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Authors: Margaret Peterson Haddix
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the woods. Luke also recognized the same pinpricks of starlight he’d been used to seeing back home. But the stars seemed dimmer here, overshadowed by a glow on the horizon beyond the woods. Luke puzzled over that glow— it was in the wrong part of the sky to be the sunset What else was that bright?
Luke remembered that Jen’s dad had said the school was near a city Could a city have lights that bright, that shone this far?
“I don’t know anything,” Luke whispered to himself. He’d thought that coming out of hiding would expose him to the world, teach him everything. But being at Hendricks seemed like just another way to hide.
A light flashed in the woods just then, and Luke realized he didn’t have time to hesitate. He’d planned to creep across the lawn, but the moonlight was so bright, he worried
about being seen. He decided to take his chances with running.
Nobody yelled. Nobody hissed, “Get away from here!”
Luke reached the edge of the woods and hid behind a tree. Then he cautiously moved up to the next tree. And the next one. The light swung erratically, just ahead.
Luke wished he’d taken the time to explore the woods, to get his bearings. He was terrified of walking straight into a tree, stepping in some big hole or tripping over a stump. He banged his shin and had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. He stepped in something squishy and almost fell. He wondered if he was traveling in circles.
Then he heard voices.
a—hate nature—”
‘Yeah, well, you find a better place to meet—”
Luke crept closer. And closer. A strangely familiar voice was giving a long explanation: “—it’s just your fear of the outdoors cropping up again. You’ve got to overcome it, you know?”
“Easy for you to say,” someone else grumbled.
Luke was close enough now to see the backs of several heads. He dared to edge up to the next tree and peek out. Eight boys were sitting in a semicircle around a small, dim, portable lantern. Suddenly another light flashed on the other side of the group of boys. A twig cracked. Luke ducked back behind the tree.
“So what’s with the emergency meeting?”
It was a girl’s voice.
Luke inhaled sharply
Jen...
It wasn’t Jen, of course. When Luke dared to look out again, he saw a tall, scrawny girl with two pale, thin braids hanging on either side of her face. Jen had been shorter, more muscular, her brown hair cut short as a boy’s. But just to hear a girl’s voice again made Luke feel strange. It kept him from doing any of the crazy things he’d half-planned: leaping from behind the tree and screaming accusations, pretending to be a ghost haunting the woods, finding some way to exact revenge.
All he could do now was listen.
“Sorry to disturb the princesses of Harlow,” a male voice was answering mockingly.
Luke knew he knew that voice. He peered out. Yes. Of course.
Jackal boy.
“It’s the new kid,” jackal boy was saying. “He’s acting weird.”
I should have known jackal boy was involved, Luke thought. He probably planned the whole thing, led the charge on my garden. ... He glowered. Then he realized what jackal boy had said. “The new kid”? As far as Luke knew, there was only one new kid at Hendricks: himself They were talking about him.
“Weird?” the girl’s voice replied. “He’s a boy, right? Isn’t weirdness just kind of required?”
There were giggles. Luke squinted into the darkness. He
thought there were three or four other girls beside the girl with braids.
“Quit being such an exnay,” jackal boy said. “Exnay and proud of it,” the girl retorted. Luke listened harder, as though that would help him
make sense of their words. Who would be proud of being an “exnay”? If he’d learned anything at Hendricks, it was that “exnay” was one of the worst insults you could hurl at anybody.
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t see you announcing it anywhere but in the dark, in the
Luke remembered that Jen’s dad had said the school was near a city Could a city have lights that bright, that shone this far?
“I don’t know anything,” Luke whispered to himself. He’d thought that coming out of hiding would expose him to the world, teach him everything. But being at Hendricks seemed like just another way to hide.
A light flashed in the woods just then, and Luke realized he didn’t have time to hesitate. He’d planned to creep across the lawn, but the moonlight was so bright, he worried
about being seen. He decided to take his chances with running.
Nobody yelled. Nobody hissed, “Get away from here!”
Luke reached the edge of the woods and hid behind a tree. Then he cautiously moved up to the next tree. And the next one. The light swung erratically, just ahead.
Luke wished he’d taken the time to explore the woods, to get his bearings. He was terrified of walking straight into a tree, stepping in some big hole or tripping over a stump. He banged his shin and had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. He stepped in something squishy and almost fell. He wondered if he was traveling in circles.
Then he heard voices.
a—hate nature—”
‘Yeah, well, you find a better place to meet—”
Luke crept closer. And closer. A strangely familiar voice was giving a long explanation: “—it’s just your fear of the outdoors cropping up again. You’ve got to overcome it, you know?”
“Easy for you to say,” someone else grumbled.
Luke was close enough now to see the backs of several heads. He dared to edge up to the next tree and peek out. Eight boys were sitting in a semicircle around a small, dim, portable lantern. Suddenly another light flashed on the other side of the group of boys. A twig cracked. Luke ducked back behind the tree.
“So what’s with the emergency meeting?”
It was a girl’s voice.
Luke inhaled sharply
Jen...
It wasn’t Jen, of course. When Luke dared to look out again, he saw a tall, scrawny girl with two pale, thin braids hanging on either side of her face. Jen had been shorter, more muscular, her brown hair cut short as a boy’s. But just to hear a girl’s voice again made Luke feel strange. It kept him from doing any of the crazy things he’d half-planned: leaping from behind the tree and screaming accusations, pretending to be a ghost haunting the woods, finding some way to exact revenge.
All he could do now was listen.
“Sorry to disturb the princesses of Harlow,” a male voice was answering mockingly.
Luke knew he knew that voice. He peered out. Yes. Of course.
Jackal boy.
“It’s the new kid,” jackal boy was saying. “He’s acting weird.”
I should have known jackal boy was involved, Luke thought. He probably planned the whole thing, led the charge on my garden. ... He glowered. Then he realized what jackal boy had said. “The new kid”? As far as Luke knew, there was only one new kid at Hendricks: himself They were talking about him.
“Weird?” the girl’s voice replied. “He’s a boy, right? Isn’t weirdness just kind of required?”
There were giggles. Luke squinted into the darkness. He
thought there were three or four other girls beside the girl with braids.
“Quit being such an exnay,” jackal boy said. “Exnay and proud of it,” the girl retorted. Luke listened harder, as though that would help him
make sense of their words. Who would be proud of being an “exnay”? If he’d learned anything at Hendricks, it was that “exnay” was one of the worst insults you could hurl at anybody.
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t see you announcing it anywhere but in the dark, in the
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