This is What I Did (10 page)

Cami: What?

Zyler: What’s your name?

Cami: Ask your friend.

They started laughing and then rode away on their bikes.

Zyler: How come I’ve never seen her before?

Me: Because she goes to the Waterford — the private school.

Zyler: But she lives by us?

Me: They have the biggest house in the neighborhood — on Oak.

After that was when we started riding past Cami Wakefield’s house.

Cami started going to our junior high last year in seventh.

We saw her more then.

A lot more than now.

So the next time at Scouts was okay. I mean the time after knots.

I can barely remember what we did really. I just remember being relieved because no one talked to me: not Bruce, not Luke, and not Toby.

Not even Jack.

Good.

But then the time after that is when Jack started to hate me.

We were in Bruce and Jack’s backyard and we were supposed to be learning how to make a fire without matches or lighters.

Since they have this huge backyard plus a sort of dirt field, Jack had us all build our own pits.

It was hard work because Jack didn’t want anything to get started on fire or ruin his delphiniums or new deck and the Jacuzzi or anything. So we had to dig big holes for our fire.

Bruce was mad: Dad, when are we going to have steel wool and batteries in the wilderness?

Jack: That’s why you pack them with you, Bruce.

Bruce: Why don’t I just pack a lighter or matches or something?

Jack: They could get wet; now shut up and get going on your fire.

Bruce: You shut up.

And then Jack got pissed at Bruce.

Really pissed and said: Hey, smart-ass, one more word out of you . . .

Bruce sort of made a face but Jack saw so he threw his Scout manual at Bruce.

Jack:

Bruce:

Jack went inside to cool down and everyone else was quiet.

Bruce acted like he didn’t care. That the book didn’t hurt him even if he had a big red mark on his face.

That’s when he came over to me.

Bruce: How’s the pit going?

Me:

Bruce: Hey, crapstock, are you deaf?

Me:

I just kept digging and making my pit.

Bruce: I know about you.

Me:

My heart started going fast and sweating.

Bruce: I know what happened at your last school.

By now the others had stopped digging. I didn’t look up. Please, no. Please.

Bruce: You’re dirty. You’re dirty dirty dirty crapstock.

Me:

Bruce: Yeah, my mom told me all about it after your mom called before you guys even moved here.

Dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig

Bruce: Mom said to be nice but not too nice. Don’t get too close to boys like you. She said not to tell anyone either, but I think it’s time to tell. Don’t you, crapstock?

Toby and Luke were standing behind him.

Bruce: You never know what you might do — you MOLESTER.

Me:

I couldn’t breathe I couldn’t move I couldn’t think I couldn’t do anything anything anything anything anything anything anything anything anything anything anything.

So then he was right there in my face.

Bruce: Did you hear me? You M-O-L-E-S-T-E-R.

And that’s when I snapped.

I hit him as hard as I could with the shovel. But it wasn’t so hard because I sort of missed because he was too close or something.

But everyone screamed and Bruce fell.

And I jumped on him and he was pushing me off or trying to.

And there was Luke and Toby but I don’t know what else and dirt in my mouth and I was bigger and I was shoving his face into the ground and they were screaming fightfightfightfightfightfightfightfightfight fightfightfightfightfightfightfightfightfight!

That’s when Jack came out and that’s when I balled up and Bruce was yelling and everyone was yelling and I was crying and crying and that wasn’t the first time or the last time.

Jack hated me after that and so did everyone else who didn’t already.

That night I slept almost twenty-four hours.

Almost all Saturday.

I’ve done that before and I could sleep longer if Mom would let me.

Back in seventh grade I called Cami once.

Actually twice.

Three times.

But I usually hung up.

But she had caller ID and once she called back.

I said I wanted to know about an assignment in math because we had that together.

Cami: What did you want to know?

Me: It’s about exponents.

Cami: I don’t know so much about them.

Me: Oh.

Cami: Is that it?

Me: I don’t know.

Cami: Well, I better go.

Me: Yeah. I have to too.

Sometimes I think about everything and

I

Am

So

Sorry.

At play practice I usually just stand on the sides.

I don’t have any lines or anything but I still have to go because everyone has to go to the big rehearsals.

The private ones for Wendy and Peter Pan and John and Captain Hook happen after the big ones or during lunch.

When it’s my turn to come on, a bunch of us come out of a tree — it’s not there yet — and we run around Peter and sing with him.

It’s sort of dumb, but then I sort of like it too.

One rehearsal Ms. March said: Okay, okay, everyone. We need some volunteers to work on the set. The crew is behind and the tree house is a disaster — no offense, Sam [Sam’s in charge of the set].

Sam: It’s okay.

Ms. March: Mr. Jeffries volunteered to start over on a tree house if we can finagle a special team. Are there any volunteers?

The cast:

Ms. March: Anyone?

The cast:

Then Laurel raised her hand.

Ms. March: Thank you, Laurel. Now who else?

I didn’t really want to volunteer. I mean, the rehearsals alone were taking way too much time and everything.

But I raised my hand.

Ms. March: Okay, and Logan. Good. We need about two more.

Three more guys and one girl volunteered. Ms. March was very happy.

I tried to look at Laurel but she wasn’t looking at me so I didn’t look at her.

I like her nose, her pirate makeup, and the way she stuffs her hair on the back of her head . . . and the palindromes.