familiar—thinner　than　the　others　Embry

Call。

〃I　do；〃　the　other　boy；　Jared；　grumbled。　〃Every　single　day。〃

〃Aw；　Paul　doesn't　lose　his　temper　every　day；〃　Embry　disagreed；　still　grinning。

〃Maybe　two　out　of　three。〃

Jared　stopped　to　pick　something　white　up　off　the　ground。　He　held　it　up　toward

Embry；　it　dangled　in　limp

strips　from　his　hand。

〃Totally　shredded；〃　Jared　said。　〃Billy　said　this　was　the　last　pair　he　could

afford—guess　Jacob's　going

barefoot　now。〃

〃This　one　survived；〃　Embry　said；　holding　up　a　white　sneaker。　〃Jake　can　hop；〃

he　added　with　a　laugh。

Jared　started　collecting　various　pieces　of　fabric　from　the　dirt。　〃Get　Sam's

shoes；　will　you？　All　the　rest　of

this　is　headed　for　the　trash。〃

Embry　grabbed　the　shoes　and　then　jogged　into　the　trees　where　Sam　had

disappeared。　He　was　back　in　a

few　seconds　with　a　pair　of　cut…off　jeans　draped　over　his　arm。　Jared　gathered

the　torn　remnants　of

Jacob's　and　Paul's　clothes　and　wadded　them　into　a　ball。　Suddenly；　he　seemed　to

remember　me。

He　looked　at　me　carefully；　assessing。

〃Hey；　you're　not　going　to　faint　or　puke　or　anything？〃　he　demanded。

〃I　don't　think　so；〃　I　gasped。

〃You　don't　look　so　good。　Maybe　you　should　sit　down。〃

〃Okay；〃　I　mumbled。　For　the　second　time　in　one　morning；　I　put　my　head　between

my　knees。

〃Jake　should　have　warned　us；〃　Embry　plained。

〃He　shouldn't　have　brought　his　girlfriend　into　this。　What　did　he　expect？〃

〃Well；　the　wolf's　out　of　the　bag　now。〃　Embry　sighed。　〃Way　to　go；　Jake。〃

I　raised　my　head　to　glare　at　the　two　boys　who　seemed　to　be　taking　this　all　so

lightly。　〃Aren't　you　worried

about　them　a