living flesh into stone.
Thankfully, I glimpsed Elissa across the room. She'd chosen a flashy pink shirt and a giant gardening hat that could have doubled as an umbrella. When she looked at me, I waved. She removed her hat and held it like a shield against her bosom. She was trapped by overexcited dancers.
"You know," I said, turning my attention back to the Born-Again Tribe, "the age of the universe can be measured using the speed of light. Astronomists have devised a formula that proves light from distant stars began traveling toward Earth billions of years ago."
Put that in your philosophical pipe and smoke it, I thought.
"The speed of light has not been measured properly." Nicole spoke carefully, as though to a child. "Everyone knows that."
I slumped.
Michael drained his ginger ale. "You should meet our study leader. He'd like to talk to you. Our Bible study is fun, you know. Not like other churches."
Agitation saturated my nerves. A simple command to get out. Out. Elissa was still halfway across the room, surrounded by a chain of revelers doing the locomotion.
"You know, you're okay, Percy," Nicole said, briefly touching my wrist. "You're really okay."
I furrowed my brow. Okay? I was okay? My tear ducts welled up.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
I shook my head. Elissa joined us at last, nodded at Michael and Nicole. They smiled back.
"I...I left my stuff in your car," I said to Elissa.
"What stuff?"
"Those...uh...field notes I took today. I must retrieve them. Now."
"Yes," she said, recognizing the crisis. "Right. You should."
I walked past Michael and Nicole, pulling Elissa along behind me. We wriggled through the sweaty, Yuk-a-flux-soaked congestion. Outside, I sucked in fresh air. Two teens lay gazing skyward. A tribe of skateboarders, heads shaved, some wearing toques, rolled again and again over a jump on the sidewalk, like mice endlessly repeating an experiment.
"What was that about?" Elissa asked.
"They—Michael and Nicole—they have all the answers. They're just so...happy."
"Yeah, freaky, eh? Sorry I didn't rescue you sooner. But you should have returned my call."
"Oh. I didn't get it." I breathed deeper. "Really, I didn't."
"You're lucky I came. I stopped by your house and your mom had no idea where you were. Why didn't you call me?"
"I—I just couldn't..."
Her look softened. "Are you upset that I saw your scars?"
"No, I'm not. I'm not."
"Don't...don't get worked up." She grabbed my hand, squeezed it gently between both of hers as if she'd caught a butterfly. "You take everything so seriously."
I had to take things seriously. How else would I get my work done? "Elissa, I..."My thoughts were too random to express. "I'm sorry. I—I hurt. You. Your feelings, I mean. I didn't intend. To."
"Percy, it's...I think I understand. Well, not everything: Who in Hades were the Beothuks?" She grinned.
I laughed. I couldn't help it. "A tribe. In Newfoundland. They painted themselves with red ochre. They died out."
"I see," she said. "Now I do know everything." She squeezed my hands again. "This'll all blow over soon. We'll spend the summer catching rays and drinking daiquiris. We'll survive Grad Week. Where there's a will there's a way."
It was one of Will's favorite sayings. A joke. I pulled back my hand. "I could have stopped him," I said. "Should have."
"Will, you mean?"
"He told me. About Marcia. He asked whether I thought he stood a chance with her. I—I was too forthright: I said it was unlikely. She wasn't from our tribe."
"You couldn't have done anything, Percy. Sometimes things just happen."
"Things never just happen," I said. "There's always a reason. I wish I'd lied."
"That wouldn't have changed a thing. It was more than just Marcia. He was—he just kept so much to himself. Who knows what he was thinking half the time?"
"Did he tell you about his crush on her?" I asked.
"Yes. I almost fell over backward to hear him talk about his own feelings. And not joke about
Thankfully, I glimpsed Elissa across the room. She'd chosen a flashy pink shirt and a giant gardening hat that could have doubled as an umbrella. When she looked at me, I waved. She removed her hat and held it like a shield against her bosom. She was trapped by overexcited dancers.
"You know," I said, turning my attention back to the Born-Again Tribe, "the age of the universe can be measured using the speed of light. Astronomists have devised a formula that proves light from distant stars began traveling toward Earth billions of years ago."
Put that in your philosophical pipe and smoke it, I thought.
"The speed of light has not been measured properly." Nicole spoke carefully, as though to a child. "Everyone knows that."
I slumped.
Michael drained his ginger ale. "You should meet our study leader. He'd like to talk to you. Our Bible study is fun, you know. Not like other churches."
Agitation saturated my nerves. A simple command to get out. Out. Elissa was still halfway across the room, surrounded by a chain of revelers doing the locomotion.
"You know, you're okay, Percy," Nicole said, briefly touching my wrist. "You're really okay."
I furrowed my brow. Okay? I was okay? My tear ducts welled up.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
I shook my head. Elissa joined us at last, nodded at Michael and Nicole. They smiled back.
"I...I left my stuff in your car," I said to Elissa.
"What stuff?"
"Those...uh...field notes I took today. I must retrieve them. Now."
"Yes," she said, recognizing the crisis. "Right. You should."
I walked past Michael and Nicole, pulling Elissa along behind me. We wriggled through the sweaty, Yuk-a-flux-soaked congestion. Outside, I sucked in fresh air. Two teens lay gazing skyward. A tribe of skateboarders, heads shaved, some wearing toques, rolled again and again over a jump on the sidewalk, like mice endlessly repeating an experiment.
"What was that about?" Elissa asked.
"They—Michael and Nicole—they have all the answers. They're just so...happy."
"Yeah, freaky, eh? Sorry I didn't rescue you sooner. But you should have returned my call."
"Oh. I didn't get it." I breathed deeper. "Really, I didn't."
"You're lucky I came. I stopped by your house and your mom had no idea where you were. Why didn't you call me?"
"I—I just couldn't..."
Her look softened. "Are you upset that I saw your scars?"
"No, I'm not. I'm not."
"Don't...don't get worked up." She grabbed my hand, squeezed it gently between both of hers as if she'd caught a butterfly. "You take everything so seriously."
I had to take things seriously. How else would I get my work done? "Elissa, I..."My thoughts were too random to express. "I'm sorry. I—I hurt. You. Your feelings, I mean. I didn't intend. To."
"Percy, it's...I think I understand. Well, not everything: Who in Hades were the Beothuks?" She grinned.
I laughed. I couldn't help it. "A tribe. In Newfoundland. They painted themselves with red ochre. They died out."
"I see," she said. "Now I do know everything." She squeezed my hands again. "This'll all blow over soon. We'll spend the summer catching rays and drinking daiquiris. We'll survive Grad Week. Where there's a will there's a way."
It was one of Will's favorite sayings. A joke. I pulled back my hand. "I could have stopped him," I said. "Should have."
"Will, you mean?"
"He told me. About Marcia. He asked whether I thought he stood a chance with her. I—I was too forthright: I said it was unlikely. She wasn't from our tribe."
"You couldn't have done anything, Percy. Sometimes things just happen."
"Things never just happen," I said. "There's always a reason. I wish I'd lied."
"That wouldn't have changed a thing. It was more than just Marcia. He was—he just kept so much to himself. Who knows what he was thinking half the time?"
"Did he tell you about his crush on her?" I asked.
"Yes. I almost fell over backward to hear him talk about his own feelings. And not joke about
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