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Hoyt stops inflating the mattress, then looks at me His eyes are blank and unreadable

“So who are you, Hoyt?” I ask with a siht noho’sme a bed and … and plays dolls with his little sister?”

Hoyt givesof his own “Can’t I be both?”

“No”

After a second’s thought, he returns to inflating the mattress Then he lays a blue-and-white-striped bed sheet over it and, while tucking it in at the corners, asks, “Do you kno Julio and I becaoes on “The guy tackledrecess and shoved sand down s eird And the next day, we played on the swing set like nothing happened, and that suoes back to his closet and pulls out a pillow “And as for Benji? Sixth grade, he grabbed me at a birthday sleepover, sat on my face, and ripped the loudest one I’d ever heard, in front of everyone Well, probably was loud ‘causea pillow case onto the pillow “But hey, I returned the favor while he was sleeping that saht, and there you have it” He tosses the pillow at the ht kick with his socked foot, then nods at it “Should be comfy”

I’ at him, at a loss “And what exactly is your point?”

“My point is, I mess with you ‘cause I like you Guys s, thinking “Rocks in a riverbed, or sohen each other up Pull pranks It’s hs when he says that “A therapist used that tero anymore”

I think I’ at Hoyt in co this guy, I wonder if I ever even knew him at all “I … didn’t know Spruce had a family therapist”

“It doesn’t It was Reverend Arnold Is this gonna be co the air mattress another kick

I shrug “It should do” My hands find my pockets

Hoyt eyes rade or somethin’?”

I roll my eyes and look away at the TV “I dunno what I want”

“Because I’ll apologize, if that ht? No scars? And like I said before, I ain’t ever laid a finger on you, have I?”

“The scars you gave me are the kind you can’t see”