it go.”
“Why?”
“I can‘t,” Terry said. “I can’t just let him treat you like that.”
“I don’t ... I would hate it if you got into trouble with him. I would feel awful, because I told you.”
“But I can’t let him do that,” Terry said again.
“It’s about me,” Abby said. “Not you.”
“It’s about us,” Terry said.
Abby started to speak and stopped. They were quiet again.
“Everything is about us,” Terry said.
Abby nodded.
I’m fifteen, she thought, how the hell am I supposed to know what to say?
“What are you going to do?” Abby said.
“I don’t know,” Terry said. “But I gotta do something.”
“We’re doing something,” Abby said. “We’ll keep doing it.”
“I can’t let him bother you again,” Terry said.
“What do you think George would say?”
“George?” Terry said.
“Yeah, George,” she said. “What would George tell you to do?”
“He’d say I needed to make sure you were safe.”
“How would he say to do that?”
Terry thought about George.
You need to stay with the plan. Worst thing you can do is ... get mad and go crazy.... You get mad, you use it for energy.... You control it and channel it.... You need to have the control.
Terry nodded slowly.
“I know what to do,” Terry said.
CHAPTER 36
T hey went across the common to the town library and sat at the farthest table back and worked softly on their plan. They stayed until suppertime.
That night both of them made many phone calls.
The next day Abby typed up the whole plan on her computer and ran off a bunch of pages and stapled them together. She liked organizing, being neat, getting everything in order.
That afternoon, when school was over, they gathered, eleven of them including Terry and Abby, at the rocks by the town beach, away from everybody, where no one could hear them or approach them without being seen. It was the inner circle of the spy ring. Otis was there, looking worried, and Tank, and Nancy, who seemed ill at ease with the other kids. Perry Fisher was there and Bev, and Suzi, the wind ruffling her big hair. Steve Bellino stood with Mitchell and Carly Clark, who was taller than the rest of them, and darker.
“Okay,” Terry said. “Like I said on the phone, we’re gonna make our move on this whole thing we been spying. We’re gonna do it today, and Abby and I will do all the hard stuff. Abby will give you your letter packets. Hang on to them. And we need you to stick around with us in case somebody gets nasty. It’s pretty hard to be too bad in front of eleven eyewitnesses.”
“Might be able to do better than be a witness,” Carly Clark said.
“You got that right,” Tank said.
“We’re not looking for trouble,” Abby said. “If we’re together, nobody much is going to give us any.”
“We don’t want people thinking we’re a bunch of hooligans,” Otis said.
Everybody looked at him.
“Hooligans?” Steve Bellino said. “What kinda word is that?”
Otis shrugged and looked at the ocean.
“Hey,” Carly said. “We all in this together. Otis wanna say ‘hooligan’ he can say ‘hooligan,’ you know?”
“You’re right,” Bellino said. “Hey, Otis, I’m sorry. I was only kidding you.”
“It’s okay,” Otis said, and smiled.
“We need to stay together as much as we can,” Abby said. “I got a sort of plan in with the letters packet about where to meet so we can walk to school together, and where Terry and I are going to go, and where to meet us, stuff like that.”
“I know,” Terry said, “that all eleven of us can’t be together all the time. But several of us can.”
“And we all got cell phones,” Suzi said. “One phone call and we all come running.”
“You’re each, like, sort of team captains,” Abby said. “And you each got your list of people you call, you know, like in a snowstorm.”
“You bet,” Suzi said.
Suzi looked like she was planning for her wedding. Her eyes were bright. She was
“Why?”
“I can‘t,” Terry said. “I can’t just let him treat you like that.”
“I don’t ... I would hate it if you got into trouble with him. I would feel awful, because I told you.”
“But I can’t let him do that,” Terry said again.
“It’s about me,” Abby said. “Not you.”
“It’s about us,” Terry said.
Abby started to speak and stopped. They were quiet again.
“Everything is about us,” Terry said.
Abby nodded.
I’m fifteen, she thought, how the hell am I supposed to know what to say?
“What are you going to do?” Abby said.
“I don’t know,” Terry said. “But I gotta do something.”
“We’re doing something,” Abby said. “We’ll keep doing it.”
“I can’t let him bother you again,” Terry said.
“What do you think George would say?”
“George?” Terry said.
“Yeah, George,” she said. “What would George tell you to do?”
“He’d say I needed to make sure you were safe.”
“How would he say to do that?”
Terry thought about George.
You need to stay with the plan. Worst thing you can do is ... get mad and go crazy.... You get mad, you use it for energy.... You control it and channel it.... You need to have the control.
Terry nodded slowly.
“I know what to do,” Terry said.
CHAPTER 36
T hey went across the common to the town library and sat at the farthest table back and worked softly on their plan. They stayed until suppertime.
That night both of them made many phone calls.
The next day Abby typed up the whole plan on her computer and ran off a bunch of pages and stapled them together. She liked organizing, being neat, getting everything in order.
That afternoon, when school was over, they gathered, eleven of them including Terry and Abby, at the rocks by the town beach, away from everybody, where no one could hear them or approach them without being seen. It was the inner circle of the spy ring. Otis was there, looking worried, and Tank, and Nancy, who seemed ill at ease with the other kids. Perry Fisher was there and Bev, and Suzi, the wind ruffling her big hair. Steve Bellino stood with Mitchell and Carly Clark, who was taller than the rest of them, and darker.
“Okay,” Terry said. “Like I said on the phone, we’re gonna make our move on this whole thing we been spying. We’re gonna do it today, and Abby and I will do all the hard stuff. Abby will give you your letter packets. Hang on to them. And we need you to stick around with us in case somebody gets nasty. It’s pretty hard to be too bad in front of eleven eyewitnesses.”
“Might be able to do better than be a witness,” Carly Clark said.
“You got that right,” Tank said.
“We’re not looking for trouble,” Abby said. “If we’re together, nobody much is going to give us any.”
“We don’t want people thinking we’re a bunch of hooligans,” Otis said.
Everybody looked at him.
“Hooligans?” Steve Bellino said. “What kinda word is that?”
Otis shrugged and looked at the ocean.
“Hey,” Carly said. “We all in this together. Otis wanna say ‘hooligan’ he can say ‘hooligan,’ you know?”
“You’re right,” Bellino said. “Hey, Otis, I’m sorry. I was only kidding you.”
“It’s okay,” Otis said, and smiled.
“We need to stay together as much as we can,” Abby said. “I got a sort of plan in with the letters packet about where to meet so we can walk to school together, and where Terry and I are going to go, and where to meet us, stuff like that.”
“I know,” Terry said, “that all eleven of us can’t be together all the time. But several of us can.”
“And we all got cell phones,” Suzi said. “One phone call and we all come running.”
“You’re each, like, sort of team captains,” Abby said. “And you each got your list of people you call, you know, like in a snowstorm.”
“You bet,” Suzi said.
Suzi looked like she was planning for her wedding. Her eyes were bright. She was
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