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I wait, shocked atpause, he says, "Wow"

"Yeah? So?"

"So basically, what you’re saying is, ht"

My eyes spring open, and before I can think, I yell, "Ugh! My God! You are such a jerk!" And I sla it didn’t actually hang it up, so I pick it up again and jab the off button really, really stinking hard, and bang the phone down into its cradle again

I stare at the desk, and all I can do is shakenuts, Demarco"

• • •

Five reasons why I, Jules Demarco, am nuts:

1 I just screamed at the boy I love

2 I just told the boy I love that I love hi in his parking lot

4 And tried to make his

You know, though, there’s soht word--e, I suppose one of those Dr Phil speaker types would say--about screa what they think anyer than all of that After nine years of loving Sawyer Angotti, and worrying about everything I say and do in or near his presence or in the presence of anyone who knows hihing too loud, or saying soh for his ears to hear, I feel pretty freaking aweson on my head that says, "Yeah, I love you So the hell what?"

Before I head to bed, I go back to the phone and grab Sawyer’s cell number from the caller ID, enter it into my cell phone contacts, and erase the nuht need it one day

Twenty-Five

I catch the scenes on TV while waiting for Rowan to finish up in the bathroo now--all the road signs are stills of the explosion or of Sawyer’s face, so I either have to recognize the sign by shape or go by ns are, and reh residential areas The trip from home to school is an easy one, but this could be a problem the next time I do deliveries