I dug through the medical encyclopedia again, looking for an X-ray image that might match. One person had swallowed a key, another a wedding ring. A kid had gulped down a penny, and another had jammed a pearl way up his nose. There also were X-rays in which people had inserted more bizarre objects into more bizarre places. I moved quickly past those.

Nothing matched what I had.

Then I remembered: That shoulder was where I had gotten my most painful flu shot ever, at the army clinic in the evacuation camp. It had ached for days and left a large red spot. Flu shots had never left any kind of lasting mark. Mom got one, too. Everyone had. The flu vaccine wouldn’t look like a pill, of course.

I needed to tell someone. I picked up the phone to call Jordan but stopped myself. When he asked why I was Xraying myself, I’d have to tell him about the lump and my suspicion that I had cancer. I wasn’t just afraid that he’d freak out. I also didn’t want to talk to him about my breasts. I liked this guy and was hoping we might reach a romantic place before we started getting all clinical.

I should have told my mom, but she’d kill me for Xraying myself—six times. Patients were supposed to wear lead blankets that covered everything but the areas being filmed, and the technician was supposed to stand behind the protected partition.

As for the lump, where would she take me? To the army doctors? They’re the ones who had given us the “flu shots” in the first place.

I needed another way to find out: What the hell was in my arm?

CHAPTER 10

Jordan

MOM WAS, SHALL we say, displeased about my suspension.

“You what?” she snapped, stepping away from the pot of jarred spaghetti sauce that she had freshened up with mushrooms, onions, peppers, and tomatoes from our garden. The lines at the grocery store were so long, she’d said, that she was going to cook what we had for now. “Getting suspended before classes start is impressive even for you.”

“On the bright side,” I said, “I won’t actually miss any school.”

“Well, how is it a suspension, then?”

“I’m barred from the school for now, including practices. But, hey, guess who’s the new starting quarterback?”

“You play DEE-fense!” Charlie chimed in.

“Well, now I play OFF-fense!” I responded. “I’ll be dishing it out.”

“Sounds like you got off to an early start,” Mom grumbled, giving the sauce a stir.

“And I won’t miss any games,” I continued, ignoring Mom while Charlie ran upstairs.

Actually, I wasn’t sure about that—not about just me but the whole team. Our main rival, the Canville Badgers, already had canceled their game against us for health concerns, and I wasn’t sure whether the army was allowing any outsiders into Mount Hope yet. Our first game was scheduled for a week from Friday.

“Hey, Mom,” I said, “have they opened up the roads? Can people come into town?”