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cowering in his family’s attic, they’d be sure to find out the truth as well.
    Luke picked up a pebble and threw it far into the woods. It wasn’t fair. His only choices were to be miserable at school or a virtual murderer at home. He threw another pebble, and another. Not fair, not fair, not fair. He ran out of pebbles and switched to bark chips, peeled off the log beside him. Some of the pebbles and bark chips hit tree trunks with a satisfying thud. Luke began aiming.
    “Take that!” he yelled, forgetting himself
    Then, terrified, he clapped his hand over his mouth. How could he be so stupid?
    He froze, listening so hard, his ears began to buzz. But there was no sound of anyone tramping through the woods looking for him. There was no sound from the school at all. Peering around at the ferns and the trees and the sunlight filtering through the branches, Luke could practically convince himself the school didn’t exist at all.
    It was a shame he couldn’t just stay here.
    Luke had a moment of hope—he could live on nuts and berries. He could hide in the trees whenever they came looking for him.
    But that was a childish plan. He dismissed it immediately. If he stayed in the woods, he’d be caught or starve.
    He glanced around again, this time regretfully. The trees looked friendlier than any of the boys or teachers at schools. He was a farm boy who’d spent most of his life outdoors, until the woods were cut down behind his house. Just being outside was a joy. And no matter how much he’d risked, running out here, it was wonderful to be alone, not packed in and watched at every turn.
    Luke dug the toe of his fancy Baron shoe into the dirt and stood up. He’d come to a decision without realizing it. He had to go back to school. He owed it to his family, and Jen’s dad, and maybe even Jen herself
    But nothing could stop him from visiting the woods again.
     
    Ten
     

     
    Luke put off returning to school as long as possible. His stomach growled and he ignored it. The angle of the sun’s rays grew sharper and sharper, but he consoled himself, “It’s still daylight. It just starts looking like twilight sooner, when you’re deep in the woods.”
     
    Finally he could ignore the truth no longer. It was getting dark. And even if nobody had noticed his absence so far, he’d be missed at bedtime. Jackal boy was sure to complain if Luke wasn’t there for him to pick on.
    Strangely, that thought almost made him feel good.
    Luke didn’t stop to figure that one out. He strode to the edge of the woods, looked around carefully, then took off running across the lawn.
    Halfway to the school, he was struck by a horrible thought: What if the door was locked?
    A few steps later, he was close enough to tell: The door wasn’t open anymore. It wasn’t even ajar.
    Luke dashed even faster across the lawn, as if he could outrun his panic. His heart pounded, and it wasn’t just from running. He’d been so stupid, going out the door in
     
    the first place. Or, if he’d had to step outside, why hadn’t he gone back right away? Why had he risked everything for a day in the woods?
     
    He knew why.
    Luke was finally close enough to touch the doorknob. He reached out with a trembling hand, prepared for the worst.
     
    Stay calm, stay calm, he told himself. If it’s locked, maybe you can find another door that works. Maybe you can still slip back in undetected. Maybe. . . Luke didn’t have much faith in “maybes.”
     
    Hopelessly, he twisted the knob.
    The knob turned easily.
    Barely daring to believe his luck, Luke pulled the door open a crack. He couldn’t see anyone, so he slid in and let the door close behind him. It was dark at this end of the hall. He appreciated the shadows.
    Luke was tiptoeing past vacant classrooms when he heard the shout.
    “Hey! What are you doing down here?”
    It was one of the hall monitors.
    “I—I got lost,” Luke said, not stammering any more than he would have under normal