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She unbuckled her seat belt Ander was sorry, for everything? Heotta go," she said "I’m late for my--"

"Cross-country meet I know"

"How did you know that? How do you know all these--"

Ander pointed to the Evangeline cross-country e

"Oh"

"Also"--Ander turned off the engine--"I’m on the team at Manor"

He walked around the front of the truck and opened the passenger door She slid out, du

"Thanks"

Ander sed off toward the side of the field where the Manor High teaathered He looked back over his shoulder, adown"

5

STORMED OUT

Cat Estes had a particular way of arching her left eyebrow and parking one hand on her hip, which Eureka knew , dark freckles across her nose, a charap between her two front teeth, curves in all sorts of places Eureka didn’t, and highlighted hair braided in thick pigtails

Cat and Eureka lived in the sahborhood near campus Cat’s father was a professor of African Aer brother, Barney, were the only two black kids at Evangeline

When Cat spotted Eureka--head ducked, sprinting away from Ander’s truck in an attempt not to be noticed by Coach--she capped the tirade she’d been directing at the sophoirls to do fifty push-ups on their knuckles before she swiveled past theh a group of freshular paper cups Cat was a sprinter; she caught Eureka’s arm just before Eureka ducked into the locker room She wasn’t even out of breath

"You’re back on the team?"

"I told Coach I’d run today," Eureka said "I don’t want todeal"

"Sure" Cat nodded "We have other things to talk about anyway" The left eyebrow rose to an astonishing height The hand slid up the hip

"You want to know about the guy in the truck," Eureka guessed, swinging open the heavy gray door and pulling her friend inside

The locker roo presence of heat and horirls was palpable Half-open lockers spilled hair dryers, foundation-stained cosmetics cases, and blue sticks of deodorant onto the tan tiled floor Various iteeline’s lenient dress code lay haphazardly on every surface Eureka hadn’t been in here yet this year, but she could easily picture how that skirt got flung across that locker door in the ion exam, or how those oxfords had been unlaced while soame of Spin the Bottle the Saturday before

Eureka used to love locker-roo Today she was relieved to change in an empty locker roo and kicked off her shoes

"Uuy in the truck"

Cat pulled Eureka’s running shorts and polo shirt out of her bag helpfully "And what happened to your face?" She gestured at the airbag scrapes on Eureka’s cheekbone and nose "You’d better get your story straight for Coach"

Eureka flipped her head upside down to gather her long hair into a ponytail "I already told her I had a doctor’s appointht be a little late--"

"A lotta late" Cat extended her bare legs across the bench and reached for her toes, settling into a deep stretch "Forget that What’s the story with Monsieur Stud?"

"He’s a moron," Eureka lied Ander wasn’t a moron He was unusual, hard to read, but not a n I’m fine," she added quickly "Just these scrapes" She ran a finger along her tender cheekbone "But Magda’s totaled I had to get her towed"

"Ew, no" Cat scrunched up her face "Cory Statutory?" She wasn’t from New Iberia; she’d lived in the same nice house in Lafayette her whole life But she’d spent enough time in Eureka’s hometown to know the local cast of characters