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“I knew it!” Brian yelled as he caht

Guillermo froze in place as the six-foot-one forrabbed hiround

The trailer-park kids scattered i Jane stood there, wide-eyed She didn’t knohat she wanted to dobrother’s neck or do a cartwheel

Brian picked up the bat

“Hey, it’s OK,hiive ”

Brian hefted the bat

“This bat?” Brian said “You want this bat back?”

Brian turned and hurled it as hard as he could It h the air like a thrown airplane propeller After a while, it landed out of sight, in

the vegetation on the other side of the barbedwire fence

“There’s your bat back, punk,” Brian said “Go fetch”

“Hey, why’d you do that?” Guillermo said in honest shock

“I wonder,” Brian said, squinting at him “You think you can mess with my little brother and sister? You’re lucky I didn’t return the bat upside your head”

The kid looked at Brian, then at the fence, and suddenly started crying

“I need the bat back It belongs toto kill me”

Brian eyed the kid