0#,
deity around here.
.arshall waved off his onerned itiBens, and gradually the
spetators began to
0#0
disperse. "ome of them rowded around the
benh to ongratulate us. 2'ven with .arshalls loss, we had won the
math.4 I saw .arshall heading for the loker room and e(used
myself from the rowd, wanting to keep an eye on him.
I limbed the bleahers, trying not to be too
0$3
conspicuous, and
pretended to busy myself with paking up my bag. It wasnt as if I
e(peted him to do anything right at that moment, but I figured I
should wath him when I had the hane. 9ust before he got to the
loker1room door, =avid 6and broke away from a rowd that was
hanging out beneath the raised basketball net and walked over to
&43 pinnacle !ei%!t or peak
&44 keel over . turn o"er and (all
&45 resounding ec!oin% or boomin%
&46 calamity disaster
&4 clamoring s!outin% or cryin% out
&4# deity %od
&4& disperse scatter
&5' conspicuous noticeable
124
.arshall.
I froBe. I ouldnt help it. I thought =avid hated .arshall, but the
two of them bent their heads together in
0$1
dialogue as if they had
something
0$2
pressing and <uite seret to talk about.
7henand I know I didnt imagine thisthe two guys slapped
hands and in the proess, .arshall passed a few bills over to =avid,
and =avid <uikly poketed them. 7hen =avid strolled bak to his
friends as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"uddenly I felt as if I had hit the
0$3
nadir of my e(istene. /hat
did this mean) /as .arshall buying drugs from =avid) -ow else
ould a
0$#
circumspect transation like that be
0$$
construed) If only Id
had more time to study that list on =avids omputer. I ouldnt reall
whether .arshalls name had been on it or not.
5kay, =avid has a list of students with dollar amounts ne(t to
them and now .arshall is paying him off. 7his obviously looks very
bad for =avid.
"o did this mean 9on was innoent) And if so, what was that bo(
he was so areful to oneal in the post offie) Clus 9on and .arshall
had had a
0$%
clandestine meeting the other night, and .arshall had
been tense when I asked him about it. /as .arshall somehow the
0$&
linchpin in all this) /ere all three of the suspets involved)
I sat down hard on the bleahers, my mind
0$,
oscillating from
one guy to the ne(t. 'ah seond I was onvined another one of them
&51 dialogue con"ersation
&52 pressing . compellin% immediate action
&53 nadir low point
&54 circumspect cautious or %uarded
&55 construed interpreted
&56 clandestine secret
&5 linchpin key player
&5# oscillating mo"in% back and (ort!
125
was guilty. 5ne thing was for sure, thoughI was dealing with three
e<ually
0$0
mendacious people. -ow was I ever going to get to the
truth if I ouldnt trust anything any of them said)
G;ome on, 6onnie, get your stuff and lets go,H I heard a
womans voie behind me. GI told =onny wed all him and let him
know how you did.H
I glaned over my shoulder and instantly reogniBed .rs. @urke,
the mother of =onny @urke, a karate badass whod taken the trophy
in his division in every hampionship Id been to in the last three
years. I had never met her, but we all knew who she was. "he was
infamous for fighting with offiials and oahesa total stage mom.
"he was talking to a freshman who had to be =onnys little brother.
.y heart dropped into my sneakers. -ad she seen me fight) -ad she
reogniBed me)
I saw =avid break away from the group again and head in my
diretion. I shoved my feet into my sneakers and stood up without
tying them. If .rs. @urke talked to me while =avid was there, I was
dead.
G-eyFH =avid said as I half1tripped down the stairs. G+ie mathF
If I ever need a bodyguard Im alling you.H
GDreat. Im there,H I said, my heart pounding. I refused to look
behind me. GIm starved. -ow about another grilled heese)H I asked,
grabbing his arm and spinning him toward the door.
G*ou okay)H =avid asked as we
0%3
hustled aross the gym.
G*eah, >ust really hungry,H I said.
A group of kids from ;oakley were
0%1
gabbing in the doorway,
&5& mendacious dis!onest or misleadin%
&6' hustled . mo"ed (urti"ely and !urriedly
&61 gabbing . talkin% pro(usely ,in an abundant manner-
126
bloking our progress. =idnt they know this was a matter of life or
death)
G'(use meFH I said, trying to
0%2
wedge my way out of the gym.
G;oming throughFH
I tried to step over someones leg and my sneaker got aught and
ame off. @efore I ould stop myself I went flying forward and
0%3
sprawled out on the floor of the hallway. .y knee e(ploded with
pain. All the ;oakley kids raked up laughing as they finally moved
on from the door.
G!imF Are you okay)H =avid asked, dropping down at my side.
At that moment .rs. @urke and her son 6onnie stepped through
the door and notied me. .rs. @urke did a double1take. I losed my
eyes and moaned. I was done for.
G5h . . . hello,H she said. "he still looked onfused, like she
ouldnt plae me. If I ould >ust get out of here before she figured it
out . . . . I struggled to my feet, my knee protesting with freshly
bruised pain.
G8h, hi. I gotta go put some ie on this.H I started to turn away.
GIm sorry, but you >ust look so familiar to me,H .rs. @urke said,
stopping me in my traks. .y stomah turned. G-ave I seen you
ompete before)H
=avid was supporting me with one arm, looking bak and forth
between me and .rs. @urke with interest. I wanted to hurl. 7his
0%#
scenario ould be devastating.
GI dont think so. I >ust moved here from ;alifornia,H I said.
&62 wedge . pus!
&63 sprawled . sat or lie wit! one+s limbs spread out
&64 scenario situation
12
G6eally)H 7he woman wasnt about to give up so easily. GI was at
the ounty finals last year with my elder son, =onny @urke) -es at
8;onn now, but I ould have sworn I saw you fight there.H
G.om) ;an we go)H 6onnie semi1whined at her side.
*esF 7hank you, 6onnieF Det the hell out of hereF
G7here were a few girls who partiipated,H the woman
ontinued. G6onald, doesnt this girl look like the one from the ounty
hampionships last year)H
6onald glaned at me. GI dont know, .a. I wasnt there,
remember) I was getting my braes.H
G/ell, it wasnt me,H I said. G7here are a lot of girls in the martial
arts these days. It mustve >ust been someone who looks like me.H
I had to onentrate to keep from looking at =avid to see if he
was digesting all of this. 5f all people to <uestion my identity in front
of, it had to be the most suspiious guy in the /estern -emisphere.
GI suppose youre right,H the woman said. GI wasnt wearing my
glasses that day . . . .H
G"ee) 7here you goFH I said, ad>usting the strap of my bag on my
shoulder. G/ell, nie meeting youFH
7hen I turned around, grabbed =avids arm and steered him
around the orner.
12#
Chapter &ine
"aturday morning 9on and I hopped onto the hairlift and pulled
the protetive bar down, then sat in omfortable silene as we were
0%$
whisked to the top of the mountain.
;omfortable silene. 'ven I ant believe it. @ut one day of
snowboarding and something
0%%
fundamental between us had shifted.
9on was awesome on his board,
0%&
lithe and skilledthe kind of
boarder who
0%,
mesmerized everyone on the slopes. And I had
impressed him as well, I think. -e hadnt
0%0
overtly omplimented me,
but his >aw had dropped on my last >ump. I had a feeling 9on was
seeing me in a whole new light, >ust as I was him.
-e hadnt even said one rude word to me all day and, muh to
my surprise, he had said GpleaseH and Gthank youH at all the
appropriate times. -e was like a different person one he let you get
lose.
5f ourse, theres a one1in1three hane that hes a drug dealer,
!imbo, I reminded myself. "heesh. I really had to get a grip here.
I looked down at the skiers below, the
0&3
variegated olors of
their gear dotting the slopes, and took in the
0&1
tranquil atmosphere.
.y fae was warm from
0&2
exertion and the ool air felt
0&3
invigorating against my skin. :ast night I had lain awake in bed,
&65 whisked . mo"ed quickly and nimbly ,a%ilely-
&66 fundamental important or deep
&6 lithe (le$ible or %race(ul
&6# mesmerized capti"ated or entranced
&6& overtly . in an obser"able* not secret or !idden manner
&' variegated multicolored or (lecked
&1 tranquil peace(ul or calm
&2 exertion . use o( p!ysical or mental ener%y/ !ard work
&3 invigorating ener%i.in% or re(res!in%
12&
fretting over what =avid might have been thinking about the
onversation between me and =onny @urkes mother, but he had said
nothing to me about it this morning. "o I had deided to let myself
have some funwhile working on 9on, of ourse. I would deal with
=avid if and when I had to.
9ons friends 7ek and .ihael shouted and whooped from the
hair behind us, and 9on and I both turned around to roll our eyes at
them.
G7heyre a ouple of
0&#
meatheads,H 9on said, by way of apology.
GI like them,H I answered honestly. G7heyre definitely different
from anyone else at -ereford.H
8nsure of what to e(pet in 9ons Grough rowdH friends, I had
0&$
resolved to go into this day
0&%
unbiased and I hadnt been
disappointed. 7ek and .ihael may have been
0&&
inane, but they were
0&,
hilarious and very sweet. 7hey definitely balaned out 9ons
harateristi
0&0
melancholy. If this was what the -ereford
administration onsidered to be a rough rowd, I shuddered to think
what they would do if they were dropped in the middle of an inner1
ity shool.
Crobably run sreaming.
G*eah. 7hats why I like them too,H 9on said, gaBing off toward
the horiBon.
G7his plae is totally
0,3
unaltered from the last time I was here,H I
&4 meatheads . people w!o lack %ood 0ud%ment or (ools
&5 resolved determined
&6 unbiased neutral or open)minded
& inane silly or stupid
&# hilarious "ery (unny
&& melancholy %loom or sadness
&#' unaltered unc!an%ed
13'
said lightly.
GI thought youd never been here,H 9on said, eyeing me.
.y fae burned with embarrassment.
0,1
+nagged againF =amn
that omfortable tongue of mineF /hen was I going to learn)
G5h . . . well . . . I thought I hadnt, but now I think this might
have been the plae my dad took me when I was little,H I
0,2
babbled.
GI know we went skiing out here at least one . . . .H
G5h, well, then he definitely wouldve brought you here,H 9on
said. GIf youre gonna ski in ;onnetiut, this is the plae.H
-e had that right. I had spent every other weekend on this
mountain for the past five years, and
0,3
dedicated skiers made the
0,#
pilgrimage here from all over the +ortheast.
I let out a relieved sigh. Another
0,$
flub overed well.
A few minutes later we hit the top of the slope and slid away
from the lift. 7ek and .ihael ame up behind us.
G6eady for another run)H .ihael asked, pulling his goggles
over his eyes.
I glaned over my shoulder at the
0,%
lodge. A
0,&
plume of smoke
rose into the air from the himney,
0,,
dissipating into the blue sky. It
looked mighty weloming.
GI think Im gonna go for some hot hoolate,H I said, hoping 9on
&#1 snagged . cau%!t
&#2 babbled . uttered meanin%less sounds* like a baby* or uttered in an inco!erent way
&#3 dedicated ent!usiastic or de"oted
&#4 pilgrimage 0ourney
&#5 flub . an embarrassin% mistake
&#6 lodge . a small and rustic ,simple* rural or pro"incial- !ouse used as a temporary s!elter
&# plume . anyt!in% t!at resembles a (eat!er in s!ape or li%!tness
&## dissipating dissol"in% or (adin%
131
would surprise me and ome with. GIm sort of
0,0
beat.H
G=ude, you ant <uit now. 7his is the single most beautiful day
in the history of 'vergreen .ountain,H 7ek said. 5ne thing Id learned
about him on the ride up here7ek was given to
003
hyperbole. It was
a beautiful day, but the most beautiful day in history) 7hat was
001
overstating it a bit.
G+ah, you guys go,H 9on said. G/ell meet you up there.H
I blinked,
002
incredulous. 9on was oming with meF *ayF 7his
would be the perfet opportunity to
003
pump him for more info, gain a
little
00#
insight into who he really was. I unstrapped my board and we
started on the
00$
trek up to the lodge. 8nfortunately, I ouldnt think
of a thing to ask without
00%
inciting his temper. 9on was, as I originally
predited, a tough nut to rak. -ed been so ool and
unharateristially
00&
benevolent all day, I was
00,
apprehensive about
saying anything that might ause him to
000
bridle again.
/e were silent until we got to the snak bar in the lodge and
ordered our hot hoolate. 7he lodge was nothing
1333
luxurious>ust
a simple wooden floor and sattered sofas, hairs and tables here and
there, but it was definitely oBy. /e found an empty ouh near the
&#& beat . wear out completely
&&' hyperbole e$a%%eration
&&1 overstating e$a%%eratin%
&&2 incredulous ama.ed or disbelie"in%
&&3 pump . question persistently
&&4 insight knowled%e
&&5 trek !ike
&&6 inciting pro"okin% or stirrin% up
&& benevolent kind or %enerous
&&# apprehensive worried or ner"ous
&&& bridle %et an%ry or annoyed
1''' luxurious (ancy or delu$e
132
fireplae and
1331
staked our laim.
I sat bak in the omfy ushions and sipped at my ooa,
wondering what to talk about. I felt like suh an
1332
ingenue. /hat
kind of detetive was I if I ouldnt even
1333
initiate a onversation
with my suspet)
G"o, listen, I wanted to apologiBe for being suh an asshole the
first time we met,H 9on said
133#
unflinchingly.
I was so surprised that my ooa almost went down the wrong
pipefor real this time. G7he first few times, you mean.H
-e soffed. G*eah, well. I guess I mis>udged you.H
G.is>udged)H I asked. G/hy) /hat did you think when you first
met me)H
GI >ust figured you were another one of those -ereford girls,H he
said with a shrug. G
133$
Conceited,
133%
condescending. @ut youre not.H
GDod, I hope not,H I said.
G*eah, well, I figured you must be different if you were atually
trying to be friends with me. 7hat doesnt happen very often,H 9on
said. G@ut I guess I >ust have a problem with trusting people. I dont
know. .aybe people sense that.H
/ow. -e was very
133&
forthright one he got talking.
GAre you
133,
implying that Im untrustworthy)H I asked raising
1''1 staked . marked wit! a stake ,pole- (i%urati"ely speakin%
1''2 ingnue na="e or ine$perienced %irl
1''3 initiate start
1''4 unflinchingly (earlessly or determinedly
1''5 conceited "ain or stuck)up
1''6 condescending snobby or superior
1'' forthright direct or up(ront
1''# implying su%%estin%
133
my eyebrows and feeling sort of
1330
hypocritical. I was untrustworthy
after all. -e didnt even know who I really was.
G+o. +ot at all,H he said simply. GIm >ust not a people person.H
G;olor me shoked,H I said with a smile.
5migod, I was flirtingF -ow had I gotten around to flirting)
=rug dealer, drug dealer, drug dealer, I reminded myself.
I leared my throat and tried to get bak to business. GAnyway, I
aept your apology,H I said, feeling
1313
magnanimous. -e had been a
serious >erk.
GDood,H 9on replied.
G"o . . . how long have you been going to -ereford)H I asked.
G?orever,H he replied, sitting bak with a sigh. G/hen I first got
there in seventh grade I used to pretend I was >ust
1311
transient>ust
passing through. *ou should see my >ournal from bak then. I was
totally
1312
delusionaloming up with esape plans and all this stuff.
/hat a moron.H
I stared at him. A >ournal) 7he word GtransientH) /ho knew the
1313
gruff e(terior was hiding a
131#
latent
131$
intellectual)
=rug dealer, drug dealer, drug dealer . . . .
G/hat)H he said, looking
131%
skittish.
1''& hypocritical two)(aced or deceit(ul
1'1' magnanimous %enerous or noble
1'11 transient temporary
1'12 delusional cra.y or !allucinatin%
1'13 gruff . brusque ,curt- and surly ,inclined to an%er or bad (eelin%s wit! o"ertones- and
(orbiddin%
1'14 latent !idden or buried
1'15 intellectual t!inker or sc!olar
1'16 skittish . skittery* (li%!ty or ner"ous
134
GIve >ust never heard you string so many words together at
one,H I replied.
G/ont happen again.H -e laughed and his smile
131&
illuminated
his fae. I felt my heart thump in response and I looked away. /hat
was I doing) I ould not develop a rush on a suspet. 'speially not
suh a
131,
sketchy one as 9on /isnewski.
=rug dealer, drug dealer, drug dealerF
G"o, if youre so transient, where do you want to be)H I asked.
@ak home running your drug
1310
cartel) I wondered, wishing it
would be that easythat someone would >ust ome out and onfess.
GI >ust want to get to ollege,H 9on replied, sitting forward. GIm
applying everywhere.H
G/hat do you think youll ma>or in)H I asked.
'onomis of drug dealing)
G:iterature,H he replied.
G7hats my ma>orFH I blurted. -e looked at me, his brow
furrowed. GI mean, thats what Im going to ma>or in.H
I swear I have total foot1in1mouth disease.
@ut 9on seemed to aept my e(planation and sat bak again.
5ver the ne(t hour or so, as the sunlight began to wane, we rela(ed by
the fire and talked about shool and the writers we liked and the
books wed read. 7he longer we talked, the more smitten I beame.
9on was not >ust an intelletual but also he was sensitive, funny and
1323
intuitive. "uddenly I found myself imagining again what it would
1'1 illuminated lit up
1'1# sketchy . %i"in% only ma0or points/ lackin% completeness or unelaborated
1'1& cartel . independent or%ani.ations (ormed to limit competition
1'2' intuitive sensiti"e or percepti"e
135
be like to kiss him. 7his was not good.
7hen we began disussing the soial struture at -ereford, whih
brought me bak to
1321
stark reality. 9on, as it turned out, had been
friends with .arshall bak in freshman year but dumped him when
his head got too big for his shoulders.
5f ourse, this made me wonder
1322
anewif 9on had dumped
.arshall way bak then, then why was he hilling in his room late at
night)
G"o you guys dont hang out at all now)H I asked.
GClease. +either one of us would be aught dead talking to the
other,H 9on said.
*ouve already been aught, not1dead, I thought, hating that he
was lying to me yet again. I had thought we had made a
breakthrough and that he was starting to trust me as a friend. @ut the
seond .arshall ame up, he started lying all over again. /hat had I
been thinking)
*ou >ust ant let yourself get suked in, !im, I solded myself
1323
internally. +ot by =avid, not by 9on, not by any of them.
