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

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

    to be performed t Friday and Saturday, and lots of people alking about it. Miss Garber  s telling everyone it o be t play tion, too, . e ation in toervie t;Its going to be marvelous,quot; s;absolutely marvelous.quot; So e an article about it, primarily because of t connection, even to it. But Miss Garber less, and just t day sold us to bring in extra seats to accommodate tra-large croed. t of oo  t o some of t t time in  be interested in . You migting excited about it, too, but I really . My friends ill teasing me at sc ernoon off in  kept me going  t I ;rig; I knos not muc frankly, it  of good about it, too, tted it to anyone. I could practically imagine tanding around and staring fully do me tle tears filling talking about how wonderful I was for all my sacrifices.

    So I  nig tuff, wion.

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

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

    quot;Yea; I said, s;Sometimes.quot;

    quot; do you do t peanuts?quot;

    I guess s t, too.

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

    quot;Does it ever scare you?quot;

    quot;No,quot; I ans; scare you?quot;

    quot;I dont kno; s;It mig;

    quot;;

    quot;Because Id  I mig;

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

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

    Even teenager and  kno t teenagers, and trying to understand teenage boys for rying to decipivity.

    quot;Not really,quot; I said.

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

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

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

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

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

    quot;Do you ever just go off ;

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

    quot;Ill bet youre excited about going off to college next year,quot; I said, c.

    It took  to answer.

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

    quot; about Mount Sermon? I t ts ,quot; I offered.

    S me  rig you?quot;

    times t bethe eyeballs.

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

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

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

    As I c  t of all times Id ever talked to rangest conversation ically normal.

    t nig my father.

    quot;, I reckon,quot; I said. quot;But  around muc;

    quot;Do you miss t? Not gro;

    quot;Sometimes.quot;

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

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

    quot;It must be ; I said sincerely. quot;Even tranger to me, at least ill around.quot;

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

    quot;It is, sometimes. Dont get me -but times  alk about t my fat.quot;

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

    quot;s it like, living ;

    quot;No. ually got a pretty good sense of ;

    quot;?quot; I blurted out. I couldnt even imagine it.

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

    quot;I doubt if Ill ever get to know ;

    quot;You never kno; s;;

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

    quot; to know ; I asked.

    S ans so  t sed it w.

    t nigalked about her Bible.

    quot; ; I asked.

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

    Seps before answering.

    quot;It ; she said simply.

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

    S me. quot;Its okay, Landon. ;

    quot;Im sorry I asked. . . .quot;

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

    I t about t on.

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

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

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

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

    Eric and Margaret  on t to us.

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

    quot;,quot; Jamie said cheerfully.

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

    quot;; I said, wishing hed never seen me.

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

    Jamie looked around and smiled. quot;Yes, it is.quot;

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

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

    A cup of cider? At  mentioned t. . . .

    I put my ,  any worse.

    quot;Os all rig o Cecils Diner.quot;

    quot;On a sc?quot; sly.

    quot;O be out too late,quot; ;but ;

    quot;topping to say ; Jamie said, waving.

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

    Once t of sigurned to me and smiled.

    quot;You ;

    quot;Sure I do.quot; Notice the careful way I phrased my answer.

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

    See w happens when youre a nice guy?

    By t morning everyone at scarted up a neion about time it   I o spend my lunc to get a all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    quot;Maybe I can ; s kind of tle angrier.

    quot;I doubt it,quot; I snapped.

    quot;Maybe if you told me ;

    I didnt let her finish.

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

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

    quot;And t even like me. to do it.quot;

    quot;Youre just saying t t;

    I cut h a shake of my head.

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

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

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

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

    quot;t; s.

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

    Or rated myself.