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was pocked with scars.
The skateboarder managed a quick turnaround at the
end of the hall by stepping back hard on the plat, lifting the
front wheels. He touched the front curve of the board with
two fingers and spun in place. The plat came down hard
and, with two or three powerful kicks, the boarder sped
back toward the library, weaving a mad pattern of S-curves
from one side of the hall to the other.
Mars stepped into the hall from Mr. Skinner s class.
Nice work! he called to the hall surfer.
The kid in the oversize tee nearly capsized. He stepped
sideways off the board, flipping it while it was still rolling
and catching it in his hand. The kid stood perfectly still. But
only for a second. He turned a circle, breathing hard, his
mouth open. Then he took off running with his board under
one arm and never looked back. His long hair bounced
along as he passed the library windows.
It s a kid from the Planet, Jameson told her. They break
in through the basement. They come through here
sometimes, but once the Sliders start talking to them, they
never come back.
Can they see us? Jana asked, but she knew the
answer.
One or two of the Sliders, the ones that practice contact
on the Planet, can make themselves heard on campus, he
said. But not seen. Planet people can t see any of us
here.
It should be more fun than it was to be invisible, she
thought. Then Jana had another thought. She could kill
Michael with a poisonous spider. She could put it on his big
toe while he slept.
When second period was over, she stepped behind a
bookshelf and managed some tricky arm gymnastics.
Without taking her blouse off, Jana was able to hang her
school bra by one of its straps on the push-bar of the library
door as she walked into the hall.
The two Grays behind the library counter tilted their head
in unison to one side, then the other, as they watched her
leave. Soon they stared at their shoes again.
* * *
It wasn t difficult to find the gym.
All the Dead Schoolers were making their way to the
Sock Hop. Jana walked with the others. You just had to get
more demerits when the whole school was your audience,
she thought. Henry showed up at her side.
Did you mean it? he asked her.
The note she d handed him in class said Wanna dance?
Yes. Jana stopped walking. But listen, it s an act,
okay? Everything will be an act. I m rehearsing a role.
Henry was in drama. He would understand. Besides, she
wanted to touch his hair. Just once.
Got it, Henry said.
He was looking at the front of her blouse.
And don t be rude, Jana snipped. Now go ahead. I ll
find you there when I m ready. And remember, it s not a
date or anything like that. She held up her left hand and
wiggled Michael s class ring for Henry in case he had
forgotten.
Chapter Twenty-Four
SHERRY SKIPPED SCHOOL.
Once her mother had left, she d phoned Michael and
Nathan. They were at her house now, on their lunch break.
Michael paced. Nathan sat on the couch and played with
the golden retriever s ears.
Visited? she said. He almost raped me!
But what did he say? Michael asked. He wore a dress
shirt with a black armband around one sleeve. He could
have missed school entirely today. But he thought it was
important to be there, to show his courage under such
dreadful circumstances, to carry on in spite of personal
challenges and, in general, to be morose in front of
everyone.
He told me not to scream and he wouldn t kill me.
What else?
Sherry looked at Nathan. He wasn t much help. He told
me I had to tell the police what you did.
What I did? Michael stopped pacing. No. Listen to me,
it s what we did. You brought the spray, remember? And it
was your idea in the first place.
Hey, it was a joke, Nathan broke in. It was just a joke
that went wrong. We didn t do anything that bad. She fell
wrong. It was an accident. Like falling in the bathtub.
We tried to save her, Michael said, creating a list of
good deeds the three had accomplished that night. They d
followed the ambulance to the hospital.
No, that was the other guy, Nathan corrected him. The
other guy tried to save her.
We did everything we could, Michael insisted. I called
911, didn t I?
I think that s what pissed him off, that he couldn t save
her, Nathan continued. And that s why he s coming to our
houses.
I saw her too, Sherry interrupted. Jana was with him
last night. She was hiding, but I saw her.
You dreamed that part, Michael said.
He hadn t told either one about his bedroom visit from
Jana. He wasn t going to. Michael was president of the
district student council. The whole district, not just his
school. District presidents did not see ghosts. Not if they
wanted to keep their scholarships to Dartmouth, they didn t.
The guy from the bowling alley isn t the one who tried to
rape me, Sherry continued. It was another guy. He was tall
and ugly. He was all messed up. Her voice softened to a
whisper. He had only half a face.
Nathan and Michael looked at each other. Then Nathan
giggled, like a motorcycle trying to start.
Are you making this up? Michael asked.
No! Sherry said. My dad s taking me to the police
station to look at mug shots when he gets home from work
today. He s really shook up because none of his fancy locks
kept the rapist out. The house alarm never even went off.
Michael s thoughts tumbled, then locked into place.
Sherry was unreliable.
You can t say a word to the police about the other thing,
I m warning you, he said. Or your father. I have pictures of
you on my cell phone. I ll send them to everyone in school if
you cross me.
I won t, Sherry promised. I won t say anything. Look, my
dad is making me. I have to go.
Pictures of what? Nathan asked, looking from one to
the other.
Michael ignored him. He pointed his finger at Sherry. If
you tell, I will destroy you, he vowed. I ll ruin your entire
life.
The gym smelled like Pine-Sol and socks.
The bleachers on one side of the gym were folded
against the wall. On the other side, the seats filled up
quickly. Girls sat with girls for the most part. Boys sat with
boys. Sliders stood in small groups at one end of the gym.
The Stretchers were tied in gurneys that were arranged
in a long row on the side of the floor where the bleachers
were left against the wall. Their feet pointed to the middle of
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