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was invisible. But Finton often noticed her, in spite of himself. She never spoke, preferred the shadowed periphery and eschewed attention. She often averted her eyes as if she’d been discovered—and discovery was certainly not on her agenda. For she was a Dredge and, as such, not just unworthy of attention but disdainful of it. The Dredges were like spiders in the corner of a shed, or a bottomless black hole at the far end of an overgrown yard—it was best to pretend they didn’t exist. Alicia didn’t call attention to herself, but Finton was sometimes aware of her watching him with those unnaturally large eyes. Despite being a Dredge, she was not unattractive. In fact, he sometimes wondered what it was like to be her, the only flower in a neglected lawn. Of course, he would never admit that she intrigued him, for she was a Dredge, and a Dredge never met with anyone’s approval.
    â€œHey, I got an idea.” Skeet nodded towards the school. “Fielding don’t even know we’re here yet. We should take the morning off.”
    â€œNo!” said Mary, clutching her books to her chest. “Mom would kill me.”
    â€œCome on, girl.” Dolly nudged her friend. “It’d be fun!”
    â€œMoon?” Skeet’s plan was obvious—since most of his previous attempts had failed, he was trying to embarrass Finton into skipping school.
    Inside the schoolhouse, the first bell rang, creating a knot in Finton’s stomach. “Not me.”
    â€œWhat if Mary went with us?”
    â€œNot likely,” she said.
    â€œCome on, b’ys. It’s only one morning. No one will know.”
    But Finton knew the teacher would call his mother, and there’d be a lot of explaining to do, and the next thing he knew, he’d be staying after school and being grounded at home, and everyone would be mad at him, so he’d have to tell the priest what he did, and then God would be mad at him, and he’d have to do penance, and even that wouldn’t make up for the all the guilt he’d feel. It was better to stay innocent than to face all the punishment. Even if no one else knew, skipping school felt wrong.
    When the second bell rang, Skeet began to panic. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to go in the woods by meself.”
    â€œSawyer’s in there,” said Mary.
    â€œThink I’m scared o’ him?” Skeet laughed just as Miss Fielding was opening the doors to the school, and he ran off towards the thicket. “Chickens!”
    â€œYou can’t let him go by himself,” said Dolly. “Go after him, Finton.”
    â€œYou go after him. He’s big enough to handle Sawyer.”
    â€œBut it’s Sawyer,” said Mary. “He might do anything.”
    Finton stared at the ground, then looked at Mary, who was clearly disappointed in him. He looked at Dolly, who stood with her arms folded and lips twisted skeptically, practically daring him to prove his masculinity in front of the girl he obviously loved. He glanced to the doors, where he could just see Miss Fielding herding the children inside. In fact, the Dredges were already entering, with Alicia casting him a backwards glance. She always seemed to be looking at him.
    â€œHurry up!” Dolly said. “Sawyer Moon’s on the go!”
    Mary looked to the woods. Finton’s heart pounded furiously. “Fine,” he said. “If Miss Fielding asks where I am, tell her I forgot something and went home to get it.” He started to run, but stopped. “I’ll be right back with Skeet.”
    Both girls nodded and exchanged worried glances. When Mary and Dolly turned the corner of the schoolhouse, Finton dashed for the woods. Only when he’d reached the first line of tall, skinny birch did he stop and catch his breath. “What the hell am I doing?” he grumbled to himself as he took up a brisk walk, the hard plastic handle of his bookbag