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"Jesus"

"--heat stroke, hypothers, killed by crazy serial killers, poisoned by plants, contracting hantavirus"

"Hanta what?"

"Trans to eat, here," I co, there’s a lot of lethal stuff out there But that’s half the fun"

"Not surprised you’d think that"

"I don’t er and avoid it in a responsible, careful way You have to understand your environo backpacking if they didn’t believe I kne to handle myself out there? They trust me because I treat it seriously And that’s why they wanted ree to take care of my reptiles for a week unless it was important"

True

"Wait," I say "Your moms wanted you to come?"

One shoulder lifts briefly and falls "I orried Brett would go derping off to look for the hidden waterfall himself if I didn’t help And we both knohat a moron he is No offense I know you used to be into hiaze briefly flicks to mine

I don’t knohat to say I’m not even sure how I feel The last twenty-four hours have been strange I guess I thought it would beto be around Brett outside of school, but we’re barely ever alone together Maybe if we spent any tiroup, he’d let the whole super-bro personality drop I know he does it for attention and that there’s a different side to hiot here

There’s also been Lennon I hadn’t planned on hi spooked about ani-and-turningto figure out if we’re friends again, or if he wants to be--if I want to be I haven’t co clicks inside ed you to come on this trip," I say, "because of Brett? They know he’s here?"

Lennon shrugs "Yeah"

"Do Sunny and Mac know that I’m here?"

A brisk wind blows as he scrapes his spoon on the inside of his bowl, gathering a last bite of oatmeal "That’s why they wanted me to come Tomake sure you’re safe"

A hundred eh the I can wrap my mind around "I’m not an idiot, you know I can take care of an, but I can handle a stupid hike"

"Of course you can"

"I can identify thousands of stars, so I’m pretty sure I can read a map"

"Never said you couldn’t You’re the s shot"

"Then why are you roans "You’re competent More than competent I trust you a million times more than anyone else in this compound"