?Sure, Mrs. Crane. Thanks a lot,? Jerry replied, reverting back to
the teenaged boy he had been the last time he was in Mrs. Crane?s
office.
Helen kept her head down on their way out to the parking lot, but
she could feel the other students staring at her as she passed. As
she jumped up into the passenger seat of the Pig she saw the door
by the principal?s office open and the two Delos boys leaving with
Castor. Lucas?s eyes went straight to hers and held them. Castor
pulled up and put his hand on the back of his son?s neck, talking to
him. Finally, Lucas broke his stare contest with Helen and looked
at his father briefly before nodding and looking at the ground.
It started to rain. One, then two, then three big, fat drops of summer
rain splashed down, and suddenly the air was full of water.
Helen slammed her door shut and glanced over at her father, who
was also looking back at the Delos family.
?Which one did you jump?? Jerry asked, fighting a grin.
?The bigger one,? Helen answered, a half smile of her own creeping
up her face.
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Jerry looked at Helen, whistled once, and started the engine.
?You?re lucky he didn?t seriously hurt you,? he said, not joking
around anymore.
Helen nodded meekly, but she was thinking that Lucas was the
lucky one. The strangeness of her own thoughts scared her silent
for the rest of the drive home.
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HarperCollins Publishers
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Chapter Four