That Saturday a cold front started east across the Great Lakes, and early Sunday morning Ahmed was out of the room. The temperature kept going down all day, and by sunset it had reached sixteen degrees. Coming back from the Dish, Ben was underdressed in his khakis and the North Face with just a sweater underneath, and he shuffled fast down the path toward Hawley. He lifted his head at the quiet scratching of wheels on ice, and beyond the rerusting Dragon he saw Tommy, Ahmed, and Graham getting out of a cab in the gym parking lot. They were all underdressed too, in khakis or jeans and sweaters, and Graham had a wide, heavily loaded hockey duffel over his shoulder.

Ben slowed down as the group looked both ways and crossed the Two-Laner. Ben didn’t want to be seen, and he kept moving down the path to Hawley. The three walked quickly, visibly hurting in the cold. Then a movement caught Ben’s eye and he turned and saw the near-elderly history teacher and football coach, Mr. Turow, emerging from around the side of Paige. He was heading toward the gym. He would pass Ahmed and Tommy and Graham on the path right next to the Dragon. Turow had his hands deep in the pockets of his buckskin jacket, and he wore a red buffalo plaid hunting cap pulled down over his forehead.

Ben watched as the group of boys and Mr. Turow approached each other. He saw how it would happen. Graham would set a running shoe on a patch of ice and go down, and one of the bottles in the duffel would shatter against the blacktop, and Mr. Turow would ask to look in the bag and find not only alcohol. All of them would be busted and Ahmed would be gone and he would be gone.

Ben knew he could start walking more quickly, pretending he was going to the gym too, and intercept Turow. He could ask him a simple question about the football off-season and just start talking, and Ahmed, Tommy, and Graham would pass at a safe distance in front of them. But Ben stopped. He remained where he was. He let them all coast into each other.

But Graham didn’t slip, and he waved in cold-weather fellowship to Mr. Turow, and Turow nodded wearily in reply. With simple haste, Graham, Tommy, and Ahmed continued to walk the path to Gordon until Ben couldn’t see them anymore.

That night Ben checked in again with Mr. Tan. The temperature dropped to seven degrees, and someone poured a travel mug of dip-spit in Henry Carter’s hair as he slept. Hannah Burke forgave him the next day, the sex ban came down, and the school’s malaise was gone. Everyone left the windows open to the cold, sleeping well for the first time in weeks.

13. Wait for a Real Eclipse

13. Wait for a Real Eclipse