The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George Page B

said, “How’d you get here? Manage to ride your bike? Pretty impressive . . . for a girl,” and he grinned again.
    She said, “I wish. Seth Darrow brought me. But he couldn’t stay.”
    Derric said, “Oh, too bad,” but Becca heard a whisper that said close close close and sighed from him the way clouds moved, darker ones lower than lighter because the darker clouds were heavier, containing the rain. He added, “Anyway, glad you’re here,” and nice was there, too, along with way too close and then feels . . . rejoice.
    She wondered what all this meant. Did he think it was nice to have her around? Did he rejoice when she was near? But why would he when he barely knew her?
    “Sort of the way it feels,” he said with a shrug.
    She felt herself get stiff, as if he’d answered her thought. She said, “Huh?”
    He said, “It always feels too bad when someone doesn’t want to be part of something, you know?”
    “Oh,” she said. “Seth.”
    “Yeah. Seth.”
    There were no swear words in Derric’s thoughts and nothing nasty when he said Seth’s name, but the dark clouds came again and with them the smell of smoke, as if a fire were burning five feet away. She said to Derric, “D’you know Seth? Well, I guess you do. I mean everyone knows everyone it seems. Around here.”
    “Oh yeah,” Derric said. “I do know Seth,” and his tone told Becca that something bad had happened between them. He took Becca’s arm then and brought her farther off the side of the road. His grip on her arm was firm and she thought he intended to tell her something. But then he added, “We need to get more out of the way here. Someone loses control, and one of us gets hurt.”

    A FLURRY OF gutter whispers hurled at them. Becca knew without seeing who was approaching. She wasn’t surprised when Jenn screeched up and braked in the dust at the side of the road.
    “What the hell’re you doing here? Get out of the way. Don’t you see what’s going on?” More gutter whispers followed but Becca could tell Jenn didn’t want to say them in front of Derric although if Derric hadn’t been standing at her side still with his hand on her arm, Becca knew Jenn would have let loose. “These’re bicycle trials and you’re in the way! What’s the matter with you? Are you a retard or something? I thought you couldn’t get out here anyway. Why’d you come? Worried there might be a cash register around?”
    Becca fell back a step. The heat of Jenn’s anger was far stronger than the smoke of Derric’s whispers.
    Derric’s grip on her tightened. He said, “Seth brought her. It’s cool, Jenn.”
    Jenn’s eyes widened. She hooted. “Seth Darrow ? Wow. You’re a deep one, huh?” Her glance went from Becca to Derric to Derric’s hand on Becca’s arm. Then she seemed to catch sight of the bag from the Star Store that Becca was holding, the bag with the pumpkins and the Doritos inside. She said with a smirk, “So what’s that, then? Your lunch or your score?”
    Becca said in a stumble of words, “It’s . . . well . . . there’s pumpkins.” She was too embarrassed to add that there were Doritos as well, all things considered. Jenn was as trim as a cheetah, and she didn’t need to know there were reasons that Becca herself was heading on the fast track to l-a-r-d. She added, stupidly, “I got them for Debbie’s kids.”
    Jenn rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you the little saint. Like no one knows why you hang around those kids, Beck- kuh .” She shook her head, gave a laugh, and took off again.
    When she was gone, Becca realized Derric still had his hand on her arm, but his grip had loosened and now he was patting her and his whisper was sorry . . . oh gosh . . . stupid ,although he didn’t say anything . She was the one to speak.
    She said, “Why’s she hate me so much?”
    Derric moved his hand briefly from her arm to her shoulder. “It’s not you. Okay?”
    “Who is it, then? ’Cause the way I see