“Thank God.”

They ate for a moment in silence.

“So, hey,” Aaron asked, “do you have a bank account?”

“What?”

“Did your parents ever open up a bank account for you, where you, like, save your money?”

“What does that have to do with the price of poon in Thailand?”

“I was just wondering. I always had this sort of piggy bank in my room where I kept all my cash. It’s like a Thomas the Tank Engine I got when I was a little kid, but it didn’t make any difference because I never had much money. I mean, my grandma would give me twenty bucks for my birthday, and my parents paid me a measly allowance, but that usually went pretty fast. Now, though, all of a sudden, my dad’s on my ass about opening up a bank account.” Aaron paused. “It’s kind of weird.”

“Yeah,” Nick admitted. “I have a savings account. I never touch it and don’t even know how much is in it, but I think my parents deposit money in there periodically.”

“He’s really hyped up about this new bank, too. That’s where he wants me to open my account.” Nick snorted. “Did I say wants? I meant insists.” He shook his head. “Fuckin’ weird, man.”

“That bank’s next to my dad’s store.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And the guy who used to work for him works there now, only there’s something…I don’t know, strange about it. He and my dad were friends, but it’s like now they’re not. I don’t know the details—my dad doesn’t exactly share things—but the whole thing seems kind of…off.”

“Well then that’s where I want to keep my money,” Aaron said in a sarcastically chipper voice.

Finished with his lunch, Nick balled up the brown paper sack he’d brought it in and tossed it at a nearby trash barrel, missing by at least a foot. Mrs. Nelson walked past just at that moment, and she frowned at him. “Pick it up,” she ordered. “We’ll have none of that here.”

He’d intended to pick it up, but there was no way she was going to believe that, so he didn’t even try to argue the point. Dutifully, he hopped off the wall and deposited the wadded up sack in the trash can. The teacher continued on.

“Mrs. Nelson is a bitch,” Aaron said under his breath, and they both laughed as Aaron dropped his trash into the barrel before the two of them headed toward the library for the rest of the lunch period.

****

On the way home, Nick decided to stop by Victor’s house again. After school, he’d tried calling both his friend’s house and cell, with no luck, so he thought he’d check in person, see if anyone was home. Even if Victor was gone, maybe his mom or dad was there, and he could ask one of them what was going on.

Because something definitely wasn’t right.

Victor’s Jeep was not in the driveway, as expected, but to his surprise, Nick saw the family’s beat-up Explorer parked in front of the garage. That meant that either his mom or dad were home, although why no one had answered the phone was a mystery.