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I bite down on my lip I couldn’t believe when that slipped out of ood, coherent sentences before I speak "Maybe, but I thought this was Dylan’s tent"

"It is," he says "I was just curious"

"About what kinds of tents I like?"

"About the things you like"

He waits for me to say what I like, but I can’t, because I really don’t know anymore what I like and what I want

We cliain, trying to decide which tent to get, still holding hands for no other reason than neither one of us can seeo

"I like the purple tent," I say as we stand in the section where the boxes of tents are stacked I haveme that my phone is there--the video is there

He rakes his fingers through his brown hair, using the hand that’s holding on to et to feel how soft his hair is "Yeah, I’m not sure if Dylan will be too stoked to have a purple tent"

"Yeah, you’re right," I say

He cocks his head to the side as he studies the selection and then fixes his eyes on et hi for hile as he picks up the purple tent and drops it into the cart He shter, and I sers still laced, we use our free hands to load up the conveyer belt It’s extreether, but I’ and kind of fun, which o of his hand

"You knoe shoulddown

I take a lantern out of the cart "Out of what?"

He glances down at our hands clasped together "Out of how long we can do this"

I feel a little guilty that we’re still gripping onto each other, but it’s co--and I don’t want to stop "What does the winner get?"

"Well, technically we’d both be winners since we both would let go at the sa to hi stuff on the belt, and I do, too But the longer our hands stay joined, the sweatiersensation leavesthat it was my hand that left his first

Chapter 12

July 28, Day 70 of Summer Break

Quinton

Nova and I finish up at the store, keeping our hands to ourselves, ht as to who she really is inside Sometimes she seems happy to be with me and sometimes sad, and by the ti to cry She wanders into Dylan’s roo high Part of o back there and stop her, but the part ofhypocrite if I lecture her for doing so I do every day, so instead I stay outside and load up the car Eventually Nova and Delilah cos over a rusty barbecue grill on the porch We all eat theet ready to hit the road

We leave later than planned It’s little after ht e pile into Tristan’s Cadillac, with our suitcases, tents, sleeping bags, and all the other shit Nova and I picked up at the store piled in the trunk The stars are out, but it’s a little cloudy, so they look like distant dots hidden by a wispy veil I’d sketch it because it’s one of those rare sights that should be recorded, but I’h videos on her phone

Tristan is driving, and Dylan h she said it ive a shit, and I really don’t think he does He wants to sit up front where it’s rooet some sleep Nova chooses to sit by me, and I both love and hate that she did And it really h, but I won’t smoke in the car I’d never put any of their lives at risk by s the driver, stoned

"It s her nose as she scrolls through video clips on her phone

Delilah giggles next to her "It’s probably Dylan’s feet They stink"

"Shut the fuck up," Dylan co his boots up onto the dashboard "I still have my shoes on"