9on leaned forward and grabbed my empty ooa mug, shooting
me a
132#
lopsided smile that made my heart flip.
GIll go get us some refills,H he said.
Id been at "tanford for months and not a single person had
made my heart flip like that. Id forgotten what it felt like.
5kay. At least dont get suked in until you know hes innoent,
1'21 stark . de"oid o( any quali(ications* dis%uise or adornment
1'22 anew . a%ain but in a new or di((erent way* or a(res!
1'23 internally on t!e inside
1'24 lopsided . !a"in% one side lower* smaller or li%!ter t!an t!e ot!er* or askew
136
I
132$
amended, my fae warming. 7hen maybe you an kiss him.
5n the way bak to -ereford I sat in the passenger seat of 9ons
9eep /rangler. 7ek and .ihael had passed out in the bak and were
snoring up a storm. 'very one in a while one of them would let out a
partiularly loud snort and 9on and I would e(hange an amused
glane. I ouldnt seem to
132%
curb the urge to smile. /e were ating as
if we were old friends.
8nfortunately, I wasnt there to make friends, and Id been an
132&
ineffectual detetive all day. Id yet to
132,
extricate one piee of
useful information from 9on, and we were only about ten minutes
from ampus. If I was ever going to at, the time was now.
G"o, whats it like working in the post offie)H I asked, breaking
the relative silene.
GIts okay.H
-e was bak to talking in phrases.
GIt must be pretty ool, I mean, seeing what everyones getting
before they do,H I said. G!nowing whos sending them mail and
pakages . . . .H
9on gave me a look that aused my mouth to snap shut. I had
never known anyone so
1320
accomplished in the art of
1333
tacit
messages.
G/hat)H I asked innoently, trying to keep the mood light.
GIm not really interested in other peoples business,H he said
1'25 amended re"ised or corrected
1'26 curb !old back
1'2 intellectual t!inker or sc!olar
1'2# extricate pull out or e$tract
1'2& accomplished talented or skill(ul
1'3' tacit unspoken or implied
13
flatly.
1331
$bort missionF Abort missionF my mind sreamed. I felt like
he was solding me. -ad he realiBed I was fishing for information)
/as I that
1332
transparent) If so, this was definitely not the >ob for me.
G"orry,H I said. @ut I ould tell it was too little too late. I wathed
him
1333
transmute into his old, losed1off self. I tried to put my finger
on my
133#
transgression, but it wasnt easy. All Id done was asked
about his >ob. /hy was that suh a problem)
Its obviously a sore point with him, I thought, looking out the
window as the senery flew by. *ou suspeted that something was
going on there, and now you know for sure.
After a few minutes of silene, we arrived at the shool. 9on
brought the 9eep to a sreehing stop in front of the girls dormitory
and waited for me to get out.
G=o you need help)H he asked.
G+o, thanks,H I said as I unbukled my seatbelt. G:isten, Im
sorry if I said something wrong . . . .H
I was desperate to make
133$
amends, feeling that if I didnt do it
now I would
133%
efface all the progress wed made today. 7o my relief
he raked a small smile. G+o. Its okay. Im >ust . . . tired. I want to get
bak to the dorm.H
G5kay. /ell, thanks for inluding me. It was fun,H I said as I
stepped out of the ar. I pulled my snowboard from the bak of the
9eep and walked around to the window.
1'31 abort stop or terminate
1'32 transparent ob"ious or see)t!rou%!
1'33 transmute c!an%e
1'34 transgression wron%doin% or intrusion
1'35 amends peace or compensation
1'36 efface erase or wipe out
13#
G"ee you around,H I said.
G*eah. "ee ya.H 7hen he peeled out, kiking up snow and slush
in his
133&
wake.
Instead of heading into the dorm, I walked aross the
133,
quad,
my snowboard stuffed under my arm. 7he boys dorm was
1330
accessible through a bak door, whih I wasnt surprised to find
unloked. ?or a shool so onerned about rime, they were ertainly
13#3
lax when it ame to seurity.
I losed the door <uietly behind me and
13#1
lumbered up the
stairs toward .arshalls floor. I was
13#2
despondent after the
13#3
abysmal work Id done that day. 7he one <uestion Id asked that
even remotely
13##
pertained to the investigation had aused my
suspet to lam up ompletely. I had to do something to make myself
feel better.
.arshall had told me he would return my ;=s later in the week,
and now seemed like a perfet time to stop by and pay him a little
visit. If I played my ards right, maybe I ould find out where he was
getting the money for all the
13#$
swag he had in his room.
I shifted my snowboard from one arm to the other and knoked
on .arshalls door. As he answered he was pulling on his >aket as if
he were heading out. 9udging from the
13#%
lush
13#&
cashmere sweater
1'3 wake . pat!* trail* or track
1'3# quad . a rectan%ular area surrounded on all sides by buildin%s
1'3& accessible reac!able
1'4' lax careless
1'41 lumbered walked !ea"ily
1'42 despondent miserable or pessimistic
1'43 abysmal "ery bad
1'44 pertained related
1'45 swag . "aluable %oods
1'46 lush lu$uriant
1'4 cashmere . a so(t (abric made (rom t!e wool o( t!e >as!mir %oat
13&
he was wearing and the
13#,
pungent sent of ologne, I
13#0
assumed he
was going on a date with ;heryl.
G-ey,H I said. G9ust wanted to pik up those ;=s.H
G7heyre right here,H .arshall said, grabbing up the stak and
attempting to hand them to me. 7hey balaned
13$3
precariously in my
free hand and I looked at .arshall,
13$1
blatantly
13$2
perplexed. /hat
did he e(pet me to do)
GDot a bag or something)H
.arshall sighed loudly >ust to let me know that I was
13$3
imposing upon him, then made a big dramati show of looking
around for a bag as if it were a serious
13$#
undertaking. I ouldnt
believe it. -ere was the guy the rest of the shool
13$$
idolized, ating
like a big
13$%
querulous baby. ?inally he dropped to the floor and
yanked out a leather bakpak with the 7ommy -ilfiger flag
13$&
emblazoned on the
13$,
flap.
I smiled. :ittle did he know hed given me the perfet opening.
G/ow. 7his is nie,H I said as he held it open so I ould dump the
;=s inside. G/here did you get it)H
GIt was a gift,H .arshall said, pulling on the ord to tighten the
1'4# pungent s!arp or stron%
1'4& assumed supposed or took (or %ranted
1'5' precariously unsteadily
1'51 blatantly ob"iously
1'52 perplexed con(used
1'53 imposing bein% a burden or annoyance
1'54 undertaking 0ob or task
1'55 idolized wors!ipped
1'56 querulous %rouc!y or di((icult
1'5 emblazoned inscribed or decorated
1'5# flap . any broad t!in and limber ,easily bent- co"erin% attac!ed at one ed%e/ !an%s loose or
pro0ects (reely
14'
losure.
5h, great. /as he going to go all
13$0
laconic on me, too)
GAtually, Ive been meaning to ask you, do you remember
where you got your @ose speakers)H I asked, stepping further into the
room to prevent him from
13%3
prematurely tossing me out, whih he
learly was on the verge of doing. -e seemed tense and wasnt going
to
13%1
tolerate my presene muh longer.
GI got Kem in +ew *ork last summer,H .arshall said. G+ow if
were done with the twenty <uestionsH
G-ow muh were they)H I blurted. .arshall sighed and rubbed
his fingers into his forehead impatiently. GI mean, if you dont mind
my asking.H
G7hey were e(pensive,H .arshall said urtly, eyeing me like I
was suh an obvious
13%2
pauper I ould never hope to afford them.
G+ow Im late to meet somebody, so you really have to go.H -e held
the door open and glared daggers at me. "uddenly I realiBed that his
heeks were
13%3
tinged with olor and his hands were urled into fists.
-e was definitely more
13%#
agitated than neessary if he was >ust late
for a date.
-uh. 'ither ;heryl was a real
13%$
shrew when it ame to
13%%
punctuality, whih wouldnt be surprising. 2"he seemed a real
shrew in general.4 5r .arshall was meeting somebody else. .aybe
1'5& laconic quiet or curt
1'6' prematurely quickly or too early
1'61 tolerate put up wit!
1'62 pauper poor person
1'63 tinged tinted or s!aded
1'64 agitated restless or disturbed
1'65 shrew . a scoldin% na%%in% bad)tempered woman
1'66 punctuality bein% on time
141
even a buyer) ;ould it be) /as that why he was so
13%&
flustered)
.y pulse pounded with e(itement. 7his definitely ould be
something.
G6ight,H I said, hoping there was no e(ternal evidene of my
intrigue. G/ell, I hope you liked the ;=s.H
G*eah, definitely. 7hanks,H .arshall said, totally
13%,
distracted.
-e loked up behind us and headed for the stairs. G"ee ya.H
G*eah. "ee ya.H
It was all I ould do to keep from running right after him. I took
a deep breath and held it for a ount of twenty, then
13%0
hustled
toward the stairwell. 7he door on the first level was >ust slamming. I
dropped my stuff, hoping no one would be
13&3
petty enough to steal it,
and raed down the stairs.
.arshall was speed1walking toward the parking lot, his hands in
his pokets, his head down. !eeping a good distane between us, I
followed as <uietly as possible, my heart in my throat the whole time.
/ho was he meeting) And where) /as I about to witness a
transation right here, right now)
.arshall disappeared around a orner, and when I peeked
around it moments later, he was hopping into an
13&1
idling ?ord
?ous. I had no idea what to do. 7he last thing Id e(peted was that
.arshall was going to leave ampus. Id figured hed be doing his
deal with another student at -ereford. 7hat was, after all, the issue,
wasnt it)
1'6 flustered tense or uncom(ortable
1'6# distracted t!inkin% about somet!in% else
1'6& hustled . mo"ed or causes to mo"e ener%etically or busily
1'' petty low or small)minded
1'1 idling . runnin% disconnected or idle
142
7he ar peeled out and I dove bak around the wall, praying he
hadnt seen me. I didnt even have time to get a glimpse of the driver
or memoriBe the liense plate. @efore I even had a hane to think, the
ar had disappeared down the windy drive.
I leaned my head bak into the old brik wall. .y mother was
going to kill me. /hoever was in that ar may have been a buyer or a
supplieror some other brand of aomplie. And Id ompletely
13&2
dropped the ball. 5bviously I was >ust going to have to
13&3
chalk
this up to one of those
13&#
dismal days in the life of a detetive.
After retrieving my things from the guys dorm I headed for my
room. =anielle was sitting on her bed reading 9ane Austens 'mma.
"he barely looked up when I walked in. 9ust what I needed. .ore
13&$
fractious behavior. I wished I ould turn bak time and go bak to
the slopes to start my day over from there. I had had so muh fun
with 9on, 7ek and .ihael. /here had I gone wrong)
G-ey. -ow was your day)H I asked =anielle, attempting to
13&%
thaw the freeBe1out.
G?ine,H she said. G*ours)H
GIt was great,H I replied. G.ostly.H
GDreat,H she said. GAtually, if you dont mind, Im at my
favorite part so . . . .H
G6ight. Ill leave you alone,H I said, my heart falling even further.
I put my stuff down and started to peel off my boarding lothes.
7he longer the silene in the room
13&&
endured, the more I felt as if my
1'2 dropped the ball . commit a (au$ pas or a (ault or make a serious mistake
1'3 chalk this up . to credit or ascribe
1'4 dismal dreary or miserable
1'5 fractious touc!y or irritable
1'6 thaw melt or de(rost
1' endured lasted
143
brain and heart were in
13&,
turmoil. @ut this was stupid. I mean, how
immature ould you be) All Id done was spent one day hanging out
with other people. And I liked the girl, but I had been assigned to be
her roommate, not her best friend for life. "heeshF
I took a deep breath and hanged into my pa>amas, deiding that
I was not going to let these people affet me. I wasnt here to be .iss
13&0
$ffable. 7hese people didnt have to like me. I was here to
13,3
ferret
out a drug problem. 7hey ould all hate me if they wanted to. ?rom
this point on, I was not going to are.
I had a >ob to do, and starting that seond, I was going to do it.
;learly the
13,1
subtle approah wasnt going to work with 9on,
.arshall or =avid. It was time to start tailing them more, start asking
<uestions around ampus. I was going to find out who the bad guy
was and I was going to do it, stat.
@eause, after today, a whole winter break spent
13,2
languishing
on the ouh was starting to sound pretty darn good.
1'# turmoil con(usion or c!aos
1'& affable (riendly or pleasant
1'#' ferret . searc! and disco"er t!rou%! persistent in"esti%ation
1'#1 subtle delicate or restrained
1'#2 languishing wastin% away
144
Chapter "en
I spent most of "unday in the library, pretending to work on my
-istory paper when I was in fat making listsone for eah of my
suspets. I made three olumns in my notebook and wrote down
anything
13,3
abstruse that I had witnessed, hoping the
13,#
juxtaposition would help me to make some
13,$
shrewd dedutions,
or at least an eduated guess. 8nfortunately, when I was done, eah of
the guys still was a suspet. 'very one of them ame off as
13,%
corrupt
in some fashion.
I was still at s<uare one. @ut not for long. I was going to solve
this ase if it killed me.
.onday proved to be the warmest day of the winter so far,
whih I took to be an
13,&
auspicious sign. After lasses, I went to the
13,,
quad to
13,0
stake out the post offie. 7he faility losed at $ p.m. and
I knew 9on would be working. I had deided to tail him and see if he
did anything odd after work. If there was something going on with
him, it definitely
1303
hinged on the post offie. It was the best lead I
had.
I sat on a benh alongside the anient building, a te(tbook open
on my lap. I was hidden from view of the main entrane, but Id be
able to see if anyone walked out. :ukily, there were other kids out
and about so I was able to blend in>ust a regular student en>oying
1'#3 abstruse pu..lin%
1'#4 juxtaposition side)by)side comparison
1'#5 shrewd s!arp or cle"er
1'#6 corrupt s!ady or dis!onest
1'# auspicious positi"e or (a"orable
1'## quad . a rectan%ular area surrounded on all sides by buildin%s
1'#& stake out . in"esti%ate
1'&' hinged . attac!ed
145
the relatively
1301
balmy day.
At
1302
precisely $N33 the door to the post offie opened and
slammed, and 9on took off aross the pathway to the guys dorm. In
the
1303
dusk I ould >ust make out the outline of a pakage as he
shoved it
130#
furtively under his >aket. .y skin siBBled with
e(itementand
130$
apprehension. 7his ould be itF *ayF @ut I so
didnt want 9on to be the guilty party. =amn.
I mean, ould I really be attrated to a riminal)
I waited until he was a good twenty yards ahead of me, then
tuked my book away and surried after him. -e entered the dorm
through the bak door, so I waited for a ount of thirty 2I was getting
better at this4 and then snuk in. Instead of stopping at his own floor,
9on ontinued upstairs to the third. After the door losed on the
hallway, I >ogged up and glaned through the slim window down the
hall. 9on was knoking on the door to .arshalls room.
I held my breath. .arshall opened the door and the two of them
e(hanged urt greetings. +o
130%
camaraderie between these two, that
was for sure. 7hen, 9on unBipped his >aket and handed over the
pakage to .arshall. .y heart felt as if it was pounding in my
temples as .arshall slapped a wad of ash into 9ons hand. 7his was
it. ;lear evidene. 9on and .arshall obviously were
130&
colluding.
@ut was 9on selling .arshall drugs right now, or was he simply
delivering the pills to .arshall, who would then sell them to others
1'&1 balmy mild or pleasant
1'&2 precisely e$actly
1'&3 dusk . t!e time o( day immediately (ollowin% sunset
1'&4 furtively . in a secret* sly* or sordid manner
1'&5 apprehension . (ear(ul e$pectation or anticipation
1'&6 camaraderie (riends!ip or brot!er!ood
1'& colluding plottin% or sc!emin%
146
later) 'ither way, it was obvious that 9on was
130,
complicit in the
rime. "uddenly I felt as if I needed to sit down. 9on was guilty. -ow
ould he be guilty)
9on did a
1300
cursory hek of the bills in his hand. It didnt seem
like an
1133
exorbitant amount of money to me, but I didnt have time to
dwell on what that might mean. 9on didnt
1131
dawdle. 7he door
losed and he turned toward me and started bak down the hall. .y
heart hit my throat and I went to run bak downstairs, but then
realiBed Id never make it all the way out without 9on hearing my
running footsteps. 7hinking fast, I headed upstairs instead, toward
the fourth floor. As the door opened I sat down <uietly on the stairs
above and pressed myself against the wall, hoping against hope that
9on wouldnt
1132
randomly deide to go up instead of down.
-e didnt. I listened as he desended the stairs. 7he door to the
seond floor opened and slammed. I was safe.
1133
!mpetuously I >umped up and ran bak down to the third
floor. "omething inside me was telling me that now was the time to
ath .arshall
113#
red-handed. ;hanes were he was opening the
pakage and inspeting its ontents right then. If I ould ath him in
the at, I ould all in my mother and this ould all be over by tonight.
I paused in front of .arshalls door, took a deep breath, and
tried the doorknob. It turned and liked <uietly. :oked.
=ammitF 7here was only one thing left to do. I raised my hand
and pounded on the door. 7here was an instant stream of inoherent
1'&# complicit associated wit! or in"ol"ed in
1'&& cursory quick or !urried
11'' exorbitant e$cessi"e or outra%eous
11'1 dawdle . waste time
11'2 randomly by c!ance
11'3 impetuously suddenly or wit!out plannin%
11'4 red-handed . s!owin% clear e"idence o( !a"in% done somet!in% repre!ensible
14
mumbling, then the sound of rinkling paper and plasti wrap. I
ursed under my breath. /hatever .arshall had reeived, he was
hiding it right then. @y the time the door opened his hairline was
dotted with sweat.
-e seemed surprised and
113$
bemused when he saw me standing
there, as if my presene were a huge
113%
quandary. -e even stuk his
head out into the hallway to look both ways and make sure it was >ust
me. ?or my part, I felt nothing but
113&
rancor in his presene. I so
wanted 9on to be innoent that in three seonds I had
113,
rashly
deided that .arshall had somehow
1130
coerced 9on into being his
1113
accomplice. 7he fault, in my mind, rested entirely on .arshalls
shoulders. -e was, after all, still the biggest ass Id met on ampus. It
would be so perfet if I ould arrest him and find 9on and =avid, both
of whom I liked, to be blameless.
