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Noah merely smiled in a far-off way He kicked one of the wooden boards off the plywood, looking triumphant

"To the psychic’s? You knohat that place was?" Ronan asked "A castration palace You date that girl, you should send her your nuts instead of flowers"

"You’re a Neanderthal"

"Sometimes you sound just like Gansey," Ronan said

"Sohed his breathy, nearly soundless laugh Ronan spit on the ground beside the BMW

"I didn’t even realize that ‘ serious, but Adaued with Ronan and his uselessness Since the day of the fistfight at Nino’s, Ronan had already gotten several notices in his student box at Aglionby, warning hiin to irades Instead, Ronan was out here building ramps

Some people envied Ronan’s money Adao to school and do nothing else, to have luxurious swaths of time in which to study and write papers and sleep Adam wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all Gansey, but he was tired He was tired of squeezing ho in sleep, squeezing in the hunt for Glendower The jobs felt like so much wasted time: In five years, no one would care if he’d worked at a trailer factory They’d only care if he’d graduated frorades, or if he’d found Glendower, or if he was still alive And Ronan didn’t have to worry about any of that

Two years earlier, Adalionby, and, in his head, it was sort of because of Ronan His rocery store with her bank card -- all that had been on the conveyer belt was a tube of toothpaste and four cans of microwave ravioli -- and the cashier had just told him there were insufficient funds in her bank account to cover the purchase Though it was not his failing, there was so and inti line, turning out his pockets to pretend he ht have the cash to cover instead While he fuisterhis things in only a few seconds

Even the way the other boy had moved, Adam recalled, had struck him: confident and careless, shoulders rolled back, chin tilted, an eain, both of thenetic stripe, Adao out to the curb to where a shiny black car waited When the boy opened the door, Adam saw the other two boys inside wore raven-breasted sweaters and ties They were despicably carefree as they divvied up the drinks

He’d had to leave the boxes and the toothpaste on the conveyer belt, eyes hot with shamed tears that wouldn’t fall

He’d never wanted to be someone else so badly

In his head, that boy was Ronan, but in retrospect, Adaht it couldn’t have been He wouldn’t have been old enough to have his driver’s license yet It was just so credit card and exquisite car And also, that day wasn’t the only reason he’d decided to fight to coined memory of Ronan, careless and shallow but with pride fully intact, and Adam, cowed and humiliated while a line of old ladies waited behind hiister But he was closer

Adam looked at his battered old watch to see how late Gansey was He told Ronan, "Give me your phone"

With a raised eyebrow, Ronan retrieved the phone from the roof of the BMW

Ada just twice, and then a breathy voice said, "Adam?"

Startled at the sound of his name, Adam replied, "Blue?"

"No," the voice said "Persephone" Then, to soround, "Ten dollars, Orla That was the bet No, the caller ID doesn’t say anything at all See?" Then, back to Adam, "Sorry about that I’m terrible when there’s coht?"

It took Adam a moment to realize that she"Oh, uet Blue"

There was a brief, uncoround of the telephone Adaain The asphalt was hard to see in some places

"I didn’t think you’d call," Blue said

Adaet Blue on the phone, because the surprise he felt when he heard her voicein a way that made him want to punch his arm

"I said I would"

"Thanks for the flowers They were pretty" Then she hissed: "Orla, get out of here!"

"It seems busy there"

"It’s always busy here There are three hundred and forty-two people who live here, and they all want to be in this roo today?" She asked it very naturally, like it was thein the world for them to have a conversation on the phone, like they were already friends

ItDo you want to come with?"

Ronan’s eyes widened No matter what she said now, the phone call had been worth it for the genuine shock on Ronan’s face

"What sort of exploring?"

Shielding his eyes, Adaht he could hear Gansey co "Mountains How do you feel about helicopters?"