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"He likedfrom Dekka

"You have lots of friends, so you probably don’t understand why Howard--"

"I don’t have a lot of friends," Dekka interrupted Her voice was still shaky Whatever had happened to her back there, it must have been pretty bad Because as far as Orc was concerned Dekka was a hard, hard girl Howard always said that about her Sometimes he would call Dekka na at Howard, like her face would be down, but her eyes would be on hih her own eyebrows, kind of And from that direction all you saere these cornrows and her broad forehead and those hard eyes

"Sam," Orc said

"Yeah" Dekka’s voice softened "Saether We’re not really friends How about you and Sinder? She likes you okay"

The idea surprised Orc "She’s nice to ht it over a little more "She’s pretty, too"

"I wasn’t saying she liked you that way"

"Oh No I knew that," Orc said, feeling as if he’d be blushing if he had more than a few inches of skin left "That’s not what I was talking about No" He forced a laugh "That kind of stuff, that’s not for irls are interested in so sorry for himself, but it probably did

"Yeah, well, it turns out there aren’t a lot of girls interested in irls"

Orc missed a step, he was so shocked "You’re one of those lesbos?"

"I’ in this place; it looks like I’ Orc feel very uncoirl back when he’d been at school He hadn’t really thought much about it And now he had to think about it

Then a thought occurred to him "Hey, so you’re like me"

"What?"

"An only Like me I’m the only one like me," Orc said

He heard a derisive snort froh But it was the best she’d come up with so far

"Yeah," Orc went on "You and me, we’re onlies is e are The only person made out of rocks and the only lesbo"