G-eyFH I said, shoving by him into the room. .y eyes did a <uik
san of .arshalls side of the plae. 7here was nothing. +o bo(. +o
wrapping. +o pills. +ada.
G-ey. /hatre you doing here)H .arshall asked, losing the
door. -is e(pression was almost
1111
malevolent as he turned to me. I
obviously had interrupted something important. As if I didnt know
that. @ut his behavior only
1112
underscored that fat.
All I needed to know was, where had he hidden the bo()
G5h . . . I >ust thought Id drop by,H I said, sitting down on his
11'5 bemused pu..led
11'6 quandary dilemma
11' rancor bitterness or resentment
11'# rashly !astily or wit!out t!inkin%
11'& coerced tempted or pressured
111' accomplice partner in crime
1111 malevolent wicked
1112 underscored emp!asi.ed
14#
bed. I bouned a ouple of times to see if I ould hear any paper
rinkling, thinking he may have shoved everything under the
mattress. All I heard was the s<ueaking of the springs.
G8h huh,H .arshall said, hovering over me. -e eyed me up and
down as if he was trying to figure me out. G/hat for)H
G5h, you know, >ust to say hi,H I said with a shrug.
.aybe it was under the bed. I yanked my hat off and twirled it
around my finger until it flew right off. .arshall and I both hit the
ground to retrieve it and I heked under the bed. 7here was a ton of
rap under there and it was too dark in the room to tell if any of it was
a freshly opened bo(. 7his little
1113
excursion was not going well.
/hen I stood up again, .arshall handed me bak my hat and
there was something ompletely different in the way he was looking
at me. -is
111#
irate frown had turned into a
111$
smug smile, his eyes
were now alight with his usual okiness and he was standing way
too lose to me for omfort.
G5kay, I get it,H he said, nodding. GI see why youre here.H
G*ou do)H I asked,
111%
bewildered by his
111&
mercurial behavior.
G=ont play
111,
coy now,H he said. GI dont know why I didnt
figure it out before. *ou ome to karate . . . you sit with us at lunh . . .
youre all over me about lending me ;=s . . . .H
5h my Dod. -e had to be kidding me. -e thought I was
attrated to him)
1113 excursion outin% or detour
1114 irate an%ry
1115 smug sel()satis(ied
1116 bewildered da.ed or con(used
111 mercurial c!an%in% or unpredictable
111# coy s!y or timid
14&
And then, before I ould even proess my disgust, .arshall
grabbed the bak of my nek and pulled me to him. -is lips overed
mine and his grip was like an iron lasp. I reahed up with both hands
and shoved his hest as hard as I ould. .arshall stumbled bak and I
wiped my mouth,
1110
aghast.
G/hat the hell are you doing)H I demanded. .y stomah was
having an
1123
adverse reation and threatening to bring up my lunh.
GI thought you wanted me to do thatFH .arshall protested,
looking hurt now.
GAre you kidding me)H I shouted. GDodF =ont you have a
girlfriend)H
G*eah, but youre not the first new hik to make a play for me,H
.arshall said. G7his kind of stuff happens all the time.H
G5migod, youre suh a slimeball,H I said, making for the door.
G!imF /aitFH .arshall said, moving in front of me and bloking
my esape. G=ont tell ;heryl about this, okay) "hell kill me.H
-is eyes were wide and
1121
plaintively pleading. -e was
suddenly so
1122
contrite that he may as well have been on his knees. I
already knew there was no way I was going to tell ;heryl. It would
>ust open up a whole an of worms that I did not need to deal with. I
wasnt here to reate high shool dramas. @ut that didnt mean I
ouldnt have a little fun with .arshallmaybe
1123
chastise him a bit.
G/hy shouldnt I tell her)H I asked, rossing my arms over my
hest. G7heres a ode among women, you know. Im duty1bound to
111& aghast s!ocked or stunned
112' adverse ne%ati"e or bad
1121 plaintively sadly
1122 contrite sorry or as!amed
1123 chastise yell at
15'
tell her that her boyfriends a pig. And you are, my friend. *oure a
112#
gross
112$
opportunist.H
7his insult may have hit home if he had any lue as to what it
meant. @ut .arshall >ust blinked at me. -e was so
112%
obtuse. -ow
ould a guy like this be the one seretly
112&
shilling the
112,
opiate of the
masses) -ow had he managed to get away with it before now)
G;ome on, !im. Im sorry,H .arshall said. GIll do anything. I
swear. 9ust dont tell her.H
Ill do anything . . . . Interesting. /ould he maybe tell me what
was in the pakage hed >ust reeived) /as there any way to even ask
that without totally blowing my over) 7here wasnt. At least not that
I ould see. -ed want to know how Id known hed gotten a delivery,
and then Id have to tell him I was spying on him and 9on. -ow did
detetives do this stuff)
I sighed, defeated. G9ust forget it,H I said. G@ut if you step out of
line one more time, Im going straight to your girlfriend. Dot it)H
.arshall rolled his eyes. G/omen. 7he
1120
bane of my e(istene.H
G*eah, well. +ot if youre areful,H I said. 7hen I swept out of his
room, letting the door slam behind me.
+e(t I had planned to stop by .ihael and 7eks room. I knew it
was a
1133
brazen movethe details of my visit would probably get
bak to 9on
1131
expeditiously, but I felt that I was running out of
1124 gross dis%ustin%
1125 opportunist someone w!o takes ad"anta%e or people or circumstances
1126 obtuse stupid or simple)minded
112 shilling sellin% or promotin%
112# opiate dru% or narcotic
112& bane curse or %reat annoyance
113' brazen bold or s!ameless
1131 expeditiously quickly
151
options. And .ihael and 7ek seemed like the type of guys who
would know who was selling and who was buying around this plae.
7hey were obvious
1132
stoners, and if they smoked pot, they probably
at least knew where to get other stuff. All I had to do was at like I
was hard up for drugs and get them to
1133
counsel me about what to
do.
As I walked down to the end of the third1floor hallway, a steady
113#
cadence grew louder and louder, the type of beat that fores you to
math your steps to it. I wasnt surprised to find that it was loudest
when I was standing diretly in front of .ihael and 7eks room. I
ould >ust imagine them inside,
113$
cavorting and daning and
ignoring their homework entirely.
I smiled, filled with sudden
113%
certitude that I was doing the
right thing. 7hese guys were suh party animals, theyd probably give
up the informationno
113&
deception needed>ust so theyd have
someone new to party with.
.ore onfident than Id felt in days, I knoked on the door.
G'ntrPFH 7eks voie shouted.
5f ourse these guys left their door unloked. I smiled and
walked in. 8ne(petedly, .ihael and 7ek were seated at desks on
opposites sides of a
113,
capacious orner room, their heads buried in
their books. 7he musi was loud, but it seemed it was simply the
soundtrak for studying.
1132 stoners . people esp. youn%sters w!o are or are percei"ed to be !abitual users o( dru%s
1133 counsel ad"ise
1134 cadence beat or r!yt!m
1135 cavorting !orsin% around
1136 certitude con(idence or certainty
113 deception trickery
113# capacious lar%e or roomy
152
7he room itself, however, looked like it had seen plenty of
1130
carousing in its history. 5ne wall was ompletely
11#3
defaced. It had
been used as the
11#1
canvas for an
11#2
iridescent
11#3
mural of 9imi
-endri(. 7he painting had been signed in an
11##
indecipherable hand,
making it impossible to
11#$
discern the artist. @ut it was pretty darn
good. :ining the opposite wall was a long shelf, paked with empty
beer bottles of every brand imaginable,
11#%
reverently lined up with
their labels faing out. I had no idea how high shool students got
away with displaying suh things, but it
11#&
revived my spirits. 7hese
guys were definitely not down with
11#,
sobriety. 7here was no doubt
theyd know how to help me.
G!immyFH .ihael e(laimed, looking up from his books. -e
stood and enveloped me in a bear hug. I felt more
11#0
devious than
ever, knowing I was about to pump them for information that might
lead to the arrest of their best friend. @ut I ouldnt entertain any
11$3
qualms I might have about this. 7here was a riminal on the loose
and I had to find out who it was.
G"weetF !im in her
11$1
munificence has graed our pad with her
presene,H 7ek said, as
11$2
animated as ever. -e reahed for the mini1
113& carousing partyin%
114' defaced "andali.ed
1141 canvas back%round or settin%
1142 iridescent s!immerin%
1143 mural wall paintin%
1144 indecipherable unreadable
1145 discern make out
1146 reverently respect(ully
114 revived reener%i.ed
114# sobriety . t!e state o( bein% sober and not into$icated by alco!ol
114& devious tricky or dis!onest
115' qualms doubts or worries
1151 munificence kindness or %enerosity
1152 animated e$cited or li"ely
153
fridge ne(t to his desk. G;an I offer you a beverage)H
G+o, thanks,H I said, impressed by the
11$3
cordial greeting. I
deided to go for the
11$#
guileless approah. GAtually, I wanted to ask
you guys a <uestion,H I said, rossing to the bed near the 9imi painting
and taking a seat.
G"hoot,H .ihael said. -e lowered the volume on the musi and
regarded me with interest.
G/ell, I was wondering if you guys might know . . . you
know . . . where a person might be able to purhase some
rereational . . . hemials around here,H I raised my eyebrows and
wathed as .ihael and 7ek e(hanged a
11$$
sly look. It was lear that
they knew who I ould buy from. 7he <uestion was, were they going
to tell me)
.ihael straightened up and an instant sense of foreboding
11$%
pervaded the room.
G/hy are you asking us)H he asked.
GI dont know. *ou >ust seemed like the kind of guys who would
be into . . . e(traurriular ativity,H I said.
G*eah, well, were not,H 7ek said innoently. -e even added a
laugh to try to onvine me. 8nfortunately for him, it was so fake it
did nothing to
11$&
extinguish my suspiion.
G7hen whats up with all the beer bottles)H I asked. I knew they
knew something and I was going to show some
11$,
forbearance. I had
to get fats out of someone around here.
1153 cordial warm or (riendly
1154 guileless strai%!t(orward or up(ront
1155 sly sneaky or secreti"e
1156 pervaded spread t!rou%!
115 extinguish put out or turn o((
115# forbearance patience
154
G'h, thats >ust beer,H .ihael said, shrugging it off.
G;ome on, you guys,H standing up and attempting to
11$0
cajole it
out of them. GI >ust need something to take the edge off. 7his shool is
tougher than I thought.H
7ek flushed and I ould tell it was beoming diffiult for him to
stay silent, but he prevailed. "uddenly he seemed very
11%3
preoccupied
by a thread hanging off of his sok. .eanwhile, .ihael turned
around and fliked through the pages of his binder, pretending to
11%1
peruse his
11%2
copious notes. 7his was going nowhere fast.
I took a deep breath. G5kay, well, if you guys dont know, then
what about 9on) /ould he know)H
7he seond the <uestion was out of my mouth I regretted asking
it. It was way too diret and nonleading. 7ad would have whaked
me upside the head if he had been there to witness it.
@ut .ihael and 7ek both laughed heartily. G*ou obviously
dont know 9on very well,H .ihael said,
11%3
abjuring the very
thought.
G*eah, hes like the purest of the pure around here,H 7ek added.
G7hat kid wont even take ough mediine.H
5ne again I was presented with a
11%#
conundrum. /as 9on an
11%$
unalloyed innoent, or was he a guy who was delivering
11%%
illicit
pakages to people he hated for ash) It was like the more I learned,
115& cajole coa$ or sweet)talk
116' preoccupied worried or (i$ated
1161 peruse read care(ully
1162 copious numerous or plenti(ul
1163 abjuring re0ectin%
1164 conundrum pu..le or mystery
1165 unalloyed pure or absolute
1166 illicit ille%al
155
the more onfused I beame.
G5kay, well, if you guys do happen to hear of anything, let me
know,H I said, standing. GI ould really use something to help me
rela(, you know)H
5ne again, the two guys e(hanged a look. G/ed love to help
you out, you know. Its >ust that . . . youre new around here,H 7ek
said.
I narrowed my eyes. /hat did he mean by that) GIm sure youve
heard about the
11%&
mondo
11%,
expulsion that happened here a oupla
weeks ago. /e >ust . . . dont know if we an trust you yet, thats all,H
.ihael said. G"orry.H
/ow. 7hese people were a lot more paranoidand had greater
11%0
acumenthan I gave them redit for.
G/ell, you an,H I said, lying to their faes. G9ust let me know
when you deide to believe me.H
7hen I stormed out, trying to make them believe in my
11&3
indignation. In fat, I was simply frustrated by the fat that Id hit
yet another wall. 'ven the obvious stoners wouldnt help me out with
this stuff) I thought they were supposed to be all giving and loving.
"o muh for that
11&1
stereotype.
/hen was I going to ath a break around here)
I returned to my room,
11&2
dejected about what a
11&3
fiasco the
investigation had beome. +ot only had I learned nothing from
116 mondo . bi%* lar%e* or considerable
116# expulsion . t!e act o( e$pellin%* pro0ectin% or e0ectin%
116& acumen insi%!t or s!rewdness
11' indignation an%er or annoyance
111 stereotype commonly !eld belie( t!at may be wron%
112 dejected un!appy or depressed
113 fiasco disaster or mess
156
.ihael and 7ek, but they obviously were going to tell 9on Id been
sniffing around about drugs. 5ne of my main suspets was going to
know I was onto him.
@ut maybe thats a good thing, I thought. If .ihael and 7ek told
9on I was a potential buyer, maybe he would ome to me hoping to
make a sale. 7hen I ould
11&#
snag him on the spot.
5f ourse, that was a doubtful senario. 9on had already aused
me of stalking him. It was muh more likely that he would realiBe I
was a op who had been trailing him from the beginning.
I had totally srewed up.
=anielle was out, so I had the room to myself. I sat down at my
desk thinking about the
11&$
disparate images I had of 9on. .ihael and
7ek thought he was some kind of naQve innoent, but 7ad thought he
was a
11&%
valid suspet. -e had seemed so
11&&
disaffected and rude
when I first met him, but then at the ski lodge hed beome talkative
and
11&,
attentive and sweet. /hih of these
11&0
discordant 9ons was the
real one)
7here was a knok at the door and I was
11,3
dilatory in
responding. I didnt want to lose my train of thought. @ut the
pounding beame more and more
11,1
ardent, so I made myself trudge
aross the room. /hen I opened the door, I found =avid standing
there, his fae hard, his eyes ausatory. "omewhere in the bak of my
114 snag . catc!
115 disparate di((erent or dissimilar
116 valid real or le%itimate
11 disaffected discontented or rebellious
11# attentive carin% or kind
11& discordant con(lictin% or incompatible
11#' dilatory slow
11#1 ardent ea%er or intense
15
head, my death
11,2
knell sounded. I knew what he was going to say
before he said it, and I was
11,3
inclined to
11,#
hurdle him and head for
the hills. @ut it was too late for that.
G-i, =avid,H I said,
11,$
reticent.
G-ello, !im "tratford.H
11#2 knell rin% or c!ime
11#3 inclined ready or (eelin% like
11#4 hurdle 0ump o"er
11#5 reticent quiet or reser"ed
15#
Chapter leven
GI think we need to go bak to my room and talk,H =avid said.
GI think maybe we should talk right here,H I
11,%
countered, my
heart slamming into my ribs.
=avid didnt even blink. GIf you want to talk to me, its not
gonna be here,H he said. GAnd I really think you want to talk to me as
muh as I want to talk to you.H
5kay. Apparently, =avid had seen one too many episodes of
:aw I 5rder. -e learly thought my room was bugged. @ut going
bak to his room ould be the stupidest of stupid op moves. /ho
knew what he might have waiting there for me) GAre you oming)H
he asked.
9ust tell me, I thought. 9ust tell me youre the guy and lets get
this over with. I was dying to know. I was dying to hear him say the
words.
G?ine,H I said, grabbing my >aket. G:ets go.H
As =avid walked me bak to his dorm room, my brain flipped
into
11,&
crisis mode. A million thoughts rowded my mind. I knew the
onversation with =onny @urkes mother,
11,,
coupled with my
;onnetiut1;alifornia slip at our first lunh, definitely had got him
thinking. @ut how had he found out my real name) And more
important, was he the dealer) And if so, what was he going to do one
he got me alone in his room) A ouple of times I thought about
boltingmaking a run for it and alling my motherbut two things
made me
11,0
forgo this ourse of ation.
11#6 countered . speak in response
11# crisis disaster or emer%ency
11## coupled . linked to%et!er
11#& forgo %i"e up
15&
?irst, at this point my uriosity was
1103
immeasurable. If =avid
was the bad guy, I needed to know.
"eond, if I ran off and alled my mommy, I was going to feel
like a big, fat baby.
=avid was silent all the way aross the <uad and up the stairs of
the boys dorm. It gave me time to ome up with a
1101
tactic for
handling the situation. I was not going to
1102
grovel. I was not going to
1103
reveal a thing. I had to e(erise some
110#
restraint and let =avid
talk. 5ne I found out what he was after, I ould proeed from there.
/e walked into his room and he shut the door behind us. .y
heart was pounding with nervousness. ?rom behind his dresser,
=avid pulled out something that looked like a
110$
blunt sword
attahed to an eletrial ord. It looked like some kind of
110%
medieval
torture devie. 7his was when I started to
110&
fret that my life might
atually be in
110,
jeopardy.
5kay, you an take him, I told myself. *oure a martial arts
e(pert, hes a omputer geek. *ou do the math.
=avid fliked a swith on the handle of the wand and walked
over to me. .y eyes widened and I lenhed my hands into fists,
readying myself for an
1100
assault. 7hen he thrust the
1233
implement in
my diretion. I was about to disarm him, but at the last seond I
11&' immeasurable !u%e
11&1 tactic strate%y or plan
11&2 grovel be% or plead
11&3 reveal tell
11&4 restraint sel()control
11&5 blunt dull
11&6 medieval (rom t!e 1iddle ?%es ,5t!@15t! centuries ?.A-
11& fret worry
11&# jeopardy dan%er
11&& assault attack
12'' implement tool or instrument
16'
realiBed he was going to miss my body by inheswhih he did.
Instead of
1231
impaling me with the devie, =avid started running it
around my body.
G/hatre you doing)H I ouldnt help but ask.
G;heking for bugs,H =avid said matter1of1fatly. -e
1232
systematically heked my legs and arms, then ran the wand over
my bak.
