“Hard to understand,” said Stone. Pat wondered if any of the others knew he was being ironic.

“It’s just a fact,” said Pat. “He told us all he was interested, he liked girls, but he wasn’t going to make any bastards or be the kind of god who went around having sex with … drowthers.”

Stone nodded. “That was a wise policy, and I’m not surprised Danny had the strength to stick to it.”

“Not surprised because you don’t think we’re all that attractive?” asked Xena, her ear always attuned to the possibility that she had been insulted.

“Stick to the point, Xena,” said Pat.

“I don’t know the point, you haven’t told us,” said Xena.

“The point is this. Nicki Lieder—the coach’s daughter—she came to me this morning during lunch and told me, very quietly, that she was pregnant, and Danny was the only possible father.”

“That little mouse?” said Laurette disdainfully.

“Mouse?” said Hal. “Have you seen her since she came back to school?”

“What does she have that we don’t have?” said Xena.

Wheeler looked as if he wouldn’t mind making a list for her, so Pat forestalled him. “That’s my point,” said Pat. “Why would he sleep with her, but not us?”

“She raped him,” said Hal.

“Ha ha,” said Sin.

“She told me,” said Pat, “because he wasn’t in school today and she needed to tell him about the pregnancy. She’s going to tell her father this afternoon.”

“Coach Lieder’s going to kill Danny,” said Hal.

“Not likely,” said Stone.

“She wanted to give Danny a heads-up,” said Pat. “Because she reported the encounter to the police the morning after it happened. She reported it as a rape.”

“She accused Danny?” asked Xena.

“No,” said Pat. “She didn’t name names, she said she didn’t see his face and couldn’t even say what race he was, or how tall or anything. She said she didn’t know her assailant.”

“Oh, good,” said Sin. “So I won’t have to kill her.”

“The point is that Danny’s DNA is out there as a rapist,” said Pat. “I don’t imagine Danny’s DNA is in any database, but if he’s arrested for something else…”

“Gross,” said Laurette. “He left it in her.”

“I thought when you reported rape, they, like, took care of it,” said Xena. “The pregnancy.”

“She didn’t let them,” said Pat. “She told them she had a religious objection to anything like abortion.”

“She wanted his baby,” said Xena.

“So did you,” pointed out Wheeler.

“But I wouldn’t have pretended he raped me,” said Xena.

“No, you would have bragged it was him,” said Hal. “She reported it as rape so that if she got pregnant, she could give the police report to her father and he wouldn’t pester her to find out who the father is.”