As the crowd began to thin, Noble made his way over to where Maria was standing with her friends.

“Hi, Maria,” he said.

Noticing Noble’s arrival, Maria’s friends said “Bye” and left the two of them alone. “I just wanted to say thanks.”

“Not a problem,” she answered. “After what you guys did for Angelina, it’s the least I can do.” She smiled at him then.

It was the first time he’d ever seen her smile like that, and he had to admit, he found it…well, attractive. Noble said nothing for several long moments. Maria kept smiling at him.

“Listen,” he said at last, “how would you like to meet in the cafeteria after school, for, I dunno, some chocolate milk or something?”

“For chocolate milk?” she said, a strange look on her face.

Noble smiled. “Yeah, we drink chocolate milk.”

Maria laughed. “Okay, that’d be cool.”

“So it’s a date, then,” Noble said. “I mean, I’ll meet you then…after school.”

“Yeah, see you then,” she said, turning away and waving.

Noble watched her walk down the hall and turn the corner, wondering the whole time if this was what it felt like to be human.

Chapter 26

Friday night.

After watching a movie together in town, and losing her brothers between the theater and the donut shop next door, Tora took Michael Martin for a walk through Logger’s Park in the middle of downtown Redstone.

The night sky was cloudless and the moon hung full over them, as big as a dinner plate and seemingly close enough to reach out and touch.

They got to the park without a word being said between them, then made their way to a bench in front of the gazebo where musical groups played free concerts every Thursday night in July and August. After several minutes of just sitting there, Tora felt as if she had to say something to break the silence, even if she wasn’t ready to tell him just yet.

“So, how’d you like the movie?”

“It was okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

More silence.

She moved her hand until it touched Michael’s. At first he pulled his hand away, but when she touched it a second time, he left it where it was.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Tora said.

Michael nodded. “I knew something was up. It’s a little cold out for a moonlight walk through the park.”

“This is important.”

“Must be.”