I had to laugh. /hy was I even remotely surprised that =avid
had spy gear like this in his room)
G"o, !im "tratford, you did win the ;onnetiut "tate !arate
7ournament in your
1233
weight division last year,H he said, laying the
devie aside finally and glaring into my eyes. G*our mother is the
hief of polie, right) "o what, she found out about my
123#
exploits and
she sent you here to spy on me)H
I said nothing. It sounded like =avid was on the verge of a
123$
revelation. If he was about to onfess, I was >ust going to let him
123%
prattle on. 7he sooner we got this over with, the better. I ould
pratially taste freedom from -ereford on my tongue.
G@ut you didnt ount on the fat that I was prepared, did you)H
=avid ontinued. -e walked over to his omputer and smiled at me
123&
complacently. G*ou see, !im, I have a system on my omputer that
tells me when anyone unauthoriBed has been using it.H
12'1 impaling . kill by piercin% wit! a spear or s!arp pole
12'2 systematically t!orou%!ly or met!odically
12'3 weight division . wei%!t classes are di"isions o( competition used to matc! competitors
a%ainst ot!ers o( t!eir own si.e
12'4 exploits deeds or acti"ities
12'5 revelation con(ession or admission
12'6 prattle babble or c!atter
12' complacently smu%ly or sel()assuredly
161
.y heart fell. 5f ourse. A guy as paranoid as =avid would
definitely have some kind of anti1hak program on his omputer. I
knew it had been too easy.
G/hat is it)H I asked. G=o the keys reogniBe
123,
alien
fingerprints or something)H
G+ot <uite,H he said. GI have a amera.H
-e reahed out and upped a little ball on top of his omputer
sreen. A little ball with a lens in it. -e ad>usted it until it was faing
me and my nose appeared all huge and
1230
distorted on the monitor. I
ouldnt believe I had been that
1213
negligent. 7he amera was sitting
right thereF
G*ou must not be that good at your >ob,H =avid said, ehoing my
thoughts. GAll you had to do was
1211
tamper with the wire and I never
would have known you were on here.H
GDreat, thanks for the tip,H I said.
G/hen I overheard that woman asking you all about the ounty
hampionships the other day, it got me to thinking about you and a
ouple of things youve said that didnt add up, so I heked out the
roster from last years ompetition,H =avid e(plained. G7here was no
!im "harpe, but there was a !im "tratford. 7here was even a piture
of you with your trophy on their website. *ou really should learn to
over your bases.H
I took a deep breath and looked away. I was not going to
1212
capitulate to this guy. :et him show off about how smart he was.
"ooner or later he would get around to the good stuff.
12'# alien (orei%n or unknown
12'& distorted miss!apen ,so badly (ormed or out o( s!ape as to be u%ly-
121' negligent careless or inattenti"e
1211 tamper tinker ,repair or impro"e st! casually- or meddle ,inter(ere unwantedly-
1212 capitulate submit or %i"e in
162
G5f ourse, then I realiBed that you had triked me into leaving
you alone in here the other night, so I heked my tape and there you
were, searhing my files,H =avid ontinued, shaking his head as if to
1213
chasten me. -e hit a ouple of buttons on his omputer and my I=
photo from "tanford popped up on the sreen. G:ook what I found
when I ran your real nameFH he announed as if it was a big surprise.
G*oure in the
121#
index of the freshman lass at "tanford 8niversity.
*oure not even in high shool.H
Again, I said nothing, but the whole situation was
121$
galling. I
had ome to -ereford all oky and
121%
arrogant and ready to save the
world, and now here I was, trapped in a dorm room with a omputer
geek
121&
illustrating to me my every mistake. 7he
121,
gravity of the
situation began to reep up on me. =avid had blown my over. I had
failed my mother. .y presene here was now totally pointless.
G"o, I know you found my list of ustomers,H =avid said, sitting
down in his desk hair and rossing his arms over his hest. G/hatre
you going to do now, report me to ;o()H
I blinked. =idnt he realiBe the situation was a little more serious
than that) "till, I said nothing. 7ad would have been so proud. I knew
that =avid liked to talk and he loved to brag. .y silene would most
likely
1210
irk him into saying too muh, whih he hadnt yet done. -e
had admitted to having ustomers, hed admitted to having e(ploits,
but hed yet to ome right out and say he was a drug dealer. I ouldnt
leave this room without a onfession or I was done for.
1213 chasten scold or punis!
1214 index directory ,an alp!abetical list o( names and addresses-
1215 galling pain(ul or maddenin%
1216 arrogant proud or conceited
121 illustrating s!owin%
121# gravity seriousness
121& irk annoy
163
As predited, =avid started to grow impatient with my silene. I
ould see him trying to
1223
temper his internal frustration, but
eventually it got the best of him.
G*ou know, I dont really think that I an be held
1221
liable for
everything, here,H =avid said, standing. -e started to pae the room
and
1222
ramble, his hands tuked seurely under his arms. GI mean,
this problem was
1223
rampant way before I ever ame here. I >ust took
it over, you know) /hy do I have to be the one to take the fall) And,
Dod, its >ust a little innoent fun. /hat else do they e(pet us to do
around here)H
GInnoent fun)H I blurted. G=avid, youre hurting peopleFH
G-ow) 'veryone here has more money than DodFH =avid said,
122#
whirling on me. GIf they want to gamble it away, isnt that their
business)H
I opened my mouth to retort, but the words aught in my throat.
/ait a minutegamble)
"uddenly I had a
122$
massive headahe.
G*oure running a gambling ring,H I stated, my brain struggling
to digest this new information. 7hat was what the list of dollar
amounts represented. 7hose people owed money for gambling, not
drugs.
G/e already know this,H =avid said impatiently. G/hat we
dont know is what youre going to do about it.H
I wasnt sure whether to feel relieved, angry or totally
122' temper control or re%ulate
1221 liable le%ally responsible
1222 ramble . continue talkin% or writin% in a desultory ,purposeless- manner
1223 rampant widespread
1224 whirling . turned around rapidly
1225 massive !u%e
164
disappointed. Cart of me was glad that =avid was innoentof the
drug dealing at least. @ut if it wasnt him, that meant it had to be 9on
or .arshall. And I really didnt want it to be 9on. "o that left .arshall.
.arshall who I had seen e(hanging money with =avid last week
after the karate math. 7he karate math in whih .arshall had lost.
/ait a seond . . . .
G.arshall ;one is one of your lients, isnt he)H I asked, sitting
down on ;hriss bed.
G5ne of the biggest and best,H =avid said. G/here do you think
he gets the money for all that rap he has in his room)H
5h, Dod. If .arshall was buying all his stuff with his winnings
then that really only left 9on. I was going to hurl.
5kay, fous, I told myself. 7his isnt over yet. .arshall is still
getting suspiious pakages and sneaking out at night. -es still in the
running.
G"o, what) .arshall bets against himself and then throws his
mathes)H I asked. It seemed
122%
logical 1
122&
insidious, but logial.
.arshall ould have totally taken the guy hed gone up against last
week and we all knew it. I had >ust thought he was having an off day,
but if hed done it for money then he was an even bigger >erk than I
thought.
G/hat) +oFH =avid said,
122,
repudiating my line of thought.
GAre you kidding) .arshalls too egotistial to throw his mathes.
@esides, I dont take bets on high shool events. "tritly pro sports and
ollege football. All high1end.H
"uddenly =avid seemed to realiBe he was giving away too muh
1226 logical rational or reasonable
122 insidious sinister
122# repudiating re0ectin%
165
and he snapped his mouth shut. I stood up slowly, feeling as if I was
drowning in a whole new
1220
quagmire of issues. =avid wasnt the
drug dealerthat muh I knew. @ut he was partiipating in illegal
gambling. It wasnt as
1233
abominable, but it still was wrong. And
tehnially I was an offier of the law. /hat was I supposed to do
now)
G:ook, I already
1231
deleted the evidene and Ill deny everything
Ive >ust said,H =avid told me. G*ou dont have a reording and itll be
your word against mine.H
GIm not going to report you,H I told him, making an
1232
extemporaneous deision. I still liked =avid. And I liked him even
more now that I knew he wasnt the soure of the drug problem. I was
1233
disinclined to get him into trouble for something as
123#
innocuous
as gambling on football games. 'speially onsidering that I myself
was in on my floors +?: pool bak at "tanford all semester.
=avids entire fae lit up and his hands dropped to his sides.
G"eriously)H
G*eah, seriously,H I said. After all, I had not been sent there to
123$
dispose of a gambling ring. Id been sent here to investigate a drug
problem, and now I was one step loser to doing >ust that. =avid had
been
123%
exonerated, and I was down to two suspets.
G9ust dont tell anyone who I really am, all right)H
122& quagmire swamp
123' abominable terrible
1231 deleted erased
1232 extemporaneous sudden or impro"ised
1233 disinclined reluctant or !esitant
1234 innocuous . innocent
1235 dispose destroy or %et rid o(
1236 exonerated cleared or acquitted
166
=avid nodded slowly,
123&
mulling the fats over in his mind. I
was sure that he was figuring out that I hadnt atually been sent here
to stop him. And that if I was still going to stay and keep my over, I
had to be here for some other reason. All I ould do was hope that I
ould trust him. -e was either going to keep my seret, or by this time
tomorrow everyone at the shool would know that I wasnt who I said
I was.
G5kay,H he said finally. GIll keep my mouth shut.H
I was halfway down the hall when =avid stuk his head out of
his room. G-ey, !im)H he alled out. I turned around and he smiled
his infetious smile. G7hanks,H he said.
G+o problem,H I replied, smiling as well.
7hen I sighed and headed bak to my room. 5ne down, two to
go.
7he ne(t day the unusually warm weather ontinued. /hen I
saw 9on eating his lunh outside again, alone, I deided to take the
123,
initiative and >oin him. =anielle was still being
1230
exaggeratedly
old toward me, and I had no idea how to at whenever I was around
=avid. I needed a
12#3
respite from both of them, and the last thing I
wanted to do was hang out at .arshalls table after he had attaked
me the night before. 9on was pretty muh all I had left.
-e looked up when the door opened and, happily, didnt seem
put off by my presene. I sat down aross from him and smiled.
G-ey,H I said.
G-ey,H he responded.
123 mulling . ponderin% or re(lectin%
123# initiative lead or control
123& exaggeratedly o"erly or e$cessi"ely
124' respite break
16
7he more time I spent with him, the more
12#1
inured I beame to
his harateristi silene. I deided that if he wanted to sit there and
en>oy the
12#2
placid afternoon, that was fine by me. I wasnt going to
try to
12#3
elicit anything from him. I >ust wanted to have a peaeful,
stress1free lunh. 7his detetive was on break.
GI have to ask you something,H 9on said, surprising me as I dug
into my salad.
G5kay,H I said, ignoring my heart, whih had skipped a beat
when he spoke.
Clease dont tell me hes onto me, tooF
G-ow is it that you an sit with =avid and =anielle one day, the
;onenites another day and then ome out here and sit with me)H he
asked.
GIs that illegal)H I asked, raising my eyebrows.
9on shrugged. G9ust
12##
improbable.H
I munhed on my <uite
12#$
palatable hiken ;aesar salad and
turned over a response in my mind. G/ell, I guess Ive never been
able to
12#%
yoke myself to one group,H I said finally. GIts not that I
think Im above it, its >ust that I never totally fit in anywhere.H
9on nodded and a slight smile played about his <uite
12#&
luscious
lips. G*eah, I an see that,H he said.
I felt a
12#,
skitter run through my heart as he looked at me, and I
1241 inured accustomed
1242 placid calm
1243 elicit e$tract or draw out
1244 improbable . not likely to be true or to occur or to !a"e occurred
1245 palatable tasty or delicious
1246 yoke 0oin or attac!
124 luscious . !a"in% stron% se$ual appeal
124# skitter . a (ast mo"ement
16#
knew I ould take his omment as a ompliment.
And >ust like that, the
12#0
vitriolic 9on was gone again. -e made
the
12$3
metamorphosis into the 9on from the ski lodgethe open,
12$1
solicitous, even
12$2
jolly 9on that I found it so easy to talk to. 7his
guy was an
12$3
enigmawhih was e(atly why I liked him.
-e also seemed to have forgotten or at least forgiven my
<uestions about his >ob and was willing to move onthank goodness.
G"o, howre your appliations oming)H I asked, Bipping up my
>aket. It wasnt that warm.
GDood. Im sending a bunh of them out today,H 9on said. GIm
>ust psyhed to start getting responses.H
G*ou seem
12$#
sanguine about the whole proess,H I ommented.
9on lifted one shoulder and bit into his hamburger. GI guess I
kind of am,H he said. GI think I have
12$$
seniorities. Im starting to
believe that anywhere will be better than here.H
GI remember what thats like,H I said with a laugh.
9ons brow furrowed at this omment and I baktraked. GI
mean, I an relate,H I said. G"orry. .y brains a little slow on the
12$%
uptake today.H
GI know the feeling,H 9on replied. GI have an 'nglish essay due
thats kiking my ass. I havent left the library in days. I >ust hope all
this work is worth it.H
124& vitriolic cruel or spite(ul
125' metamorphosis trans(ormation or c!an%e
1251 solicitous attenti"e or concerned
1252 jolly c!eer(ul
1253 enigma mystery or pu..le
1254 sanguine con(ident or optimistic
1255 seniorities . !i%!er rank t!an t!at o( ot!ers especially by reason o( lon%er ser"ice
1256 uptake . a process o( takin% up or usin% up or consumin%* consumption or intake
16&
G7rust me, it will be,H I
12$&
asserted, wishing suddenly that I
ould talk to 9on without
12$,
pretense. 7hat I ould >ust tell him who I
was and talk to him all about "tanford and how
12$0
stupendous it was
to be there among all those
12%3
revered professors and
12%1
erudite
sholars. I ould >ust see 9on fitting in perfetly on the "tanford
ampuson any ampus. I hated that I ouldnt
12%2
allay his fears.
G*ou seem pretty sure about that,H he said.
G*eah, well, I an tell youre the
12%3
collegiate type,H I said. GI bet
youll
12%#
flourish wherever you go.H
9on smiled the rare smile, and it sent my heart fluttering inside
my hest. =amn, he was ute. And smart. And I swear he was looking
at me as if he were thinking the e(at same things about me.
5kay, youve got to
12%$
subjugate your feelings right now, I
thought. 7his is an underover investigation, not 7he =ating Dame.
7he bell rang, ending lunh, and >ust like that, I was snapped
bak to my senses. I ouldnt
12%%
nurture the
12%&
burgeoning feelings I
had for this guy. -e was still a suspetone of only two. /hat did I
think I was doing)
@ut its not him. It ant be, I thought as 9on piked up my tray
and tossed my trash for me. 5ne I got to know him he seemed so
125 asserted stated or declared
125# pretense deceit or (alseness
125& stupendous ama.in% or wonder(ul
126' revered respected
1261 erudite well)educated
1262 allay . lessen t!e intensity o( or calm
1263 collegiate . o( or resemblin% or typical o( a colle%e or colle%e students
1264 flourish t!ri"e or prosper
1265 subjugate o"ercome or suppress
1266 nurture encoura%e or (oster
126 burgeoning buddin% or %rowin%
1'
12%,
ingenuous. All he wanted was to get on with his life, >ust like every
other high shool senior in the world. I didnt see him messing it all
up to make a <uik buk selling drugs. In my heart he definitely was
12%0
vindicated.
5f ourse, in my mind I knew I ouldnt tell my mom he was no
longer a suspet. "he would ask me why, and then I would have to
say it was a gut instint and she would know I had a rush on him.
7hat would not go over well. I was going to have to find
12&3
irrefutable proof that .arshall was the dealer. And I was also
going to have to prove that if 9on was delivering the goods to
.arshall, he was totally unaware of what he was doing.
I had a lot of work to do.
G/herere you headed)H I asked as we walked bak into the
afeteria. A few kids were walking outside to en>oy the fresh air,
while some still sat at their tables to hat their way through the short
break period.
GI was gonna go hang out with .ihael and 7ek,H 9on said,
ausing my stomah to turn. G/anna ome)H
G+ah,H I said, luthing the strap on my bakpak. GIm gonna go
to the library and work on my paper.H
G5kay,H 9on said, smiling before he turned on his heel. G"ee ya
later.H
As he walked away I had to sit down at the nearest table before
my knees went out from under me. I had almost forgotten about my
onversation with .ihael and 7ek the night before. ;learly they had
yet to tell 9on that I was asking about him in onnetion to drugs, or
126# ingenuous innocent or na="e
126& vindicated blameless or pro"en ri%!t
12' irrefutable unquestionable
11
he would have either brought it up or given me the old shoulder. @ut
they would probably bring it up now. If 9on was the dealer 2and I was
onvined he wasnt4, then he would definitely know I was up to
something. If he wasnt the dealer and he was as lean as .ihael and
7ek laimed, then he was probably going to be insulted.
"uddenly I felt as if the world was pressing in on me from all
sides. I felt like I was doing everything wrong. It was time to get my
12&1
priorities straight.
5kay, you ant worry about what 9on thinks of you, I told
myself, taking a deep breath. 7he
12&2
primary goal here is to bring the
drug dealer to >ustie. =o that, and then you an worry about your
love life.
I had to figure something out soon before everyone figured out I
was a mole.
:ukily, the monthly party in the gym was oming up in a
ouple of days. All I ould do was hope that .arshall wouldnt freeBe
me out after our little
12&3
altercation in his room. If there was ever a
perfet
12&#
forum for drug dealing, this party was going to be it.
7hat evening I followed 9on from the post offie to the guys
dorm one again. -is bakpak was bulging from the weight of
something he had onealed inside. -e was making another delivery
to .arshall. I ould feel it.
I hid in the stairwell and wathed the transation take plae. 7his
time the bo( 9on
12&$
extended to .arshall was muh bigger than the
last one, whih made perfet sense. ;learly .arshall was stoking up
121 priorities %oals or concerns
122 primary main or most important
123 altercation . noisy quarrel or (racas
124 forum en"ironment
125 extended %a"e or o((ered
12
for the party that weekend. I was sure he did a lot more business at
the monthly event. -e had to be prepared.
As far as I was onerned, at that moment, the matter was
12&%
decided. .arshall was the drug dealer and he was going to be
12&&
peddling his butt off on ?riday night. I wasnt going to
12&,
dither
about this anymore. I had to all my mother and tip her off so that we
ould
12&0
forestall the event.
