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Howard added as an afterthought.
    Ruth nodded. After her friends dropped her, Howard was virtually the only one in Grade Six who’d have anything to do with her. Not that the two of them hung out together in any normal sense. That would have attracted too much attention. The two biggest losers of Grade Six becoming friends would have meant being hassled mercilessly by just about everyone. But when there was no one else around they would talk sometimes. She could usually find him slinking around somewhere on his own, under the peppercorn trees on the far side of the school or near the library. Their conversations were never normal. No talk of how many brothers and sisters they had or what their parents did, nor for that matter any discussion of the school or the other kids. Nothing like that. They discussed general things like if it was right to eat meat, or if footballers deserved all the money they got, or if ants felt fear before you stepped on them.
    The thing Ruth liked about Howard was that she could never be sure what he was going to say next. Once they were talking about space and how big it was and he told her that the light we see from the stars is actually from years ago.
    ‘You mean to tell me that when we see a star we aren’t seeing it as it is now but …’ ‘As it was in the past.’ Howard had finished her sentence with a sly grin. ‘And some of that light is from hundreds of years ago.’
    ‘Wow!’
    * * *
    Ruth pulled the sandwiches from under the griller and spread butter over them. Then she found a plate and put them in front of Howard.
    He picked one up and ate ravenously.
    Ruth stood watching and thinking. There was something mysterious about him that she liked, something unknown . He never gave much away. Everyone at school couldn’t wait to tell everyone else what they’d been doing, or what had happened to them, or what they thought about things, but not Howard. He kept his views close to his chest, which was probably why he had no friends.
    ‘Do you hate him?’ she asked.
    ‘Who?’
    ‘Your dad,’ she said.
    Howard shrugged and took a long gulp of milk.
    ‘How did you find my place?’ she asked.
    ‘I’ve seen your address on your schoolbag,’ he said through a mouthful of food.
    ‘So you’re a bit of a spy, huh?’
    ‘Kind of.’ He looked around furtively as if he might, right at that moment, be looking for fresh clues to a mystery that he wasn’t going to tell her about. ‘That’s why I need a camera. So, where is your family?’
    Without really intending to, Ruth told him the whole story of how she couldn’t stand Marcus’s bike races and even how she’d lied to her parents.
    Howard made no comment but she could tell he was listening carefully.
    ‘So what are you going to do today?’ he asked.
    ‘Not sure yet,’ she said. ‘Got any ideas?’
    He took a huge bite of his sandwich and shrugged as if he wasn’t very interested at all.
    When Howard had finished the sandwich he stood up.
    ‘Mind if I have a look around?’ he asked.
    ‘Okay,’ Ruth said.
    After he’d checked out the backyard and the bedrooms, they ended up in the front room where it was warmer. Ruth sat on the heater and watched him snooping around. He banged a few notes on the piano, switched on the computer, picked up the delicate coffee cups on the sideboard and examined them closely. Then he picked up Marcus’s guitar and strummed a few chords, all the time looking thoughtful, like he was on the verge of saying something important. Ruth was still trying to formulate a plan for the day.
    Howard put the guitar down abruptly and took his jacket off, then went over to study the photos on the wall. Within a few moments he’d taken down the black-and-white shot of her and Rodney.
    ‘Who is Rod?’ he asked, taking it over to the window for more light.
    ‘Rodney,’ Ruth corrected him.
    ‘Rodney then,’ Howard said. ‘Who is he?’
    ‘The rat,’ she said.
    ‘I figured that!’ Howard grinned,