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points her finger at Bobby, and whatever she says makes the colour drain from Bobby’s face. Harvey and Kenny try not to laugh.
    Students begin leaving.
    â€œI kept my distance because I was embarrassed,” Wayne says at last. “Why would you want to talk to the guy that eats yellow snow?”
    Quiet for a moment, then Marjorie says, “I keep the meat department at Dominion in business, remember, so I could ask you the same question.”
    Wayne looks towards a gang of girls in short skirts and long boots, one of whom is Julie, as they exit the cafeteria in a clump of twisting heads and whispers and finger pointing. Wayne also notices Pete The Meat and his posse getting to their feet. Pete punches Bobby in the shoulder, and when Bobby shrugs and gives The Meat a look as if to say What was that for? Pete punches him again.
    The volleyball team’s suddenly on their feet, patting each other’s bottoms and pumping their fists into the air in anticipation of this evening’s game, while the crowd at the alternative table compare tattoos and body piercings. The overachievers are cramming the last bit of work into what time there is left, glued to their computer screens like porn addicts.
    Marjorie says, “You ever get tired?”
    â€œOf what?”
    â€œOf being Wayne Pumphrey?”
    â€œI don’t know. You ever get tired of being Marjorie Pope?”
    Marjorie looks away, then at her fingers again. “Sometimes.”
    â€œMe too,” says Wayne. He breathes in and lets it out and says, “But I can’t not be me, right? And you can’t not be you.”
    She shrugs.
    A bell rings.
    â€œI’m sorry about last week,” Wayne says. “I shouldn’t have brought up your dad.”
    For a second Marjorie looks about ready to pull another disappearing act, but instead she stays put and says, “The answer is yes, I do. Wouldn’t you miss yours?”
    Wayne imagines life without his father: no smell of tobacco and aftershave and no empty lunch box on the counter and no coughing or used tea bags in the sink and no hands messing his hair and no knocked-over garbage cans when his father goes to park the car. He looks up at Marjorie and nods.
    Thighs as sturdy as light poles beside him now and the smell of skin cream strong enough to disintegrate nose hairs. Mrs. Gambol, hands on her hips and a slight bend in one knee, says, “You two planning on staying all afternoon?”
    Wayne looks around the room and wonders when it was that the place had cleared out. He stares back at Mrs. Gambol. “We’re just leaving, Miss.”
    Mrs. Gambol scrutinizes Wayne’s still-full tray. “Perhaps if you ate more you wouldn’t be so small.”
    Wayne gets to his feet and notices that Marjorie is already near the double doors. He goes to catch up, but the teacher’s voice stops him.
    â€œYour tray.”
    Wayne grabs it and throws out the food andstacks the tray with the others. Makes his way across the floor.
    â€œPick up the pace,” Mrs. Gambol says. “The world’s not going to wait, you know.”

EIGHT
    Here’s the rest of Wayne’s day: en route to geography from biology, an unknown assailant knocks his books from his hand. Then, while sitting in chemistry, Jeff Hibbs lets one go and blames him. Everyone, including Julie, covers their noses while Mr. Bolan asks if anyone can name the primary gas released in Wayne’s fart and Jeffsays: gay gas and Mr. Bolan says: no, nitrogen. In English, a drawing is passed to Wayne depicting a dwarfish stick man being decapitated by a muscular man (Pete). The caption, grammatically incorrect and in bold letters, reads: YOUR DEAD PUMPHREY!!! And finally, standing in front of his locker at the end of the day, Bobby comes and pins him up against it and warns him to watch out for Pete The Meat and then threatens to yank out one of Wayne’s teeth to make up for the one