I waited for 9on to return to his floor and then hustled bak to my
room. =anielle was sitting at her omputer, emailing yet again, and
she looked up when I ran in and grabbed my ell phone.
G/hats up)H she asked, breaking her silene for the first time in
days. "he appeared onerned, and I realiBed I must have looked like
I was in a pani, my hair wild and my fae flushed from running
outside.
G+othing. 9ust need to make a private all,H I told her, flashing
my ell phone.
"he shrugged and I headed to the
12,3
defunct phone booths. .y
mother piked up on the first ring.
G-ey, .om,H I said. GI think I have your dealer.H
G*ou have
12,1
compelling evidene against one of our suspets)H
she asked. I ould tell she was pratially salivating to resolve this
ase.
G*ep. .arshall ;one has been getting seret deliveries from the
post offie,H I e(plained. G7heyre always wrapped in plain brown
126 decided de(inite or certain
12 peddling . sellin% or o((erin% (or sale (rom place to place
12# dither !esitate or waste time
12& forestall pre"ent
12#' defunct no lon%er (unctionin%
12#1 compelling con"incin% or (orce(ul
13
paper, and hes very areful about hiding them. 7he whole thing
makes him totally nervous.H
G/hat else)H my mother asked.
G/ell, he hosts this seret party one a month in the shool gym,
and its going to happen this ?riday night,H I e(plained. GAnd he >ust
got this bo( thats at least twie the siBe of all the others. I saw it with
my own eyes.H
G"o he ould be getting ready for big sales at this party,H my
mother said.
G'(atly,H I said, my skin siBBling with e(itement. G:ook, I
know its not
12,2
concrete, but I think you guys should
12,3
stake out the
ampus on ?riday. 7hat way if I see anything go down, I an all you
in. /e need to
12,#
maximize our hanes of athing the guy.H
GI
12,$
concur,H my mother said. G-eres what were going to
do . . . .H
12#2 concrete rock)solid or tan%ible
12#3 stake out . close obser"ation or under sur"eillance
12#4 maximize increase as muc! as possible
12#5 concur a%ree
14
Chapter "welve
5n ?riday night I sat with 9on at dinnerinside this time. A
12,%
blustery snow shower earlier in the day had given way to a old,
still evening, and the new
12,&
drifts gleamed white outside the
windows. It wouldve been romantiif we werent surrounded by
hundreds of
12,,
cavorting kids and if I werent more nervous than a
hen in a fo(s den.
5h, and then there was that small possibility that 9on ould still
be the bad guy.
7he big
12,0
sting was going to go down that night, provided I
ould ath .arshall dealing at the party. I felt like I was hovering on
the
1203
brink of something huge. 7onight was my night. I was either
going to fall flat on my fae or go home a hero. I >ust hoped it would
be the latter.
G"o, whatre you gonna do tonight)H 9on asked, pushing his
empty plate away.
.y heart thumped. /as he asking beause he wanted to do
something with me) If so, life was really, really
1201
iniquitous.
G/hy)H I asked, delaying the
1202
inevitable. -ow was I going to
e(plain to 9on that I was going to be living large with a group of
people he ouldnt stand) I had a feeling I was in for an earful.
G.y dad sent me a ouple of new =A=s. I thought you ould
12#6 blustery windy
12# drifts . a lar%e mass snow* sand* ect.* accumulated by wind
12## cavorting . playin% boisterously
12#& sting . somet!in% as sudden and pain(ul as bein% stun%
12&' brink ed%e
12&1 iniquitous e"il or un(air
12&2 inevitable certain or una"oidable
15
ome by. If you want,H 9on said as if it were no big deal that he was
asking me to hang out alone in his room on a ?riday night. Crobably
in the dark. . .
8ghF 7hat sounded soooooo goodF
GAnd Ive been
1203
hoarding those hoolate hip ookies theyve
been giving us for dessert. Ive got a ouple doBen stashed in my
refrigerator,H 9on added.
/ow. -e really knew the way to a girls heart. 7hose ookies
were like heaven on a baking sheet.
I took a deep breath. 9on wasnt going to like what I was about to
say, but I had to be
120#
candid with him. /hat was the point of lying)
7his time tomorrow I was out of here anyway.
And youre never going to see this guy again, I thought, feeling
lower than low.
GAtually, I was going to go to that party in the gym,H I said,
averting my eyes.
9on snorted a laugh and looked at me like he was waiting for the
120$
punch line. I wathed his fae hange as he realiBed I was telling
the truth.
G/ait. *oure serious) /hy the hell would you want to go to
that)H he asked
120%
vehemently.
I blinked. I knew he didnt like .arshall, but I thought he would
throw a few
120&
gibes my way, not get all worked up. I didnt believe
12&3 hoarding sa"in% or stockpilin%
12&4 candid open or !onest
12&5 punch line . t!e point o( a 0oke or !umorous story
12&6 vehemently !eatedly or intensely
12& gibes taunts or 0okes
16
my announement
120,
constituted suh a terrible offense.
GIt sounds like fun,H I said, lifting one shoulder and hoping my
1200
mellow attitude would
1333
mollify him. G*ou should ome with.H
G*eah, like thats ever going to happen,H 9on said, sitting bak
hard in his seat. G7hose guys are
1331
superficial, idioti losers with
nothing better to do on a ?riday night than get drunk and talk about
how ool they think they are for getting away with it.H
G7hey ant all be that bad,H I said. G/hy do you have to be so
1332
hidebound about them)H
GIm not being hidebound. 7hey are all that bad,H 9on said,
sowling. G7rust me. *ou havent been here as long as I have. And the
more you hang out with them, the more likely it is that youll turn in
to one of them. 'veryone else has.H
/ell, that was a
1333
disconcerting thing to say.
G/ow. Im glad you have so muh onfidene in my harater,H I
said, rossing my arms over my hest.
G/hatever, if youd rather hang out with them, I ant stop you,H
9on said, getting up from the table.
"uddenly I realiBed that he wasnt so muh upset that I was
hanging out with .arshall and his friends, but that I wasnt hanging
out with him. I ouldnt believe it. 5ur feelings were
133#
mutual. 9on
liked meF -e really liked meF
12&# constituted amounted to
12&& mellow calm or laid)back
13'' mollify calm or paci(y
13'1 superficial s!allow or insincere
13'2 hidebound narrow)minded
13'3 disconcerting upsettin% or disturbin%
13'4 mutual common or s!ared
1
Diddy with glee, I got up and followed 9on out of the room,
wanting to
133$
reassure him that if I had my own way I would be
hanging out with him in his room every damn night of the week, but
how ould I) /hat was my e(use going to be) It wasnt as if I ould
tell him the truth.
9on shoved through the door of the afeteria and I heard myself
shout his name. -e stopped, sighed and turned around, fi(ing me
with his piering green eyes.
5kay . . . now what)
G8m . . . listen,H I said, stepping loser to him. G-ow about a
133%
compromise) Ill go to the party for an hour or two and then we
an wath the movies.H
G/ere
133&
banned from eah others rooms after eleven on
weekends,H 9on said. As if either one of us ared about rules. I ould
tell I had already
133,
conciliated him. +ow he was >ust trying to be
diffiult.
GI dont think Im supposed to be in the gym at midnight either,H
I reminded him.
9on sighed again and eyed me like he was trying to deide
whether my desire to be with him was genuine. It was. It so was.
5f ourse, the only problem was there was a good possibility
that I wouldnt be able to ome to his room that night beause Id be
1330
enmeshed in polie business. 7here was also a distint possibility
that my mother might show up at his room tonight instead of me, to
<uestion him about his deliveries.
13'5 reassure encoura%e or %i"e con(idence
13'6 compromise middle %round
13' banned barred
13'# conciliated made peace wit!
13'& enmeshed trapped or tan%led
1#
@ut at that moment I hoose to ignore those possibilities. I hose
to believe in the
1313
illusion of me and 9on, alone in his room
potentially sitting side by side on his bed while the 7A sreen
flikered in front of us. As long as that was possible there was also the
possibility of a kiss.
/hat an I say) .y hormones got the best of me. It was
impossible to be
1311
rational with him looking at me like that.
@esides, maybe it would all work out. .aybe everything would
go smoothly, 9on would be e(onerated when .arshall onfessed to
everything, and I ould still s<ueeBe in a date before breakfast.
*eah, right.
G5kay,H he said finally, raking a smile. GIll try to stay awake
for you.H
G7hanks,H I said. GAnd Ill get there as early as I an.H
7he musi was audible from halfway aross ampus, and it felt
like the bass beat was
1312
resonating in my heart,
1313
intensifying the
tangle of emotions that had already taken me over. I was nervous,
that muh wass obvious. @ut I was also e(ited. If all went well,
tomorrow I would go down as the girl who leaned up the -ereford
Aademy 'stasy problem. Cart of me was psyhed to get the hek
out of the staid shool, but part of me was also sad at the prospet of
leavingsaying goodbye to 9on and even =avid and =anielle.
9ust all me a sentimental softy.
/ith all these
131#
contradictory thoughts in my mind, I was a
131' illusion (antasy or daydream
1311 rational sensible or reasonable
1312 resonating ec!oin% or boomin%
1313 intensifying increasin% or deepenin%
1314 contradictory con(lictin%
1&
totally onfused mess as I entered the gym, but I had to fous on the
task at hand. 7onight I had to be all about business.
Any
131$
preconceived notions I might have had about a lame
party with a
131%
keg in the orner and a bag of greasy potato hips
were
131&
eradicated the seond I walked through the door of the gym
that evening. 7he
131,
garish lights of the gym had been e(tinguished to
make way for doBens of strings of white ;hristmas lights that were
draped all over the room. A diso ball rotated in the enter of the
eiling and the musi pounded
1310
unremittingly. A group of girls on
the dane floor attempted to
1323
emulate @eyonPs latest video for a
rowd of heering onlookers. Against the far wall was a snak table
filled with hot
1321
hors d1oeuvres and mini1piBBas, and I saw ;urtis
1322
dispensing beer from not one but three different kegsone
1323
domestic, one imported and one light. 7his was totally raBy. -ow
the hell did they get away with it)
I
132#
circumvented the rowd and made my way over to ;urtis as
I sanned the room for .arshall.
G
132$
2uench your thirst at the watering holeFH ;urtis alled out as
I approahed. -is grin was huge and he already looked as if he had
132%
imbibed one too many of his own beers. G/hats your pleasure)H
1315 preconceived e$istin% be(ore!and
1316 keg . small cask or barrel
131 eradicated wiped out
131# garish bri%!t or %audy ,tastelessly s!owy-
131& unremittingly endlessly or relentlessly
132' emulate imitate
1321 hors d'oeuvres . a dis! ser"ed as an appeti.er be(ore t!e main meal
1322 dispensing %i"in% out
1323 domestic made in t!is country
1324 circumvented dod%ed or sidestepped
1325 quench satis(y
1326 imbibed . drank
1#'
he asked me. G*ou look
132&
parched.H -e
132,
waggled his eyebrows in a
1320
droll manner and I laughed.
G+othing for me, thanks,H I said.
GIf youre worried about the alories, Ive got some of the lighter
but harder stuff right here,H ;urtis said, pulling a
1333
flask from his
argo pants. -e waved it in the air as if to
1331
entice me.
G*ou think I should be worried about alories)H I asked,
pretending to be
1332
miffed in an attempt to
1333
divert his attention
from the alohol at hand.
As e(peted, ;urtis turned beet red with embarrassment. G+oF
5f ourse notF *ou got nothing to be worried about. 7he first day you
got here I told .arshall you had the sweetest ass in shool. If you
dont believe me, ask himFH
I stared at ;urtis, dumbfounded by his rambling, and he seemed
to realiBe hed said too muh. -e snapped his mouth shut and pressed
his lips together.
G/here is .arshall anyway)H I asked as if nothing odd had been
said.
;urtis was so relieved he almost fell over. 5r maybe he was >ust
so drunk he almost fell over.
G-es over at the stereo =91ingFH ;urtis said, pointing aross the
room.
132 parched "ery t!irsty
132# waggled . mo"ed (rom side to side
132& droll (unny or entertainin%
133' flask . bottle t!at !as a narrow neck
1331 entice tempt
1332 miffed . caused to be annoyed
1333 divert distract
1#1
I aught a glimpse of .arshall duking away from the
133#
elaborate audio e<uipment. As I wathed he glaned around
<uikly, then slipped out the bak door of the gym. .y heart hit my
throat. -e was sneaking outF 7his ould be itF
I started aross the room <uikly, dodging daners and huggers
and one girl who was >ust twirling nonstop. 7he seond I got to
.arshalls e(it door, I lifted the uff of my shirt to my mouth. 7onight
my mother had insisted I use the wire 7ad had given me at the
beginning of all this. It made me feel very offiial.
G"uspet e(ited through the north door. "tand by,H I said into the
tiny mi. 7hen I pushed the door open as <uietly as possible and
133$
embarked on my mission.
GAll units stand by,H my mothers voie ehoed in my ear.
It was a old, pith1blak night, and my breath made white
louds in the air. 7he area behind the gym was overed in thik
133%
drifts of gleaming white snow. It was so dark it seemed like itd be
impossible to find anybody bak there, but then I saw footprints in the
snow along the wall of the building. 6ather large footprints with
133&
intricate
133,
treads. A pair of .arshalls e(pensive designer boots,
no doubt. 7hey ontinued along the gym and disappeared around the
orner.
GCroeeding along the north wall,H I said into my wrist.
I walked <uikly and <uietly and paused at the orner to peek
around. .y heart aught in my throat. .arshall was a few yards
away, standing near a irle of benhes that surrounded a fountain
1334 elaborate comple$ or complicated
1335 embarked be%an or started
1336 drifts . a lar%e mass snow* sand* ect.* accumulated by wind
133 intricate elaborate or (ancy
133# treads . steps in walkin% or runnin%
1#2
that was probably funtional in warmer weather. -e was talking to
someone, but his
1330
immense frame
13#3
obstructed my view. I ould
tell the onversation was heated by the way .arshalls head kept
>erking as if he was arguing. I thought he might be
13#1
negotiating a
sale. And then I saw it. 7he bo(. It was lying lose by on one of the
leared1off benhes. 7his was itF .arshall was making a dealF
@ut I had yet to hear them say anything inriminatingtheir
voies were hushed and the words were
13#2
garbled by the musi
oming from inside. All of this was
13#3
incidental unless I ould get
lose enough to reord the transation on my hidden mi, or at the
very least get my hands on that bo(. ;arefully I took a few steps
loser. .y pulse pounded through my veins. At any seond one or
both of them ould turn and spot me.
G . . . thought you loved me,H a girls voie said.
I paused. /as it ;heryl) It didnt sound like her. 7he voie was
too high1pithed.
GI do . . . its >ust . . . we never see eah other,H .arshall replied.
GI thought we agreed we ould see other people.H
G/e never agreed. /e >ust talked about it. @esides, youre the
one whoH
/ait a seond. 7his wasnt a drug deal. It was a lovers <uarrelF
@ut that wasnt ;heryl. ?or a seond I was froBen with
13##
indecision.
/hat should I do) ;all their attention to my presene) 6un) -ide) As
the argument esalated and I had more time to think, my situation
133& immense enormous
134' obstructed blocked
1341 negotiating discussin% or bar%ainin%
1342 garbled muddled or inaudible
1343 incidental beside t!e point
1344 indecision uncertainty
1#3
was
13#$
elucidated. I had to get the hek out of there. If I was going to
ath .arshall dealing later, he ouldnt ath me spying on him now.
I turned to head bak around the orner and my boot made a
s<ueaking noise against the trodden snow. I
13#%
winced. 7heir voies
fell silent.
GIs that her)H 7he girls voie shouted.
G!im) /hat the hell are you doing)H .arshall demanded.
=ammit. =ammit dammit dammit.
"lowly I turned to fae them, trying to
13#&
concoct a plausible
story. 7he girl was short like me, Afrian1Amerian and drop1dead
gorgeous. -er urly dark hair asaded over her shoulders as she
stood there fuming at me. I ould tell >ust by looking at her that she
was too good for the
13#,
inconstant
13#0
charlatan she was dating.
GAre you her) Are you the girl whos srewing my .arshall)H
she demanded.
And she didnt
13$3
mince words either.
G8m . . . no,H I said almly. GI promise you I am not the girl who
is srewing your .arshall.H
G"hes nothing. "hes no one,H .arshall said, dismissing me with
a wave of his hand.
.y blood boiled. /ho did he think he was talking about)H
G@ut he did try to molest me in his room the other night,H I
stated, narrowing my eyes at him.
1345 elucidated made clear
1346 winced (linc!ed or crin%ed
134 concoct make up
134# inconstant unreliable or unpredictable
134& charlatan (raud or (aker
135' mince . make less se"ere or !ars!
1#4
G/hat)H
I losed my eyes. It seemed, at that perfet moment, ;heryl had
deided to ome looking for her man. "he stormed past me, almost
knoking me into a
13$1
snowbank, and got right in .arshalls fae as if
she didnt even notie the girl standing aross from him.
G.arshall, tell me shes lyingF 7ell me you didnt atually heat
on me with . . . that,H ;heryl said, asting a sathing look in my
diretion.
7he other girls mouth dropped open behind ;heryls bak and
.arshall tipped his head forward. 7hings were about to get a lot more
13$2
melodramatic. I smiled,
13$3
savoring the moment. .arshall was so
snagged.
G;heat on you) /ho the hell are you)H 7he girl grabbed ;heryl
by the shoulder and spun her around. ;heryl seemed
13$#
appalled that
anyone would dare to touh her. "he fliked her eyes over the
gorgeous girl,
13$$
appraising her
13$%
rival, and didnt seem as
impressed as I had been. "he looked pretty disgusted, atually.
GI am .arshalls girlfriendFH ;heryl shouted.
G"orry, honey. I am .arshalls girlfriend,H the new girl said,
wrapping her arm around .arshalls bak. -e looked like he was
about to be sik.
I felt somewhere in my onsiene that I should walk away, but I
ouldnt seem to make my feet move. It was like wathing a ar
wrek. '(ept it was atually entertaining.
