And then, with an almost audible rushing, he felt his awareness cover the campus, gathering around the PO and the Schoolhouse, spreading across the playing fields and against the chapel, from the hedges surrounding the school entrance to the long road to the crew boathouse. He could be anywhere. And if they caught him, good. They couldn’t put him on financial aid; he wouldn’t have to worry about Russell and the rest of the family; feeling like prey would be finished. He would see Alice one last time. He would have a reason to go see her, and he would finally have nothing to hide from her.

He jogged slowly from the side of Hawley to the side of Smith House, the same design as Hawley but oriented east-west instead of north-south. He stood under a darkened window. Not more than five feet away was some safe, sleeping girl. Across the back grass was Paige House, all dark, and somewhere inside she was sleeping.

The next leg, from Smith to the woods behind the courts, was the riskiest. It would take him under two streetlamps, past the Dragon, and then into the darkness against the building. He thought he could hear wets back there, but he couldn’t be sure. Now, frustratingly, he was scared of getting caught again. He listened for the Land Rover but didn’t hear anything, and so he jogged across the lane, through the light. His feet scratched loudly on the blacktop and then were quieter on the dirt of the path to the Dish. Ben ducked off the path and was safe.

Behind the courts were Eben, Matt, and Dave. Their faces were scared and smiling. They didn’t say anything. Only Anoop was missing. The purple backpack with the spray cans was there for them, just as Simon had said it would be. Matt unzipped the bag slowly, quietly, and they saw three cans of white paint and three of red, the school colors. Ben still had no idea what they were supposed to write.

They all heard huge stomping footsteps, and Anoop came sprinting up. With wild, terrified eyes he turned and sat in the fallen leaves with his back to the wall. He closed his eyes and his chest leapt as he tried to catch his breath. Eben whispered, “Don’t run so hard. It’s more important to stay quiet and alert than to go fast. Did Snake Eyes see you?”

Anoop shook his head.

“Sure?”

Anoop nodded.

There was no leader among them, so Eben said, “All right, what are we going to write?”

“Squash sucks?” said Anoop.

“That’s lame, Anoop,” said Eben.

After a moment, Ben said, “Squash is for the weak.”

“Yeah.” Matt nodded. “Yeah, I like it.”

“Squash is for the weak,” said Eben. “Okay, fine.”