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The horse sniffed the handful of grass, snorted wetly, and trotted away

"She likes carrots"

Tully looked up sharply and saw her neighbor sitting on the top rail of the fence

Long minutes passed in silence between the

"It's late," the neighbor girl said

"Yeah"

"I love it out here at night The stars are so bright Soh, you'll swear tiny white dots are falling all around you, like fireflies Maybe that's how this street got its na that"

Tully wanted to answer but couldn't Deep, deep inside she'd started to shake and it took all her concentration just to stand still

The girl--Kate, Tully re an oversized T-shirt with a Partridge Fa off As shenoise in the ood" A retainer drew the s into a long lisp "And you reek like puke"

"I' as Kate drew close

"Are you okay? Really?"

To Tully's complete horror, she started to cry

Kate stood there a lasses Then, without saying anything, she hugged Tully

Tully flinched at the contact; it was foreign and unexpected She started to pull away, but found that she couldn't move She couldn't remember the last tiing to this weirdo girl, afraid to let go, afraid that without Kate, she'd float away like the SS Minnow and be lost at sea

"I'et better," Kate said when Tully's tears subsided

Tully drew back, frowning It took her a second to understand

The cancer Kate thought she orried about her mom

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kate said, taking out her retainer, putting it on the mossy top of a fence post

Tully stared at her In the silvery light fronified green eyes, and she wanted to talk, wanted it with a fierceness that made her feel sick But she didn't kno to start

Kate said, "Come on," and led her up the hill to the slanted front porch of the far her threadbare T-shirt over her bent knees "My Aunt Georgia had cancer," she said "It was grody Lost all her hair But she's fine now"

Tully sat down beside her, put her purse on the ground The sarette and lit up to cover the stench Before she knew it, she'd said, "I went to a party down by the river tonight"

"A high school party?" Kate sounded impressed

"Pat Richmond asked me out"

"The quarterback? Wow My h school senior She's so lahteen-year-old boys are dangerous She calls them penises with hands and feet Tell lanced out over the field and took a deep, steadying breath She couldn't believe she was going to tell this girl what happened tonight, but the truth was a fire inside her If she didn't get rid of it, she'd burn up "He raped reen eyes boring into her profile, but she didn'tthat she couldn't stand to see it reflected in Kate's eyes She waited for Kate to say so, to call her an idiot, but the silence just went on and on Finally, she couldn't take it anymore She looked sideways

"Are you okay?" Kate asked quietly

Tully relived it all in those feords Tears stung her eyes, blurred her vision

Once again, Kate hugged her Tully let herself be comforted for the first time since she was little When she finally drew back, she tried to s you"

"We should tell someone"

"No way They'd say it was my fault This is our secret, okay?"

"Okay" Kate frowned as she said it

Tully wiped her eyes and took another drag on her cigarette "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"You looked lonely Believe me, I kno that feels"

"You do? But you have a fahed "The kids at school treat ot an infectious disease I used to have friends, butyou probably don't knohat in the heck I' about You're so popular"

"Popular just means lots of people think they know you"