1351 snowbank . a mound or !eap o( snow
1352 melodramatic sensational or dramatic
1353 savoring en0oyin%
1354 appalled s!ocked or !orri(ied
1355 appraising 0ud%in% or e"aluatin%
1356 rival competitor or c!allen%er
1#5
G.arshall, who the hell does this girl think she is) 7ell herF 7ell
her weve been together for three yearsFH ;heryl
13$&
ranted.
G7hree years)H the other girl shouted. G*ou only brought up the
seeing1other1people thing on "aturdayFH
"uddenly it hit me. "aturday. 7hat was why .arshall had
seemed so tense on "aturday when I dropped by his room. -e wasnt
meeting a buyerF -e was meeting up with this girl to tell her he
wanted to see other people. "he must have been the driver of the ?ord
?ous.
G+ow, ladies . . . please,H .arshall said almly. I was
momentarily impressed with his
13$,
mettle. .ost men wouldve run
for the hills in the fae of two suh angry and
13$0
volatile women.
G7heres enough of me to go around.H -e laughed, trying to lighten
the situation. @ig mistake.
@oth girls started to shout at one, yelling both at .arshall and at
eah other in a sudden
13%3
frenzy of urse words and insults. .arshall
finally seemed to realiBe he was in trouble and
13%1
meekly began to
bak away, but that didnt
13%2
inhibit the girlsit only seemed to
make them angrier.
G*ou think youre all thatF /ell, let me tell you, .arshall ;one,
you >ust lost the best thing that ever happened to youFH the new girl
shouted, advaning on him.
G@oth the best things that ever happened to you,H ;heryl added.
It seemed Id been forgotten in all the insanity. As .arshall
135 ranted s!outed or ra%ed
135# mettle ner"e or %uts
135& volatile unstable or e$plosi"e
136' frenzy (lurry or storm
1361 meekly timidly or tamely
1362 inhibit stop or discoura%e
1#6
attempted to
13%3
palliate his sins and
13%#
pacify the girls, I took the
opportunity to sneak past the
13%$
mayhem and hek out the pakage
theyd left on the benh. If it was the drugs, at the very least I ould
all in my mother and she ould
13%%
impound the bo( as evidene.
7he pakage had been ripped open, but the return address was
still legible. It had been sent by 7ashana @ennett from +ewark, +ew
9ersey. .y hands shook as I pulled aside the brown paper, e(peting
to see those tiny Miplo baggies of pills you always see in the movies
and on 7A. /hat I found inside aused me to let out an
13%&
aggrieved
groanN andy bars, a mi( tape, a few artiles about the +ew *ork
Diants from a loal paper and one very
13%,
lurid piture of the
beautiful girl who was now attempting to shove .arshall into the
gymnasium wall.
It was a are pakage. 9on had been seretly delivering 7ashanas
are pakages to .arshall so that ;heryl, who undoubtedly had
.arshall
13%0
on a short leash, wouldnt find out.
I had been totally and utterly wrong. I was an
13&3
incompetent
fool.
And this left only one possibility. 5nly one suspet left on the
list. 9on /isnewski.
After alling off my mother and telling her to wait for me to
ontat her, I stormed through the gym and out the door that led to
the main hallway. I was upset, onfused and totally disillusioned after
1363 palliate e$cuse or co"er (or by apolo%i.in%
1364 pacify calm
1365 mayhem con(usion or c!aos
1366 impound sei.e
136 aggrieved distressed
136# lurid racy or e$plicit
136& on a short leash . to maintain close control o"er t!e acti"ities o( ,a person-
13' incompetent useless or bun%lin%
1#
the
13&1
debacle with .arshall. I ouldnt believe it. It was 9on. 9on was
the bad guy. And he had made me fall for himF I felt as if my heart
was
13&2
deteriorating inside my hest. I had to onfront him and I had
to do it now. I was about to slam through the front door to take a
shortut aross the main parking lot when a deep voie stopped me
short.
G.s. "harpe.H
I losed my eyes. +ot now. Clease not now.
/hen I turned around I fully e(peted -eadmaster ;o( to be
standing there with a triumphant smirk on his fae, ready to
13&3
harass
me. After all, hed aught me breaking the rules yet againout of my
room after midnight. @ut muh to my surprise, the headmaster
appeared nervouseven sared.
GAll right, youve got me,H he said, spreading his arms out. GI
suppose youre horrified, appalled.H
.y brow furrowed as he took a few steps loser to me. /hat the
hell was this guy talking about)
G/ell, let me tell you something, missy. If you think that running
a shool like this is easy, youve got another thing oming,H he said,
his >owls shaking. GAt least I try to understand these kids. At least I
pay attention. *ou should have seen my
13&#
predecessor. "he was
totally lueless. 7hought she ould ontrol them. /ell, Im here to tell
you its >ust not possible. It may seem like a
13&$
radical idea to you, but
youve got to let kids let off steam. 5therwise, they >ust run all over
you.H
131 debacle incident
132 deteriorating decayin% or (allin% apart
133 harass bot!er or pester
134 predecessor person w!o !eld t!e 0ob pre"iously
135 radical e$treme or re"olutionary
1##
G5oooookay,H I said. G:ook, -eadmaster ;o(, as muh as Id
love to stand here and listen to you
13&%
pontificate about your >ob, I
kind of have somewhere I need to be.H
GDoing to tell your mommy, are you) Doing to report about our
monthly
13&&
soiree)H -e was growing red in the fae. And suddenly,
finally it hit me. -e did know about the monthly party and he did
turn a blind eye. And he was standing here, delaying me, beause he
was worried that I was going to tattle on him. +o wonder he hadnt
wanted a spy installed at -ereford. -e feared for his >ob.
G*ou know what, -eadmaster) If you want to allow your
students to get trashed every month and risk their lives and your
position here, thats your
13&,
prerogative,H I told him. G6ight now, I
have a >ob to do.H
I turned and walked out into the old again, leaving him
flabbergasted behind me. "omewhere in the bak of my mind I made
a mental note to tell my mother all about ;o( and his e(ploits. It
would be my pleasure to get him fired.
?ive minutes later I burst into 9ons room, ready to tear into him,
but the seond I saw 9on lying there on his bed, my hurt was
13&0
eclipsed by my disappointment in myself. I was the one in the
wrong. I had done what I had promised myself all along I would
never doI had let myself to get suked in by 9ons
13,3
chicanery.
7hats what it had to be, right) -ed fooled me into thinking he liked
me >ust to throw me off his sent.
9on stood up from his bed and rubbed at his eyes in a drowsy
136 pontificate preac!
13 soiree e"enin% party
13# prerogative c!oice or ri%!t
13& eclipsed o"ers!adowed or o"erw!elmed
13#' chicanery trickery or deception
1#&
way. ;learly he hadnt been able to stay awake long enough for our
little
13,1
rendezvous. As if that mattered.
G*oure early,H he said with a smile as he woke himself up.
G9on, do you know where I an sore some ')H I blurted out. I
ouldnt help it. 7here was no
13,2
cunning left in me. I was
13,3
going
for broke.
9ons handsome fae seemed to go flat. -e muted the television
and dropped the remote on the bed, then shoved his hands deep into
the pokets of his >eans and looked away. 7he body language of the
guilty. I knew itF -e was the oneF @astardF
G.ike and 7ek told me you were sniffing around for drugs,H he
said, running his hand over his
13,#
unkempt hair. GI was kinda hoping
theyd gotten it wrong. 7hose two have been known to >ust make stuff
up sometimes, you know)H
.y patiene was beginning to
13,$
dwindle. 7he tape that held my
reording devie in plae ithed as if it was in sympathy with my
feelings. /e both wanted him to say something and say it fast.
G=o you or dont you)H I demanded. GIts not that
13,%
convoluted
a <uestion.H
G"ure, I know where you an get it. 'veryone in this shool
knows where you an get it,H 9on said. G@ut you shouldnt get
involved with that stuff, !im. Its pointless.H
.y mouth dropped open. /as he
13,&
admonishing me) /as he,
13#1 rendezvous meetin% or date
13#2 cunning slyness or sneakiness
13#3 going for broke . riskin% e"eryt!in% in one bi% e((ort
13#4 unkempt messy or scru((y
13#5 dwindle decrease or diminis!
13#6 convoluted complicated or di((icult
13# admonishing scoldin% or yellin% at
1&'
the drug dealer himself, telling me I was a bad girl)
G6ight, like youre not into that stuffFH I said, paing around his
room.
9on sat down on his bed and sighed. G+o. Im not.H
G*ouve never done drugs,H I said, standing right in front of him.
GDive me a break, 9on. *oure a musiianFH I said, throwing my arm
toward the drum set that stood in the orner of his single room. G*ou
wear nothing but blak and leather, you snowboard, you drive a >eep.
*ou
13,,
exemplify all the <ualities of a user, and youre telling me
youve never done drugs.H
5f ourse he hadnt told me that, but I had gotten to the point
that I was ating ompletely
13,0
neurotic.
G+o, Im not telling you Ive never done drugs,H 9on said. GIm
telling you I dont do them now.H
"omething in his tone aused a response in my hest. It sounded
too familiar. :ike regret, anger and sadness all mi(ed into one. :ike I
felt whenever I thought about ;orinne.
And I believed him. In that moment I knew for sure that 9on had
nothing to do with the drug problem at -ereford. "omething in his
past had aused him to swear off the stuff and I knew from e(periene
that it was the kind of vow that was impossible to break.
@ut if it wasnt 9on and it wasnt .arshall and it wasnt =avid,
then who the hell was it) 7here was no one left on 9ons potential
drug1dealer
1303
roster.
At that moment I saw a flash of red out the window. 7he
13## exemplify embody or epitomi.e
13#& neurotic irrational or obsessed
13&' roster list
1&1
1301
luminous
3'-4
floodlights that were always on in the <uad at night
bathed the area in bright light. I stepped toward the window and saw
a familiar form making its way as <uikly as possible through the foot
of snow that overed the ground.
=avid 6and.
-e rossed the s<uare and disappeared around the side of the
girls dorm, headed toward the outer buildings.
/hat the hell was =avid doing out in the middle of the night,
running through twelve inhes of snow) It was more than a little
suspet and ouldnt be dismissed as an
1303
inconsequential
development. "omething was
130#
afoot.
GI have to go,H I said, heading for the door.
G/here)H 9on was up like a shot and stood in front of the door,
130$
frustrating my e(it. G*oure not going to trak down your ', are
you)H
G+o. +ot e(atly,H I said. G@ut 9on, you have to let me go.H
.y heart was starting to pani. If I lost =avid, Id never know
what he was doing out there. And something inside me told me I had
to know.
G+ot until you tell me where youre going,H he said, firming up
his stane and rossing his arms over his hest.
5kay, he ouldnt keep me
130%
hostage here. -e was >ust a
13&1 luminous bri%!t or brilliant
13&2 floodlights . li%!ts t!at is a source o( arti(icial illumination !a"in% a broad beam/ used in
p!oto%rap!y
13&3 inconsequential unimportant or insi%ni(icant
13&4 afoot . currently in pro%ress
13&5 frustrating blockin% or pre"entin%
13&6 hostage prisoner
1&2
srawnyif se(y
130&
hermit and I was a state1hampion fighter. I
ould totally take him, but what was the point) All it would do was
waste preious time.
G:ook, I ant e(plain everything, but I have to get to the outer
buildings and I have to do it now,H I said, hoping hed hear and
130,
comprehend the
1300
urgency in my voie >ust as Id heard his
1#33
assertions about his drug use. -e looked into my eyes and seemed
to realiBe that I wasnt messing around.
G/ell, youre not going alone,H he said, reahing by me to grab a
ouple of >akets off a hook by the wall. -e took the leather oat and
handed me the ski >aket.
G?ine,H I said impatiently, shoving my arms into the oat and
notiing, even in my an(iety, how it smelled like himlike Ivory soap
and sunsreen and sweat. I knew my mother definitely wouldnt
approve of bringing along a guy who was a
1#31
civilian and a suspet,
but I was touhed by his
1#32
chivalry and didnt mind having a little
ompany on this partiular mission. After everything that had gone
wrong that night, I felt out of ontrol and totally lueless. It ouldnt
hurt to have someone at my side, and I was not ready to all in my
mother and her s<uad >ust yet.
+ot until I
1#33
rectified the situation and figured out where on
earth I had gone wrong. I wouldnt have minded having a
1#3#
culpable
suspet in ustody either.
13& hermit loner
13&# comprehend understand
13&& urgency insistence or need
14'' assertions . t!e act o( a((irmin%* assertin% or statin% somet!in%
14'1 civilian ordinary citi.en ,as opposed to a soldier or policeman-
14'2 chivalry %entlemanly be!a"ior
14'3 rectified (i$ed or set ri%!t
14'4 culpable %uilty
1&3
Chapter "hirteen
G/hy are we following =avid 6and)H 9on whispered in the
darkness as we trudged aross the
1#3$
barren soer field in =avids
footsteps.
GI ant tell you that right now,H I replied.
G@ut youll tell me eventually,H 9on said.
G8h . . . yeah.H G7hats all I wanted to know.H
All I wanted to know was where the hek =avid was headed. I
felt like wed been hasing after him for miles. If we walked muh
farther I was sure we were going to hit the fene that
1#3%
circumscribed
the ampus. .y breath ame in short bursts and I appreiated 9ons
reassuring presene. +ot to mention his
1#3&
scanty use of words. -e
was the perfet
1#3,
stakeout partner. '(ept that he didnt know this
was a stakeout.
"uddenly, the
1#30
indistinct outline of a building loomed in the
distane. 7he appearane was so une(peted that I slowed my steps.
/hat had the -ereford people built way out here)
G-es going into the old stables,H 9on said, his mouth deliiously
lose to my ear.
G7he old stables) =oes anyone ever ome out here)H I asked,
piking up the pae again.
G+ot that I know of,H 9on replied. GI used to when I first got here.
7o be alone.H
14'5 barren bare or empty
14'6 circumscribed surrounded or enclosed
14' scanty sparse or limited
14'# stakeout . sur"eillance
14'& indistinct (aint or "a%ue
1&4
/hen =avid opened the large door at the front of the building, a
shaft of dim light appeared, then died as the door losed. I made to
follow, but 9on stopped me with a hand on my arm.
G*ou dont want him to see you)H he whispered.
I shook my head.
G?ollow me,H 9on said.
-e led me around the bak of the
1#13
dilapidated building to an
old,
1#11
rickety ladder that leaned against the
1#12
edifice. In the
darkness, it seemed to limb into nothing.
GI am not going up there,H I hissed. 7he
1#13
rungs were overed in
snow and the thing didnt look all that
1#1#
sturdy.
G7rust me)H 9on asked.
?or some reason the <uestion made my heart warm. G*eah,H I
said honestly.
G7hen lets go. Ill be right behind you.H
I took a deep breath, held it and started to limb. .y mother
would have killed me if she saw how
1#1$
reckless I was being. @ut I
was way too aught up in the
1#1%
cloak-and-dagger of it all to bak out
now. -ad =avid merely onstruted the gambling story to
1#1&
dissuade me from pursuing him as a suspet) If so, I had fallen for
ithard. I had to know.
141' dilapidated run)down
1411 rickety . inclined to s!ake as (rom weakness or de(ect
1412 edifice buildin% or structure
1413 rungs . crosspiece between t!e le%s o( a c!air or ladder
1414 sturdy . in(le$ible or tou%!
1415 reckless careless or irresponsible
1416 cloak-and-dagger . conducted wit! or marked by !idden aims or met!ods
141 dissuade deter or di"ert
1&5
7he ladder was surprisingly strong and steady and ended at a
large, s<uare
1#1,
aperture in the wall that provided aess to an upper
1#10
loft. It looked as if a door had been ripped free from its hinges, and
the edges of it were
1#23
rife with
1#21
splinters. I hesitated for a split
seond and then heard the sound of voies oming from inside. =avid
wasnt alone.
GIm going in,H I said, and rawled through the opening.
7he building was so old and out of use that I was afraid the floor
might have
1#22
eroded by now, but the boards beneath my feet were
solid. A few feet ahead, the loft opened up onto the rest of the stable,
whih would give me an
1#23
aerial view of whatever was happening
below. I ould pratially taste my own uriosity on my tongue. -ay
was sattered here and there, and I ould tell that if I walked too
heavily my steps would be heard for miles. It was essential that I not
all attention to myself. I dropped to the ground and
1#2#
shimmied
toward the light that was
1#2$
emanating from below.
In a few agoniBingly long seonds, I was able to peek over the
edge of the loft. 7here was =avid, standing in the middle of the stable,
whih was illuminated by the light from a single bulb overhead. -e
was talking to someone, but whoever it was mustve been standing
>ust under me, out of view. ?rom my angle, I ouldnt
1#2%
ascertain
who it was.
141# aperture !ole or openin%
141& loft . attic
142' rife aboundin% or plenti(ul
1421 splinters . wood in small pieces or splinters
1422 eroded worn away
1423 aerial (rom abo"e
1424 shimmied . trembled or s!ook
1425 emanating radiatin% or issuin%
1426 ascertain determine or (i%ure out
1&6
G. . . Im telling you, you have to get out of here,H =avid was
saying, learly distressed. G"hes an underover op. -er name isnt
even !im "harpe.H
9on looked at me with this
1#2&
confounded e(pression. :ike,
youre a what)
I >ust looked at him and shrugged in a helpless, apologeti way.
/hat was I going to do, e(plain right then and there) .eanwhile I
was
1#2,
berating myself for being so areless. I shouldve had =avid
taken right out of shool the seond he figured out who I was. @ut
how was I supposed to know that he was all buddy1buddy with the
drug dealer) Id thought running a gambling ring was his only rime.
GAnd if what I heard on the sanner is right, theyve got a whole
army of ops oming to take you away,H =avid ontinued.
@ut who was he talking to)
"peak up, alreadyF
G7hat ant be right. !im) @ut shes so . . .
1#20
cloying.H
At the sound of that voie I felt as if I had been punhed diretly
in the stomah. All the wind was knoked right out of me as a million
thoughts rowded my brain.
=anielle) -ow ould it be =anielle) "he was so
1#33
benign, so
1#31
artless. I had thought she was all innoent and sweet and so like
;orinneI had even been
1#32
spurred into ation by the thought of
proteting her. -ow ould I be so gullible)
142 confounded con(used
142# berating critici.in%
142& cloying o"erly sweet or sentimental
143' benign kind or !armless
1431 artless simple or na="e
1432 spurred . incited or stimulated
1&
@ut the answer was obvious. +o one would have ever
1#33
ascribed the rime to a
1#3#
nonentity like =anielle. "he was
1#3$
anathema at this shool. -ow ould she be the
1#3%
notorious drug
dealer when no one even wanted to talk to her) I realiBed at that
moment that her entire personality was
1#3&
contrived. I didnt even
really know who she was.
