Page 10 (1/2)

They’d failed at the drop again They weren’t gelling as a teaone because he said he had a cold, but Lucy thought that maybe he was too embarrassed to show his face in the quad She understood, they all were embarrassed Without Will, there were only six of theangs, fully aware that everyone had seen theet trashed by Sam teeks before By the ti had sent a representative over to pitch joining their gang to the Loners They all talked like it was an inevitability, like Violent had said, that the Loners were finished and noas the ti Once the drop started, none of the Loners took the lead Ritchie did well on his own, but all together they’d barely gathered enough stuff to trade for the eight rolls of toilet paper, two boxes of tampons, five packets of instant oatmeal, and the twelve-pack of ramen noodles that they held in their hands now

Ritchie dropped the toilet paper rolls on theSkaters," Ritchie said

"What?" Lucy said

"You heard an to panic

"No, don’t Ritchie, we need you You’re our best fighter"

"I gotta look out for myself"

Mort stepped forward "Lucy? Uh … I’ the Freaks"

"So am I," Colin said

"Guys, coht now," Lucy said, but she barely believed it herself She could understand why they wanted to leave She still felt the sting of Sam’s palm on her cheek She didn’t honestly kno they would survive as a gang, but she felt an overpowering need to stop the

"They said we could have our own roouys don’t want to walk away fro," Lucy said

"David was the Loners," Ritchie said, "and whatever we are right nohatever this is? I’uys around," Ritchie said, unwilling or unable to look anyone in the eye He turned and walked off

"I guess we should …," Mort said, pointing his thu post He attee

Lucy couldn’t suet theht of Will back in the Stairs He’d be devastated when he heard they’d lost threehiood-byes Take care of yourselves"

"You … too," Lucy said

Mort and Colin walked off, leaving Lucy with only Leonard and Belinda on either side of her She turned to Belinda, hoping to see the shock Lucy felt, but instead, tears were pouring down Belinda’s cheek She was trying desperately to keep fro apart

"It’s just--it’s just that, you have soht Lucy?" Belinda said

"Oh, Belinda …," Lucy said "Why?"

"Freddy He pulled so for new ot me in He said he’ll take care of me, Lucy I think he really loves me You understand, don’t you?"

Lucy took deep breaths, to stave off her sudden dizziness

"I understand, Bel," Lucy said And she did understand She understood all the reasons the other Loners wanted to leave, and she certainly understood Belinda being unable to turn down an opportunity for love and safety

"But I need to know you’ll be okay, Lucy I need to know that or I can’t go"

"Don’t worry about , but she fought theht for me I’m sure we’ll see each other soon"

"Yeah, real soon," Belinda said

"Leonard, we should head back," Lucy said She had to get away fro to cry

"Geeks," Leonard said His shoulders were sluround

"What?"

"I want to learn to sing"

10

HE WAS LOSING HER

Will sat on the stairs, alone in the dark He’d traded all the lightbulbs in the Stairs for two salamis and an old matchbook It hadn’t been a popular decision with the Loners who had stuck around in the weeks since the Sah He preferred the dark

"Hello?"

Lucy’s voice below made him sit up, but he didn’t answer

"Is anybody here?"

He couldn’t see Lucy, only the white rectangle of her cell phone’s screen, le turned toward hiht in his direction

"Hi," she said Lucy tilted her phone’s light back at her own face She forced a slight sht want to stay back I don’t want to get you sick," Will said

It had been going around, clogged nose, pulsing pain behind the eyeballs, exhaustion, and a sore throat The Saints ht it in, because it was all over the school now