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an X-ray. “Let me guess what happened, Jason: You had an encounter with Blake Grant.”
    “How did you know?” Jason said. “You must be psychic.”
    “No way, not me,” Brains said. Sunlight reflected off his lenses as he spoke. “I remember when you told me that he threatened you at school, and how you said he never forgets anyone he wants to fight. I figured it was only a matter of time before he caught up with you. Spring Harbor’s a small city, and from what I hear, all Blake does is ride around town with his pals, cruising for trouble. He probably saw your bike parked somewhere, knew it belonged to you, and decided to make good on his promise to destroy you. Is that close?”
    “Close, but not exactly,” Jason said. He walked past Brains, sat on the bench, and told them what had happened.
    “Man, it’s too bad you didn’t face that punk alone,” Shorty said. “You’d have kicked his ass.”
    “Maybe,” Jason said. “Maybe not. I’ve never fought anyone.”
    “Neither has Mike,” Brains said. He never referred to Shorty by his nickname. He smiled. “At least, Mike’s never won a fight.”
    “Hey!” Shorty said. “I’ve whipped up dozens of fools, man. What the hell are you talking about?”
    Jason rolled his eyes. Brains chuckled.
    “At any rate,” Brains said, “I’d be careful if I were you, Jason. Mike has told me about Blake, and he sounds dangerous. Watch yourself. You might not slip away next time.”
    “I’ll be careful,” Jason said. “But to be honest, Blake isn’t the main thing I’m worried about.”
    “Why?” Shorty said. “What else is up?”
    Jason looked from Brains to Shorty. Originally, he had not planned to tell them about the incident in the bathroom that morning, fearful that they would think he was crazy and make fun of him, but he realized that he trusted them as much as he would have trusted blood brothers. He thought there was a good chance they would believe him-after all, they didn’t hang out with him because they thought he was a nut. They respected him. They had grown really tight in the few months they had been hanging out, too. Hiding such a bizarre incident from them would almost be an insult to the bond they had developed.
    “Well?” Shorty said. “Give it up, man.”
    “Okay, I saw something this morning,” Jason said. “Something scary and weird that’s making me wonder if I’m going crazy....”
    “Tell me, fellas,” Jason said, completing his tale of what he had seen in the bathroom. “Am I going crazy, or what?”
    “You’re not going crazy,” Brains and Shorty said in unison. Shorty and Brains glanced at each other, smiled a little. Jason smiled at both of them. He was so glad they believed him.
    Shorty paced the veranda.
    “All right, we’ve heard the story, now we’ve gotta think hard about this shit,” Shorty said. He twisted his Bulls hat backward, as if adjusting his thinking cap. “Who do you think wrote that word on the mirror?”
    “I don’t know,” Jason said. “It couldn’t have been Mom or Dad, and we haven’t had any visitors lately. I can’t think of anyone who might’ve done it. It was a stranger, I guess.”
    “Why would a stranger write remember on your bathroom mirror?” Brains said.
    “I guess he’s telling me to remember something,” Jason said. “But I don’t know what he’s telling me to remember, or why he wants me to. I really don’t have any answers. It’s all crazy.”
    “Not only crazy, but spooky,” Shorty said. He walked back and forth across the porch, knotting his hands. “To know this guy was in your crib, walking around writing shit on mirrors—man, that scares me. Only real psychos do stuff like that. If I were you, I’d be scared to go to sleep at night.”
    “I am scared,” Jason said. “But I have to do something, you know? I need a plan to deal with this. I can’t sit around and wait for something else to happen. Can either of you think of anything I can