And did she really think I was loying) 7hat seemed totally
unfair.
G:ook, I shouldve told you earlier in the week,H =avid said.
G"he ame to me about the gambling thing, but she told me she
wouldnt report me if I didnt blow her over, so I guess I was sared.
And, you know, I wasnt totally sure it was you until . . . until now.H
I slipped bak out of sight and lifted my wrist to my mouth. It
was risky, but we were in the middle of nowhere. If I didnt alert my
mother as to our loation A"AC, there was a hane that =anielle
would
1#3,
evade apture.
DodF I still ouldnt believe she was the bad guyF
G/hats going on)H 9on mouthed to me as we moved
soundlessly bak to the enter of the loft.
I lifted one finger to tell him to wait. =avid was babbling so all I
ould do was hope that his voie would mask the sound of my own.
GAttention, ;hief "tratford, were in the old stable past the soer
field to the west of the shool. "uspet is here now. All units
1433 ascribed pinned on or blamed
1434 nonentity nobody
1435 anathema somet!in% t!at is !ated
1436 notorious in(amous
143 contrived arti(icial or made up
143# evade escape or a"oid
1&#
1#30
converge.H
9ons fae was a mi(ture of suspiion and
1##3
approbation. It was
kinda ool.
GIll give the orders, !im. 7hanks,H my mothers voie said in my
ear. ?ollowed by, GAll units onverge.H
I smiled. "he hadnt
1##1
retracted my order. -aF
7hen I notied =avid had fallen silent. @ig fat oops.
G=id you hear something)H =anielles voie asked.
G/ell be there in five,H my mothers voie said in my ear.
And then, all hell broke loose.
I heard a floorboard reak, and half a seond later, I notied
something move out of the orner of my eye. I was about to shout a
warning when 9on and I both were grabbed from behind and pulled
away from eah other. 9ons legs
1##2
flailed out, kiking at the floor,
but there was nothing I ould do to help him. .y own arms were
pinned to my sides.
After a
1##3
fleeting moment of pani, I realiBed that my
1###
assailant had no idea what he was doing. -is arms were loked
around my upper body, but hed left my hands free.
*et another advantage of being a hik fighter. 7hose who dont
know you dont think youre a threat.
9on and I were being dragged toward a set of stairs near the far
wall. I had no idea what they planned to do with us, but I wasnt
143& converge come to%et!er
144' approbation admiration
1441 retracted taken back
1442 flailed . %a"e a t!ras!in% to/ beat !ard
1443 fleeting brie( or passin%
1444 assailant attacker
1&&
going to let them do it. I planted my feet on the ground, leaned
forward with all my might, and knoked my attaker off balane. 7he
seond he faltered, I bent at the waist and flipped him over my bak
to the hard floor. =ust rained down from the eiling and the
1##$
scroundrel groaned in pain.
-e had shaggy hair and a bulky frame and looked vaguely
familiar, like Id seen him in a movie or something, but I ouldnt
plae him.
G/hats going on up there)H =anielles voie alled out.
G/ell be right down,H the other guy answered from aross the
loft.
7hen I heard a punh rak aross a >aw. I turned around to find
that 9on had broken free and was
1##%
whaling on his man. -e atually
was a pretty
1##&
adept fighter. ?or a moment I forgot where I was and
simply wathed 9on go, impressed. 7hen my guy got up, grabbed my
arm and twisted it behind my bak.
-ello) *oure in the middle of a fightF
G+ie try, babe,H the guy growled in my ear. G+ow why dont
you play nie andG
GDive me a break,H I said. I used my free hand and whaked him
hard in the nose, then when he was doubled over in pain I whirled
easily away from him. 7his guy had no idea who he was dealing with.
-e thought a little arm twist ould
1##,
constrain me) -aF
@ut now Id pissed him off. -e rushed me in an attempt to takle
me to the ground, but I lifted my knee at >ust the right moment and
1445 scoundrel "illain or lowli(e
1446 whaling . beat t!orou%!ly and conclusi"ely in a competition or (i%!t
144 adept skilled
144# constrain restrain or !old back
2''
brought it up into his
1##0
solar plexus. 7he guy went sprawling to the
floor. -e wasnt turning out to be a very
1#$3
formidable
1#$1
adversary. I
walked over and piked him up by the
1#$2
scruff of the nek.
G-ad enough)H I asked, allowing myself a moment of triumph.
G-ardly.H
-e
1#$3
jabbed bakward with his elbow and hit me diretly in the
gut. I doubled over for a seond, surprised, and then he was on his
feet again. 7his time he fought me like a man, but his punhes were
1#$#
imprecise and he was no math for my speed. I duked, weaved
and dodged, and only a ouple of his >abs hit home. As we
1#$$
sparred
our way aross the loft, he started to grow winded. -e was ungainly
and his fighting was sort of
1#$%
pedestrian. In a way, I atually was
kind of bored.
As I wore the guy down, I kept wondering what was going on
with 9on, whether he was okay, but I ouldnt take my eyes off my
own opponent. :etting my guard down, even with an
1#$&
untutored
fighter, ould be deadly.
7he guy baked me up to the wall and ame at me with a
powerful punh. I duked and his hand went through the stable wall.
-e yelled out in pain and I ould tell it was
1#$,
excruciating. All the
better for me. I planted my feet firmly on the floor and yanked him
144& solar plexus . a lar%e ple$us o( sympat!etic ner"es in t!e abdomen be!ind t!e stomac!
145' formidable (earsome or imposin%
1451 adversary opponent or enemy
1452 scruff . t!e back side o( t!e neck
1453 jabbed . striked or punc!ed wit! quick and s!ort blows
1454 imprecise sloppy
1455 sparred . (ou%!t
1456 pedestrian ordinary or dull
145 untutored untrained or ine$perienced
145# excruciating e$tremely pain(ul
2'1
free, using my
1#$0
momentum to whirl him halfway aross the loft.
7he guy grasped his bleeding hand,
1#%3
gaping at it in wonder. I
rushed at him and hit him with an
1#%1
uppercut, ready to finish him
off. -e stumbled toward the edge of the loft.
"uddenly my heart seiBed up. -e was going to go overF And as
muh as I wanted to kik his butt, I didnt really want to finish him
off. I wasnt ready to kill somebody.
-is eyes widened in fear and I made to grab for him, but
somehow forgot that a little person like me ouldnt stop a big guy
like that who was already falling. +o matter how strong I was.
/e went over the edge, into the
1#%2
voidtogether.
It was over so <uikly I barely had time to register the fat that I
was falling. /e slammed into the ground, me falling on a few inhes
of hay, him landing with a thud on the hardwood floor. .y landing
hurt, but I rolled over as <uikly as possible to protet myself from
another
1#%3
onslaught.
7hat little bit of hay turned out to be my
1#%#
salvation. 7he
1#%$
thug, who hadnt been so luky, was
1#%%
out cold. G7agFH =anielle
shouted, running over to us. "he dropped to her knees ne(t to the
1#%&
prostrate body and suddenly it hit me. I knew where Id seen this
guy before. -e was =anielles boyfriendthe one in the piture on
her dresser. 7hey were wrapped up in this drug business together.
145& momentum . an impellin% ,e((ecti"e- (orce or stren%t!
146' gaping starin% openmout!ed
1461 uppercut . a swin%in% blow directed upward ,especially at an opponent+s c!in-
1462 void empty space or not!in%ness
1463 onslaught . attack* assault* or assail
1464 salvation somet!in% t!at protects or sa"es
1465 thug . an a%%ressi"e and "iolent youn% criminal
1466 out cold . unconscious* senseless* or passed out
146 prostrate !ori.ontal
2'2
I struggled to my feet as =anielle fussed over her boyfriend, who
I was relieved to see was still breathing. =avid apparently had fled
beause we were the only ones in the roomthat is, until the other
thug finally sueeded in dragging 9on down the stairs. I looked up to
make sure he was okay and instantly my blood ran old. 9ons hands
were
1#%,
fettered behind his bak with a strip of loth, and his slimy1
looking attaker held a gun to his head.
A trikle of blood ran from 9ons nose, and he stared at me with
an unreadable e(pression in his eyes. /as he angry, sared, begging
for help) It was impossible to tell.
G/e spotted these two sneaking in upstairs when we were on
our way in with the goods,H the man said to =anielle, who finally rose
to her feet. "he turned to look at me, her fae
1#%0
pinched, her eyes
shiny with tears.
G-ow ould you do this to me)H she demanded. GI thought we
were friendsFH
.y mouth dropped open. "he was totally delusional. G-ow
ould I do this to you) =anielleF *oure a drug dealerFH
"he snorted a laugh. G
1#&3
$lleged.H
DodF ;ouldnt she even show a
1#&1
modicum of regret)
G!imF /e have the plae surroundedFH my mothers voie
shouted through a
1#&2
bullhorn. 7hey were the most
1#&3
exquisite
words Id ever heard. I ouldnt help smiling when I saw =anielles
fae fall.
146# fettered tied or bound
146& pinched . as i( squee.ed uncom(ortably ti%!t
14' alleged supposed but unpro"en
141 modicum small amount
142 bullhorn . a portable loudspeaker wit! built)in microp!one and ampli(ier
143 exquisite beauti(ul or wonder(ul
2'3
G/hatre you going to do now)H I asked.
=anielle glaned at 7ag, who was still
1#&#
recumbent on the floor,
then looked at the other man. 7hey e(hanged some kind of message
with their eyes. 7hen the man threw 9on at me with suh fore that we
tumbled to the ground in a tangled mess of arms and legs. 9on
ouldnt stop himself, what with his arms tied
1#&$
inextricably, and he
fell right on top of me. I shoved him away rather
1#&%
callously so I
ould see what was happening. 7he thug was gone and =anielle was
>ust disappearing through a bak door.
G"tay here,H I said to 9on.
And then, without so muh as a bakward glane, I took off after
=anielle.
7he first thing I notied was that my mother did not, in fat, have
the plae surrounded <uite yet. 7here was no one out bak and
=anielle was running along a plowed pathway that seemed to lead
bak toward the shool.
I ould feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I
turned on the speed. I heard shouts bak at the barn, and then a gun
went off, but I ouldnt go bak. I had to ath =anielle, the dealer, the
person who was
1#&&
peddling drugs to a shool full of kids. I >ust
prayed that no one at the barn had been hurt.
.y arms and legs pumped as I
1#&,
accelerated and started to gain
on her. 7he #33 meters had been my event in high shool and almost
no one ould ath me on the trak. I losed the distane between us
and ould hear her labored breathing. 7hree feet, two feet, one . . . .
144 recumbent lyin% down
145 inextricably impossible to untie
146 callously !eartlessly
14 peddling . sellin% or o((erin% (or sale (rom place to place
14# accelerated sped up
2'4
I launhed myself into the air and takled her into a snowbank.
G!imFH
.y mothers voie was far off, but not too far. =anielle rolled
over and I pinned her forearms down with my knees. "he looked up
at me, her eyes
1#&0
defiant as my mother aught up to us. I e(peted
her to onfess or beg for forgiveness or ry or something, but she
didnt. "he >ust glared at me for a moment, then turned her head
away. "omewhere deep, deep inside I was impressed by her
1#,3
fortitude. "he was aught and she knew it, but she wasnt going to
1#,1
cower or
1#,2
cave. "he was an entirely different person from the one
I had thought I knew.
GI guess you win,H she said.
G=amn straight I do.H
G!imF Are you all right)H my mother asked, falling to her knees
beside us.
GIm fine,H I replied, standing up so my mother ould drag
=anielle to her feet and uff her. G=id you get the other guy)H
GI took him down no problem,H my mother said.
=anielle didnt struggle as my mother pulled her arms bak and
held them with one hand while she fished a pair of handuffs from
her poket with the other. It all seemed so surreal, standing in the
middle of the snow1overed
1#,3
rural setting, wathing a girl Id
thought was perfetly
1#,#
amiable and ool being uffed.
14& defiant . noncompliant
14#' fortitude stren%t! or %uts
14#1 cower tremble
14#2 cave . to yield or submit under pressure or %i"e in
14#3 rural countryside
14#4 amiable likable or (riendly
2'5
G/hat about the gunshot)H I asked, suddenly realling.
G'h. -e hit the barn,H my mother said with a laugh as she
seured the uffs on =anielles wrists. GA seriously bad shot.H
7hen she looked at me and even in the dark I ould tell her eyes
were beaming with pride. GDood >ob, !im,H she said. G6eally good
>ob.H
I grinned and then my mother hauled =anielle off, reading her
her rights as they stumbled bak toward the stable.
All at one I felt ompletely e(hausted. :ike I ould lie down
right there and
1#,$
hibernate in the snow for the rest of the winter.
'verything that had happened in the past half1hour pressed down
upon me. =anielles
1#,%
inimical posturing, the fight, the fall, the run,
the gunplay, the fear and guilt and onfusion. As I trudged bak to the
stable I felt like Id pass out with eah step. I ouldnt wait to get
home and bak to my own bed.
7he double door to the front of the building now yawned open
and was already strung with yellow polie tape. =oBens of ops
1#,&
bustled around, marking evidene and making notes. I saw 7ad
duk under the tape to take a look inside. A few shadowy figures
were making their way bak toward the shool=anielle, 7ag and
the slimy guy, eah
1#,,
flanked by two offiers. I leaned into the stable
wall and sighed. -ow was I ever going to make it all the way bak)
And then 9on appeared. -e rouhed under the rime1sene tape
and e(ited the front door of the stable, looking around. 7he blood had
been leaned from his fae and he atually looked rela(ed. ?reed.
-appy that it was all over.
14#5 hibernate sleep t!rou%! t!e winter
14#6 inimical !ostile
14# bustled . mo"ed or caused to mo"e ener%etically or busily
14## (lanked . located at t!e sides o( somet!in% or somebody
2'6
@ut how would he feel about me) 7he girl who had dragged him
into this whole mess and
1#,0
imperiled his life)
-is eyes finally fell on me and there was a long tense moment.
And then he smiled.
"weet reliefF
As he walked over to me, my heart was slamming around in my
hest. /hat would he say) /hat would I say) -e didnt even know
my real name. 7ehnially I was as muh of a mystery to him as
=anielle was to me.
G"o,H 9on said, his hands stuffed into the pokets of his leather
>aket.
G"o,H I replied.
G/ho are you)H he asked, leaning against the wall, >ust inhes
from me.
I let out an awkward laugh. GIm !im "tratford . . .
1#03
sprinter,
karate hamp, snowboarder . . . freshman at "tanford 8niversityG
-ere he made an impressed little frown.
G . . . and polie
1#01
deputy,H I finished.
9on nodded slowly as if taking this all in. G*ou thought I was a
drug dealer, didnt you)H he asked.
I felt as if someone had
1#02
doused me in old water. 5h, Dod. -e
was never going to speak to me again.
G*ou were a suspet . . . yeah,H I said. G@ut I swear I never really
thought it was you.H
14#& imperiled put in dan%er
14&' sprinter . runner
14&1 deputy . someone aut!ori.ed to e$ercise t!e powers o( s!eri(( in emer%encies
14&2 doused . co"ered wit! liquid/ poured liquid onto
2'
9on narrowed his eyes. G'ven thoughwhat did you say to me
before in my roomI fit the
1#03
archetypal profile of a user)H
G7hat was >ust the frustration talking,H I said desperately. G=ont
be mad. I didnt
1#0#
formulate the list of suspets, I >ust investigated
them.H
G/ell, you werent wrong. I was a user,H 9on said. GIve been
lean for two years and five months.H
I swallowed hard. G/hat made you <uit)H
9on leared his throat and looked away, off toward the dim lights
of the shool. G;ar aident,H he said. G5ne of my friends was
paralyBed from the waist down. I wasnt driving, but the guy who
was was high.H
G.y best friend died last year,H I told him, the words tumbling
unbidden from my mouth. G/e had our prom on a yaht, and she did
oaine with this popular kid she had a rush on. "he got all strung
out and >umped off the boat and drowned.H
9on looked me in the eye, sending a shiver through me. GIm
sorry.H
GI wasnt there to help her. I told her I didnt want to hang out
with those people, so she went off alone . . . .H
G*ou ouldnt have done anything. Ceople make their own
hoies,H 9on said.
GI know,H I said. And I did. "omewhere. .y mother, my grief
ounselors, my teahers and my friends all had told me this. @ut I still
felt guilty. I ouldnt help it. I probably always would.
@ut at that moment I felt kind of light. :ighter than I had sine
14&3 archetypal typical or classic
14&4 formulate put to%et!er
2'#
the day it happened. I hadnt told a single soul about ;orinne sine
the day I left ;onnetiut for ;alifornia.
GIm sorry, too,H I said. GAbout your friend.H
9on nodded and we stood there in silene for a moment. I had a
hundred emotions whirling through my hestN sorrow over ;orinne,
the relief of being able to talk about her out loud, the onfusion and
betrayal over =anielle, and the hope that 9on wouldnt hate me for all
1#0$
eternity.
I haBarded a glane at him and he was wathing me losely.
G/hat)H I said.
GI knew you were following meFH he e(laimed, standing up
straight and pulling his hands out of his pokets.
I laughed, the
1#0%
atmosphere lightened. GI had toF It was my >obFH
7hen, out of nowhere, he reahed out, grabbed the belt loops on
my >eans with two fingers, and pulled me to him. .y hands pressed
into his hest and my heart stopped beating. 9on smiled down at me.
GI didnt really mind,H he said.
And then, he kissed me like Ive never been kissed before. -is
lips were so soft but his kiss was firm and onfident. It was sweet. It
was
1#0&
sensual. 'veryone who had bothered to touh their lips to
mine before that moment was instantly forgotten.
7his was the real deal.
14&5 eternity endless time
14&6 atmosphere mood
14& sensual pleasurable or lu$urious
2'&
Chapter *ourteen
7he following afternoon I went to visit =anielle in her ell at my
mothers polie station. I had this
1#0,
prepossessing need to get her to
e(plain to me what had happenedwhat had made her do what
shed done. I was nervous to speak to her, not knowing whih
=anielle was going to greet methe sweet, funny one Id first met,
the
1#00
vindictive one who had froBen me out for making new friends
or the somewhat sary, intense one who had been arrested the night
before.
7here were two ells on either side of the small building so that
they ould separate suspets if they needed to. 7ag and the slimy guy,
whose name turned out to be .onroe, were in one set of ells,
=anielle was alone in the other. .y mother opened the outer door for
me and =anielle sat up from her ot. I half e(peted her to be stoic
and turn her bak on us, but instead she got up and walked over to
the bars as if she were psyhed to see me.
GIll be bak in ten minutes,H my mother said before losing the
door.
G-ey,H =anielle said
1$33
tentatively.
G-ey,H I replied. "uddenly, even though I had wanted to ome
here, I had no idea what to say.
G*oure not here to
1$31
upbraid me, are you) @eause I dont
think I an deal with that right now,H =anielle said. -er fingers urled
around the bars and it seemed to hit me for the first time. =anielle
was in >ail. And I had put her there. It was so biBarre.
14&# prepossessing preoccupyin% or absorbin%
14&& vindictive !urt(ul or "en%e(ul
15'' tentatively . doubt(ully
15'1 upbraid scold
21'
G+o,H I replied. I pulled a hair out from the wall and sat down
aross from her. =anielle turned and sat down on the edge of her ot,
faing me. GI guess Im >ust wondering why.H
=anielle sighed and looked at the onrete floor. GI didnt want
to do it. +ot at first anyway.H
G"o . . . what, the devil made you do it)H I asked.
GIf youre gonna be all sarasti . . . ,H =anielle said.
G*oure right. "orry.H I raised my hands in surrender.
G:ook, I didnt get sent to -ereford so that I ould get into an
Ivy,H =anielle said, getting up and starting to pae. GI was sent there
beause 7ag and I were aught dealing drugs.H
I raised my eyebrows and leaned forward in my seat. G/ait a
minute. If you got aught dealing, then why arent you already in
>ail)H /e both looked at the bars as if seeing them for the first time. GI
mean, why werent you in >ail, I guess.H
GDood lawyers,H =anielle said. G7hey
1$32
refuted every bit of
evidene and we got off. It was totally
1$33
expunged from our reords.
.y parents told me I ould never see 7ag again and I was
1$3#
relegated to -ereford.H
G"o then you >ust set up a new -J.H
G:ike I said, not at first,H =anielle told me. GI told 7ag I wanted
out and he said he did too. ?or a while everything was fine. /e were
writing emails, he was talking about this new >ob his dad got him
working at a omputer ompany. I was getting on with my life.H "he
paused, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. GAnd then he started
15'2 refuted dispro"ed
15'3 expunged wiped out
15'4 relegated trans(erred or !anded o"er
211
asking about the situation at -erefordwas anyone using, did I
know of any dealers) At first it honestly seemed like he was looking
out for me.H
G@ut he wasnt,H I supplied.
A pained look rossed =anielles fae. GI dont know if I really
want to talk about this any more,H she said.
@ut I had a feeling she did. "he wanted to onfess it all and get it
out of her system or she wouldnt have started babbling in the first
plae. "he needed to spill.
G/hy did you get bak into it)H I asked.
G;heryl and her idiot friends,H =anielle snapped. GDod,
sometimes I think that if they hadnt been suh bithes this would
never have happened.H
Interesting argument. I didnt think it was going to
1$3$
exculpate
her in a ourt of law, but it was intriguing.
GI was totally
1$3%
ostracized. I had no one to talk to. And beause
they were onstantly
1$3&
browbeating me I needed someone to talk
to,H =anielle said, growing
1$3,
fervent. G7ag was the only person who
ever stood by me.H
G6ight, and got you to be the front man for his drug
1$30
venture,H
I said. G=anielle, he totally
1$13
manipulated you.H
=anielles eyes flashed. G*ou dont know what its like,H she
said. G;heryl and those girls are so evil to me, and 7ag and I . . . we
15'5 exculpate (ree (rom blame
15'6 ostracized . a"oided speakin% to or dealin% wit!
15' browbeating bullyin%
15'# fervent . c!aracteri.ed by intense emotion
15'& venture business or operation
151' manipulated used or controlled
212
have something that goes beyond stupid high shool relationships.
/e need eah other.H
5h, Dod. I was going to hurl. =id she have any idea how
patheti and programmed she sounded)
G@esides, 7ag is
1$11
incorrigible,H =anielle said. G7he first time he
ame to visit me at -ereford I swear there were dollar signs in his
eyes.H
G"ounds like a real ath,H I said under my breath.
=anielle hose to ignore this omment.
G"o anyway, the short version is, I wrote a
1$12
cryptic email and
sent it out to the entire student body. 7he people who are looking for
drugs know how to deipher these things and the orders started
pouring in.H
G7o where)H I asked.
G5h. I said to ontat =ee =ee =arko at bo( 313.H
G-uh)H
G5h yeah. *ou know .r. "moot at the post offie) -es in on it,H
=anielle said
1$13
offhandedly. GI think theyre bringing him in right
now.H
G.r. "moot)H "uddenly I realled how happy he had been to see
=anielle that day she dropped off the gift for her sister. -ed asked
her if she had anything else for him and shed said, G+ot today.H I
hadnt thought anything of it. /hy would I)
G*eah, that guy hadnt gotten a raise from -ereford in about
fifteen years,H =anielle told me. G/e gave him two hundred dollars a
1511 incorrigible incurable or a lost cause
1512 cryptic . mysterious
1513 offhandedly casually
213
week and he
1$1#
procured an e(tra post offie bo( for me. Id get the
orders there, then 7ag would bring a shipment to the old stable one
every two weeks, Id give the bo(es to "moot and hed distribute
them. 7hey were always small enough to fit in the mailbo(es so that
9on never touhed them.H
@y this point, my mouth was hanging open with shok and
shame. I had seen =anielle take a bunh of envelopes out of her
mailbo( and slip them into her bag. It had seemed like a lot of letters
but I hadnt thought anything of it. "hed done it right in front of meF
5kay, !im, hill. "he wasnt a suspet then. "he was never a
suspet until you snagged her.
"till, it was hard not to feel totally
1$1$
inadequate. "he hadnt
even been
1$1%
covert about itF
GIt was a pretty good sam, all in all,H =anielle said finally,
sounding proud.
I had to agree. It was simple, but perfet. As long as "moot
stayed in their poket, she and 7ag were home free. 8ntil I ame
along, of ourse.
G5kay, but =ee =ee =arko)H I asked.
G7ags a big =onnie =arko fan,H =anielle said, almost
1$1&
wistfully. 8ghF "he really did love that guy. 5ne day she was
going to wake up and realiBe shed let him ruin her life, and I felt
sorry for her in advane.
G"o anyway, thats the story,H =anielle said, sitting down again.
G=avid didnt know I was dealing at -ereford until last night. -e
1514 procured %ot !old o(
1515 inadequate ine((ecti"e or incompetent
1516 covert secret
151 wistfully sadly or re%ret(ully
214
heard on the sanner that your mom was oming up to shool on a
drug bust and he figured it might be me. Id told him about me and
7ag in a moment of weakness a few weeks after I first got here, so he
knew about my past, but not about my present.H
G-e knew youd been a dealer and he hose to be friends with
you anyway)H I blurted.
G/hat an I say) 7he kid believes in
1$1,
rehabilitation,H she said
with a shrug. G5r he did until now, anyway. @esides, he wasnt
e(atly surrounded by friends either. /e fit.H
.y heart went out to =avid. -ed spent half the night being
interrogated by Juiny, whih was at least the lesser of two evils. 2It
ouldve been 7ad.4 Aording to my mom, hed been
1$10
unburdened
of all blame in the drug sam, but he still must have felt so
1$23
wretched and disappointed. -is one friend was sitting in a >ail ell
right now after he had believed in her.
@ut then, of ourse, he always had his gambling ring. It was
tough to feel sorry for a guy who was freeing a bunh of people of
their
1$21
extraneous ash.
G"o . . . are your parents oming to bail you out)H I asked.
=anielle let out a
1$22
wry laugh. G*eah. 7hatll be some
1$23
zany
fun.H "he glaned at the lok behind me, then sighed and rubbed her
forehead. G7hey should be here soon. 7his day has been
1$2#
interminable.H
151# rehabilitation reco"ery or c!an%e (or t!e better
151& unburdened relie"ed
152' wretched miserable
1521 extraneous e$tra* unnecessary
1522 wry . !umorously sarcastic or mockin%
1523 zany cra.y or wacky
1524 interminable endless
215
GI an imagine,H I said. In my heart I wanted to feel bad for her
too, but why should I) "he may have thought 7ag was the only
person who ared about her, but she had still had a hoie. "he ould
have hosen not to deal. "he ould have hosen to be strong and
1$2$
resilient and stand up to ;heryl. I know it wouldnt have been
easy, but it would have been infinitely wiser than what shed done.
And she would have had a future, whereas she now had a nie, long
1$2%
incarceration to look forward to.
"hed had a hoie. 9ust like ;orinne ouldve hosen not to take
that oaine that had totally strung her out and made her limb up on
the boat railing at our prom. 'veryone had a hoie.
GI probably should go,H I said, feeling e(hausted and sik to my
stomah. 7here was too muh to think about, and none of it was good.
G7hanks for oming by,H =anielle said as I stood to go. "he
sounded so vulnerable and grateful. I turned and did my best to smile
for her.
GDood luk,H I said.
And then I walked out, salivating for the omfort of my own bed
and a nie, long,
1$2&
insentient sleep.
A few days later, the whole -ereford e(periene seemed like a
bad dream. =anielle, 7ag, .onroe and "moot all had been bailed out
and were awaiting trial. I was flying bak to "tanford in less than a
week and would be able to put the whole thing behind me. 8ntil that
summer when I was going to have to sit through hours of
1$2,
depositions with lawyers for all four of the defendants.
1525 resilient stron% or tou%!
1526 incarceration imprisonment
152 insentient out cold* de"oid o( (eelin% and consciousness and animation
152# depositions . a pretrial interro%ation o( a witness/ usually conducted in a lawyer+s o((ice
216
*ee1hah.
7hat /ednesday night, however, I hose not to think about the
future and to
1$20
revel in the moment instead. .y mother had put
together a little party for me as a kind of ongratulations and a thank1
you for athing the
1$33
wily -ereford drug lord. 7he entire .orrison
fore, along with the mayor of .orrison and a few other people I
didnt reogniBe, were
1$31
convoked to the station in semi1formal
1$32
attire to down sparkling
1$33
cider and eat
1$3#
hors d5oeuvres in my
honor. I was beaming the whole night, feeling as if all my hard work
was
1$3$
validated.
'ven if I had hased the wrong people for two weeks and then
basially stumbled upon the arrest after
1$3%
fortuitously spotting
=avid out in the <uad. I was sure that was how it happened all the
timeF
I was standing near the bak wall,
1$3&
gabbing with Juiny and
some of my mothers
1$3,
colleagues, when .om stood up near the
front desk and alled everyone to attention. I felt my fae flush hot.
7his was going to be embarrassing.
G7hank you, everyone, for oming tonight to reogniBe the
suess of my daughter, !im "tratford, on her first investigationFH
At this everyone applauded and turned around to smile at me. I
152& revel en0oy
153' wily cle"er or sly
1531 convoked summoned or called to%et!er
1532 attire clot!in% or dress
1533 cider . a be"era%e made (rom 0uice pressed (rom apples
1534 hors doeuvres . a dis! ser"ed as an appeti.er be(ore t!e main meal
1535 validated con(irmed or appro"ed o(
1536 fortuitously . by %ood (ortune
153 gabbing . talkin% pro(usely ,in an abundant manner-
153# colleagues coworkers or partners
21
raised my hand and grinned at the alaim, feeling like an
1$30
imbecile. @ut a happy one.
G*ou know Im not the
1$#3
verbose type, but Im very proud of
my daughter and I >ust wanted to tell all of you that,H my mother
ontinued. I felt tears spring to my eyes. It was one of the more perfet
moments of my life.
G!im, I have a little something for you if you want to ome up
here,H she said, waving me over.
7here was more applause as I pushed myself away from the
wall, surprised, and wove my way through the maBe of people. I had
no idea what was going on. -ad she gotten me some kind of heesy
plasti medal or something)
I stepped up ne(t to her and the heering waned. All eyes were
on me as I stood there awkwardly, waiting and wondering what was
going to happen ne(t.
G!im, in honor of the great suess of your first ever ase as a
deputy detetivean investigation that led to four arrests,H she said,
pausing for everyone to take this in, GId like to present you with this
1$#1
commendation, signed not only by myself and the mayor but also
by the governor himself.H
7ad reahed forward and handed my mother a framed
ertifiate. .y hands were shaking as she handed it to me, but
somehow I maintained my
1$#2
equanimity. I read the ommendation
to myself as I grasped the frame with sweaty palms.
7his ommendation is presented to .s. !imberly Ann "tratford
153& imbecile (ool or idiot
154' verbose lon%)winded
1541 commendation praise or !onor
1542 equanimity calm or composure
21#
in reognition of e(ellene in the line of duty.
.y heart
1$#3
distended in my hest over the
1$##
accolade. /ow. I
was, like, a real polie offierF
A reporter from the loal newspaper snapped a few pitures of
me and my mom, and of me shaking hands with the mayor. As the
flash popped, blinding me, I ould have sworn I saw a familiar figure
hovering near the door. I blinked rapidly after the photographer was
done and, finally, the person ame into fous. It was 9on.
I was about to run over to him and show him the ertifiate, but
my mother grabbed my arm.
G!im, they want you to say a few words,H she told me.
I glaned from the spetators to 9on, longing >ust to run over to
him, grab him and get the hek out of there, but I ouldnt turn down
my moment in the spotlight. I stood up there in front of everyone,
smiled and said, G7hanks everyoneF Dood nightFH
7hen I ran.
7he rowd behind me laughed, and 9on was shaking his head in
amusement when I reahed him. -e was wearing a shirt and tie under
his leather >aket.
G-eyF "ee what I gotF)H I said, holding up the frame.
GIm impressed,H he said. G+ot by your award, but by your
1$#$
eloquence up there.H
GI thought you of all people would appreiate a short
1$#%
oration,H I said with a smile.
1543 distended swelled or stretc!ed
1544 accolade award or tribute
1545 eloquence e$pressi"eness or skill at speakin%
1546 oration speec!
21&
GIf it means we an get out of here, then I definitely do.H
I grabbed his hand and heked over my shoulder to make sure
my mother wasnt wathing. "he was otherwise oupied, hatting
with the mayor and his wifetwo people who had originally refused
to
1$#&
endorse her for hief, but who now seemed ompletely
1$#,
enchanted by her.
?unny how <uikly things hanged.
G+ows our hane,H I said to 9on. G:ets go.H
7he following week 9on drove me in his 9eep to the airport. .y
mother had been alled to -artford to meet with the =.A. about the
-ereford ase, so wed said our farewells that morning. I have to say,
I was atually kind of glad she wasnt going to be there to see me off.
It gave me more time to be alone with 9on.
5ver the past few days wed been seeing a lot of eah other.
After lasses at -ereford he would drive to my house and I would
show him around our
1$#0
prosaic little town. -ed been going to
-ereford sine the seventh grade and hed never even been to
-Eagen1=aBs. I guess all of us townies had always given off a serious
anti1-ereford vibe.
9on arried my bakpak all the way to the gate where I was, as
always, already late for boarding. As we approahed the desk, 9on
reahed out and s<ueeBed my hand, whih only ompounded my
misery. I handed the hek1in attendant my boarding pass and turned
to 9on. -e was wearing a green shirt that
1$$3
enhanced the olor of his
eyes and made him even more gorgeous. I ouldnt believe how
hollow my heart felt, >ust looking at him. /ed only known eah other
154 endorse %i"e support or backin% to
154# enchanted c!armed or deli%!ted
154& prosaic dull or ordinary
155' enhanced intensi(ied or !i%!li%!ted
22'
for a few weeks, but I didnt want to say goodbye.
G/ell, this is it,H I said. GI guess Ill see you after finals.H
.ay felt like it was
1$$1
eons away.
9on smiled slowly. G.aybe a little sooner,H he said. -e reahed
into his poket and pulled out a folded piee of heavy1stok paper. I
took it from his outstrethed hand and opened it. It was e(pensive
1$$2
letterhead with the "tanford seal.
GK=ear .r. /isnewskiN /e are pleased to inform you that you
have been aepted into the "tanford 8niversity lass of9onF *oure
going to "tanford)H I pratially sreehed, ausing the hek1in
attendant to >ump.
9on tilted his head and shrugged. G.aybe. I havent atually seen
the ampus yet, and I dont want to make a
1$$3
rash deision . . . .H
G5migodF @ut youll love itF Its so beautiful.H I
1$$#
gushed. I was
already entertaining
1$$$
fanciful daydreams of the two of us ne(t year,
walking to lass together, eating dinner in the dining hall. .y little
freshman boyfriendF
G/ell,
1$$%
hypothetically, if I were going to . . . say . . . fly out
there in ?ebruary, would you know of any plae I ould
1$$&
crash)H he
said, his eyes daning.
?inally his point sunk in. I took a step loser to him, folded his
letter and stuk it bak in his poket. GIll give you a world1lass tour,
1551 eons a%es
1552 letterhead . a s!eet o( stationery ,paper cut to an appropriate si.e (or writin% letters- wit!
name and address o( t!e or%ani.ation printed at t!e top
1553 rash !asty or t!ou%!tless
1554 gushed . praised ent!usiastically
1555 fanciful (antastic or ima%inary
1556 hypothetically in t!eory or (or t!e sake o( t!ou%!t
155 crash . occupy* usually unin"ited
221
by the
1$$,
culmination of whih youll never feel the need to look at
another shool,H I said.
G"ounds kinky,H 9on said, wrapping his arms around me.
I laughed, stood on my tiptoes and planted a nie, long kiss on
his lips. Id been dreading this all day, ertain that it would be our
last. @ut now, it was perfetly
1$$0
sublime.
I knew it was going to be the first of many.
155# culmination end or conclusion
155& sublime ma%ni(icent
222

BUSTED by Emma Harrison

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BUSTED by Emma Harrison

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Busted by Emma Harrison

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Busted by Emma Harrison

GCoetry,H I said aloud, liking on the folder. 7here were

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